Americans React to Yes Minister | Classic British Comedy

Hey guys! Thanks for sticking around our channel as we continue watching and reacting to all things British. This video is us watching the Prime Minister explain the EEC (EU) and the video clip can be found here: • Yes Minister explains ...
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[@Aussiemarco]

With all due respect, you completely missed the point of this clip. As others have commented, Sir Humphrey is a high ranking civil servant. In theory he is working for the Minister, but in reality he is running the government department, manoeuvring Hacker into doing what Humphrey wants. It’s the most intelligent comedy ever written, and contrary to what you assumed, it’s not taking the mick out of government - it’s showing EXACTLY how government operates. The words that come out of their mouths would be precisely what government ministers and their civil servants would say. You need to watch this show from it’s first episode to understand it’s brilliance.

[@pippabidegaray7986]

Bravo well said. I'd go further and say that this show is a prerequisite for all politicians to watch before entering parliament.

[@passionofthecrust9173]

It does definitely take the piss out of our government though (eg civil servant honours).

[@whatshisname3304]

Margaret Thatcher liked it, so they said at the time. but that might have been just a ploy to scare the civil servants, a kind of bluff to suggest she knew what her minions were up to. Hard to believe she had a sense of humour, silly bitch.

[@andregreen8040]

Aussiemarco@ you’re absolutely correct.

[@CiceroLounge]

@daro2096 Yes the writers; Jonathon Lynn and Anthony Jay interviewed Marcia Williams (later Lady Falkender) and Bernard Donoughue (Baron Donoughue) who both provided anecdotes about real situations that occurred during the Wilson tenure of Government.

[@Xr-pd2oi]

Margaret Thatcher was a fan of the show. Paul Eddington who played Jim Hacker was treated as a dignitary when he visited Australia by then prime minister Bob Hawke. One of the most clever, sophisticated comedies ever written; understated humour at its best.

[@billythedog-309]

@@Xr-pd2oi A great taste in comedy once it had been explained at length using charts, graphs and a cold chisel.

[@agenttheater5]

I don't like Thatcher but it makes me happy knowing that Mr Eddington was well-respected and admired, poor man. He faced his skin cancer with a lot of dignity.

[@MrDaiseymay]

@MonkeyZorr that was her son Mark

[@MrDaiseymay]

@@billythedog-309 thick eh?

[@billythedog-309]

@@MrDaiseymay Not especially, but Margaret Thatcher had no sense of humour and l think that says a lot about her. Some people think it indicates a serious mind, but I think it's not a grave character flaw and explains her lack of empathy for other people.

[@kevelliott]

'Sir Humphrey' (the "empty vessel") is a high-ranking civil servant, appointed to assist the government minister. Although the minister is their boss (hence the quasi-deferential 'Yes. Minister') the programme portrays the civil servants as the real power behind the throne, ably putting theory into practice, while making it look like it was the minister's doing all along. Apparently it was so true to life actual government ministers (and Prime Ministers) loved it!

[@timonsolus]

Absolutely. The civil servants take the blue sky thinking of the minister, work very hard at turning his half-baked idea into something remotely resembling sensible policy that might - just - make it though a House of Commons vote (providing the government has a large majority, efficient and completely ruthless whips, and not too many diehard rebel backbench MPs); and then the civil servants take none of the credit if the policy succeeds, and most of the blame if it fails (as ministers love to blame institutionally inefficient or worse still covertly disloyal civil service mandarins for failing to turn their pet projects into action.)

[@watcherzero5256]

Yes, in the UK the civil service is politically neutral, they serve and implement the policies of whatever government is in power while also fulfilling the requests for information or advice of the official opposition. Whenever there is an election in the couple of weeks preceding they do the groundwork for implementing the policies of the opposition so they are ready to hit the ground running if they win. Its very different to the American civil service where the majority are political appointments and tens of thousands of high and middle ranking managers are replaced by the incoming administration (with some appointments taking half a term to fill, e.g. the position of US ambassador to the UK was unfilled for 8 months at the start of the Trump administration, of the 1212 positions directly appointed by the US president 353 are still vacant with a nominee and 368 are vacant with no nominee two years since the election when the term of office is only 4 years)

[@sevenpointfive5450]

Agree with all you say

[@iknewit.2471]

Watcher Zero - Politically neutral is a guise, it doesn't matter which party is in government, the civil servants remain the same and so does their agenda.

