Yes Minister (TV Series 1980–1984) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error 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: Sir Humphrey Appleby receives his just reward when he's told by Sir Arnold Robinson that he is to be his successor as Cabinet Secretary. Jim Hacker has mixed feelings about the whole thing and while ... 9.2 The Minister is once again locking horns with Sir Humphrey, this time over a local Council's inability, or refusals, to submit its statistical reports. The local Council government belongs to ... 9.0 The Minister wants to give citizens access to their files on a new national database, but Sir Humphrey is at his obfuscating best. Accused by his political advisor and his wife of being a mouthpiece ...

8.9 a list of 47 titles created 17 Jun 2011 a list of 31 titles created 01 Feb 2013 a list of 40 titles created 21 Apr 2013 a list of 31 titles created 12 Jun 2015 a list of 36 titles created 3 weeks ago Search for " Yes Minister " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Yes Minister (1980–1984) 8.7/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 6 wins & 3 nominations. See more awards » Photos James Hacker was propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Stars: Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds In the Regency era, Mr E. Blackadder serves as butler to the foppish numskull Prince George amidst the fads and crazes of the time.

Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie In the Tudor court of Elizabeth I, Lord Edmund Blackadder strives to win Her Majesty's favour while attempting to avoid a grisly fate should he offend her. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny Stuck in the middle of World War I, Captain Edmund Blackadder does his best to escape the banality of the war. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away. Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs Francis Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative party. When Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader, he remains neutral and after a general election where the conservatives are returned ... See full summary » Stars: Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, Miles Anderson Bertram Wooster, a well-intentioned, wealthy layabout, has a habit of getting himself into trouble and it's up to his brilliant valet, Jeeves, to get him out.

Stars: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Robert Daws Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs, is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants. Stars: Chris Addison, James Smith, Peter Capaldi Comedy sketches written and performed by renowned duo Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Stars: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Deborah Norton Crazy sitcom about 3 priests and their housekeeper who live on Craggy Island, not the peaceful and quiet part of Ireland it seems! Stars: Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly Yes, Prime Minister (TV Series 2013) Comedy The modern version of British comedy 'Yes, Prime Minister'. Stars: David Haig, Henry Goodman, Chris Larkin I, Claudius (TV Mini-Series 1976) Drama | History The history of the Roman Empire as experienced by one of its rulers. Stars: Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Siân Phillips Edit 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. Written by Tony Lammens <lammens@connexus.apana.org.au> 25 February 1980 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Javisst, herr minister See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia The British Film Institute (BFI) named this as one of the top ten television programmes of all time. See more » Goofs During the train sequence in "The Official Visit", a close-up shows that the warning notice on the wall is written in gibberish. See more » Quotes Not to put too fine a point on it, absolutely fabulous! 7 May 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews Quite easily among the best-written comedies of all time. The razor-sharp wit and the superbly crafted word-play will have you both laughing out loud and oooohing and aaaahing in appreciation.

Yes Minister tracks the day jobs of its three pivotal characters: Jim Hacker, the honorable Minister of the Dept of Administrative Affairs, his Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby and his Private Sct, Bernard. In each episode, the somewhat idealistic (though exceedingly publicity-hungry) Minister tries to reform govt in one way or the other, but is blocked by his Permanent Sct, Sir Humphrey. Though this comedy is based on the British system of govt, I think the problems presented have universal appeal and so it would be appreciated by Americans, in fact by people of all nationalities. The highlight of the comedy, in my mind, is the brilliant script, esp the lines Sir Humphrey delivers when he wishes to "talk a lot but say nothing". Nigel Hawthorne's acting is Grade A material and a treat to watch. For those of you who enjoy wordplay, a somewhat cererbral comedy, or are simply an official in one or the other branch of govt, don't miss this one. 31 of 31 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Yes, Minister (Series) - TV Tropes Yes, Minister You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share Timeline 'Almost all government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out.' Yes, Minister (1980-1988) is a British Sitcom about Jim Hacker ( Paul Eddington ), an inexperienced cabinet minister ( party never specified ), and his permanent secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby ( Nigel Hawthorne ), who really runs the department. The original three seasons were followed by Yes, Prime Minister, in which Jim Hacker became PM. There was also a 1987 DOS PC video game in which the player acted as Hacker and tried to make it through a week without tanking in the polls. The episodes focus on Hacker determinedly attempting, for political and occasionally idealistic reasons, to rock the bureaucratic boat by introducing some popular (and occasionally necessary) change, with Sir Humphrey just as determined to make sure that nothing comes of it. Hovering between them is Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds), Hacker's still idealistic and ingenuous Private Secretary, torn between his loyalty to Hacker (his political master) and his loyalty to Sir Humphrey (his civil service superior). The political satire dealt with both specific issues and general principles of governance.

It brought up issues such as a National Integrated Database, Trade Unions, Britain's relationship with Europe, Bribery, replacing Polaris with Trident, and a recurring theme of cutting government waste and slimming the civil service. Margaret Thatcher, the real-life PM at the time the series was first shown, was a huge fan and "wrote" a sketch featuring herself, Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey (in fact Sir Bernard Ingham wrote it). It can be read here ◊ .Ranking sixth in Britain's Best Sitcom , the show has quite a legacy. Humphrey the cat , the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1989 to 1997, was named for Sir Humphrey Appleby.

Any modern commentary on the civil service will almost certainly reference the series; a BBC look at Cabinet Secretaries through history was entitled "The Real Sir Humphrey", and interviews with the living office holders show they are intimately aware of the series' finest moments, and " Yes Ministerism " is even used to describe when civil servants are said to be controlling matters, and even in 2012 creating a " mock interview in the name of Sir Humphrey Appleby as a doyen of Whitehall " (voiced by Michael Simkins from the stage version). The Thick of It is a sort of Spiritual Successor . This show provides examples of: Actually Pretty Funny : Normally reserved and aloof, Sir Humphrey is visibly amused at Hacker's description of who reads the newspapers .

Hacker: Don't tell me about the press, I know exactly who reads the papers: the Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; the Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; the Times is read by people who actually do run the country; the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; the Financial Times is read by people who own the country; the Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; and the The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is. Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun? Bernard: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits . Antiquated Linguistics : I inquire of your presence to place your distracted attention from the apparatus to which you view these aptly pages to a passage of text spoken before from another character. Sir Humphrey often used this technique to obfuscate issues, or, ironically, when he was having a hard time saying something. Similar to Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness because of its usage. Sir Humphrey's wish of "Happy Christmas" in this Christmas sketch .

Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : In "Party Games," Hacker becomes visibly and genuinely upset when he thinks Humphrey is dying, and then, at the end of the episode, Humphrey is beaming with happiness and pride when he addresses Hacker as Prime Minister for the first time. Bad Boss : It's stated in the series and especially the books that Hacker and the then Prime Minister had a somewhat adversarial relationship (Hacker having run a rival contender's in-party campaign for nomination as Prime Minister ï¿½ and while they lost to the PM, he still holds a grudge). Indeed, it's stated that the reason Hacker was appointed to the Department of Administrative Affairs when he'd been the Shadow Agriculture Minister for seven years was because the DAA was considered a unglamorous political graveyard . (That, and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture had begged not to have him  he'd have known too much!.) Indeed early in the series the PM comes close to abolishing the entire department  and by extension Hacker's career ï¿½ altogether. However there is a turning point in their relationship where the PM becomes slightly more of a Benevolent Boss .

Balance of Power : Explicitly, and pretty truthfully, lays out Britain's primary foreign policy objective for at least the last 500 years: Create a disunited Europe. Ban on Politics : Surprisingly averted . For the most part, the focus of discussion is usually on the intelligence of the plot and dialogue, and the acting of Eddington, Hawthorne and Fowlds. Whatever political discussions do occur are either good natured, in keeping with the humour of the show or just kept down to a minimum. You get the odd exception, but considering how heated political discussions can get, it's actually quite refreshing. It helps that the satire is focused on the political machine, with the actual politics being fairly incidental to the thrust of the episode. The series avoids stating which party Jim Hacker belongs to, and there are never any scenes from in the House of Commons. One episode involves Hacker meeting the former minister for his department, now in opposition, and the two clearly get along quite well. The point is made that for all the posturing about issues in public, when it comes to the actual business of governing, the real opposition is in fact the Civil Service. The Barnum : Sir Humphrey's whole approach to his job.

Batman Gambit : Oh so many. The opening episode alone shows Humphrey slipping a large purchase order for American-made computer monitors at the very bottom of the stack of daily paperwork in Hacker's red box work assignments (that most ministers just dodge anyway.) Knowing Humphrey would try to hide the good information from him, Hacker goes straight to the bottom of the pile and finds it, becoming irate that Britain would not buy British-made equipment instead, and plans to denounce it in a speech to be given the next day. This is of course exactly the reaction Humphrey was hoping for, and Hacker gets immediately called in by the Prime Minister who received an advance copy of the speech. The purchase of American monitors is part of a multi-million dollar business deal with NASA and will generate even more revenue for England unless Hacker fouls it up with his speech which has already been sent in advance to newspapers for review. Humphrey then stepped forward and humbly apologized for his grievous mistake earlier that day... he did not complete the paperwork correctly, and thus the media did not get the speech, only the Prime Minister. Hacker's job is thus saved and Humphrey has proven his usefulness to him... exactly as he had planned.

Beleaguered Bureaucrat : There are few series that show quite how daunting the task of running a country actually is. One of Jim Hacker's main problems is merely knowing and understanding the issues. Then of course, he has to try to solve them (usually unsuccessfully). Bernard also becomes this frequently, either because of his troubles in balancing out the wishes of his two superiors or having to deal with the more mundane but equally tedious elements of a Vast Bureaucracy . Humphrey himself frequently frames his actions as juggling the best interests of the country, which may not necessarily be voter-friendly, with the politically-motivated approaches that Hacker is inclined to take. Benevolent Boss : The change from the PM being a Bad Boss comes when during a official inquiry into civil service waste and inefficiency, Hacker and Humphrey manage to do a pretty good job of covering up the problems ï¿½ or at least stalling ï¿½ despite massive evidence against them. Hacker is called in for a private word with one of the PM's enforcers, who points out that the PM actually wants the truth to come out, and is annoyed by how well he's covering for the civil service.

Hacker is faced with a Question Of Loyalty ï¿½ he can either further antagonize the PM, or likely burn bridges at his own department. In a blaze of glory, he chooses to reveal all. Humphrey is furious and certain it's the death knell of Hacker's career. However the PM is delighted, and sends him a hand written note inviting him and his family for Sunday Lunch at Chequers ï¿½ in political terms a priceless reward. Whilst he never completely loses his fear of the PM, from this point in the series until Hacker becomes PM himself following the latter's retirement, it's implied after this point that they get on much more amicably, and several new powers and possible promotions are sent his way. The only other times they come close to clashing are all caused by outside influences, and don't amount to anything anyway. Although this doesn't stop Hacker from being delighted when the old PM dies before his Compromising Memoirs are finished ï¿½ a notable chapter was titled "The Two Faces Of Jim Hacker"! "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : Sir Humphrey is usually adamant, that he is not resorting to dirty tricks.

Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness ensues. Bernard: It is a bit of a cover up, isn't it? Sir Humphrey: Certainly not, Bernard. It is a responsible discretion exercised in the national interest to prevent unnecessary disclosure of eminently justifiable procedures in which untimely revelations would severely impair public confidence. Bernard: I see. [beat] It's like Watergate? Bulungi : Buranda, referred to on the show as a TPLAC: "Tinpot Little African Country". Can't Hold His Liquor : Not exactly, but when Jim Hacker gets drunk, he gets drunk and it doesn't seem to take an incredible amount to do it. Catch Phrase : Nearly every episode ends with someone saying "Yes, Minister" (or "Yes, Prime Minister" in Yes, Prime Minister) "Oh, very droll, _____." Similarly, Sir Humphrey's and Sir Arnold's "thin end of the wedge." "Yes and...no." "Thank you, Bernard." Hacker, or Sir Humphrey, or both, when they can't take any more of his pedantic corrections and are politely telling him to shut up NOW, Bernard.

"Do sit down, Bernard." Or some equivalent is a sure sign that Bernard is about to get a lecture on some aspect of government about which he has just displayed his naivete. Character Development : It's subtle, but over the seasons Hacker gradually learns how to beat Humphrey at his own game, Humphrey learns how to recognize when his interests coincide with Hacker's, and Bernard learns how to balance his two masters. Gallows Humor : A few of Bernard's (often ill-received) jokes fall into this category. When Minister Hacker is placed on a death list by a terrorist group, a detective meets with him to inform him of procedures to avoid being assassinated. The whole briefing is quite humorous. Commander Forest: Oh, if you are pushed out of a high window and there's iron railings underneath, try and land on your head. Quicker. Gambit Pileup : The French government is scuttled by this in "A Diplomatic Incident". To force the British to accept terms favourable to the French over the Channel Tunnel, they create a situation where Her Majesty the Queen will be forced to reject a gift of a puppy from the French President due to British quarantine laws.

