Yes, Minister
Encyclopedia : Y : YE : YES : Yes, Minister
Yes, Minister, and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, are British sitcoms that were transmitted by the BBC between 1980 and 1988. They were set in the private office of a government cabinet minister and 10 Downing Street respectively. All 38 episodes were written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn and all but one last half an hour. Almost every programme ended with the eponymous line, "Yes, Minister" (or "Yes, Prime Minister").
Plot
The dominant running theme is the struggle between (The Rt Hon.) James "Jim" Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), the newly-appointed Minister in the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs, and his civil servants and ministerial colleagues. Sir Nigel Hawthorne played Sir Humphrey Appleby, KCB, MVO, MA (Oxon), a senior civil servant, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Administrative Affairs, with Derek Fowlds as Hacker's Principal Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley. Woolley typically finds himself torn by his personal allegiance to Hacker, and his institutional duty to the department and to Sir Humphrey, his real boss.The overriding goal in any politician's professional life is re-election. In order to achieve this, they must be seen to act in order to stand out in the mind of the voters as effective people. Civil servants, on the other hand, such as Sir Humphrey, enjoy a substantial income and great power before retiring at a fixed age with a large index-linked pension. Any change would threaten the civil servants' easy life. This results in conflict between politicians and civil servants. For example, Sir Humphrey often mentions that a civil servant's success can be measured by the number of people who work for him: he will, therefore, try to block any change that will reduce the size of the civil service, or the complexity of its bureaucracy. Hacker, who knows that to do so would be a vote-winner, is desperate to do just that - or to at least look as if he has.
The first series featured Frank Weisel (pron. W-"eye"-sel), played by Neil Fitzwiliam (Sir Humphrey persistently calls him "Mr. Weasel"), Hacker's political adviser. Weisel does not appear in subsequent episodes following his convenient acceptance of a position on a quango (Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation) investigating the appointment of other quangos at the end of the first series. Following Sir Humphrey's promotion to Cabinet Secretary, Hacker becomes Prime Minister and appoints Bernard Woolley as his Principal Private Secretary in his new post. The first series of Yes, Prime Minister introduced Dorothy Wainwright (played by Deborah Norton) as a highly able Special Political Adviser to the Prime Minister, wise to many civil service tricks, which ensures a lasting mutual distrust between her and Sir Humphrey.
Hacker's home life is shown occasionally throughout the series. His wife, Annie (Diana Hoddinott), is clearly frustrated by the disruptions caused by her husband's political career and somewhat cynical about her husband's politics. Meanwhile, his sociology student daughter, Lucy (Gerry Cowper), becomes an environmental activist in one episode (her only on-screen appearance, despite several other mentions), campaigning against one of her father's department's policies.
Much of the show's humour derives from the antagonism between Cabinet ministers (who believe they are in charge) and the members of the British Civil Service who are really running the country. A typical episode deals with Jim Hacker wanting to act on a pressing political issue, only to find Sir Humphrey blocking and stalling his efforts in order to maintain the status quo. More often than not, Sir Humphrey prevents Hacker from achieving anything, but often lets him think that he has scored a political victory, sometimes helping Hacker to garner positive publicity. However, Hacker occasionally gains the upper hand — as in "The Greasy Pole" (one of the few times when, of the two of them, Sir Humphrey is clearly the one with right on his side).
Sir Humphrey's personal characteristics include his complicated sentences, his cynical views on government, and his general toffiness. Hacker's features include occasional indecisiveness, and a tendency to launch into ludicrous Churchillian speeches. Bernard is apt to linguistic pedantry. Sir Humphrey often discusses matters with other Permanent Secretaries, who appear similarly sardonic and jaded, and the Cabinet Secretary (whom he will eventually succeed in Yes, Prime Minister), Sir Arnold Robinson — played by John Nettleton — an archetype of cynicism, haughtiness and conspiratorial expertise. This fairly counter-intuitive view of government administration is not only Sir Humphrey's; it is completely taken for granted by the civil service.