[@Raven1983Witch]

Interesting fact: Nigel Hawthorne who played Sir Humphrey wrote in his autobiography that he hated the big long speeches that he had to give.

[@milliechook7375]

I joined a Commonwealth government department in the early 1980s and my new colleagues urged me to both watch the series and read the books. I did, and was surprised to find that it helped me understand where the public service stood in relation to the government and how it worked in real life. Masterful writing that skilfully showed viewers the reality of government policies and processes while successfully disguising itself as comedy. If it had been written as a documentary or expose, it would never have been allowed to be printed or produced!

[@temmy9]

Sir Humphreys finest moment: "Yes. Unfortunately although the answer was indeed clear, simple and straightforward there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of the epithets you applied to the statement. Inasmuch as the precise correlation between the information you communicated and the facts insofar as they can be determined and demonstrated is such as to cause epistemological problems of sufficient magnitude as to lay upon the logical and semantic resources of the English language a heavier burden than they can reasonably be expected to bear." "Epistemological - what are you talking about?" "You..told a lie"

[@kdisley]

I would've said the pinnacle of Sir Humphrey's extended verbosity would be the moment he was forced to admit that he was the junior secretary who made what turned out to be a multi-million pound mistake when working in the War Office in the Forties... "The identity of the official whose alleged responsibility for this hypothetical oversight has been the subject of recent discussion is not shrouded in quite such impenetrable obscurity as certain previous disclosures may have led you to assume, but, not to put too fine a point on it, the individual in question is, it may surprise you to learn, one whom your present interlocutor is in the habit of defining by means of the perpendicular pronoun."

[@vincegalila7211]

@@kdisley or that time he didn't have the key to number 10

[@xpusostomos]

​@@kdisleyAnd if you can understand that without rereading it, you can say your English is truly at native speaker level!

[@25dimensionsfrancis42]

Technically its a comedy but with some hard hitting truth . If you can see more of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister it will give you a close indication of how politics works in the U.K. and Europe. It can be difficult making a comedy of being decieved by those who rule us just as Black Adder made historical horror funny, it is a skill .

[@SJSpode114]

I always thought Yes Minister was a comedy until I joined the Civil Service - then I realised it was a documentary..... 😜

[@25dimensionsfrancis42]

It is just another sad comment on human nature and what we will take from those who rule us because we have no pratical choice being just sheep and have no logical substitute for a "new " system and dictators will not allow change and revolution does not prevent poverty or corruption. America was correct to rid themselves of an unjust Empire but it is often hard to see how American expansion is not just another version. Countries STILL seek expansion .China even builds artificial Islands to expand. Nuclear weapons have put an end to Empires though the use of such weapons are illogical history shows M.A.D. is no guarentee in the old sense so countries seek other methods to expand. I believe we are light years from being civilized and using history and logic an "outside intervention may be our only hope.

[@xpusostomos]

It's not how politics works in the UK, it's how politics works everywhere in the world.

[@ShaunByatt]

the subjects discussed in the show are STILL relevant today, it is truly amazing, either they were ahead of their times, or our politicians have never fixed a single damned problem.

[@MaverickSeventySeven]

True (historical traditional) British humour just has to be savoured like a gourmet meal with fine wine - "Yes Minister" was the Perfect example of quinticential British humour, very nuanced and actually 'deep' - the show Has to be watched from the first episode of the first series. It genuinely reflects a slight toung in cheek approach to Political life.

[@stevemoppett2759]

The background music kills the whole thing.

[@kevinduffy80]

Quite right

[@MrLeighman]

The background music is annoying, please lose it, otherwise an interesting piece. thank you.

[@JHNielson4851]

Yes the music has no business in this video. It's so annoying I quit the video.

[@aaronmicalowe]

I have no problem with the music, when it's not competing with something else, but like you, I found it difficult to hear what was being said in Yes Minister. It became a bit of a fight to focus. If they faded out the music during the reaction video, it'd be the best of both worlds imho.

[@CathyKitson]

leigh pierce Ikr. What's with the music? It's really distracting.

[@Zandranna]

Sadly for some reason it seems to be an American thing to play music over the top of dialogue. You find it in most American TV progammes and films. I can't for the life of me understand why they do it. It's not only irritating but one can't actually hear the dialogue a lot of the time. Apart from the music I am very much enjoying this couple's videos.

[@CathyKitson]

Zandranna Especially with something like "Yes Minister". The programme is very wordy, and it's important to hear all the verbal sparring - that's where the comedy lies.

