A Leak... From The Prime Minister's Office? | Yes, Minister | BBC Comedy Greats
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#Comedy #YesMinister
"The only ship that leaks from the top" utter brilliance.
Exactly what I was thinking. I thought to myself, "how the hell did they manage to come up with such a great line?".
The most hilarious point of this show is that everyone knows that everyone is involved in an intrigue of one sort or the other, and everyone nonetheless comports oneself in a manner most dignified. They even lie to one another with utmost elegance. Better yet, one often knows that one is being lied to but carries on nonetheless.
It's like a sort of gentleman's agreement where they can't officially accuse the other side of lying or leaking but are finding ways to hint at it and what they could expose. Is it like a MAD scenario? If either pushes forward the other could push and disgrace them as well, ending their career. Finally they just go with a stalemate.
that happens a lot in real life, maybe not as elegantly
The charades must go on, greasing of the wheels and all that.
@@MrThorfan64 Mafia dons are more direct I imagine. Like in voice messages shouting, etc
@@medstud isn't the Anglo-saxon way to generate said internal violent clashes among those with oil and minerals?
Hacker and Humphrey being Machiavellian together is so cute.
When those two get together, the results are epic.
@@ScorpiusZA. why else do you think they have made it to prime minister
This could almost be shipping
And horrifying... They beat the PM's office in this.
I agree totally. It hardly happens but them working together is very entertaining.
The face Arnold makes when Jim contradicts him. One senses immediately that he is not used to contradiction.
Hacker displayed remarkable confidence and aplomb in the face of these heavyweights. It shows how far he's come during his time in Cabinet, from timid novice to political shark.
According to Arnold and Humphrey, Ministers were not supposed to be bright enough to provide any opposition to the Civil Service.
True! It also shows that despite Arnold's experience and savvy, he doesn't always get the upper hand. He can be outmaneuvered.
I do love these old documentaries. It's good to know that nothing like this happens in this day and age.
happens all the time
@@An-lv9vw Whooooosh!
I hope you are being sarcastic 🤔
@@iheomanwakpadolu2576 The English language and sense of humour can be very subtle. And occasionally sarcastic - or ironic.
If you say so.
That’s why Yes, Minister was so successful, because you always felt at the heart of the programme that Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey actually really rather enjoyed each other’s company, and away from Whitehall they would probably have been great friends. Still arguing and bickering between themselves but actually still liking each other.
It is a very intimate show I agree.
I think despite the struggles between them, they both had a degree of respect for each other. Humphrey got Hacker out of a hole every now and then, and occasionally vice versa. When Hacker misinterprets Humphrey's announcement that he is going to a "higher place" (i.e. replacing Sir Arnold as Cabinet Secretary) as Humphrey being terminally ill, he gets quite emotional about it.
theres a documentary about the show. Apparently the writers had frequent dinners with civil servants and paid for leaks. Those leaks ended up being entire scripts.
Good point! They had great personal chemistry.
Of course because each was dependent on the other. Remember that discussion when Sir Humphrey fixes his and Jim Hackers salary to each other's satisfaction.
God bless John Nettleton (Sir Arnold Robinson). Believe it or not, in 24 hours he'll turn 92. One of the last cast members still alive.
Makes perfect sense sort of.
Thank you for sharing this. I wish I was lucky enough to meet the man himself in person. My good wishes to him and his health.
Suitably he was on The New Statesman playing an elderly MP.
@@MrThorfan64 Yes. He portrayed the hapless backbencher, Sir Stephen Baxter. What a change from the man who ran the U.K. with the PM as his beard, to the hopelessly unimportant MP. 2 great roles. One incredible actor.
@@shetah8039 Well good acting in playing such dissimilar characters. Ends up in the House of Lords Baxter, the end of a career. If only Nettleton had been in House of Cards as perhaps a Lord that would have made a full set! Though did play a Priest in last Classic Dr Who Season.
I love the fact that even though they all know what they are really saying and where they want to end up, they still have to go through the actual motions of saying it.
This topic is actually revisited during Yes Prime Minister, with Hacker demanding a leak inquiry (after pointing out that he actually meant it and wanted one after Humphrey assumed he wasn't serious given his previous experiences). Humphrey is then at a loss to do with the results since they had never been a leak inquiry before that actually found the culprit.
