"Yes Minister" (1980) TV series 1980-1984

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

25 February 1980 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

James Hacker is the British Minister for Administrative Affairs. He tries to do something and cut government waste...

Plot Keywords:

Career | House Of Commons | Member Of Parliament | Trick | Office

Awards:

6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Eddington	...	James Hacker (22 episodes, 1980-1984)
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Sir Humphrey Appleby (22 episodes, 1980-1984)
Derek Fowlds	...	Bernard Woolley (22 episodes, 1980-1984)
Diana Hoddinott	...	Annie Hacker (10 episodes, 1980-1984)

Runtime:

30 min (21 episodes) | 60 min (1 episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (2001) | Australia:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The role of James Hacker was written with Paul Eddington in mind.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the train sequence in "The Official Visit", a close-up shows that the warning notice on the wall is written in gibberish.

Quotes:

[talking on the phone about the arrangements for an international conference]
Bernard Woolley: Have the countries in alphabetical order? Oh no, we can't do that, we'd put Iraq next to Iran.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Funny Blokes of British Comedy (2005) (TV)

Clever and hilarious portray of political corruption

This British series has been a perennial favourite in Canada, where I saw it, due no doubt to the similar Parliamentary form of government. Nigel Hawthorne, as the consummate slippery civil servant, is wonderful, a perfect foil for the politician on the make played by Paul Eddington. On of my favorite exchanges involved the Minister berating his Permanent Secretary for some particularly cynical manipulation: "If you believe that, Humphrey, then when you die, you will go to Hell." A suitably awful pause, then Humphrey smoothly replies, "Ah, Church of England question." There never really were any heroes in this series - everyone had a price. The writers' message seemed to be that contact with politics would always involve touching pitch, and in the words of Falstaff, "this pitch, as ancient authors do report, doth defile." But the wit and cleverness of this series could make even corruption something to laugh at.