[@itsjudystube7439]

Oh please kill the music. It is so hard to hear speech as well as music. You are losing audience

[@tsopmocful1958]

I remember nearly running out of breath laughing at the episode when Sir Humphrey gets locked out of No.10.

[@willdsm08]

"The Key".

[@tsopmocful1958]

@@willdsm08 Cheers. :) I'll have to look it up and see it again...but with an oxygen tank handy this time.

[@banksterkid5930]

It was shot in front of real number 10. PM was big fan.

[@MrJingres]

This is one of the greatest comedies ever written and is a must to understand politics. The battle between the minister and the civil service with the minister's PPS in the middle. Cannot recommend enough! Note: I'm American.

[@colinrumford2265]

Sir Humphrey describing the arguments for and against National Service is my favourite.

[@stephenolan5539]

"But surely an honest polling company would not do that." "True but there aren't many of those." I will have to watch that episode again to see if it is "many" or "any"

[@johnnybeer3770]

Brilliant series , sadly the last of the trio , Derek Fowlds just died

[@SuperReasonable]

The 'empty vessel' is Sir Humphrey a member of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to Jim Hacker, the Minister of Administrative Affairs, a non existent, but of course very plausible government ministry in Whitehall. Later when Jim Hacker became Prime Minister in Yes Prime Minister, he was the Cabinet Secretary. In the U.K., the Civil Service remains running the administration of government regardless of the political party in power and must serve successive governments of varying political persuasion. The 3rd person, Bernard Woolley is Hackers PPS, his Personal Private Secretary, another Civil Servant, but more junior than Sir Bernard. The whole sitcom laughs at the wheels within wheels of the British parliamentary system and makes light of everything about the way the country's run. What makes it so special is that nearly everything is believable and hilariously funny and shows the writers must have had a very clear insight into real life within the Civil Service.

[@lorddaver5729]

+Robert Knight "more junior than Sir Bernard..." You mean Sir Humphrey, surely? As for nearly everything being believable, this is because one of the two writers had actually previously been a Whitehall civil servant (and a relatively senior one). He is on record as saying all the episodes of both Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister were based on real life events in Whitehall. That is why real Ministers and civil servants found the shows so true to life.

[@Jack-fs2im]

Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. is the work of a genius showing just how impotent political office is

[@GenialHarryGrout]

Margaret Thatcher loved this programme and described it as how the relationship between elected ministers and the civil servants was in real life.

[@HJKelley47]

"Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" is absolutely funny. Loved Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne & Derek Fowlds. They made it such a joy for this Anglophile to watch. I purchased full sets of both from Amazon UK, and play them on my region-free DVD player. I would suggest you watch the complete sets of both "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" - and not for a reaction, but to enjoy in your personal time.

[@JB_Koda]

yes minister was the first show and yes prime minster was the follow up, same characters he wasn't prime minister in this show. very funny and clever, still relevant and true

[@rjjcms1]

The scripts were just brilliant on this show.

[@tonybmw5785]

Another good one to check out is the New Statesman with Rik Mayall.

[@MrThorfan64]

It unfortunately reads as quite standard by todays standards even if the character was an OTP caricature of Tories.

[@MrBrightlight66]

Best comedy series ever by a long shot but one needs to understand the context to fully appreciate its genius.

[@andreww2098]

the civil service is a constant, they stay in place regardless of who is in power, as such they are supposed to be neutral politically, In practice, this means that they do their best to maintain a status quo for themselves, they carry out policy but have no say in said policies and regard ministers as short-term nuisances

[@paddyoclown]

so Basically they are paid to be mindless

[@andreww2098]

paddyoclown More along the lines of being paid to be paper pushers, the more red tape they produce the less harm the 'Government' can do, they also take the flak if policy fails at which point they get transferred or retired with a pay or pension bonus plus some Royal appointment OBE or Knighthood etc

[@stephenconway2468]

+paddyoclown - more like they try to avoid erratic orders from their masters. A lot of what is requested will take longer to implement than the duration of their master's term. Then new masters come in and ask for something different.

[@guguigugu]

the objective of the civil service is stability. in addition to being widely regarded as preferable to anarchy, the stability of the government and the system translates directly into stability of the civil servants' positions and income. any kind of reform or unusual policy threatens to destroy this carefully managed setup, which is why they will fight as much as possible to avoid them.

