The Thick of IT - Plot

Plot

The action centres on the fictitious Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship ("DoSAC" – previously the Department of Social Affairs, or "DSA", prior to the reshuffle of episode five), which supposedly came out of the prime minister's passing enthusiasm for "joined-up government". Thus it acts as a "super department" overseeing many others, which enables different political themes to be dealt with in the programme, similar to the Department for Administrative Affairs in Yes Minister.

Hugh Abbot, played by Chris Langham, is a blundering minister heading the department, who is continually trying to do his job under the watchful eye of Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), Number 10's highly aggressive and domineering "enforcer". The programme also features James Smith as senior special adviser Glenn Cullen, Chris Addison as junior policy adviser Ollie Reeder, and Joanna Scanlan as civil service press secretary Terri Coverley.

The series was revamped for the third series with Hugh Abbot being replaced as head of DoSAC by Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front), who arrives without her own staff, so Ollie and Glen find themselves keeping their jobs.

From series 4, after a general election which results in a coalition government, Peter Mannion MP (Roger Allam) is new Secretary of State for DoSAC, supported by his team of special advisers, commanded by Number 10's Director of Communications Stewart Pearson (Vincent Franklin) and thwarted by his new coalition partner, DOSAC's junior minister Fergus Williams MP (Geoffrey Streatfeild). Nicola Murray MP is now leader of the opposition, and opposition spin doctor Malcolm Tucker is desperate for a return to power.

Even though no mention is made of the words "Labour", "Conservative" and "Liberal Democrat", it is strongly implied throughout the four series that this is a dramatized reflection of real-life political parties and events rather than a parallel universe. For instance, and in spite of its warring internal factions and its rather pragmatic approach to politics, the ruling party during the first three series is explicitly described as far more progressive on general issues than the party Mannion and Pearson belong to, and the coalition formed by Fergus Williams' smaller party is widely seen as a betrayal of its own principles, much like the 2010 coalition was. The internal strife within the ruling party in series 1-3 ostensibly reflects the rise to power of the Gordon Brown faction of the Labour Party (roughly identified to the "Nutters" in the series). All of this is stressed in personal conversations more often than in actual policies. For instance Mannion's party is linked by Malcolm and his coworkers to snobbishness, arrogance, upper-class institutions such as Eton and even stereotypical consequences of endogamy such as mental disorders, polydactyly and even zoophilia. Even Peter Mannion, who is relatively moderate by his own party's standards, complains to Stewart about the Head of the Opposition and his "Eton clique" texting racist jokes. And upon being fired, Stewart congratulates himself for ridding his party of toxic elements usually identified with a reactionary credo.