The Yes, Prime Minister episode "The Bishop's Gambit" parodied liberal theology and politics in the Anglican church. Hacker naturally thought that the church was a Christian institution, but Sir Humphrey gleefully informed him that most of the bishops do not believe in God, and that a theologian's job is partly to explain why an agnostic or atheist can be a church leader.
Almost all the episodes end with one of the characters (usually Sir Humphrey) saying "Yes, Minister" or "Yes, Prime Minister" accordingly. Each episode of the former series was more or less self-contained, but the latter exhibited what could be loosely described as a "story arc".
Critical reception
Yes Minister won the BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series for 1980, 1981 and 1982, and the "Party Games" special was nominated in the Best Light Entertainment Programme category for 1984. Yes Prime Minister was shortlisted for Best Comedy Series for both 1986 and 1987.Nigel Hawthorne's portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby won the BAFTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance four times: in the awards for 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987. Eddington was also nominated on all four occasions.
Yes, Minister came sixth in a 2004 BBC poll to find 'Britain's Best Sitcom'. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister were jointly placed ninth.
The series have been cited by political scientists for their accurate and sophisticated portrayal of the relationships between civil servants and politicians. The shows were very popular in government circles, and they were the favourite programme of then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher wrote a four-minute sketch which she performed with the show's two principal actors (with their reluctant acquiescence). Another ten-minute sketch was performed as part of a Christmas Special in 1982. Thatcher read the show as an indictment of the civil service, while others see it as an indictment of the British parliamentary system. Many agree that it is a combination of both.
Background
The writers placed Hacker at the centre of the political spectrum, and were careful to identify his party headquarters as "Central House" (a combination of Conservative Central Office and Labour's Transport House). The terms 'Labour' and 'Conservative' are thoroughly avoided throughout the series, favouring terms such as "the party" and "the opposition". The series clearly intended to satirise politics and government in general, rather than any specific party. The one exception to this rule occurs very briefly in the penultimate episode, regarding education policy.
Despite this, the overall thrust of the early episodes was in a libertarian direction: casting government reduction in a more favourable light than government expansion. The episode "Jobs for the Boys" clearly rejected the tripartite form of corporatism that Mrs Thatcher's government was determined to pursue. Jay was personally sympathetic to the economically liberal elements of Thatcherism, and served as a part-time speech writer to Nigel Lawson. Lynn was, even initially, less sympathetic to Thatcher and as the decade progressed Thatcher's personality came to eclipse the policy agenda. This partnership produced episodes such as "Man Overboard", which satirised the Westland affair.
In Trollopian style, certain minor characters in the series were apparently drawn from identifiable real-world originals. The acerbic nationalised industry chairman, Sir Wally McFarland, was an affectionate caricature of Sir Monty Finniston (of British Steel); the Prime Minister's special advisor in Yes, Minister, Sir Mark Spencer, was a reference to Derek Rayner who joined the first Thatcher Government from the chain store group Marks & Spencer; and the journalists John Pilgrim and Alex Andrews were evident references to John Pilger and Andrew Alexander. Billy Fraser, a tough uncompromising Scottish trade unionist, was based on Jamie Morris, who had led the strike at Westminster Hospital during the Winter of Discontent. By contrast, Hacker's Prime Ministerial special advisor, Dorothy Wainwright, predated the arrival of Sarah Hogg (who bore her some resemblance) as John Major's advisor some years later.
Inspirations
In a programme screened by the BBC in early 2004, paying tribute to the series, it was revealed that Jay and Lynn had drawn on information provided by two insiders from the governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, namely Marcia Williams and Bernard Donoughue. The name of Hacker's ministry was partly derived from the Department for Economic Affairs, which had existed in the 1960s, created and abolished by Wilson. The fundamental plot of a minister being frustrated by the Civil Service was inspired by the published diaries of Richard Crossman after 1964, which are dominated by Crossman's constant struggle with Dame Evelyn Sharp, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The title was probably suggested by Crossman's entry for October 22, 1964, less than a week after he had been appointed:
"...Already I realise the tremendous effort it requires not to be taken over by the Civil Service. My Minister's room is like a padded cell, and in certain ways I am like a person who is suddenly certified a lunatic and put safely into this great, vast room, cut off from real life and surrounded by male and female trained nurses and attendants. When I am in a good mood they occasionally allow an ordinary human being to come and visit me; but they make sure that I behave right, and that the other person behaves right; and they know how to handle me. Of course, they don't behave quite like nurses because the Civil Service is profoundly deferential — 'Yes, Minister! No, Minister! If you wish it, Minister!'"