This would create (manufactured) outrage in France and would humiliate the British, and would have worked perfectly. Unfortunately, they also put in place a gambit to embarrass the British security services in revenge for not being allowed to provide their own security by planting a bomb in the French embassy. Since the latter is discovered, and would create far more embarrassment and outrage than the puppy, the French are forced to back down. Government Procedural Grey and Gray Morality : Sir Humphrey and Hacker, whilst both giving lip service to the good of Britain are both patently in it for their own ends, and the benefit of the Civil Service or the Party respectively. Hacker is slightly more sympathetic, as he actually possesses a conscience, but ignores it when it becomes politically inconvenient, as opposed to Humphrey, who appears relatively callous and amoral. (In "The Whiskey Priest", Humphrey is delighted to be called a "moral vacuum" - but he's genuinely shocked at the notion of a civil servant resigning on a point of principle.) Additionally, there are some episodes where it is Humphrey fighting for the good of Britain as a whole while Hacker maneuvers for partisan or personal gain.

In "The Official Visit," for example, it is Humphrey who is outraged at the thought of paying fifty million pounds of taxpayers' money in extortion, whereas Hacker is in favor of it because of the benefits to his party. Likewise, in "The Greasy Pole," it is again Hacker selling out the national interest by blocking the construction of a politically unpopular but perfectly safe chemical plant in response to ignorant NIMBYism, while Humphrey tries to persuade him to let the project go forward. Both of these are a reversal of their usual roles, where Hacker is trying (sort of) to fight for the national interest as he sees it, and Humphrey obstructs him. Humphrey actually isn't amoral: he believe it's the role of the civil service to ensure continuity of government and good order, so he's opposed to any kind of radical change, wherever on the political spectrum it's coming from. (Although Margaret Thatcher loved this show, Humphrey would have hated the way she drove a wrecking ball through civil service procedures in order to further her political agenda.

Humphrey is conservative by temperament, unlike the Conservative party itself at the time this show was being made.) Gunboat Diplomacy : In "The Official Visit", after getting caught up in a foreign policy mess regarding a speech by a visiting African leader likely to prove greatly embarrassing to Her Majesty The Queen, Martin, the Foreign Secretary, remarks that in the old days of empire it was the sort of thing that would be resolved by sending a gunboat in as a show of force to scare everyone straight. After a brief chuckle from everyone present, Hacker remarks that "I suppose that is out of the question," in a tone which clearly suggests he's hoping it might not be. Everyone looks at him like he's grown a second head. Not least because Humphrey had pointed out that military action would be seen as a massive overreaction mere minutes before. Later, as prime minister, Hacker actually managed to solve an international crisis by sending a battalion of paratroopers on a "Good Will Mission" to make some soviet-backed rebels stand down.

Hoist by His Own Petard : Humphrey's gambit in "Man Overboard" to get rid of the Employment Secretary in order to foil his plan to move half of the armed forces Oop North backfires spectacularly in the very last minute of the episode when Hacker decides that now that the Employment Secretary is gone, he can implement the plan anyway and take the credit for it himself. It's only then that Humphrey realises that he spent so much time engineering the Employment Secretary's downfall that he never bothered to discredit the actual plan, leaving him with no counter argument — and as Hacker unwittingly points out, he's actually strengthened several of the arguments for it without realizing. In "The Key", Humphrey takes great delight in dressing down Bernard for allowing Hacker's election agent into No. 10 without a pass. Humphrey issues new orders that NO ONE gets through without a pass or an appointment. No One. (This is part of his broader scheme to limit access to the Prime Minister). This comes back to bite him towards the end of the episode when he is locked out of No.

10, desperately tries to get back in, and is refused entry by the policeman, who rigorously applies the rules on Bernard's instruction, despite Humphrey's protests. Hypercompetent Sidekick : The entire Civil Service, for the most part. A bit too competent for Hacker's liking. The Chief Whip. "In politics you have to learn to say things with tact and finesse, you berk!" A subtle example exists with the Department of Administrative Affairs itself; an entire government department has been set up and staffed specifically to find ways of making cuts in other government departments. In one episode, Hacker and Humphrey are having one of their debates when Hacker brings up some facts to prove his point. Humphrey superciliously notes that his facts are statistical, which can be altered or doctored. When the debate gets a bit more heated, Humphrey begins to point out that statistics exist to prove his point, only to catch himself and present them as 'facts'. Hacker immediately jumps on the hypocrisy of Humphrey trying to claim that Hacker's facts are merely statistics while his own statistics are facts.

In "The Compassionate Society", Hacker eventually hits on the idea of using the fully admin-staffed hospital which has no medical staff or patients to house one thousand Cuban refugees, which will satisfy a committee which is preparing to come down unfavourably on the department and avert a potentially devastating strike action. Humphrey, who has spent the entire episode thwarting Hacker's attempts to open the hospital to medical staff and patients, immediately protests and starts pompously lecturing Hacker on how the hospital is intended for a huge waiting list of British patients. In "Power to the People", despite the militant socialist council leader's contempt for Sir Humphrey's dogmatic ideology, unaccountable and undemocratic role in society and arrogant conviction that he alone knows what's best for everyone, it's gradually demonstrated that she's equally dogmatic, has just as little interest in being democratically accountable as he does and is also arrogantly convinced that she alone knows what's best for everyone. I Have This Friend... : Whenever Bernard needs to tell Humphrey about Hacker's plans without actually telling him, he always couches his words in a series of hypothetical scenario of a hypothetical minister. Incredibly Lame Pun : Bernard seems to make at least one per episode.

At least he looks ashamed of the "pair of nickers" one he did in "The National Education Service." I Need a Freaking Drink : Hacker, fairly often. Inherently Funny Words Jim's prime ministerial campaign just happens to revolve around the condition of the British sausage.... Insult Backfire : Hacker accuses Humphrey of being a moral vacuum. Humphrey is non-committal in the scene, but soon after Bernard asks if he'll end up a moral vacuum, too. Humphrey says he sincerely hopes so, if Bernard works hard enough. Ironic Echo : Hacker and Humphrey are called before a select committee on government waste and prepare a joint testimony beforehand to deflect any blame. However, Hacker meets with the PM's advisor, who tells him that the PM wants him to request a full investigation into the civil service, and tells him that Humphrey has described him as "a pleasure to work with" (civil service-speak for "controllable").