Yes I remember that episode! I never thought of that connection before! Good catch!
@TheRenaissanceman65 So they decide to draw attention away by expelling Soviet diplomats.
Thankfully in the following ep the old PM tragically dies from a heart attack so his memoirs will never be finished.
@@MrThorfan64 Oh, two of the best episodes from the series. Jim's relieved laughter turning into pretentious sorrow when he got the news.... Marvelous.
@@MrThorfan64 "He''ll' be sorely missed!"
@@GoldenSunAlex so will his memoirs.
In the beginning of the series, Hacker comes across poorly: he is out of his depth, he is vapid, etc. But in episodes like this, he demonstrates he is not as shallow and self-serving as he seems. He knows how to manipulate politicians much better than Sir Humphrey can. It makes him a character instead of a caricature.
Mind you, Hacker still has his flaws, but don’t all of us?
This clip is from the last series of Yes Minister in 1982 before Hacker becomes Prime Minister in the 1984 Christmas Special, so Hacker was getting better trained compared to how he was back in the first series in 1980.
@@johnking5174, and that is one of the best things about this series. The characters just aren’t fleshed out and then frozen for the rest of their series, they grow and develop. Sir Humphrey develops and Bernard asserts himself a bit by the end while in the beginning he hardly said much beyond ‘Yes,.whatever you say’. (Sir Humphrey can’t be around, however. Maybe if the series had continued, Bernard would have stood up to him once in a while.)
This is what elevates the material. In your run-of-the-mill sitcom, a character, once defined, never grows.
Hacker, while inexperienced in the beginning, is not a fool, and he learns and adapts as time goes on.
As enjoyable as simply dipping into this series may be, it provides even more of a payoff when viewed in successive order.
The crowning glory at the end? Humphrey getting locked out of his office in the final episode "The Key".
@@shelbynamels973 To add to what you wrote it makes the whole thing more credible as well, because as much as one can joke about, and look down on, even despise certain politicians, they wouldn't be where they were if they completely lacked any social or other skills. I read somewhere that the writers realised that letting Hacker coming across as too dim would make it less entertaining in the long run.
I loved that the very last episode of the original run was Humphrey stepping into Hacker's domain, bungling, and needing desperately to be rescued by Hacker (and a very intrepid Bernard who by the time anyone realized something needed to done, had already done it) in the matter of the BBC tapes.
3:23
The pitch of Sir Arnold’s voice as he gathers his thoughts and formulates his statement is just hilarious.
It's the tone of a white flag being raised with the utmost reluctance and diffidence
Arnold always managed to make his decrees and threats sound like polite suggestions. He absolutely has decided the matter has to go back to Transport, but he comes across as if he's asking for a consensus.
@@danieldickson8591 And this is also Sir Arnold waving the white flag, and everyone knows it and they give him the most regal and dignified surrender possible.
Arnold doesn't necessarily know how Sir Humphrey brought his minister fully on board for this project, but he knows that between the two of them they'll get what they want and he's decided he's tired of fighting it, best get them back to normal when they're squabbling among each other.
This may also be the point where he decides that Sir Humphrey might make a good successor.
@@hagamapama This project (consolidated transport) isn't especially critical. It sounds like it's been on the back burner for years. Every so often, they wheel it out to see if they can find a minister stupid enough to take the fall. If that fails, they shelve the project and try again in another year or two.
It was probably a long shot for Arnold, which is why he caved without too much of a fuss.
It is always a joy to watch Jim and Humphrey work in perfect delightful harmony and diabolical Machiavellian unity to run rings around their opponents or fellow ministers or civil servants, whomever they need to one up depending on the episode.
Doesn't happen often, but when they cooperate they're nearly unbeatable.
@@danieldickson8591 Truer words were never spoken as derailing that national transport scheme they got lumbered with shows perfectly.
True. Most of the time, the civil service and gov't ministers essentially cancel each other's efforts out, since they work precisely at cross purposes.
@@burgundian-peanuts hasn't that always been the case 0n a large democratic beaucracy.
