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Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister 2-Pak
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780790786957
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
ISBN: 0790786958
Label: BBC Warner
Languages: English (Original Language),
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
MPN: 1901
Number Of Items: 7
Publisher: BBC Warner
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 28, 2003
Running Time: 1147 minutes
Studio: BBC Warner
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Editorial Review:
Yes, Minister
The elegant sitcom-cum-farce-cum-sophisticated political satire Yes, Minister sets off Paul Eddington's Jim Hacker, Minister for Administrative Affairs, against Nigel Hawthorne's discreetly obstructive civil servant Sir Humphrey. The pilot episode, "Open Government," is curious in that it contains opening and closing credits different from and distinctly inferior to the rest of the series. You also sense that Mrs. Hacker was originally intended to have a larger role, with comedy focusing on the clash between political and domestic commitments, until the writers wisely decided to focus on the stand-off between Jim and Sir Humphrey, with Derek Fowlds's mousy private secretary Bernard making occasional interjections. While Sir Humphrey is at times a little too sinister for sitcom consumption, all the series' classic features quickly show up: Hacker's occasional Churchillian bombast, followed by panicky double-takes when flummoxed, and Sir Humphrey's unflappable verbosity as he brings the dead weight of civil service bureaucracy to bear against Hacker's naively optimistic schemes for open government and slashing red tape in episodes like "The Economy Drive." It's ironic that when Yes, Minister was first screened in the '80s, it was during the rampages of early Thatcherism in which government had never been less like the ineffectual politicking satirized here.
Yes, Prime Minister
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's superb sitcom Yes, Prime Minister entered 10 Downing Street with Jim Hacker now Prime Minister of Britain, following a campaign to "Save the British Sausage." Whether tackling defense ("The Grand Design"), local government ("Power to the People"), or the National Education Service, all of Jim Hacker's bold plans for reform generally come to nothing, thanks to the machinations of Nigel Hawthorne's complacent Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey (Jeeves to Hacker's Wooster) who opposes any action of any sort on the part of the PM altogether. This is usually achieved by discreet horse-trading. In "One of Us," for instance, Hacker relents from implementing defense cuts when he is presented with the embarrassingly large bill he ran up in a vote-catching mission to rescue a stray dog on an army firing range. Only in "The Tangled Web," the final episode of series 2, does the PM at last turn the tables on Sir Humphrey. Paul Eddington is a joy as Hacker, whether in mock-Churchillian mode or visibly cowering whenever he is congratulated on a "courageous" idea. Jay and Lynn's script, meanwhile, is a dazzlingly Byzantine exercise in wordplay, wittily reflecting the verbiage-to-substance ratio of politics. Ironically, Yes, Prime Minister is an accurate depiction of practically all political eras except its own, the 1980s, when Thatcher successfully carried out a radical program regardless of harrumphing senior civil servants. --David Stubbs
Named to the Top Ten TV programs of all time by the British Film Institute, these brilliantly observed comedies of manners pit the well-meaning Jim Hacker, Cabinet Minister and then Prime Minister, against the machinations of a career civil servant, Sir H
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Funny Show, but NO captions or subtitles!
This show Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister 2-Pak is typical of the type of British humor appreciated by American audiences, constantly poking at the incredulously inept politics of government (probably ANY government!). It would, however, be so much more enjoyable if this edition had closed-captioning, or at least subtitles, but alas!, it has neither, despite what the product description describes on [...]. The articulation of British English is actually quite understandable in this series, but ... Read More
Rating: - BBC comedy at its best!
If you like the books, then you must get this set. It's hilarious and a lot more intelligent than the meaningless sitcoms of today. Yes, stuffy men sitting around an office discussing government and politics CAN be funny. If you have a universal or region-free DVD player, you can buy the Region 2 set (for UK and Europe systems) for a lot less on the Amazon.co.uk Web site.
Rating: - Greatest Britcom (or sitcom) EVER
Most comedy relies upon exageration to achieve humour (think 'absolutely Fabulous' for this principle carried to an extreme). This series relied upon a different strategem: Complete, deadly accuracy. Bureaucrats and politicians- and their interaction- are portrayed exactly as they really are. Add to this a second unusual twist- treating its audience like they actually have brains and might enjoy intelligent conversation. The result is a timeless treasure. This was the greatest comedy series to ... Read More
Rating: - The political will vs the adminstrative won't
I won't go in to lengthy details about how funny these series and how despite being just over a decade old they are refreshingly funny and ironically although sadly still as relevant today as when they were first made! What is truly amazing is as you watch the series over and over how much more funny it becomes as you watch Sir Humpy oops Humphrey a master of the British of oratory skills-- obsufication tangle and fight with the politically administratively naive Hacker
A few notes to ... Read More
Rating: - At the appropriate juncture
This is one of the greatest comedies of all time; the humour is dry, relentless and devastating; no need for guns, swearing or scantily clad ladies.
It doesn't matter if you are neither British nor an Anglophile, the topics apply to all countries and make you draw contemporary parallels - think of The British Sausage and The War on Terror.
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