I've watched every episode of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister hundreds of times, initially on Video and nowadays DVD, and I still laugh out loud when I watch them. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne brought their respective characters to life in the most amazing, and lasting, way. Without question, my all time favourite TV series :)
I have watched yes minister and yes prime minister several times,laugh out loudly,yet I would like to see again And again,for an Indian their English is difficult to follow but British English I can follow but not American English
"The West Wing" is a show about how politicians and leaders view themselves. "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" is a show about how they really are.
It's a documentary about sitcoms mate. Basically there was a voting poll on what the majority of people thought was the best British sitcom. Yes Minister was among those that made it to the top 10. In the end, Only Fools & Horse got the top spot.
I really liked this one: Humphrey: What was the question? Hacker: I DON'T KNOW! The frustration in his voice was so clear that the audience could hear it
The Trident segment is fantastically written and beautifully delivered by those two actors. An absolute masterpiece. I think if I tried 100 times I would not be able to deliver Sir Humphreys lines without fluffing them.
I watched Yes Minister and wonder how many times the actors had to take due to the material being hilariously funny. And amazingly its still viable in 2022. Nice to see the times havent changed. You can watch Yes Minister and totally relate even now 40 years on.
I love both Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. As a Canadian, one of the many things I love about the show is it parallels the Canadian, as well as the Australian and New Zealand, system of government which is based on the British Parliamentary system. Canada has a House of Commons, the British have a House Commons. Canada has an appointed Senate, the British have an appointed House of Lords. You can take every scenario on that show and superimpose it on a Canadian government scenario. There's no difference. It's brilliant.
Paul Eddington was one ofthe most underrated actors of his time. Its a shame he never ever received credit for it in Britain.He was as good and maybe even better than Nigel Hawthorne.
Yes, definitely one of the best sitcoms of all time. Not only did it make incredibly dry subjects hilarious in a show that was 95% dialogue, it did so in a way that was clever and sophisticated, but simultaneously accessible and understandable for just about everyone.
Hacker brings endless tears to my eyes. Just stupid brilliant funny. Sir Humphrey is all around perfected in speech, arrogance, set up, intelligent, they all worked too well together ❤️
I think that, by and large, given an average of sitcoms, taking all things into consideration and avoiding simplistic explanations and vulgar oversimplifications, "Yes, Minister", is, in the fullness of time, at the appropriate juncture, keeping in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day, going to be voted by an interdepartmental committee of sound experts, as the wittiest civil service files ever leaked to the press.. I'd trade my favourite quango for more!
An extraordinary phenomenon of a programme this. I sometimes meet people from outside of the UK who say what a funny programme this is, and I have to say, 'well, actually, this is how it's done in Britain'!
I wonder if you meant comedy or politics) British comedies, obviously, are the best in the world, and as for politics and bureaucracy - this is how it's done anywhere, I'd say these brilliant character are archetypical
Look at the body language of Bozza entering 10 Downing Street on winning the leadership - his hands flat against the sides of his rib cage, so he needn’t shake hands with anyone or look like he was spurning handshakes, it’s pure mimicry of the mannerisms of WSC!
“There has been movement.” “On which subject?” “On a subject which the Civil Service hopes there will be no movement.” “The Civil Service generally hopes there will be no movement on any subject.”
The genius of the Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister is that it was a sitcom which served as an excellent documentary, shining light on the unexpectedly inept world of British politics.
Mockumentry is the best way to describe this show while it made us laugh and opened our eyes to the load of bullcookies we get from our elected politicians
Apparently these guys hated that it was filmed live. Especially during these parts. The laughter would throw them off. But that says a lot about how remarkable these guys are. The timing, the facial expression alone sometimes could replace 3 sentences of scripted dialogue
Yes. I agree entirely. Yes Minister was the best ever sit com from the UK or anywhere. Very serious subject matter made very funny and close to the truth of things.
My late dad hated this programme but he was a politician so he had to work with the types of Jim Hacker when he was alive so it was maybe a tad too close to home...
From my own direct knowledge, that proposal about letting smokers kill themselves to save future government health and retirement expenditures in fact was brought up by a civil servant at a very high level in the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the 1980s. The idea was turned down.