Disappointed in the relatively weak performance of Sir Arnold in this scene, one of my favorite characters. Normally he shows a hint of his immense power through his muted, deliberate competence. Here he presents as a frustrated hall monitor. To be fair, he was facing the combined might of Hacker and Humphrey, who are unstoppable when they join forces.
I think in the end no one wanted the policy. And he understood that the DAA probably had no business dealing with it. It would go to the Department of Transport where it will be worked on but never actually achieve anything because there's too many vested interests.
I love his look of annoying contempt towards Jim at 2:17 when he offered to make a suggestion.
I love how when Humprhey and Hacker are on the same wavelength and work together they are unstoppable.
Having our two leads actually working together is so satisfying to watch 😊
If Humphrey and Hacker could stay on the same page for more than a month, they would fix the entirety of the world's problems, then conquer it.
@@gregdeandrea1450 But that would mean Change! Are you mad?!
Bernard compliments them both so well. He likes Jim as much as he respects and admires Humphrey, as a consequence he performs a balancing act between pleasing Humphrey and helping Jim in his escapades as he’s able. I ❣️ Bernard :).
Bernard is also a stand-in for the audience. He asks the reasonable questions about the bizarre goings-on in government that we would ask in those situations.
Bernard was absolute best, he had some killer lines
Bernard is in a difficult position. He is Jim's private secretary, so his job is to do what Jim tells him to do. But at the same time Sir Humphrey is his boss, so he has to do what Sir Hunphrey tells him to do - which is often completely the opposite!
It's a testament to Bernard's survival instincts that he was able to pilot those treacherous shoals for so long. But in the last episode of Yes, Prime Minister, Bernard finally came down on Hacker's side against Humphrey.
It's so unusual to see Jim having the same level of cynicism as Humphrey. It's very amusing.
Like most politicians, Hacker's principles mostly apply to other people. When his own neck is on the line, he's just as cynical as the rest of them.
It's nice to see Jim win once in a while.
Hacker is clueless when it comes to matters related to the civil service and the inner workings of the state, but he's the clever one when it comes to party politics, the media, etc.
@@Diego-zz1df Which is why he hits on things that surprise and even seem to shock Humphrey in this episode to ensure the first proposal is shot down.
These vignettes of the series are so utterly watchable! Comedic perfection!
Oh no, not another leak! This is a matter of the utmost seriousness.
It's very serious. Seriously serious
I hardly think it could be any more serious.
@@oyiejavelosa I must agree with you: this is very serious indeed.
Serious repercussions
Serious
Once he has a clear view, Hacker is good shot.
The lady who played Annie his wife said
that Eddington understood, in a flash once, who Jim Hacker was and summarised it thus: _”He’s a mouse learning how to be a rat.”_
@@michaeljames4904 his wife is also a delightful beautiful lady ❤
Indeed :), Jim does have flashes of badassery sometimes. I adore the occasions when Sir Humphrey recognises Jim is in the zone and can’t help being a little proud, . The scene where Jim dismantles the journalist inquiring about rose water jar from Khumran is my favourite example.
@@michaeljames4904 perfect 😍
@@chrisbeadle6287 Those are great moments and I have my own favourites also, too, why I prefer _Minister_ which played things as much for scorn as laughs. Such glimpses don’t figure at all in _Prime Minister,_ and, I’m referring to those few moments when Jim simply begs Humphrey to stop dissimulating and speak English, for once, “Very well, Minister, if you insist…” comes the reply: after which Appleby delivers such laconic disarming frankness that Hacker ends up as dumbfounded as if the boogeyman had just slapped him around.
I miss these brilliant BBC comedies. A cast of giants, and we may never come close to touching this comedy perfection again. That said, I will continue to watch these clips from time to time and never tire of them
Comedy genius and I remember this being on TV when it first aired, but was very young back then. It's only now that I appreciate just how amazing the writing was and it's one of my favourite quintessentially British comedies.
one of the best lines of the entire series: " the ship of state...." etc etc...Utterly brilliant.
Sir Humphrey's remark at 3:36 is particularly amusing as in fact much of this episode was focused on him trying to get the policy back to the Department of Transport.
I'm an American and Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister is one of my favorite shows of all time. In particular like the episodes where Hacker and Humphrey are forced to work together.
