The foul-mouthed, savvy spin doctor at the heart of the Armando Iannuccis virtuoso political satire The Thick Of It, Malcolm Tucker is outrageously, vindictively brilliant, almost always riding the crest of whatever political wave comes his way, a sneer on his face and a middle finger raised to the world. Tasked with making the government administrations under his purview appear to be competent, even proficient at their jobs, in the face of significant failings in that department, this means that Tucker is constantly fighting a war of attrition, anticipating screw-ups and dealing with them almost before they occur, defending the people in his charge from the machinations of a verminous press, the shadow government and their own stupidity. His inventive and caustic wit is usually employed at the expense of practically everyone around him, meaning that hes often utilised as a rite of passage of sorts for junior political staffers: if you havent been Tuckered yet, youre about to be. In the film adaptation of the series, In The Loop, Tucker more than holds his own against a ferocious, intimidating US General played by James Gandolfini. Thats right: he out-Sopranos Tony Soprano. Played with the penetrating eyes, vituperative tongue and terrifying attack eyebrows hed bring to bear as the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi is compelling, hilarious and scary in equal parts in the role, described by the press as having the physical demeanour and the political instincts of a velociraptor". Heres the man himself, in fine form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUky4_A7Zw4
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