In that excellent episode - The Smoke Screen (1986) - it seemed to me that the writers had let their liberal ideologies peek out for a brief moment when Hacker. while arguing for an increase in taxes on smoking, asked rhetorically. "Is something a blow against freedom simply because it can seriously damage your wealth?" As it happens, the answer is Yes.
The 2013 reboot seemed to highlight the notion that no matter how brilliant the writing can be on a TV show, it won't really work if you don't have the right players in your cast.
Best sitcom ever. Probably didnt realalise it at the time. So true to life even today. In UK and Ireland. Love watching it today to remind us what still goes on. Should be re-run👌👌👌👊
I never quite understood what the eternal quarrel between politicians and administrators was all about until getting elected to local government for a couple of years. Even at this stage of government the civil servants tried everything to stop politicians to implement policies. And I have to admit they were often right. Over the years I watched "Yes Minister" over and over and slowly learned how to deal with the apparatus. And once I even quoted it in a speech. "We are the opposition in charge, you are the opposition in exile" is now in the records of the burrough of Hamburg-Eimsbuettel.
Sorry to be pedantic, but Ianucci incorrectly describes Bernard as Hacker's Parliamentary Private Secretary. Bernard is a civil servant and is Principal Private Secretary. A Parliamentary Private Secretary is an MP appointed by a Minister to be his or her ears in Parliament. In Yes Minister, no such character exists
Me: “Will you answer a direct question?” Teacher: “I strongly advise you not to ask a direct question”. Me: “Why?” Teacher: “It might provoke a direct answer.” Me: “It never has yet...”
I can't see the Americans ever writing some thing like this , can you ? I think the British would the only ones. Every make it one of their most popular and best loved comedy shows .
As I understand it, it was because of this documentary (I could be using that term loosely thanks to the top comment) that The Thick of It was conceived.
Shame we could not have Sir Humphrey negotiate Brexit for us - it would be settled within days. Sir Humphrey knew how to handle our European enemies ... whoops sorry, friends.
The "dear lady" thing is a perfect example of "making patronising contempt sound like good manners" which is the key feature of a public school/Oxbridge education.
though most governments bear similarities, in TV of some nation you could watch the second most boring sitcom, while in certain country you could only watch the most boring play. - love from China
I've watched every episode of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister hundreds of times, initially on Video and nowadays DVD, and I still laugh out loud when I watch them. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne brought their respective characters to life in the most amazing, and lasting, way. Without question, my all time favourite TV series :)
I make ''scotch & Yes Minister/PM' sessions.... and watching the same episode over and over again
I think Derek Fowlds is absolutely brilliant too. He gets some of the funniest lines.
Ive also read all the books ( afew times) and did those three bring the characters to life - nothing comes close!
Best comedy made EVER.
I have watched yes minister and yes prime minister several times,laugh out loudly,yet I would like to see again
And again,for an Indian their English is difficult to follow but British English I can follow but not American English
"The West Wing" is a show about how politicians and leaders view themselves.
"Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" is a show about how they really are.
Veep is a distant second
I watch yes minister and yes Prime minister several times and still I want to see them again.
No, "The West Wing" is a show about the highest potential of our leaders.
@@CodaMission Sure. There's the LOTR and the West Wing. One of them is a fantasy and the other one concerns Hobbits.
West wing and most shows are about Hollywood's overly idealized version of America. It has little to do with reality.
“A clear conscience. When did you acquire this taste for luxury?” Lol
RIP Derek Fowlds. Such an integral player in this the best ever.
Bernard: "But that's on a need to know basis..."
Sir Humphrey: "I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING!!!"
Brilliant!
Sitcom? I always thought it was a documentary.
It's a documentary about sitcoms mate. Basically there was a voting poll on what the majority of people thought was the best British sitcom. Yes Minister was among those that made it to the top 10. In the end, Only Fools & Horse got the top spot.
Johnno9989 You have failed to get the joke in the most elaborate way possible.
More of a docudrama or bio-pic?