[@highpath4776]

Given that the Civil Service managed to miss the impeding economic and banking crash, and the Brexit Situation I am not sure that they are exactly excelling. Most of the time I was in agencies or govt departments the general idea was to find out if any work or problems could be better shunted out to another deparment of agency to deal with as it better fitted their remit. While still writing reports detailing the time and money spent on what we were (supposed) to be doing.

[@soulfella1]

having listened a little more closely to you both, and your problems concerning this program, it becomes even clearer that you have difficulty with understanding who the characters are, and the relationship that exists between them. In addition, the difficulty of viewing a complete episode. Please either buy one dvd,to view an entire show,or either series, "YES,MINISTER" the first series, [which would be the most sensible choice] the second "YES, PRIME MINISTER", once You realise quite what the entire plot of each episode really is about, guarantee viewing satisfaction !! As you are living in the UK, obtaining one episode,or the entire first series [YES MINISTER]on ebay,for instance, would, once any confusion is eliminated,be the only way to do justice to this intelligent, generally extremely well written program.In addition, would be interesting to hear your better informed estimation of this gem!!!

[@murielbarker4311]

that clip is yes minister before he was prime minster wait till you get the full SIR humprey speechs hes brillant

[@FlashPan73]

This show was heavily laden with real issues of the day that were actually fed to the writers from politicains/gov members but of course wrapped up in a different colour. Not to undermine but a strange political humour. It is well known within the inner circles that some politicians/rain makers would watch this show to gauge what was actually happening within government. As in some or a lot of cases this type of info would come out via this show before the official channels. Sadly I know you need to do this legally but he clips you see on this show are far from doing justice for your first impressions.

[@previouslyachimp]

Hi Lillian and Felipe, I think you would really enjoy 'Yes Minister', and 'Yes, Prime Minister'. The clip you watched certainly gives a flavour of the show, but perhaps does not reveal it at its best. The insight into political office (albeit fictional), the historical context and the comedy, really present some cultural perspective. In fact, I might try to re-watch a few myself, just to see how much the landscape has changed, and what was deemed acceptable to say that may now raise a few eyebrows. The central premise was basically that the Minister was a bit of a naive buffoon, and was constantly embattled with his second in command, the more cynical and realistic Sir Humphrey (The Permanent Secretary of Administrative Affairs). It's beautifully written, and very well played. P.S. I've recently discovered your channel, and though I think we would disagree somewhat politically and religiously (I'm an atheist), I'm enjoying your honest, no-punches-pulled commentary. It's vital to garner intelligent viewpoints that differ from one's own, as there's nothing more dangerous than hiding in an echo-chamber. Peace and joy, Andy.

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

I also disagree politically and religiously with Lilian and Fillipe (I too am an atheist), particularly their support of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lillian's views on feminism, but it is still interesting to observed their take of life in the UK, and to wish the family well

[@GodlessScummer]

I'm with you guys (I'm not just an atheist but on the left politically) but it's good that we can have disagreements whilst still being respectful.

[@previouslyachimp]

I won't get you started Dan, as you seem both immature, and overly certain about your propositions. Opening your statement with 'Atheism is for liberals who can't make up their minds on anything and are to afraid to have real opinions', is all-encompassing and inaccurate, and doesn't predispose me to converse with you too much. However, I have no problem with the possibility of no free will, as it's difficult to get past the fact that our thoughts and actions are the consequence of multiple precursor events that are out of our control, and as you said, deterministic. I'm not closed to the idea of something 'beyond' our universe, and it's easy to acknowledge the limitations of our ability to understand what may be possible. That said, as of yet I've seen no evidence of anything like a God, and all of the philosophical difficulties in explaining the universe as we see it, still exist and more when you posit one. It's religious literalism I take issue with, not 'the wisdom of ages', or traditionalism etc. Good day

[@GodlessScummer]

That's an awful long argument but you are missing what exactly atheism is. Atheism is merely the position that you are not convinced of the existence of a god and nothing more. That's literally it.

[@GodlessScummer]

@Dan Brown the word agnostic has more to do with knowledge than belief so my definition of atheism still stands. I think people get to hung up on labels but so many people who are actually atheists don't want to label themselves that way. Another one of the many insidious things religion has actually done is to get the A word to be seen as a dirty word.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

You do have an equivalent - Veep. Which was written by Armando Iannucci, who had previously written a British series called "The Thick of It", which was like an updated version of Yes Minister.

[@kevelliott]

Spitting Images is a must, though it helps to be visually acquainted with political figures and celebs of the 80s.