Some of the material for the episodes is clearly derived from or based on part of Anthony Sampson's book Anatomy of Britain (Hodder and Stoughton, 1962). The episode entitled "The Moral Dimension", in which Hacker and his staff engage in the scheme of secretly consuming alcohol on a trade mission to the fictional Islamic state of Qumran, was revealed to have been based on a real incident that took place in Pakistan. The reference to opportunities for diplomacy at a 'working funeral' may have been inspired by the discussions between Harold Wilson and Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith at the funeral of Winston Churchill, which came at a time when each was refusing to travel to see the other.
Episode list
Thirty-eight episodes were made in total, running from 1980 to 1988. The dates listed are when a particular episode first aired on the BBC.Yes, Minister
Series One
- "Open Government" (February 25, 1980). The new Minister's idealistic commitment to open the windows of his department faces its first hurdle.
- "The Official Visit" (March 3, 1980). Hacker welcomes the visit of the President of Buranda, who turns out to be an old university chum.
- "The Economy Drive" (March 10, 1980). Hacker plans to slim down the Civil Service. His own economy drive will set a personal example — won't it?
- "Big Brother" (March 17, 1980). A new National Integrated Database will give everyone access to their own files. Sounds simple enough? Not to Sir Humphrey.
- "The Writing on the Wall" (March 24, 1980). With their department under threat, Hacker and Sir Humphrey both look to the proposed introduction of a compulsory European Identity Card to save it.
- "The Right to Know" (March 31, 1980). The controversy over a threatened badger colony allows Sir Humphrey to show that there are some things it is better for a Minister not to know.
- "Jobs For the Boys" (April 7, 1980). When Hacker turns to a banker to rescue a doomed building project, he soon discovers it takes two to QUANGO.
Series Two
- "The Compassionate Society" (February 23, 1981). A brand new hospital with full staff operates with a high level of efficiency. So why is the Minister obsessed with its lack of patients?
- "Doing the Honours" (March 2, 1981). Hacker's plan to withhold honours for civil servants who do not reduce their budgets seems irresistible. But he has not counted on Sir Humphrey's old boy network.
- "The Death List" (March 9, 1981). In opposition the Minister campaigned against bugging and phone tapping, but a change in circumstances soon reveals that covert surveillance has its advantages.
- "The Greasy Pole" (March 16, 1981). Plans for a new chemical factory hinge on the outcome of an independent report, but even scientific evidence can be manipulated.
- "The Devil You Know" (March 23, 1981). A Cabinet reshuffle coincides with a vacancy in Brussels. Surely Hacker's job is safe, after all, he's done all right — hasn't he?
- "The Quality of Life" (March 30, 1981). Thanks to some crafty timing from Sir Humphrey, a city farm Hacker vowed to keep open is being bulldozed to make way for a car park for Inland Revenue inspectors. Why is Sir Humphrey so smug about it?
- "A Question of Loyalty" (April 6, 1981). In a major speech, Hacker has declared the Department of Administrative Affairs to be at the forefront of the war on government waste, but a select committee tests the Minister's loyalty to his department.
Series Three
- "Equal Opportunities" (November 11, 1982). Sir Humphrey doesn't see eye to eye with the Minister's plan for sexual equality.
- "The Challenge" (November 18, 1982). Fallout shelters upset Hacker's crusade to make local authorities responsible for their expenditure.
- "The Skeleton in the Cupboard" (November 25, 1982). The name of a young Civil Servant who made a complete mess of a defence contract is about to be revealed under the 30-year-rule, and Sir Humphrey seems unaccountably nervous.