:D
Steeltrap
Many a true word spoken in jest
Still relevant today!
Best line ever :-
Humphrey “How are things at the campaign for freedom of information”?
Arnold “ I’m sorry I can’t talk about that”.
I really liked this one:
Humphrey: What was the question?
Hacker: I DON'T KNOW!
The frustration in his voice was so clear that the audience could hear it
The Trident segment is fantastically written and beautifully delivered by those two actors. An absolute masterpiece.
I think if I tried 100 times I would not be able to deliver Sir Humphreys lines without fluffing them.
I watched Yes Minister and wonder how many times the actors had to take due to the material being hilariously funny. And amazingly its still viable in 2022. Nice to see the times havent changed. You can watch Yes Minister and totally relate even now 40 years on.
One of the greatest comedies in the English speaking world. I learned more about politics ( and bureaucracy) than I ever did in class.
The whole world, surely.
best sitcom ever. brilliant writing and acting. And still very relevant.
I love both Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister.
As a Canadian, one of the many things I love about the show is it parallels the Canadian, as
well as the Australian and New Zealand, system of government which is based on the
British Parliamentary system.
Canada has a House of Commons, the British have a House Commons.
Canada has an appointed Senate, the British have an appointed House of Lords.
You can take every scenario on that show and superimpose it on a Canadian government
scenario.
There's no difference.
It's brilliant.
Still watched by all MP's in Oz as well as their constituent's ….Absolutely Genius after all these terms of rule!
Paul Eddington was one ofthe most underrated actors of his time. Its a shame he never ever received credit for it in Britain.He was as good and maybe even better than Nigel Hawthorne.
True, but as someone said it’s the part that wins the award. Paul Eddington was as good as Nigel Hawthorne but Hawthorne had the better part.
Paul Eddington should have a two BAFTA awards for his performance in the "A Victory for Democracy" & "The Key."
Yes, definitely one of the best sitcoms of all time. Not only did it make incredibly dry subjects hilarious in a show that was 95% dialogue, it did so in a way that was clever and sophisticated, but simultaneously accessible and understandable for just about everyone.
Hacker brings endless tears to my eyes. Just stupid brilliant funny. Sir Humphrey is all around perfected in speech, arrogance, set up, intelligent, they all worked too well together ❤️
I think that, by and large, given an average of sitcoms, taking all things into consideration and avoiding simplistic explanations and vulgar oversimplifications, "Yes, Minister", is, in the fullness of time, at the appropriate juncture, keeping in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day, going to be voted by an interdepartmental committee of sound experts, as the wittiest civil service files ever leaked to the press..
I'd trade my favourite quango for more!
5:00 my favourite part of this clip, together with the music. Absolutely marvelous.
Never tell the people what your going to do, tell them what they want to hear. That's the basis of politics.
An extraordinary phenomenon of a programme this. I sometimes meet people from outside of the UK who say what a funny programme this is, and I have to say, 'well, actually, this is how it's done in Britain'!
I wonder if you meant comedy or politics)
British comedies, obviously, are the best in the world, and as for politics and bureaucracy - this is how it's done anywhere, I'd say these brilliant character are archetypical
I laughed out loud when I read this !
8:35 _“Vain, bombastic, obsessed with the press and his popularity, and nursing a secret Churchill fetish...”_ remind you of anyone?
Cant be Corbyn as Churchill wasn't anti semitic
Agent Orange?
DJT
Look at the body language of Bozza entering 10 Downing Street on winning the leadership - his hands flat against the sides of his rib cage, so he needn’t shake hands with anyone or look like he was spurning handshakes, it’s pure mimicry of the mannerisms of WSC!
Sir Humphrey: “It is necessary to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back.”
“There has been movement.”
“On which subject?”
“On a subject which the Civil Service hopes there will be no movement.”
“The Civil Service generally hopes there will be no movement on any subject.”
I am watching the best sitcom 1 to 4 and they are very interesting showing pieces of yes minister and yes Pm.
"He's a mouse learning to be a rat." That is frighteningly good!
Classic line delivered by Derek Fowldes in one of the episodes, "A consignment of gerryatric boot-makers - A load of old cobblers!"