[@GodlessScummer]

Just as long as they don't watch the Chicken Song. LOL

[@MrDaiseymay]

I STILL WATCH THEM ON DVD, AND THEY STILL MAKE ME LAUGH BUT, THEY ARE NO LONGER TOPICAL. THEY OFTEN RIDICULED CURRENT SITUATIONS LONG FORGOTTEN .

[@marvinc999]

Kevin Elliot - "Spitting Images is a must...." ESPECIALLY if you're an Embittered Lefty, and veteran Thatcher/Reagan-hater ! Such a shame it came to end just when the Golden Age of Blairism and Jewish Crypto-Marxism dawned............................ Funny that.

[@Danno1983]

I loved spitting image

[@namelesscynic1616]

Spitting Image was a rather cruel leftist parody on the Thatcher goverment enjoyed more by those on the left. Those who were Conservative felt that it did not attack the left as much when they made political blunders giving cause to accusations of political bias.

[@christopherwhitney2711]

A late comment, but the series was based upon research from actual government contacts and possible scenarios. It’s considered to be quasi relevant to any age of politics and accurately portrays the inner working ideologies in a mixture of cynical and satirical portrayals with a classical levity and self deprecation which is very entertaining. I loved it even as a kid

[@craigrobertson8364]

Yes,many european countries ended up with an even,uneven economy dictated to by The EU,In the seventies our country was denied existing trade deals and had to fend for itself despite our service to Queen and Country through two world wars.New Zealand

[@leglessinoz]

In "Yes Minster" James Hacker is appointed as a Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration. In "Yes Prime Minister" it follows him when he becomes PM. The equivalent of the civil service in the UK is often called the public service in other many other countries.

[@SardonicALLY]

VEEP is similar and American, but the tone of VEEP and Yes Minister are very different. Actually VEEP is more easily comparable to the other English comedy political show ''The Thick of It'' .

[@markkelly9621]

This is Yes Minister where the main fellow was a politician in charge of the Department for Administrative Affairs. The empty vessel guy was the civil servant in charge of the administration and enactment of the politician's policies in the department. He basically tries to railroad the Minister away from doing what the Minister wants towards what he wants the Minister to do. So the main basis for the comedy is how each of the two main characters tries to trap the other into doing what they want. The other guy is the Minister's private secretary, like a go between between the two so he gets caught in the middle. There is also a Yes Prime Minister series where the politician is of course PM rather than just a Minister. In the UK we have: The Prime Minister who heads the Cabinet which is the MPs in charge of departments or Ministers. Then the Chancellor of the Exchequer (I charge of all the money) The Home Secretary. Foreign Secretary Then under them other Cabinet Ministers for lesser departments. Then you have backbench MPs.

[@vipertwenty249]

Sir Humphrey is a civil servant - a non elected non political assistant to those elected to office. The British civil service is one of the finest exponents of subtle influence in the corridors of power in the world - they've had centuries of practice and they're very good at it. What they most seek (unofficially of course - none would ever even consider admitting to it) is the continuation of their own positions in those corridors of power. The series Yes Minister and its successor Yes Prime Minister depicts the civil service in a remarkably accurate way through the use of a fictional and mildly comic production.

[@jasonritchie8475]

The Men in Grey, as I like to refer to them; Those who have menial, administrative jobs in the Houses of Parliament, but also quietly influential positions within the corridors of power at Westminster

[@GodlessScummer]

You should check out the clip from Yes Minister where they are at a reception in a country with Islamic law. Where they set up a secret room so they could sneak alcohol into the orange juice. Of course Hacker gets completely drunk.

[@kevincasey5035]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJDZgamCociIp68 - the full episode!

[@GodlessScummer]

Cheers I may watch it now.

[@darrylguerrant5101]

I almost forgot the show until I remembered that episode. I just recently unearthed the first three series. Seeing it again reminded me how funny it was. How disturbing politics and govt. can be.

[@CaptainNemo1701]

One of the funniest with sly refrences to drinks brands :)

[@darrylguerrant5101]

Upon first seeing this on Philly PBS back in the 80's. I recognized Napoleon, Mr. Smirnoff, and Johnny Walker. It was enough for me to get it because I already caught the opening scene.

[@2sridhark]

Yes Minister and Yes PM were popular shows 20 years ago and i watched them with a lot of interest sitting in India. I do not think anything close to this kind of political satire has ever been attempted.

