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IMDbPro

Yes Minister

  • TV Series
  • 1980–19841980–1984
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
15K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,343
11
Nigel Hawthorne, Paul Eddington, and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister (1980)
Yes Minister (German Trailer)
Play trailer1:39
1 Video
99+ Photos
Comedy
The Right Honorable James Hacker has landed the plum job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration. At last he is in a position of power and can carry out some long-needed refo... Read allThe Right Honorable James Hacker has landed the plum job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration. At last he is in a position of power and can carry out some long-needed reforms, or so he thinks.The Right Honorable James Hacker has landed the plum job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration. At last he is in a position of power and can carry out some long-needed reforms, or so he thinks.
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
15K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,343
11
  • Stars
    • Paul Eddington
    • Nigel Hawthorne
    • Derek Fowlds
  • Stars
    • Paul Eddington
    • Nigel Hawthorne
    • Derek Fowlds
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 50User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated TV #158
    • Won 5 BAFTA Awards

    Episodes22

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated

    Videos1

    Yes Minister (German Trailer)
    Trailer 1:39
    Watch Yes Minister (German Trailer)

    Photos2015

    Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister (1980)
    Paul Eddington in Yes Minister (1980)
    Graeme Garden in Yes Minister (1980)
    John Nettleton and Nigel Stock in Yes Minister (1980)
    Eleanor Bron in Yes Minister (1980)
    Paul Eddington and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister (1980)
    Edward Jewesbury and Paul Eddington in Yes Minister (1980)
    Diana Hoddinott in Yes Minister (1980)
    Paul Eddington and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister (1980)
    Yes Minister (1980)
    Nigel Hawthorne and John Nettleton in Yes Minister (1980)
    Thomas Baptiste in Yes Minister (1980)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Eddington
    Paul Eddington
    • James Hacker
    Nigel Hawthorne
    Nigel Hawthorne
    • Sir Humphrey Appleby
    Derek Fowlds
    Derek Fowlds
    • Bernard Woolley
    Diana Hoddinott
    Diana Hoddinott
    • Annie Hacker
    John Nettleton
    John Nettleton
    • Sir Arnold Robinson
    Neil Fitzwiliam
    • Frank Weisel
    Arthur Cox
    Arthur Cox
    • George - Jim's Driver
    John Savident
    John Savident
    • Sir Frederick 'Jumbo' Stewart
    John Pennington
    • Peter - Civil Servant
    Antony Carrick
    Antony Carrick
    • Bill Pritchard
    Robert Dougall
    • Robert Dougall
    Richard Vernon
    Richard Vernon
    • Sir Desmond Glazebrook
    Tenniel Evans
    Tenniel Evans
    • Martin, Foreign Secretary…
    John Barron
    John Barron
    • Sir Ian Whitchurch, Permanent Secretary to the Environment
    Ian Lavender
    Ian Lavender
    • Dr. Richard Cartwright
    Nigel Stock
    Nigel Stock
    • Sir Mark Spencer
    Edward Jewesbury
    Edward Jewesbury
    • Vic Gould…
    Rosemary Williams
    • Civil Servant
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The writers had advisors who worked within the government and many of the stories were based on real situations. For example, in season three, episode four, "The Moral Dimension", they go to an Arab country where alcohol is not allowed, and so they set up a "communications room" in the embassy where they keep a stash of booze so they could slip out and have a drink. This really happened.
    • Goofs
      During the train sequence in "The Official Visit", a close-up shows that the warning notice on the wall is written in gibberish.
    • Quotes

      Bernard Woolley: It makes me feel rather downcast. If it's our job to implement Government Policies, shouldn't we believe in them?

      Sir Humphrey Appleby: What an extraordinary thing to say.

      Bernard Woolley: Why?

      Sir Humphrey Appleby: Bernard, I have served 11 Governments in the last 30 years, if I believed in all their policies, I would have been passionately commited to keeping out of the Common Market and passionately committed to going into it, I would've been utterly convinced of the rightness of Nationalising Steel, and of denationalising it, and renationalising it. On Capital Punishment I would have been a fervent retentionist and an ardent Abolitionist, I would have been a Keynesian and a Friedmanite, a Grammar School Destroyer and Preserver, a Nationalisation Freak and a Privatisation Maniac, but above all, I would have been a stark, staring, raving Schizophrenic!

    • Alternate versions
      The pilot version of the first episode, "Open Government", was released on the UK DVD release of Series 1. It differs from the broadcast version in having different, cheaper-looking titles and different theme music (composed by Max Harris with Sidney Margo).
    • Connections
      Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #8.4 (1995)

    User reviews50

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    "We Are Very Amused"
    Attention Monty Python fans, this series if you've never seen it, will make you feel as if you've uncovered a hidden cache of British Comedy Treasure. Absolutely brilliant early 80s sitcom that chronicles the subsurface machinations of high level government. Eddington plays a cabinet minister who is the perfect embodiment of the modern politician. High in ideals, but forever made human by ambition, partisan backbiting, concession making and opinion poll obsession. His antagonist is the Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey, played by Hawthorne, who IS Machiavelli in 20th century apparel. Fowlds plays the foil and serves mostly as the tennis net to the two men, and their conflicting goals. The writing just cant be praised enough, and in true British fashion, derives most of the laughs when it dissects, and deftly rearranges the English language. Eddington is incredible as the bumbling minister. I've heard John Cleese say that what makes good comedy is not necessarily the joke, or situation, but how the fingered character reacts to his circumstance. This show illustrates the concept expertly. Eddington produces genuine belly laughs simply from facial contortions and incoherent ejaculations. Think how often that doesn't work and how rarely its even attempted any longer. Hawthorne is good but not as, he sometimes flails with the material and completely hams the comedy. His character is at its best when it deadpans irony. There's a zillion of these shows and in my viewing thus far, I've barely scratched the surface. Yet each I've seen is phenomenal.
    helpful•23
    2
    • glgioia
    • Oct 16, 2002

    FAQ1

    • What party does Jim Hacker represent?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 25, 1980 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Westminster, London, England, UK
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 30 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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