The bolero was perfect. Watching Eddington and Hawthorne act was like a dance.
Best show on the planet. Eerily accurate.
The genius of the Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister is that it was a sitcom which served as an excellent documentary, shining light on the unexpectedly inept world of British politics.
and it still resonates
Mockumentry is the best way to describe this show while it made us laugh and opened our eyes to the load of bullcookies we get from our elected politicians
Love Jim Hacker, just cannot explain. Brilliant
A pure diamond of a series
Brilliant series. We got the box set donkeys years ago. 👍
Apparently these guys hated that it was filmed live. Especially during these parts. The laughter would throw them off. But that says a lot about how remarkable these guys are. The timing, the facial expression alone sometimes could replace 3 sentences of scripted dialogue
Yes. I agree entirely. Yes Minister was the best ever sit com from the UK or anywhere. Very serious subject matter made very funny and close to the truth of things.
My late dad hated this programme but he was a politician so he had to work with the types of Jim Hacker when he was alive so it was maybe a tad too close to home...
you mean he was like Jim hacker and hated people knowing he was?
From my own direct knowledge, that proposal about letting smokers kill themselves to save future government health and retirement expenditures in fact was brought up by a civil servant at a very high level in the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the 1980s. The idea was turned down.
In that excellent episode - The Smoke Screen (1986) - it seemed to me that the writers had let their liberal ideologies peek out for a brief moment when Hacker. while arguing for an increase in taxes on smoking, asked rhetorically. "Is something a blow against freedom simply because it can seriously damage your wealth?"
As it happens, the answer is Yes.
Mrs Thatcher said it was the closest thing to how it really was in parliament.
The 2013 reboot seemed to highlight the notion that no matter how brilliant the writing can be on a TV show, it won't really work if you don't have the right players in your cast.
Genius. Brilliant acting by all as well
Best sitcom ever. Probably didnt realalise it at the time. So true to life even today. In UK and Ireland. Love watching it today to remind us what still goes on. Should be re-run👌👌👌👊
Best sitcom ever televised
I saw this in 1984 at 19 yrs old and it was a paradigm shift from monty python.
it is more than a sitcom, it is a timeles documentation about politics and bureau-crazy
I never quite understood what the eternal quarrel between politicians and administrators was all about until getting elected to local government for a couple of years. Even at this stage of government the civil servants tried everything to stop politicians to implement policies. And I have to admit they were often right. Over the years I watched "Yes Minister" over and over and slowly learned how to deal with the apparatus. And once I even quoted it in a speech. "We are the opposition in charge, you are the opposition in exile" is now in the records of the burrough of Hamburg-Eimsbuettel.
Dear sir please upload whole series on TH-cam, it be my best and favourite comedy series. Thanku so much sir, specially Sir Humphrey Appleby.
“If you made him too ignorant nobody would believe someone like that could become Prime Minister.”
Insert one of *those* pictures of current occupant.
My son Vasu is also fond of these episodes and put on TV when ever I want to see.
Sorry to be pedantic, but Ianucci incorrectly describes Bernard as Hacker's Parliamentary Private Secretary. Bernard is a civil servant and is Principal Private Secretary. A Parliamentary Private Secretary is an MP appointed by a Minister to be his or her ears in Parliament. In Yes Minister, no such character exists
No need to apologize for being right.
Sir Humphrey would never allow such a faux-pas to go unnoniticed.
Sir Humphrey is the patron saint of the Croatian government. Also of former Yugoslavian, essentially, if one puts aside that they were irreligious.
Me: “Will you answer a direct question?”
Teacher: “I strongly advise you not to ask a direct question”.
Me: “Why?”
Teacher: “It might provoke a direct answer.”
Me: “It never has yet...”
Dear lady.
Nigel Hawthorne owned this part completely. May he RIP
Bernard was not Hacker's Parliamentary Private Secretary but his Principal Private Secretary. There is a difference
I can't see the Americans ever writing some thing like this , can you ? I think the British would the only ones. Every make it one of their most popular and best loved comedy shows .