[@dinismantas7265]

I remember this episode to this day, must have watched it decades ago. You really need to watch a full episode of this series, this was not enough.

[@frglee]

Politicians here have often said that there is more than a little truth in this show. One of the writers, Anthony Jay, was a longtime political journalist and knew Westminster very well.. Mrs Thatcher liked the series so much she had a mini episode written for her! It is of the 80s and has dated a bit, imo. If you want to know what British government is like behind the scenes are like nowadays you might be better off watching Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) in 'The Thick of It' which is extremely funny but very sweary!

[@PeterJPickles]

The reason we watch is to see someone else's view on British things without influence, keep up not knowing the ins and outs, this way we get honest opinions. Love to see follow up vids, after you do get up to speed :)

[@lewisner]

I'm sure there was one episode where Humphrey told Hacker our Nukes weren't targeted at Russia, they were targeted at France !

[@djdarbary]

Do yourselves a favour; get the full series on DVD, along with the follow-up, "Yes, Prime Minister!". Start here: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister Enjoy!🍀

[@CrunchyNorbert]

that background music is very distracting

[@anthonyellis987]

A way around the copyright is to watch an episode (showing on the highlights) and then give a review afterwards.

[@lawrieflowers8314]

The PM family would have got much more from it, and understood a lot more too, with a little research beforehand to grasp that it is the bureaucrats (aka civil servants), supposedly serving the minister in an objective and impartial manner, who actually manipulate him to get their own way. Going into it thinking it's just about chaos and muddle is getting the wrong end of the stick entirely. This is sophisticated comedy which, unfortunately, is strongly based in reality. And holds true even today - let alone several decades ago...

[@peeedurr]

May I request that you do away with adding background music on your clips. For one thing, it's distracting, but for another, for those who are perhaps a little hard of hearing, it only makes it more difficult to hear the video clip and your own comments. Thank you.

[@richarddimeck4578]

The humble vessel was sir Humphrey and he was a civil servant for the uk government. Each episode was a tug of war between the minister and sir Humphrey on a different issue. Really really funny.

[@septegram]

Go ahead and watch the full episodes just for fun. It's delightful.

[@stephenphillip5656]

Hello Lillian and Felipe (and of course your lovely children)- welcome to UK. I've only just picked up on your channel and I love your take on our TV shows!. Yes Minister and its successor Yes Prime Minister were originally broadcast in the early and mid 80s and depict the initially naive and bumbling Minister of Administrative Affairs (a fictional Government Department ) (Jim Hacker) and his Permanent Secretary (Head of the Department's Civil Service staff) (Sir Humphrey Appleby.) Sir Humphrey Appleby is a career Civil Servant whereas Jim Hacker is a newly-promoted Government Minister. It depicts collision and collusion in the corridors of power and is a true classic gem of British comedy IMHO (I'm a HUGE fan 35~40 years after it was originally shown). It is a classic "Servant is smarter than the Master" comedy (there are lots of others on British TV such as "Jeeves & Wooster" and "Dad's Army*" to name 2). (*) Best look it up on Wikipedia! For a while, we, the viewers watched Yes, Minister as a situation comedy- until we realised we were probably watching either a documentary or a series of Civil Service training videos! The writers had quite a few insights into the inner workings of Government and our Civil Service from sources within those august organisations- a lot of what is depicted as fiction usually happened. The worrying thing is- although the technology has moved on (there's no mobile phones for instance in the originals) the stories are still relevant today!

[@davidbarlow431]

The underlying theme of the show was that ministers do not run their departments. Senior civil servants make the decisions and manipulate the minister to make the "correct" decision.

[@telsutton]

Yes, Minister, and, to a lesser extent, Prime Minister, are the best comedy writing of all time... and completely British. Cynical, sarcastic, cruel, and intelligent.

[@etrangeremusic]

Worth remembering that the British system is for the elected ministers to choose the direction of travel but the civil servants, who are not part of the party system, are the ones tasked with carrying out the orders. They are often the experts leading from the bottom.

[@MrDunkycraig]

The best comedy show ever, set in the 80s but oh so true now

[@Rog5446]

I think I should explain the core plot of this show. There are non-permanent members of parliament (in this case the Prime Minister) who are the policy makers. There are permanent civil servants (in this case Sir Humphrey) who's job it is to make the policies work. The show is not based on the shambles that goes on behind closed doors. The show is based on how the civil servants (the permanent ones) manipulate the government (the non-permanent ones) in order not only to make life and work more easy for the civil service, but to ensure that civil service jobs and departmental budgets are at least preserved, if not increased.