At the hearing, Hacker completely throws Humphrey under the bus ending with "If I may say so, he [Humphrey] is a pleasure to work with" In "The Tangled Web", Hacker gets into a bit of trouble when it turns out that he inadvertently lied to the House of Commons about the government tapping an MP's telephone. Sir Humphrey knew about it but didn't inform Hacker because, according to Humphrey, Hacker "didn't need to know". When Hacker requests that Humphrey lie about the phone-tapping to a select committee of parliament, Humphrey reacts very self-righteously, pompously chiding Hacker over " the tangled web we weave " and hypocritically informing him that he has no intention of being "part of some squalid cover-up". So naturally, when Humphrey has gotten himself into very big trouble over a foolishly indiscrete radio interview and is begging Hacker to help him keep it quiet later in the episode, Hacker takes great pleasure in throwing all these words back in Humphrey's face.

Hacker spilling his guts after having had too much of the wine at Baillie College's High Table dinner in "Doing the Honours." First rule of political indiscretion: always have a drink before you leak. Invisible President : You never see the Prime Minister or even learn his name until Hacker himself gets the job. Jade-Colored Glasses : Hacker eventually gets these, but he has the heart (or lack of head) to take them off once in a while. Bernard follows a similar trajectory, while Sir Humphrey doesn't need them, as the lenses in his eyes were made of jade from birth. Kicked Upstairs : Frequently referenced, and may have popularised the phrase. Specifically, Hacker lives in perpetual terror of being sent to the House of Lords, since it has no meaningful political influence whatsoever and, for all the pomp and circumstance and titles, is basically a place where failing political careers go to die. And later, Hacker was honestly tempted about taking an job with the European Union, apparently, there is a point where the quality of the gravy train makes being kicked upstairs worth it.

Lame Pun Reaction : Sir Humphrey triggers an outstanding example in "The Bishop's Gambit": when told that one candidate had been waiting quite a while to be made a bishop, he replies, " So 'Long time, no See.'" The guy he was talking to scolded him for the pun, then spent the next minute or so trying not to burst out laughing. Lovable Coward : Bernard, sometimes, on full display in the "The Key", where he lets Humphrey into a private meeting after explicitly being told not to. His defence? "He's bigger than me." The Main Characters Do Everything : The Department of Administrative Affairs was specifically invented to allow Hacker to deal with any political issue the writers might be interested in exploring. Majored in Western Hypocrisy : Selim Mohammed, president of Buranda , whom Jim recognises from his student days. Manipulative Bastard : Humphrey. Hacker thinks he is. In Yes, Minister, Cabinet Secretary Sir Arnold Robinson does his share of string-pulling. Even Sir Humphrey is hard-pressed to keep up. By the time he become Prime Minister, Hacker has had enough practice against Humphrey that he manages to pull it off on occasion.

Mayï¿½December Romance : While her age is never explicitly stated, Hacker's wife is definitely significantly younger than her husband. Diana Hoddinott, her actress is 18 years younger than Paul Eddington, who played Hacker. Jim shares birth and death dates with Paul, as does Humphrey with Nigel, so the same can be assumed for all the characters, making Annie 18 years younger than Jim. Metaphorgotten : Bernard often pulls a thread on Hacker's metaphors, unravelling or derailing them completely. Napoleon Delusion : When Hacker finds out that he's to be Prime Minister, his first reaction is silent incredulity, then fear, then awe, until finally he squares his jaw, sticks his hand inside his jacket and stares off heroically into the middle distance, as this trope. Not to mention Hacker's tendency to lapse into Churchill like speeches, complete with intonation and accent, whenever contemplating the supposedly great works he's about to undertake. Ludovic Kennedy appears as himself in several episodes. Moira Stuart has a brief vocal cameo in 'Party Games', announcing the PM's resignation.

In an in-universe example, when practising his speeches Hacker has a tendency to imitate the distinctive voice of Winston Churchill . In "The Greasy Pole", the Glaswgian industrialist Sir Wally McFarlane is a fictionalised Sir Monty Finniston . He is named after another Glaswegian: Walter MacFarlane , a Victorian iron founder. In "The Challenge", Ben Stanley is a clear reference to Ken Livingstone . The Prime Minister's advisor Sir Mark Spencer refers to Sir Derek Rayner , who at the time was both an advisor to the government, and chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer. No Party Given : Hacker. His party was generally an amalgamation of the Tories and Labour (but not the Liberals either). He's implied to be a small-c "compassionate conservative". Noodle Incident : We never learn exactly what was in the MI-5 files of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary to disqualify them from the premiership in "Party Games", but the latter was apparently a sex addict involved in some very kinky things and the latter up to his knees in financial wrongdoings.

Not So Different : In "Power to the People", Sir Humphrey, pillar of the establishment, demonstrates to the militant socialist Agnes Moorhouse that their views on democracy aren't that far apart at all. Obstructive Bureaucrat : Premise of series (with special award given for civil service). Exemplified by Humphrey's admission that there are often complications: Hacker: Humphrey, can you ever give me a straight answer? A plain "yes" or "no"? Sir Humphrey: Well... yes and no. Oh Crap! : Hacker goes on television and announces not only that the data protection safeguards Sir Humphrey has been blocking will be introduced, but that Sir Humphrey has staked his reputation on it. Sir Humphrey is watching the broadcast, and his expression is a picture. Once an Episode : The last line in every episode is, "Yes, Minister" (or "Yes, Prime Minister" after Hacker made PM). Only Sane Man : Varies from episode to episode.

Hacker usually seems like the Only Sane Man at the beginning; sometimes he is, and just as often, events prove him to be a Cloud Cuckoolander whose misguided idealism is blessedly thwarted by Sir Humphrey on behalf of the bureaucracy. O.O.C. Is Serious Business : In "The Writing on the Wall", Hacker is dead set on a course of action that won't do anyone any favours, and won't be swayed. It's serious enough that Sir Humphrey even drops his incredibly elaborate Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness and tells him "If you're going to do this damn silly thing, don't do it in this damn silly way." This stops Hacker in his tracks. Our Presidents Are Different : Prime Ministers in this case. We start with Prime Minister Invisible; throughout his career, Hacker himself is a variable mix of Prime Ministers Personable and Focus Group, with the "Focus Group" bit getting slightly weaker over time. Towards the end of the series, he picks up some definite Prime Minister Iron tendencies (sometimes). Oxbridge : Sir Humphrey and Bernard are both Oxford graduates in Classics, as are most other members of the Civil Service depicted in the series.

Their disdain for Hacker, educated at the London School of Economics, is a Running Gag in the series. note The LSE is actually a top-notch university, but, being founded in the 19th century and focusing on things that are actually practical, it is seen as a parvenu by Oxbridgers.. Sir Humphrey British democracy recognises that you need a system to protect the important things of life, and keep them out of the hands of the barbarians. Things like the opera, Radio Three, the countryside, the law, the universities ... both of them. Another running gag has the Oxford graduates taking every chance to badmouth Cambridge and vice versa . Passive-Aggressive Kombat : A speciality of the Civil Service, who tend to dress up scathing criticisms and insults in very polite and at times deferential language. In "Doing the Honours", after Hacker's plan to ensure Civil Service cooperation with his plans by threatening to withhold his departmental recommendations for the current Honours list starts to spread, Sir Arnold calls Sir Humphrey in for a chat.

