Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20986 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2003-10-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 1147 minutes

Features

• 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 Humphrey Appleby, in the ultimate political marriage of inconvenience. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR Age: 

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Thatcher's Favorite Sitcoms!
Any fan of this series is going to want both these boxed sets eventually, so it is a good idea to get them all at once in this 2-pack. This sitcom was brilliantly written, expertly acted and offered some of the most intelligent dialogue you will ever hear on a sitcom (you could study for your SATs listening to Sir Humphrey and Bernard Woolley--and the minister, to a lesser extent). Who says you need scantily-clad women and off color jokes to make great comedy. Three middle aged men talking government did quite nicely.

The first set includes 21 episodes on four discs with photos on the inside of the case. It also offers a touching 47-minute tribute to Nigel Hawthorne. Anyone who has read Hawthorne's autobio Straight Face will recognize some of the people and places featured in this documentary. The second set offers 17 episodes on three discs including the 1-hour Christmas special "Party Games" aired in 1984 showing the political intrigue leading the way for Jim Hacker to become Prime Minister. This set includes a nice 30-minute tribute to Paul Eddington. Other extras are included in this set.

Classic Comedy.
One of the best comedies ever made by the BBC is now available in this rather large megas pack. Containing every episode of both Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister you can rewatch it all now. Some great performances are on show here, and this is definitely the thinking person's sitcom.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes Minister
Believe-it-or-not, humour without vulgarity, popularity without beautiful people or nudity.
This great British comedy serial is possibly the single best TV serial of all time.
The performances by Paul Eddington (as the bumbling, bumptious but likeable Minister & then Prime Minister), Derek Fowlds (as his very likeable Private Secretary), and of course Nigel Hawthorne (as the supercilious, conniving & of course hugely entertaining Permanent Secretary) were all outstanding. It was unfair in the extreme, incidentally, that only two of the three (Eddington & Hawthorne) were awarded OBE's for their performances, but poor Derek Fowlds wasn't.
The scriptwriters excelled themselves, producing an absolutely fascinating insight into the world of British beuraucracy, yet managing a laugh a second.
The production values were outstanding, as was the supporting cast.
Even twentyfive years later, this serial remains entirely up-to-date, and could well have been written just last month.
All-in-all, a rare gem, and a must-have for any DVD collection.