I think “The Daily Show,” with Trevor Noah comes pretty close.
An achievement of genius.'" True. Scathing expose of reality. Seemingly the lesson is finally taking.
1:20
Humphrey is not God.
Will you tell him or shall I?
🤣 🤣
dear lady.
Sir Humphrey's intro music was on point 🤣🤣
"No one that incompetent could ever become a minister." Enter Boris Johnson...
britain is talented in producing funny characters.
Hacker: “Do you know how much this is worth?”
Humphrey: “I believe the going price is thirty pieces of silver!”
Forever hilarious.
As I understand it, it was because of this documentary (I could be using that term loosely thanks to the top comment) that The Thick of It was conceived.
"Gdzie kucharek sześć tam nie ma co jeść" .
Polecam kabaret starszych panów pt. "Rozum"
Shame we could not have Sir Humphrey negotiate Brexit for us - it would be settled within days. Sir Humphrey knew how to handle our European enemies ... whoops sorry, friends.
John King Instead we had Davies and Raab.
@@the_9ent Oh dear God, we are well and truly screwed
Part 2 is blocked worldwide. I'm not sure it's on youtube, but the whole program can be found here and there on shady websites.
Its viewable here, … th-cam.com/video/Arc-zyK6r5o/w-d-xo.html
Where’s your title? Gardening leave?
Best? Well, top 5 anyway.
Mrs Brown's Boys, Vicar of Dibley, Bless Me Father, and Keeping Up Appearances are all right up there with it.
The "dear lady" thing is a perfect example of "making patronising contempt sound like good manners" which is the key feature of a public school/Oxbridge education.
@Rain13Dog Thank you very much! The Dance of the Knights is the perfect entrance for Sir Humphrey!
If you want to count paperclips all you need is a paperclip optimizer and you'll have your answer. Tell that to the P.M.
1:23 Parliamentary Private Secretary Bernard?
I learn a lot from it . 😂😂
Armando Iannuchi used yes minibater as his inspiration for the thick of it
Yes minister
It's the best sitcom!!!!
i bet sir humpfrey was mycroft's favourite tv character. the only reason he'd ever lower himself to watching the idiot box ;)
though most governments bear similarities, in TV of some nation you could watch the second most boring sitcom, while in certain country you could only watch the most boring play. - love from China
Even now nobody knows how they move and shake 😂
Simply genius!
I wonder who Boris Sir Humphrey is?
greatest sitcom ever
frank z
Bernard wanted a clear conscious while working in politics :) good luck with that
@@Smithjones12
meant Conscience perhaps?
Very clever and funny ! Pip. Pip. !
What movement (instrumental classic music) is played at the 5:06 mark, when Sir Humphrey walked in to meet Hacker? Thank you!
dsmscenester
Someone else wrote that it was “dance of the nights”. I have no idea if it’s correct, though.
Prokofiev - Dance of the Knights
th-cam.com/video/bBsKplb2E6Q/w-d-xo.html
The CFG Didn’t have to wait. I got a response two days after I asked nine years ago!!!
where's part 2????
Hacker is so naive and he has good intentions
what was the piece of music when Humphrey was introduced?
It's Prokofiev's 'Dance of the Knights' - Here you go: th-cam.com/video/DUmq1cpcglQ/w-d-xo.html
Stephen Fry
Fan
That's hilarious
Thanks so much!
Real politicians are now only clowns by comparison to the tv series.
Imagine what Humphrey and Hacker would have done with Brexit. Come on BBC. Get on it.
Stephen Fry: fan. hahahahhaha
"Middle -aged men are boring" is a misconception.
Who's brilliant idea was it to throw in Ravel's "Bolero" as background music!?
(Sarcasm in case you're wondering)
5:05-5:10
best use of the dance of the nights theme
"Knights"
Wonderful material of course, but hate the long intro. And the music, which adds nothing.
It’s not, in my humble. But brilliant all the same. Thanks for the vid.
9:16 this really hasn't aged well now that we're in the era of trump and BoJo...
Stephen Fry- Fan 😂
Mrs Hacker was pretty saucy
be no veep, thick of it without this