- "The Moral Dimension" (December 2, 1982). After signing a huge export order in Qumran, Hacker is upset to discover it was obtained through bribery. He cannot agree to cover up this corruption, can he?
- "The Bed of Nails" (December 9, 1982). Hacker must formulate an Integrated Transport Policy. But the title of Transport Supremo turns out not to be worth having.
- "The Whisky Priest" (December 16, 1982). Hacker learns that British bombs are ending up in the hands of Italian terrorists. The Prime Minister must be told! Mustn't he?
- "The Middle-Class Rip-Off" (December 23, 1982). Subsidising a local football club promises to bring Hacker enormous popularity in his constituency. However, Sir Humphrey plans to prevent such barbarism.
Special
- "Party Games" (December 17, 1984). The unexpected resignation of the PM prompts a race for Number 10 among his former colleagues, but the two front runners are from the extreme wings of the party. The newly appointed Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey, knows just what kind of man they need. But first that man has to overcome his problems with the Eurosausage.
Yes, Prime Minister
Series One
- "The Grand Design" (January 9, 1986). As Prime Minister, Hacker's finger is on the nuclear button. Confused over some tough questions, he comes up with his own defence policy, "Hacker's Grand Design".
- "The Ministerial Broadcast" (January 16, 1986). As Hacker is coached and groomed for a television speech about his new defence policy, Sir Humphrey is more concerned with what he says than how he says it.
- "The Smokescreen" (January 23, 1986). When Hacker champions his Health Minister's plan to abolish smoking by excessive taxation, a horrified Sir Humphrey mobilises the tobacco lobby.
- "The Key" (January 30, 1986). A territorial battle between Sir Humphrey and Dorothy Wainwright, the PM's political advisor, reminds Hacker that his Cabinet Secretary may have too much power. But Sir Humphrey is not about to let Hacker clip his wings.
- "A Real Partnership" (February 6, 1986). A governmental financial crisis collides with an excessive Civil Service pay claim. Sir Humphrey has to summon all his skills to get the claim past a well-informed PM — and gain an upper hand over the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.
- "A Victory for Democracy" (February 13, 1986). Is the Foreign Office there to carry out government policy, or is the government there to carry out Foreign Office policy? Hacker is about to find out.
- "The Bishop's Gambit" (February 20, 1986). When a British nurse is sentenced to forty lashes and ten years in a Qumrani jail, the PM has to decide whether to be heartless or mindless. He also has to choose whom to appoint to the bishopric of Bury St. Edmunds.
- "One of Us" (February 27, 1986). While a sheepdog, trapped on an artillery range, is stealing the PM's headlines, MI5 drops a bombshell. It seems the recently deceased Head of MI5 was a Russian spy — and Sir Humphrey headed the Committee of Inquiry that cleared him.
Series Two
- "Man Overboard" (December 3, 1987). The Ministry of Defence is in turmoil over the Employment Secretary's plan to create civilian jobs by moving servicemen north. The PM is in favour, until Sir Humphrey hints that the Employment Secretary is plotting against him.
- "Official Secrets" (December 10, 1987). The former PM's memoirs have to be scrutinized for security reasons. When Hacker receives a chapter that is less than complimentary about him, it is leaked to the press that he tried to suppress its publication.
- "A Diplomatic Incident" (December 17, 1987). The sudden death of the former PM, and therefore his memoirs, gives Hacker an opportunity to host a joyful state funeral. Meanwhile the French will stop at nothing to get their way over the Channel Tunnel.
- "A Conflict of Interest" (December 31, 1987). With the Party Conference imminent, rumours of a scandal in the City do nothing to improve the PM's press. Sir Humphrey knows that the only way to avoid disaster depends on the new Governor of the Bank of England. Can he persuade the PM to appoint the right man?
- "Power to the People" (January 7, 1988). Hacker is having problems with local government, and especially with Agnes Moorhouse of Houndsworth Council who wants to abolish parliament, the courts and the monarchy. She must be stopped! Hacker's Reform Bill might be the way.
