Yes, Minister, Vol. 1 [VHS]

Description

Those who like their humor veddy, veddy British and dry as Manzanilla sherry will exult in the politicomedic machinations of the early-1980s British TV show Yes Minister. Britcom veteran Paul Eddington (Good Neighbors) stars as Jim Hacker, a Parliament back-bencher who finds himself tapped to join his government's cabinet as Minister of Administrative Affairs. A champion of the concept of open government and something of a political naif, the earnest Hacker quickly finds himself mired in Whitehall bureaucracy. His chief obstructor is his permanent secretary, Humphrey Appleby, a civil-service lifer whose "creative inertia" continually frustrates Hacker's attempts at government reform. Played with zeal by Nigel Hawthorne (a Best Actor Oscar nominee for his role in 1995's The Madness of King George), Appleby is the show's real star, a witty, condescending, manipulative mandarin whose cynical pronouncements on government not only hilariously spoof the then-stagnating British body politic but also provide insight into how a bureaucracy truly operates. The show revolves around Appleby and Hacker and their efforts to outsmart each other, but the sharply written dialogue, expert plot weaving, and solid supporting cast elevate Yes Minister to a level far above most situation comedies. Recommended for those who like their laughs to come from the brain, not the belly. --Steve Landau