Yes Minister

BBC

Comedy War & Politics
English     8.338     1980     United Kingdom

Overview

Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.

Reviews

CinemaSerf wrote:
Jonathan Lynn & Antony Jay have created what has to be one of the sharpest, wittiest comedies ever written. The hugely entertaining characterisations alongside the masterly manipulation of the English language make for a terrifyingly worrying observation on the true nature of "democratic" government and of the chronic ineptitude and incompetence of some/many of our elected representatives. Paul Eddington is superb as the politically naive Minister ("Jim Hacker MP") in the fictional, but perfectly plausible, Ministry of Administrative Affairs - an unimaginably pointless government department that seems to be a filter for all the junk that the more serious officers of state wouldn't touch with a flagpole. The power behind the throne is the Machiavellian "Sir Humphrey" (Nigel Hawthorne) as the permanent secretary; the senior civil servant who has every intention of following his ministerial instructions, but only insofar as they suit the needs of his red-tape brigade. Treading the wavy line between both is his private secretary "Bernard Woolley" (Derek Fowlds) who is almost as naive as his boss, but more practically idealistic - and also a man with his foot in his mouth on a fairly regular basis. What is also great about these series, is that the characters evolve. The hapless "Hacker" learns how to play the game and soon - occasionally - starts to have his victories over "Sir Humphrey" and his system. This triumvirate deliver a fast-paced, considered evaluation of the intricacies of inadequacies of government that stands up almost 40 years later in an amusing and potent fashion. Progressed to "Yes, Prime Minister" which is superb too! Got to be seen by anyone remotely interested in political satire and/or great comedy.

Similar

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

More info
The Andy Griffith Show
1960