During their conversation, Sir Arnold genially informs Humphrey that "I'm not reprimanding you, I don't have all the facts" but mildly expresses concern that, should Humphrey fail to get the plan scotched, people might start to wonder whether Humphrey was "sound". Humphrey leaves the meeting looking like someone's worked him over with a two-by-four. Later lampshaded by Bernard and Hacker when they gossip about it; Hacker describes the conversation as "a real punch-up". Pen-Pushing President : Considering the premise, that's bound to happen. Sir Humphrey: East Yemen, isn't that a democracy? Sir Richard Wharton: Its full name is "The Peoples' Democratic Republic of East Yemen." Sir Humphrey: Ah, I see, so it's a communist dictatorship. Plucky Comic Relief : Bernard to a certain degree, a very slight degree as he was more than just the comic relief. Often seemed to have the funny thing to say at the least appropriate times as well as his acting out of animals or to visually show Hacker why his metaphors were wrong (see this clip "The Challenge" , in this case it was actually Sir Humphrey).

Often found puncturing a hole in tension you could cut with a knife. Promoted to Scapegoat : In "The Bed of Nails", Jim Hacker is giving the responsibility of formulating an integrated transport policy and the title of 'Transport Supremo'. Jim is quite pleased with what he sees as a promotion. Sir Humphrey immediately recognises this for the poisoned chalice that it is, and points out that this means that Hacker is now responsible for every transport screw-up in the country. The two of them join forces to find a way to force the PM to give the job to someone else without damaging the department's reputation. Properly Paranoid : Hacker is often convinced that the actions of anyone involved in government are part of some political plot against him personally. Probably because they almost always are. You'd be paranoid too if everyone was plotting against you. Punctuated! For! Emphasis! : During an argument about a hospital with almost 500 admin staff and no patients or medical staff in "The Compassionate Society", Hacker is driven so up the wall with Sir Humphrey's cheerful acceptance of the insane bureaucratic logic for why this makes sense that he ends up bellowing "HUMPHREY!

THERE ARE NO! PATIENTS!" at him. Put on a Bus : Frank Weisel, Hacker's political advisor in the first series of Yes, Minister, was written out of the show by the end of that season because the authors couldn't find much use for his overtly political character in a show that was supposed to focus on the conflict between government and administration. The same thing happened to Vic Gould, the government's Chief Whip, who was originally supposed to be Sir Humphrey's opposite number, and would try and terrify Hacker into getting the government's policies pushed through his department. The writers found him to be too one-dimensional though, meaning that he never even made it past the pilot episode (outside of a small part in "The Whiskey Priest," and even then only because the script had Hacker meeting the Chief Whip, and the actor who played Gould happened to be available). Qurac : In "The Moral Dimension," Hacker visits Qumran , a fictional Muslim country based on a Gulf Arab state — in fact, the scene where Hacker and his staff secretly consume alcohol was based on a real-life incident that happened on a British diplomatic visit to Pakistan.

In "The Bishop's Gambit" a British nurse was sentenced to several lashes for possessing a bottle of whiskey, which provokes a miniature crisis as the government does not want to push too hard as the Qumranis are described as great friends of Britain, letting them know what the Soviets were up to in Iraq, allowing listening posts to be set up for Britain's use, and even sabotaging Opec agreements for them. Another possible Qurac in "A Victory for Democracy" is " The People's Democratic Republic of East Yemen " (as well as its twin, West Yemen), although the name suggests that it is rather a Marxist dictatorship than an emirate or a theocracy, though at the time of production there was, in fact, a "People's Democratic Republic of Yemen" which was a Marxist/Socialist state and was to the south of "Yemen Arab Republic." Reassigned to Antarctica : Bernard (and occasionally Sir Humphrey) is occasionally threatened with reassignment to the Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea — not that Hacker would send him there (not having the power to do so), but Humphrey's inevitable Fate if they cannot jointly avert various impending crises. The most common threat is being sent Oop North .

One episode resolves around a mass reassignment of defence personnel there, uniting every senior officer and civil servant who wanted to be near Harrods and Wimbledon against it. Bernard reacts in horror at being even a head of department in Lossiemouth. He thought it was a kind of dog food . Hacker's worry about being assigned to Northern Ireland is not an example of this, as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was and is based in London, but the post was regarded as one of the most troublesome in the cabinet and one of the few which carried a significant risk of assassination, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. In "The Bishop's Gambit" it's revealed that the bishopric of Truro is a similar position for the Church of England; because it's 'very remote' it's where they like to send their more troublesome or irritating bishops (such as those who are either utterly incompetent or actually vocally believe in God). Servile Snarker : Guess who? Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness : Sir Humphrey's (and occasionally Bernard's) preferred method of communication.

Justified, because Sir Humphrey is practised in describing things in officialese: see Expospeak Gag above. Slave to PR : Hacker, and all other politicians in the show's universe are petrfied of anything resembling bad publicity, the old Prime Minister's memoirs describe him as "running for cover at the first sign of unpopularity". Sleazy Politician : Averted! For all his attempts to win popularity in the most self-serving and underhanded ways imaginable—including weaselling his way into Number 10—Jim Hacker comes off as more pathetic than despicable, and as Annie notes, he's a " whisky priest " who's still got his moral compass about him even as he tucks it away, grits his teeth, and ignores it. Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism : Pretty far to the cynical side of things, although the show is not entirely cynical Small Reference Pools : Hacker cannot name many playwrights. "[Theatre] is one of the great glories of England, isn't it?" - "You mean Shakespeare?" - "Yes." - "Who else?" - "Well, er, Shakespeare... and, um... Sheridan...

Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw..." - "They were all Irish." Smug Snake : Sir Frank Gordon, Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, who is twice as smug as Sir Humphrey and clearly wants his job (or, at least, his role as Head of the Civil Service), but lacks Sir Humphrey's keen manipulative skills. Sophisticated as Hell : In "Man Overboard", Humphrey uses a non-swearing version of this to let Dudley the Employment Secretary realise that, due to existing administrative practices, his alleged intervention in an earlier cabinet discussion does not appear as part of the official record of the discussion and that he is, therefore, royally screwed: Dudley: Prime Minister, why was my request for a further discussion and your reply not minuted? [Hacker looks inquiringly at Humphrey] Humphrey: Prime Minister, it is characteristic of all committee discussions and decisions that every member has a vivid recollection of them and that every memberï¿½s recollection of them differs violently from every other memberï¿½s recollection.