@TheRenaissanceman65Humphrey testifying before the select committee is one of the best moments of the series
My god...when the two actually work together...they're a force of nature.
In round numbers? Well, no number is rounder than zero.
...8?
@@rin_etoware_2989 0 is rounder than 8. 8 has to many curves.
I was half expecting him to say 0 as it's the roundest number.
I will say that when Humphrey and Hacker are in cahoots with one another it's almost more fun than when they are at loggerheads haha
Just got recommended this even though it's ages since I last watched any Yes Minister. It contains one of three of my favourite quotes from the show;
" The ship of State is the only ship which leaks from the top"
The other two are;
"I don't know what you don't know, it could be almost anything"
And ..,
"The Official Secrets Act isn't for protecting secrets, it's for protecting officials" 😊
Zee
2:38 Game set and match to the Minister - he skillfully shuts down an opposition leak inquiry from Sir Mark Spencer (all very polite and British, of course).
Actor Nigel Stock is reprising his excellent character from the 1979 Tinker, Tailor movie.
Humphrey eventually taught Jim the ropes
Jim always knew the political ropes, but he can't compete with Humphrey in administrative traps. Humphrey simply beats him on education and experience.
Regardless, their differing skill sets complemented each other and allowed them to work together when the situation warranted it.
@@user-ez9ng2rw9c not surprising given Hacker studied at the LSE
@@oktfg *only
@@the_real_bin_chicken you mean when time is right, when climate is favorable? :)
Its such a tragedy, that John Nettleton, the Cabinet Secretary as Sir Arnold in Yes Minister has passed away recently🙏
A LEAK INQUIRE?!
That is the best idea I have ever heard!
Sir Arnlond is such a fine actor
Nigel Stock. One of the all time great supporting actors. Especially Watson to Cushing’s Holmes.
Quite agree, his performance as Roddy Martindale in tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, although not a big part, was brilliant.
@@stephenmuirhead2615
Glad I'm not the only one to have appreciated that wonderful little cameo (the perfect partner to Beryl Reid's flawless 'Connie Sachs'): poor old Roddy, slightly camp, and now rather lonely in his days of retirement from the Service. Always a delight to see a true craftsman at work.
I love it the half a dozen times these two work together
The amount of times the word 'Leak' was uttered in this episode borders on the obscene. The absolute incontinence! hahahaha
Safe to assume with how Sir Mark was acting there at 2:40 that he was the leaker at Number 10. XD
I love every aspect of this show, but I get a special thrill when Hacker and Humphrey find common cause to unite. If these two ever regularly combined forces, the World wouldn't be enough to contain it.
I just noticed the microphone (a boom mike?) dropping down from above at the 0.46 mark, and now I can't unsee it. Maybe all the leaks are from whoever is surreptitiously shoving a microphone into their office. :)
"How many leak inquiries have turned up a culprit, in rounded figures?"
Half expected : "Well 0 is a round figure"
3:00 what a sequence 🤣🤣🤣
The scriptwriters were brilliant. Never forget that
They're always going on about how they're worried about all these leeks, what did the Welsh Nationalists do to require this level of scrutiny?
Ach y fi! Lol
It’s leaks Michael ,not leeks🙄😂
What's Welsh for whoosh?
@@clickrick whooshboyo 🙄👍
Then whooshboyo, @@johnhenshaw7655
When Jim and Humphrey actually do work in tandem, they are a terrifying force.
Only time in the series anyone got the better of Sir Arnold.
3:13 "The time is unripe, the climate is unsuitable, the atmosphere is unfavorable"
The best british comedy ever!
The "yes" in unison... beautiful
This is most relevant show till this day.... and I do think it will remain relevant in years to come.
Ohh I love i this show
Always have a drink, before you leak!
Loved when they connived together.
Very reassuring to know that in the end Sir Arnold will always have the last laugh 🙂
Sir Humphrey and the minister toghether were unstoppable :)
This Brilliant Show -was a "God-send"--& warned us here in Australia,-how absolutely dreadful,-our "Polititions"-are !!-but--too late,-was the "Warning"-!!
Fantastic ! Apparently a high level politician saw the programme and said it was so near the truth that it was scary !
I believe it was Margaret Thatcher who also described it as her favourite program.
