Yes Minister 

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.

Stars:

Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds

Top Rated TV #157 | 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
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

Storyline

James Hacker is the British Minister for Administrative Affairs. He tries to do something and cut government waste, but he is continually held back by the smart and wily Permanent Secretary of the Department, Sir Humphrey Appleby. Private secretary Bernard Woolley is caught in the middle, between his political master, and his civil service boss.

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Plot Keywords:

british government | british politics | civil servant | bureaucrat | parliament | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1980 (UK)

Also Known As:

Javisst, herr minister

Filming Locations:

Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The British Film Institute named this as one of the top ten television programs of all time.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Banker: I don't read the Financial Times, it's just part of the uniform.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Superman Meets the Quik Bunny (2011)

User Reviews

A show that bites. Great comedy.

I first saw Yes Minister when I was about eight. Even then I could see some of the humour that would lead me to fall in love with it years later, but I had no idea that I would to such a degree. Paul Eddington plays the Rt. Hon. James Hacker MP, Cabinet Minister in charge of the department of Administrative Affairs. He comes to his position high minded and full of ideals, only to find them being compromised as he finds that he is merely a cog in something far bigger, something he has little, and at times no control over. This bigger entity is humanised in the form of Machievellian Permanent Secratery Sir Humphery Appelby ( a brilliant Nigel Hawthorne ), who opposes the Minister on every turn with the power of the Civil Service behind him. Switiching sides as he sees fit is Hacker's Principal Private Secretary, Bernard Wooley ( Derek Fowlds, who's great ), a high flier who's job is to stand by Hacker, but who's future lies with Sir Humphery and the Civil Service. The great thing about this show is that although Hacker is weak, cowardly and vote-grubbing, you cannot help but pity him as his ideals and principles become distorted and disappear completely due to the brutal pragmatism placed on him not only by Appelby and the Civil Service but also his own Cabinet colleagues. A must for any one studying a Social Science.