Consequently, we accept the convention that the official decisions are those, and only those, which have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials, from which it emerges with an elegant inevitability that any decision which has been officially reached will have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials and any decision which is not recorded in the minutes has not been officially reached even if one or more members believe they can recollect it, so in this particular case, if the decision had been officially reached it would have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials. And it isnï¿½t so it wasnï¿½t. Status Quo Is God : It's usually downplayed in that while Hacker never really achieves much and the things that he does achieve are so inconsequential that you can understand why they're never mentioned again, this all has a specific cause — namely Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service's constant stymieing of Hacker's attempts to push reforms through.

Occasionally he achieves something noteworthy — the database safeguards he manages to get into action at the end of the episode "Big Brother" appear to be the basis of the Data Protection Act 1984 (albeit the episode was made in 1980, so the law's passage would have taken a while, and most of the work was done by his predecessor). Hacker's "computer security guidelines" are mentioned in passing in connection with the previous Prime Minister's memoirs in "Official Secrets." In the pilot episode, it's mentioned that the Department of Administrative Affairs is a political graveyard, and it's implied that the reason is that Humphrey was too good at blocking the Ministers' policies for them to ever advance any further. Story Arc : None were done in the Yes Minister phase, but a few were tried during Yes, Prime Minister: Hacker's "Grand Design" had three episodes dedicated to it, and was at least mentioned in passing during every episode of the first season; his predecessor's memoirs the following season lasted for two episodes. The 2013 Yes, Prime Minister series was effectively one long storyline, taking place in the course of a single night and being spread over six episodes.

Take a Third Option : In "Party Games," Hacker becomes the kingmaker in the battle to select his party's new leader (and therefore Prime Minister), and his decision pretty much comes down to whether he'd prefer to be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer or the next Foreign Secretary. Bernard persuades him that neither of those is really that desirable, and persuades him to take the third option — become the Prime Minister himself. Also played with when Hacker, initially believing the 'third option' Bernard is pushing him towards is Home Secretary, makes it clear that even he's aware that that option isn't worth it: Hacker: Home Secretary? Responsible for all the muggings, jailbreaks and race riots? Tender Tears : Hacker, apparently, as he starts crying in "Party Games" when he believes Humphrey is telling him that he's dying, and then wears an embarrassed Tearful Smile once the misunderstanding is cleared up. (It's more hilarious than it sounds.) Think of the Children! : In "The National Education Service", Sir Humphrey is genuinely considering whether he should just let Hacker's education reform pass, because it's in best interest of children .

Sir Arnold puts him back in line, quite bluntly stating: " Nevermind the children! ". Throw the Dog a Bone : Every so often, when the moon was right and the writers were feeling kind, Hacker would win out over Humphrey. This became gradually more frequent during Yes, Prime Minister as Hacker's power and experience grew. In "The Key", he has Humphrey at the brink of madness. Title Drop : At the end of almost every episode. Title Sequence Replacement : The pilot had a different title sequence, not drawn by Gerald Scarfe. In reruns (but not on DVD), it was replaced with the titles used for the rest of the series. Translation: "Yes" : Frequently, especially after one of Humphrey or Bernard's long-winded explanations leaves Hacker confused. Truth in Television : Many politicians have admitted that it is, effectively, their version of This Is Spinal Tap . The writers also frequently got into trouble for featuring "entirely hypothetical" situations that bore a remarkable similarity to real life events. The aforementioned sneaking drinks into Qumran was one such example. It wasn't until (relatively) recently that the writers openly admitted (and named) their mole.

On a somewhat scarier note, they also admitted that they never used a lot of the stories they were fed as they were simply too unbelievable, proving once again that Reality Is Unrealistic . The Unfettered : Sir Humphrey. He is, as Hacker puts it, a "moral vacuum", and freely admits he is unconcerned with anything but the continued operation of the government and its policies, whoever and whatever they may be. Villainous Breakdown : Depends on whether you think Sir Humphrey's the villain, but whenever something comes up that he didn't anticipate his default response is panicked, spluttering incoherence. This can lead into Woobie territory on occasion: by the end of "The Key", Sir Humphrey has been forced to eat Humble Pie and begs Hacker, on the verge of tears, to let him have his key back. According to annotations in the published 'memoirs', Humphrey did end up going completely mad in his old age. It's implied that Hacker was the main cause. The Watson : Jim Hacker's personal private secretary Bernard, to whom Sir Humphrey is often obliged to explain how things really work in the civil service.

Hacker also frequently has to explain to Bernard how things work from the political side of things. In other instances, Bernard has to explain to Hacker how things really work — often in order to help Hacker attempt to win the day. Sir Humphrey Appleby | Villains Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Share Sir Humphrey Appleby, as portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon), is a fictional character from the British television series Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. He was originally played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne, however currently he is being played by Henry Goodman in a new series of Yes, Prime Minister. In Yes Minister, he is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs (a fictional department of the British government). In the last episode of Yes Minister, "Party Games", he becomes Cabinet Secretary, the position he retains during Yes, Prime Minister. Hawthorne's portrayal won the BAFTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance four times: 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987.

Character and history Sir Humphrey is a master of obfuscation and manipulation, often making long-winded statements such as, "In view of the somewhat nebulous and inexplicit nature of your remit, and the arguably marginal and peripheral nature of your influence within the central deliberations and decisions within the political process, there could be a case for restructuring their action priorities in such a way as to eliminate your liquidation from their immediate agenda." He is committed to maintaining the status quo for the country in general and for the Civil Service in particular, and will stop at nothing to do so — whether that means baffling his opponents with technical jargon, strategically appointing allies to supposedly impartial boards, or setting up an interdepartmental committee to smother his Minister's proposals in red tape. Throughout the series, he serves as Permanent Secretary under the ministry of Jim Hacker at the Department of Administrative Affairs; he is appointed Cabinet Secretary shortly before Hacker's elevation to the role of Prime Minister. Sir Humphrey won a classical scholarship to Winchester College before reading Classics at Baillie College, Oxford, where he got a First. After National Service in the Army Education Corps he entered the Civil Service.

