Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister - Complete Collection [DVD] [1980]

This is truly a spectacular series. The writing is phenomenal, the acting excellent and the storylines have such a relevance despite the series being 40 years old. I have always loved this show but over the last several years so many of the subjects covered in both Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister have rung really true. Whether it is our relationship with Europe, a Russian invasion or Nuclear war, this show really was ahead of its time and of its time. The biggest part of the show that can never be doubted is the acting of Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds. They all bring such a charm to the show that can never be matched. Paul Eddington could use facial expression to convey so many emotions and proved that sometimes less is more when it comes to dialogue. Nigel Hawthorne on the other hand, could roll of speeches at the speed of sound and yet they made perfect sense. Last but not least Derek Fowlds could steal an entire scene with a killer one liner. The writers Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynne used their inside knowledge to ensure that every episode had a storyline that was very topical and of the moment which in many ways is the shows greatest strength, by not referring to real or current events or people the series has a real timeless quality. The other strength is that the audience watching the show wouldn't have had much of a ideal how Government works behind the scenes, so by focusing on the political machine and the processes of the Government it made the sitcom so much funnier. A total masterpiece on every level that really needs to be watched, then watched again!

One of the outstanding comedies on British Television in the 1980s was Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister. This handsome DVD set brings together all of the Yes Minister / prime minister series. It is a great set and well presented. There are subtitles for the hard of hearing too. When the first couple of series were screened in the 1980s I didn’t get to see it all the time but liked it and thought it was funny. Then a work colleague gave me the book Yes Minister for my Birthday and when I read it I was hooked and made every effort to see the rest of the series. Now, all these years later, it has been wonderful to see every episode together in this great DVD collection. Yes Minister follows the political career of one Jim Hacker, Initially an MP for an unnamed party, but later it is divulged that he is Tory. It all begins with Hacker beginning his first Ministerial position of Administrative affairs. He teams up with permanent under secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby. Filled with bright ideas for cleaning up his department, hacker begins to set the wheels in motion, only to be stopped by the career civil servant who is intent on keeping power out of politicians hands and firmly in control of the permanent staff. And it is these concepts of idealism against political reality, and perceived power against real power that underpins the whole series, with Hacker flying ambitious kites and Sir Humphrey cheerfully shooting them down. While the persuasive Humphreys bamboozles Hacker with his tongue twisting, jargon loaded, over stretched explanations, Hacker’s general private Secretary, Bernard Woolley hovers nervously in the middle, gently offering opinions on the implications and complications of this or that decision. But Hacker must heed their advice in the first three series, for a majority career move quickly follows. When the incumbent prime minister resigns, three candidates stand for the job, two extremists and the rather mundane Hacker. Hacker then becomes prime Minister in the final two series now known as Yes Prime Minister.

Ministers are transistory, often initially with no knowledge of the Department they have been assigned. Now entrusted with Administrative Affairs, Jim Hacker (who is not very bright) relies on his Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby to show him the ropes. All too soon he will discover Sir Humphrey exists solely to stifle any initiatives, the aim to keep everything gently ticking over until the next Minister comes along. What makes the show so funny (and somewhat disturbing) is that writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn know exactly what they are about - at their fingertips ample proof of how the Civil Service works, devastating examples of widespread disasters and inefficiency - all kept well hidden under a smokescreen of misinformation, committees, sub-committees, Inquiries that rarely get anywhere ("official secrets act", "not in the public interest to publish"), etc., etc., etc. Soon Hacker is reeling from Sir Humphrey's unintelligible goobledegook ("his sentences longer than Judge Jeffreys'"), Private Secretary Bernard Woolley "explanations" doing little to dispel the confusion. The fun is that Hacker gradually cottons on, adopts similar techniques, occasionally beating Sir Humphrey at his own game - especially after unexpectedly promoted to Prime Minister. A Whitehall Farce indeed. Although so much was first shown almost forty years ago, practices rampant then are still clearly evident - attitudes towards Brussels, Trident, selling of arms to hostile countries, the NHS, Education, the Honours System (Civil Servants very well represented), lucrative sinecures at hand when top officials leave, appointment of bishops, scandals in the City, Cabinet leaks, backstabbing, fake news.... Much else besides. YES, MINISTER - 21 half hour episodes + an hour long special as Hacker is manoeuvred towards the top job. YES, PRIME MINISTER - 16 half hour episodes. In short? Throughout, top quality writing and - from Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds - three performances to treasure. Thatcher's favourite programme. Politicians full of praise (often secretly providing instances). The Civil Service not so keen.

Great series, as most British shows are. This show was very well written and extremely funny...great British humour.

Its a must for all who ever wanted to know how governemnt ticks. And the 3 main Actors are GREAT, the rest also of course. On the whole very entertaining . We watch them especially now during corona over and over again, and still laugh every time. The Christmas Special is nothing to do with Christmas it`s just that is is twice as long and all about the British Sausage! :) For german speaking it is hard to understand fully, because the gags are not easy to grasp, and translate. My german husband constantly is a pain in the "A---, by interupting with "what did he say?"

Il est très drôle de regarder Yes Minister et Yes Prime Minister avec un oeil de 2016 car on a l'impression de remonter le temps! Pas de doute, nous sommes bien dans la Grande-Bretagne thatchérienne, le plus souvent dans le bureau de Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington), propulsé ministre des Affaires Administratives par la grâce d'une élection législative. Ce que ce ministre débutant ne saisit pas tout de suite, c'est que le pouvoir réel n'est pas entre ses mains, mais dans celles des (plus ou moins) hauts fonctionnaires - qui vont veiller à le garder jalousement, ce pouvoir... Sir Humphrey 'Humpy' Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne), son principal collaborateur et Permanent Secretary du ministère, s'applique consciencieusement à tuer dans l'oeuf toute tentative de changement et le pauvre Principal Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds), se retrouve pris entre deux feux, sa loyauté se trouvant déchirée entre son ministre et son supérieur hiérarchique dans la fonction publique... Nigel Hawthorne est le parangon du technocrate britannique (mais il aurait pu aussi bien être français !), un rôle dans lequel il livre une performance éblouissante, alternant circonlocutions et contorsionnisme, disposant malicieusement des pièges à chaque pas du malheureux ministre tout en disant: "Je vous l'avais bien dit!" et veillant également à bien saper son autorité... Yes Minister (3 saisons) et sa suite, Yes Prime Minister (2 saisons) sont des satires féroces et très drôles du monde politique : bizarrement, trente à trente-cinq ans plus tard, elles n'ont pas pris une ride. Il faut croire que la nature humaine ne change pas... Cette série, qui était semble-t-il une des préférées de Margaret Thatcher (!), a trouvé un digne successeur dans la série The Thick of It, d'Armando Iannucci, qui se déroule aussi au sein d'un fictif ministère des Affaires Sociales.

Divertidísimo, variado, muuyy inteligente... y un excelente inglés para practicar. Mi mejor serie de política, y encima sin angustiarte. Deja House of Cards y pásate a ésto.

First make sure you give it 3 episodes. Once you get a handle on what it’s about you will love it. It speaks about government waste and ulterior motives. But it is so comical the way they present it. It’s probably true everywhere.