It's really very good

So far, I think the Danny character hasn't come across as dimwitted, just very very bad around a woman he fancies - wouldn't be the first to appear as an idiot in front of someone they fancy. Nor does he have much of a sense of style, but then with Danny, you feel that style is less important than substance. In Scott's world the opposite is true. The political lobbyists job is to convince those in power that their clients interest is also in the interest of government/people/an individual MP. It's buying access to people of influence. It many ways it runs counter to democracy, and is especially evident in US politics, where the various lobby groups ie. Oil lobby, Gun lobby have succeeded in convincing the peoples' elected representatives that they need to protect these interests.

I liked the West Wing a lot, but the poltics in that show was much more complex - if you got distracted for a moment, you'd easily lose track of what was going on. In Party Animals, the politics is much more simple...Dodgy Russian has Scott lean on a friend to ask a question in the house, reminiscent of the cash for questions controversy of a few years ago - in this case there is no great moral issue, as the character asking to have the question asked is so obviously corrupt - who would want parliament run in this way? As a constituent, wouldn't you want your MP asking questions concerning his constituency/constituents, but because corrupt russian can "buy" the likes of Scott, then his agenda is pushed forward, and not yours, as a plain voter. Usually, in the West Wing there was a dilemma between what the Bartlett Administration wanted to achieve, and what they could achieve, but there was always the underlying sense that they were there to do good.

In party animals, Danny is principled, but perhaps powerless. He is badly dressed, badly paid, and lives in his brother's house rent free. Scott is seen as the real mover and shaker politically (and in other respects)He is a homeowner, sharply dressed, successful, and without principle. I suspect that he represents New Labour, and the rather simple point being made is that New Labour types have abandoned all but a nod to socialism in their quest for power. So these two guys, though cut from the same cloth, ultimately go their separate ways, and in the end there is very little between New Labour's Scott and New Tory's Ashika - Politics is just a career like medicine, the law, or engineering - Principle? What's that?

Miles the charming lovable rogue? This is the guy that tried to have Anna kicked out of Chambers! To be fair, I liked Miles, and felt that he had some redeeming features - He was very good looking, and later became close friends with Johnny Depp! - but really, he was totally selfish, and a silver spooned snob...and in the end, he didn't have the courage of his convictions, and let Anna go. It's early days with Scott, and missing the first episode might not have helped... In episode 1 he was competing with his friend Jake for a client...his friend lost out, and went on a bender of booze and cocaine, and was killed by a car in front of Scott and Ashika. However arrogant and selfish he seems now, he was even worse in episode one, and there are signs of change now...a little conscience is getting through. From mourning Jake, to the lack of sympathy from his boss, the new assistant's (Vienna) behaviour ie even more hedonistic than Scott, the sudden passion for his pro bono case "I'm trying to do some good here". etc etc. Perhaps that's the fairytale ending for this programme...Soulless New Labour robot finds his principle and lives happily ever after (though not in power obviously).

It's not earth shattering save the world telly, but it's a bit of fun for a Wednesday evening, and New Street Law (on BBC1 at the same time) is very silly and unrealistic...

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic with me, Shaker but anyway, I sometimes forget that I have much more than the average interest in politics, and generally "get" this stuff. In fact, I am addicted to all kinds of politics - will spend the coming year observing Gordon Brown's rise to power, and the US presidential campaign. I think there is a political underlay governing the characters, and its probably not that subtle. The law in This Life wasn' a big factor, other than the dynamics of chambers, and the Anna and Miles relationship - then again it could have been two interns in a hospital competing for residency too. I thought that Party Animals was much the same in that way, but then the political aspects of it come sort of naturally to me, so that I barely notice their significance. Perhaps it is more significant to the enjoyment factor than I realised.

*Spoilers* Fifth episode of party animals has Danny being forced by his Labour Party MP boss to smear a teenager who has been murdered in a Private Youth Prison (which was one of the MP's political initiatives) to deflect attention from the murder itself. It's pretty scummy work, and Danny doesn't like it, but he gets the better of is conscience, and does it anyway. Meanwhile Scott's long suppressed conscience finally gets the better of him, and he quits his job, goes on a bender, and comes back to the office, and trashes it... all because his boss asks him to hang out with Tories!