The Thick of It coincidentally ended up occurring only two days after Peter Capaldi was announced as the new star of "Doctor Who". (Even more coincidental, a cast commentary included as part of a photo gallery featurette for the episode "Rise of the Nutters" included in the DVD set, recorded several years earlier, has several cast members jokingly deciding to start a rumour that Capaldi is to be the next Doctor.) "The Thick of It: The Scripts", a book containing the scripts from the first two series and the 2007 specials, was published on 1 September 2007. A tie-in book, "The Thick Of It:
The Thick of It 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 dramatised reflection of real-life political parties and events rather than a parallel universe. Each political party is portrayed in equally unflattering terms, each being shown as inept, accident-prone and generally inefficient, and each having their own unique problems. For instance, the ruling party of the first three seasons, to which Abbot and Murray belong, is portrayed as being hampered by its many warring factions and