Very amusing to see Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey trade lines between each other and come out on top.
The leak is probably coming from that microphone in shot at 0:46.
Where??
Remember BBC banning Johnny Rotten for outing Jimmy Saville in 1978 .
Nothing like a government inquiry, is there? Brilliant as usual and so applicable these days to most governments of our precious world.
0:45, boom mic visible on top of frame
That wasn't a boom mic, that was a light fixture that LOOKS like a boom mic. You see that light fixture popping up on BBC TV series all the time.
@@gdon12987 Do the light fixtures often fall into frame? And then the camera has to pan down?
If they didn't pan down, I'd totally think it's some window accessories etc.
I thought I was being funny. :( I am sorry.
@@gdon12987 The :P emoji is your friend when making jokes.
This was one of the first Yes Minister clips I watched, and I didn't realise at the time the significance that this clip shows Sir Arnold looking distressed.
RIP, Sir Arnold.
"Leak Inquiry" - a fancy term for a cover-up.
I love how they all speak in code in the last scene:
"If you don't do it, we will expose you"
"If you make us do it, we will expose YOU"
"Fine, you win, we'll drop it"
"Thank you. Shall we set up a fake inquiry to cover everybody's ass?"
"Great idea"
Brilliant as always.
0:45 mic in the shot
How true today
A classic case of art imitating real life.
... for decades afterwards... and for decades previously, as it has now emerged.
HS2 😂😂😂
Microphone at 0:46 😃
I have got a movie DVD of
Paul Uddingston
with Christopher Lee
Charles Gray
and Patrick Mower in
The Devil Rides Out
and I am dedicating this movie DVD to my old school friends who are both sisters as I hope to see them both again very soon to Chris and Hester from Billyxxxxx
all people who work for government get told to go home and watch yes minister programs and idolise sir humphrey's to get the job and the others, I like that show...
It's basically part of their training programme, or was back in the 80s when I was working in central government anyway.
Ooops! Microphone slip @ 0:46 😜
This is from that episode where Hacker is named "Transport Czar", so he can be pushed out of office when the new policy is announced.
Mam, You too love this show, I have seen your comments on many of its videos
@@RahulKumar-ng2gh Thanks. To be true, I know the radio series better because of BBC iPlayer.
I think the civil service vernacular is "Transport Muggins"
It wasn't they were targeting Hacker personally, he was just next on the list to try and the only idiot to actually agree to it.
"Transport Supremo" I think.
One of Hacker’s finest moments😂
Watching this in May of 2022, can’t stop thinking about that leak from the United States Supreme Court.
Look at the top right and you'll see the boom mic drop into shot at 0:45
Buona giornata a tutti voi! Bravi!
So prophetic
John Nettleton has had the "pleasure" of watching, in the Johnson adminsitration fighting the pandemic,, and Brexit, a re-run of so many of the episodes of the TV series. Just a fortnight ago there was almost a "sausage war" with the EU, which was certainly featured in the Hacker administrations struggles......
Awesome
Huh, just noticed the boom mic that drifts into the scene.
A radio controlled moth, spying for the "Other Side"?
LOL Leaks
Occasionally the whole "team" functions as a unit!
This is happening right now in the UK...
Zero IS the only "round" figure.
Rockstar right now.
Arnold is ultimate mandarin
hahahaha, so funny!
Happy new year and eid Mubarak, love from Vike and family.
how this is still relevant is just amazing
Is this a restored version?
I am scared of Arnold
Indeed, he is _the_ genius. Even Sir Humphrey has solicited his advice on occasion.
I wonder how Humphreys would have handled Boris/Carrie/Dom
In much the same way. Nothing really ever changes.
what kind of leak? leak of information or Plumbing? XD
Information
Get Sue Grey to head it up.
Dan Andrews of Victoria and his approach to Government Enquiries.
I would love to rewatch this in its entirety. Are there any streaming platforms available to Ireland/UK that has them (apart from BBC iplayer as its geoblocked in Ireland)?
I believe it may be on netflix depending on the country
I believe they're on Britbox, but I'm not sure if that's geoblocked
@RandomWarThunder Much appreciated, thank you
I have them on my Amazon prime too in India
Dailymotion has this full episode