Yes Minister
Comedy, War & Politics • 1980 • 30m
Open Government
Jim Hacker retains his seat in the election and is given a cabinet post in the new government He meets the permanent secretary for his department Sir Humphrey Appleby but Jim decides to change the way things are done in the civil service so Sir Humphrey sets out to stop him
The Official Visit
When the leader of an African country is killed in a coup, his successor, who is an old friend of Jim’s, comes in his place. They negotiate a £50 million deal to help buy oil exploration equipment.
The Economy Drive
Jim Hacker is determined to reduce the Civil Service, but he is frustrated by Sir Humphrey, and the only numbers he can alter are the numbers of tea ladies.
Big Brother
When the Government is planning to introduce a national database, Jim wants to bring in safe guards, but Sir Humphrey stalls until with some help from the opposition, Jim gets his way.
The Writing on the Wall
A rumour starts that Jim’s department is about to be axed. So with help from Sir Humphrey, they try and defeat the Prime Minister’s plans.
The Right to Know
Jim faces rebellion at home and in the office over the removal of protected status from a badger habitat, while he tries to circumvent Sir Humphrey’s efforts to keep him ignorant of things.
Jobs for the Boys
Jim goes on radio to support the Solihull project a Government, union and private enterprise building scheme, that he has inherited from the last administration, but unknown to him the project is close to bankruptcy, Sir Humphrey hopes to save the deal by offering a quango to the director of the bank involved
Cast
Reviews
Jonathan Lynn & Antony Jay have created what has to be one of the sharpest, wittiest comedies ever written. The hugely entertaining characterisations alongside the masterly manipulation of the English language make for a terrifyingly worrying observation on the true nature of "democratic" government and of the chronic ineptitude and incompetence of some/many of our elected representatives. Paul Eddington is superb as the politically naive Minister ("Jim Hacker MP") in the fictional, but perfectly plausible, Ministry of Administrative Affairs - an unimaginably pointless government department that seems to be a filter for all the junk that the more serious officers of state wouldn't touch with a flagpole. The power behind the throne is the Machiavellian "Sir Humphrey" (Nigel Hawthorne) as the permanent secretary; the senior civil servant who has every intention of following his ministerial instructions, but only insofar as they suit the needs of his red-tape brigade. Treading the wavy line between both is his private secretary "Bernard Woolley" (Derek Fowlds) who is almost as naive as his boss, but more practically idealistic - and also a man with his foot in his mouth on a fairly regular basis. What is also great about these series, is that the characters evolve. The hapless "Hacker" learns how to play the game and soon - occasionally - starts to have his victories over "Sir Humphrey" and his system. This triumvirate deliver a fast-paced, considered evaluation of the intricacies of inadequacies of government that stands up almost 40 years later in an amusing and potent fashion. Progressed to "Yes, Prime Minister" which is superb too! Got to be seen by anyone remotely interested in political satire and/or great comedy.
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