[@TheScunneredMan]

Hi Guys, This is about A MINISTER. Later he was 'elected to the post of PM, so the series then became, "Yes, Prime Minister'.

[@markcunningham7350]

When you look at the civil service in Yes Minister, this is about as close as you will ever get as to how the UK civil service actually does work.

[@RVREVO]

Watch the Two Ronnies sketch called Four Candles or Fork Handles

[@GrymligastPS4]

God yes lol

[@loosecannon5813]

Ah, the two Ronnie's - very cleverly written sketch in a bar with a posh lady 'mistaking phrases' for something rude. Genius

[@bartconnolly6104]

Oh yes Four Candles is one of the best play on word the Ronnies did! and Pisspronounciation. and Spoonerisms. all written By Barker I think

[@ElledieWildAndFree]

It doesn't make me angry

[@ElledieWildAndFree]

I'm 62, and still working as a nurse, so if I'm doing 'awight' it's because I've worked hard all my life to achieve it, thank you.

[@wrorchestra1]

Sir Humphrey Appleby is the Permanent secretary to the department that Jim Hacker is the Minister. Sir Humphrey is a stereotypical high ranking civil servant. This series was hailed for, among other things, its accuracy to the actual workings of the civil service at the time. Mostly due to the writers having a source who used to be in the government.

[@douglassiqueira2347]

Accurate as it was in the past as it is today. Nothing has changed.

[@TheScunneredMan]

The 'empty vessel' is a Civil Servant, who works in parliament and assists MPs & Ministers & The PM. Members of congress will have back up teams, as we saw in West Wing, but they have differing titles, but do similar jobs, I am guessing. Hope that clears up the issue of Sir Humphry.

[@terencechesney9098]

One of my favorite shows ever. I bought the box-set...

[@jennygibbons1258]

The point is that regardless of whoever gets elected as Prime Minister, the bureaucrats (Sir Humphrey) remain in control. Incidentally, an ex president said the same when asked what he'd learned from his time in office :" I learned that the power does not lie with the throne."

[@EricIrl]

There were two separate series. The first was called "Yes Minister" which followed the career of MP Jim Hacker just after he has become a minister in the government for the first time. The later series sees Hacker assume the role of Prime Minister and was called "Yes, Prime Minister". The first series was made in 1980/81 and really depended on the Conservative government of Mrs Thatcher as its inspiration. Because she led her government from 1979 to 1990, it was easy for the writers to find plenty of inspiration. The EEC (European Economic Community) was the original name for what is now called the EU (European Union). Hatcher's job in the original series is Minister of Administrative Affairs - which is a fictional government department and does not exist in real life. He decides his job is to streamline government business and make it more efficient. The civil servant who is supposed to be directing this policy for Hacker is Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by Nigel Hawthorne). In reality, Hawthorne really wants to keep matters the way they are and tries to frustrate Hacker's plans - although in an extremely gentlemanly, polite and very British way. It is a gem of a series and humour at its cleverest.

[@stephenolan5539]

The best episode was the special between the two series where Hacker becomes Prime Minister. In it both sides the government members and the civil service workers are working together.

[@Wonega]

you can watch the full episode and edit your reactions down to 10mins , most allow 10mins as a fair use.

[@ThePostmodernFamily]

We’ll give that a shot!

[@highpath4776]

Dont forget most of the time we watched these they were going out on TV in 'real time' and how did we react? Was Yes Minister a BBC2 programme (ie a Brain and preferably a 2.2 min degree required to assimilate the nuances) . Note the studio audience reaction is relatively muted in that they are waiting for the punchline ( I once went to a recording of the ITV Series 'Fresh Fields' which had the mix of the slow burn and the thrown in laugh out loud throwaway killer line that runs in British comedy.

[@leejohnstone2387]

The guy you think is the UK representative in the ECC (EU) is actually the cabinet secretary. The most powerful unelected person in the UK. The cabinet secretary has many tasks one of them being advisor to the prime minister. Essentially the cabinet secretary is the power behind the throne

[@alunrundle162]

Psst! The radio version (as you may have noted it's a lot of spoken humour) is having a repeat season on BBC Radio 4Extra on Thursdays at 8am, 12 noon and 7pm

[@nikkiparksy]

Glad you liked the show it is a brilliant program that was watched by all the government at the time. And we are European's, But we dislike greatly the EU politic show.