- "The Patron of the Arts" (January 14, 1988). The PM must address the annual British Theatre Awards Dinner, televised to 12 million viewers. Unfortunately, the frugal size of the Arts Council grant has just been revealed. Can the Director of the National Theatre be persuaded to give the right sort of introduction?
- "The National Education Service" (January 21, 1988). It is time for Hacker to get a grip on the disastrous education system. He could abolish the Department of Education and Science — but what will Sir Humphrey say?
- "The Tangled Web" (January 28, 1988). Hacker has (technically) committed the ultimate political sin — lying to Parliament. Sir Humphrey has a moral responsibility to tell the truth, unless Hacker can employ some gentle persuasion.
Character list
Main characters
- James "Jim" Hacker — Minister of Administrative Affairs; also Party Chair (in "Party Games"); then Prime Minister, played by Paul Eddington
- Sir Humphrey Appleby — Permanent Secretary of the Department of Administrative Affairs; then Cabinet Secretary, played by Nigel Hawthorne
- Bernard Woolley — Jim Hacker's Principal Private Secretary, played by Derek Fowlds
Other characters
- Frank Weisel — Hacker's political advisor (in the first series of Yes, Minister), played by Neil Fitzwiliam
- Dorothy Wainwright — Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (in Yes, Prime Minister), played by Deborah Norton
- Anne "Annie" Hacker — Hacker's wife, played by Diana Hoddinott
- Lucy Hacker — Hacker's daughter (seen only in the Yes, Minister episode "The Right to Know"), played by Gerry Cowper
- Sir Arnold Robinson — Cabinet Secretary (in Yes, Minister); later President of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, played by John Nettleton
- Sir Desmond Glazebrook — Board member, then Chairman, of Bartlett's Bank; City of London banker and old friend of Sir Humphrey; becomes Governor of the Bank of England (in the Yes, Prime Minister episode "A Conflict of Interest"), played by Richard Vernon
- Sir Frank Gordon — Permanent Secretary to the Treasury (in Yes, Prime Minister), played by Peter Cellier
- Sir Frederick Stewart — Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (known as "Jumbo" to his friends), played by John Savident
- George — Hacker's driver in five episodes of Yes, Minister, played by Arthur Cox
Remakes
- Not My Department — Canadian remake from 1987.
- Rosenbaddarna — Swedish unofficial remake from 1990.
- Sim, Sr. Ministro — Portuguese remake from 1996. Note that the name of the original series was also translated to Sim, Sr. Ministro whenever it was broadcast in Portugal, thus some confusion can arise between the two series, as the name may refer to either one.
- Ji, Mantriji — Official remake in Hindi, with the BBC's permission, by Star Plus, Rupert Murdoch's Indian satellite TV channel. The title translates to "Yes, Minister". Aired in 2001.
Trivia
- During the premierships of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, the resident cat of 10 Downing Street was called Humphrey after the character in the TV series. Humphrey "retired" in 1997, rumoured to be because Cherie Blair dislikes cats, and died in the care of a civil servant on 19 March 2006.
- When Paul Eddington visited Australia during the 1980s, he was treated as a visiting British PM by the then Australian leader, Bob Hawke, who was obviously a great fan of the show.
- A computer game version of Yes, Minister was released in 1987 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. The premise was to survive one week in office as Jim Hacker. Info: [link]
See also
- House of Cards — a political drama mini-series about the Machiavellian struggle of Chief Whip Francis Urquhart in becoming the next British Prime Minister. His story was later continued in To Play the King and The Final Cut.
- The New Statesman — a comedy series of the scandal-ridden life of a British MP.
- The Thick of It — a 2005 BBC4 series, draws inspiration from Yes, Minister.
- The West Wing (US television) — political drama involving the President and White House staff
- Absolute Power (British television) — political/media sitcom involving a public relations company in London
- List of fictional politicians
External links
- ["Yes, Minister" at IMDb]
- [British sitcom guide]
- [Yes, Minister / Yes, Prime Minister fan page]
- [BBC guide to the programmes]
- [Another guide to all the episodes]
- [Encyclopedia of Television]
- [British Film Institute Screen Online]
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