The Thick Of It : Complete BBC Series 1 [2005] [DVD]

This complete first season follows the antics of Hugo Abbot, a simple MP, whose ongoing fight with his party's spin doctors provides just one richly mined strand for the show. Skilfully mixing drama and comedy, and shot in the increasingly popular fly-on-the-wall documentary style, The Thick Of It manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny, yet eerily scary at the same time.

The credit, clearly, lies with the brains and the cast behind the programme. In front of the camera, both Chris Langham and the seemingly-brutal Peter Capaldi have won the plaudits, but much of the acclaim also needs lying at the doorstep of Armando Iannucci. Iannucci already has a comedy CV that few can rival, both in front of and behind the lens, and it's testament to the quality of The Thick Of It that it stands next easily next to anything in his back catalogue.

This unmissable DVD brings together all the episodes from the little-seen-yet-rarely-rivalled maiden season (although the Christmas special is missing), and it's a real comedy treat. Bluntly, The Thick Of It is a modern day classic, and through the DVD release, more people can finally get the chance to see why. --Jon Foster