From 1950 to 1956 he was the Regional Contracts Officer, an assistant principal in the Scottish Office, on secondment from the War Office (where he was responsible for a serious mistake that was revealed in "The Skeleton in the Cupboard"). In 1964 he was brought into the newly formed Department of Administrative Affairs, where he has worked until his appointment as Cabinet Secretary. He is recommended for the KBE early on in the series in "The Official Visit". The Dean of Baillie describes him as "too clever by half" and "smug" ("The Bishop's Gambit"). On Humphrey's possible private situation, Jonathan Lynn commented: "We always supposed that Sir Humphrey lived in Haslemere, had a son at Winchester and a daughter at Bedales and that his wife was a sensible woman who made cakes for church socials and enjoyed walking the family bulldog. I think that Humphrey's hobbies were reading (mainly biographies), listening to classical music, and occasionally visiting the RSC, the National Theatre or the Royal Opera House, where he was on the Board. His holidays were probably spent walking in the Lake District and, occasionally, sailing in Lymington.

On the whole, he had a slightly warmer relationship with his dog than his family." Sir Humphrey represents, in many ways, the perfect technocrat. He is pompous, arrogant, elitist and regards his less-well-educated minister with some contempt. He frequently uses both his mastery of the English language and even his superb grasp of Latin and Greek grammar to perplex his political master and to obscure relevant issues under discussion. However, his habit of using language as a tool of confusion and obstruction is so deeply ingrained that he is sometimes unable to speak clearly and directly even in circumstances in which he honestly wishes to make himself clearly understood. He genuinely believes that the Civil Service knows what the average person needs and is the most qualified body to run the country, the joke being that not only is Sir Humphrey, as a high-ranking Oxford-educated Civil Servant, quite out of touch with the average person but also that the Civil Service identifies whatever is 'best for Britain' as being 'best for the Civil Service'. Jim Hacker, on the other hand, tends to regard what is best for Britain as being whatever is best for his political party or his own chances of re-election. As a result, Sir Humphrey and Hacker often clash.

He still holds women to be the fairer sex and is thus overly courteous, frequently addressing them as "Dear lady". Like Hacker, Sir Humphrey enjoys the finer things in life, and is regularly seen drinking sherry and dining at fine establishments, often with his fellow civil servant Sir Arnold Robinson, who was Cabinet Secretary throughout Yes Minister. Sir Humphrey is also on the board of governors of the National Theatre and attends many of the gala nights of the Royal Opera House. His interests also extend to cricket, art and theatre. Humphrey is usually smooth, calm and collected within his element of bureaucracy and procedure, but has become so adept at working within and maintaining the system of government that, whenever anything unexpected is sprung on him, whether it be Hacker ordering him to negotiate with a rogue councillor, or honours in his department being made dependent on economies, Humphrey immediately crumbles, on a few occasions being reduced to stuttering out garbled platitudes such as "the beginning of the end" or "it cuts at the very roots", although he usually regains his composure pretty quickly to push things back on track. Humphrey is incredibly inteligent, constinately ready a with a plan to defeat his ministers ambitions.

He is also highly capable at adapting his plan to meet what ever compications emerge, or has a back up plan ready in case his orginal one fails. However Humphrey's arrogance occasionally gets the better of him, and as the series progresses Hacker slowly learns how to play the fact that Humphrey always underestimates him in his favour. According to the foreword (dated 2019), of the book The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by the Rt. Hon. James Hacker MP, a novelisation of the series, he spent his last days in St Dympna's Hospital for the Elderly Deranged, after the "advancing years, without in any way impairing his verbal fluency, disengaged the operation of his mind from the content of his speech." This contradicts the date of death given in Politico's Book of the Dead. In a Radio Times interview to promote the first series of Yes, Prime Minister, Nigel Hawthorne observed, "He's raving mad of course. Obsessive about his job. He'd do anything to keep control. In fact, he does go mad in one episode.

Quite mad." Sir Humphrey has been appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). Relationships In Yes Minister, Sir Humphrey maintains a friendly and (outwardly) deferential but adversarial relationship with his new minister, Jim Hacker. When keeping the Minister busy is not sufficient to prevent him from proposing new policy, Sir Humphrey is not above deceiving or even blackmailing him. Never the less he often shows a level fondness for his minster, mixed in with his contempt. He has a slightly more amicable relationship with his subordinate, the Minister's Principal Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley. He frequently lectures the naïve Woolley in the realities of political matters. When Woolley's loyalty to the Minister is inconvenient to Sir Humphrey's plans, he readily makes oblique threats about Woolley's job prospects should he defy Sir Humphrey. However, he is equally quick to defend Woolley from outsiders.

His closest on-screen friendships are with Sir Arnold Robinson, Cabinet Secretary during Yes Minister; Sir Frederick "Jumbo" Stewart, Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and the banker Sir Desmond Glazebrook. He is married, although his wife plays virtually no role in either series and is only seen once: next to him in bed in the Series One episode "Big Brother". Real-life references Sir Humphrey has become a stereotype associated with civil servants, and the phrase "Bowler-hatted Sir Humphreys" is sometimes used when describing their image. Satirical and investigative magazine Private Eye often refers to Sir Humphrey with the definite article 'the' to indicate someone in the civil service the magazine considers of similar character, e.g. "[name] is the present Sir Humphrey at the Department for Rural Affairs". In the 1930s "Sir Horace", after Sir Horace Wilson, a senior official close to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, became a soubriquet for a civil servant with delusions of grandeur; this is thought to have influenced the choice of the name "Sir Humphrey".

A spoof obituary for Sir Humphrey appears in Politico's Book of the Dead, written by his creators, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, which includes some biographical details, including dates of birth and death, which he shares with Nigel Hawthorne, the actor who portrayed him. Sir Humphrey was voted the 45th greatest comedy character in Channel 4's 2007 "The World's Greatest Comedy Characters" poll. He was also voted 31st in a poll of "100 Greatest TV Characters", also on Channel 4. Upon Nigel Hawthorne's death, the following appeared on the Editorial page of The Ottawa Citizen under the heading "No, Minister": "It is sadly that we report on Sir Nigel Hawthorne, elsewhere referred to as Sir Humphrey Appleby. While it would be premature to commit ourselves to a definitive position on his merits or even his existence, a committee is being struck to consider the possibility of a decision, in the fullness of time, to regret his passing, if any." The character was resurrected for the 2010 general election campaign in a series of short sketches on BBC Two's late evening current affairs programme Newsnight.

The sketches were written by Jay and Lynn, and Sir Humphrey was played by Henry Goodman. Henry Goodman also played the part of Sir Humphrey in the 2010 stage production of Yes, Prime Minister. BBC - Comedy - Yes Minister Yes Minister Yes Minister A bedrock programme in the UK comedy structure, Yes Minister embodied the early 1980s attitude to authority and politics as a gently hypocritical world filled with doubletalk. Three series were made between 1980 and 1984, before Jim Hacker achieved real power in Yes Prime Minister. The series follows Right Honorable James Hacker MP, Minister for Administrative Affairs, and his attempts to make officialdom and administration make sense. He does this whilst pushing his own self-serving agenda, and keeping his head above any nasty political waters. Throughout his career, he's up against Whitehall’s Sir Humphrey Appleby, unflappable symbol of a machine that has no gears, only brakes. Jim's policies, whether cutting costs or trying to streamline red tape, are sabotaged by Appleby's Machiavellian skills, often accompanied by brain-wrenching sentences designed to confuse Hacker - and often succeeding.

