RAVE - The Thick Of It

One of the great things about flying British Airways or (as we have just done for our trip to Italy, via the UK) Virgin Atlantic, aside from the Chicken Korma is the in-flight entertainment.

Instead of cheesy films guaranteed to put you to sleep, plus yet more episodes of Friends, 30 Rock, and [insert dull, formulaic American sitcom here], we got great comedy: Inbetweeners, Only Fools and Horses, Live At The Apollo, and proper gritty indie British movies that haven't seen the light of American day.

First of several cracking programs I saw was The Thick Of It, the wittiest and most acerbic comedy you could wish for. Set in and around Whitehall, where the UK political scene boasts some of the smartest, the stupidest, and in this case, funniest people.

Blisteringly foulmouthed, the show even employs a "swearing consultant". One of his roles is to pen the complex and creative insults used in the show. Now THERE'S something to put in your resume.

The handful of Americans that may have seen a version of it will have done so through the movie In The Loop, which is also highly recommended by this wannabe swearing consultant.