Absolutely snobbish and elitist, yet blind to anything that does not serve the Whitehall way, Sir Humphrey is the avatar of the British State. Hacker's politics appear to be completely pragmatic and blown by the winds of chance, and are never dogmatic enough to be clearly labelled Labour or Conservative. By removing the trappings of a particular 'party' and allowing both sides to appear at their worst - venal and inconstant Hacker forever opposing the pompous and manipulative Appleby - Yes, Minister maintained a timeless quality that means it has endured beyond the Thatcherite politics it satirised. Issues were raised that are still timely now - identity papers and computer databases of the population, university funding, arms sales, oil politics being just a few.

Motifs of the series included the wonderful music of Ronnie Hazelhurst playing against Gerald Scarfe's hilarious caricatures of the three leads; Hacker's use of catastrophically mixed metaphors, his Private Secretary Bernard's fondness for awful puns and maddening pedantry, and Sir Humphrey's laconic wit, almost shocking contempt for anyone who isn't a senior Civil Servant, and his catchphrase, usually after totally defeating Hacker, of muttering 'Yes Minster' to close the show. Whilst the iconic figure of Sir Humphrey, as portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne, is the series' enduring legacy, the true star of the show is Hacker, as played by Paul Eddington. Though most of the verbal quips are Humphrey's, the comedy is Hacker's, mainly because Paul Eddington was probably the best comedy actor of his generation and his timing is miraculous. Always buffeted by fate, wanting to do good but too scared of losing votes and status to do anything, Hacker is the symbol of all of us, wanting to be better, and not quite making it.

A true original, Yes Minister remains one of the most influential sitcoms of its time, as witness its huge success, many awards (including BAFTAs for the show and for Hawthorne). Famously accurate in the spirit of the relationship between civil servant and politician, it was Mrs Thatcher's favourite show... make of that whatever you want. Yes Minister was proof that comedy could take on serious subjects and make real points with them. Cast Yes, Prime Minister (TV Series 1986–1987) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error James Hacker was propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Stars: Sir Humphrey has to scramble when the Prime Minister's Political Advisor, Mrs. Wainwright, convinces the PM that she should get her old office back. Sir Humphrey and his predecessors have been trying...

9.4 The Prime Minister finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he flatly denies in the House that the government has bugged MP's telephones. It turns out the government was and Sir Humphrey was aware of ... 8.9 When the Director General of MI5 informs the Prime Minister that his predecessor was a Soviet agent, Jim Hacker learns that he had been thoroughly investigated some years previously by none other ... 8.8 a list of 28 titles created 06 Jan 2011 a list of 30 titles created 04 Sep 2012 a list of 46 titles created 25 Dec 2012 a list of 27 titles created 16 Dec 2014 a list of 42 titles created 8 months ago Title: Yes, Prime Minister (1986–1987) 8.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 5 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards » Photos 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 Yes, Prime Minister (TV Series 2013) Comedy The modern version of British comedy 'Yes, Prime Minister'. Stars: David Haig, Henry Goodman, Chris Larkin Francis Urquhart, the unscrupulous but cunning Conservative Prime Minister, has his survival threatened by a liberal monarch and an upcoming General Election. Stars: Ian Richardson, Michael Kitchen, Kitty Aldridge Francis Urquhart is too experienced a politician not to know that everything must end, even his long career as British prime minister. In order to secure his retirement and establish ... See full summary » Stars: Ian Richardson, Diane Fletcher, Paul Freeman In the Middle Ages, Prince Edmund the Black Adder constantly schemes and endeavors to seize the crown from his father and brother. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray Bertram Wooster, a well-intentioned, wealthy layabout, has a habit of getting himself into trouble and it's up to his brilliant valet, Jeeves, to get him out.

Stars: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Robert Daws Francis Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative party. When Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader, he remains neutral and after a general election where the conservatives are returned ... See full summary » Stars: Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, Miles Anderson In the Regency era, Mr E. Blackadder serves as butler to the foppish numskull Prince George amidst the fads and crazes of the time. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie Stuck in the middle of World War I, Captain Edmund Blackadder does his best to escape the banality of the war. Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry Edit Storyline Following a series of circumstances involving the Eurosausage, the Home Secretary drink driving and the Chancellor's dalliances with a shady lady from Argentina, Minister for Administrative Affairs Jim Hacker finds himself elevated to Number 10 Downing Street without being quite sure how he got there.

But life as Prime Minister is no easier than being a Minister; Hacker still finds his every move challenged by the Civil Service as represented by his new Cabinet Secretary, the ever-wily and manipulative Sir Humphrey Appleby, who is as equally determined that nothing should change as Hacker is that changes should be made. Wandering nervously between them is Bernard Wooley, Hacker's private secretary, who continues juggling his responsibilities to his political master with his loyalties to his Civil Service colleagues... Written by Scott Nisbet 9 January 1986 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Javisst, herr premiärminister See more » Company Credits Did You Know? Trivia Ronnie Hazlehurst 's theme-tune is composed around the chimes of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. See more » Quotes James Hacker : I know exactly who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country. The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country. The Times is read by people who actually do run the country. The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country. The Financial Times is read by people who own the country.

The Morning Star is read by the people who think the country should be run by another country. And the Daily Telegraph is read by ... [...] (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) – See all my reviews In my years as a student of political science at the university of Leiden, one of the professors used to rave about these series whenever the subject of British politics was on the agenda. And even though that professor wasn't the most humorous of chaps, his quotes and tales from the series always guaranteed a good laugh. I recently got hold of the entire series, and even though I do view them with a somewhat scholarly mind (old habits, and such), laughing out loud is my usual response. So cleverly written, such an exquisite cast of characters, such a mild way of portraying profound cynicism ("A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist", dixit Sir Humphrey Appleby). I will probably still look at it in ten, twenty, thirty years time (if I live to see the day) ... knowing that there will always be a Sir Humphrey Appleby, a Bernard Woolley and a Right Honorable James Hacker around somewhere preventing the series from becoming outdated.

I don't know if that's something to look forward to, but if it guarantees the same laughs, I'm all for it! 32 of 32 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes

Question: Who played the part of Sir Humphrey Appleby in the TV series Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister?
Answer: NIGEL HAWTHORNE