[@leejohnstone2387]

The Humble Servant (Sir Humphrey) is the cabinet secretary. The real life cabinet secretary is the most powerful unelected representative in the UK

[@TheBeatleman66]

got both box sets, Yes Minister and the follow up Yes Prime Minister

[@somersetnewsnetwork2198]

The EEC is the European Economic Community, The EU is the European Union. When the UK jointed the EEC we where sold a common market. Yet if you read the European Communities Act 1973 it says "ever Closer union" so it was the plan all along but we where not told. that why we voted for Brexit, PS: I worked in the civil service for 6 years and I can tell you sometimes it just like this.

[@ilikethisnamebetter]

"..chaos and buffoonery.." ".. I don't think we have an equivalent in the US.." For four years, you really have.

[@davidmckie7128]

Hi there, I watch a few reaction videos from a few people and they have sometimes had episodes blocked. I think that KZbin as a 10 minute rule. You can react to a programme, but you can only show 10 minutes of clips. However you can react to some bits with just the audio. One person I follow reacts to a 45 minute programme and produces a 20/25 minute video. However, some companies who made the original programmes also block some things sometimes.

[@BarrySlisk]

Probably the most intelligent comedy ever shown on TV.

[@2hotsniper]

Watch the two Ronnies. Especially Ronnie Corbett.sketch in telling a story.superb

[@BRIDINC1972]

The series started as Yes Minister, and he eventually was elected to PM and it then became Yes, Prime Minister. Hilarious

[@agenttheater5]

To see more of the late Mr Paul Eddington's work I recommend 'The Good Life' when he plays the neightbour Jerry Leadbetter, one of the four main cast along with Ms Penelope Keith as Margo Leadbetter, Ms Felicity Kendal as Barbara Good and the late Mr Richard Briers as Tom Good, it was a huge hit and its still a hilarious show. It's about a married couple (The Goods) who decide to find a meaning to life by adapting self-sufficiency - in the back-yard of the middle-class suburbia they livein that is. It's all much to the horror of their social-climbing friends and neighbours (the Leadbetters) who have to look at the pigs and goat they have in the back-yard.

[@charlesd5732]

Yes minister “the key” is the best episode

[@toddhill706]

In US terms, the Politician is the President, The Empty Vessel is his Chief of Staff, and the other guy is the President's diary-keeper. In the Australian Public Service 'Yes, Minister' and 'Yes, Prime Minister' are seen as documentaries, not comedies. For an updated view, try 'The Thick of It'.

[@trevordance5181]

The whole premise of the series Yes Minister, and Yes Prime Minister is to demonstrate that it's not the elected politicians that control the direction government takes, it is in fact that behind the scenes it is the top civil servants that influence things, without of course the elected politicians being aware of their own manipulation. This is of course a comedy series, but no doubt there is an element of truth in it. How much truth? Well, that is debatable!

[@Isleofskye]

Shame it cut off there because it became hilarious when Sir Humphrey gave a cynical appraisal of who hated who in Europe..

[@thomasmain6807]

The EU started as the Common Market, and the British people were told that it was just that a market to assist trade, harmless right? it then morphed into the EEC European Economic Community, a bit ominous but still about market's right ? or at least economies. Then it turned into what it had been all along the European Union that was the intention from the beginning, to create a Federal Europe along the lines of the USA. The trouble is that no one has asked the British people if they want to be part of a Federal Europe giving up our sovereignty. Under our constitution we have to be asked, its illegal criminal in fact to, take sovereignty away from the people without their consent. And that is exactly what has been done by stealth. From the Common Market to the European Union with only one meaningful vote, when the question was do you want to join a market.

[@slickwillywize]

a permanent secretary is 'THE BOSS'

[@martinroberts5311]

As always enjoyed watching you trying to understand

[@wrorchestra1]

Sir Humphrey Appleby is the Permanent Secretary to the Department of Administrative Affairs, I.e the chief civil servant of that department. Jim Hacker is the Minister of Administrative Affairs who later becomes Prime Minister and Bernard Wooley is the Minister's personal permanent secretary.

[@mango4ttwo635]

the premise of Yes Minister, which later became Yes Prime Minister is that government does not run the country, the civil service does. Humphrey is the chief civil servant who works for the Minister. He's pro-Brussels, because they are administrators like him. The Minister likes the concept of the EEC, rather than its - as he sees it - busybody civil servants. it is a funny show. One of my favourite scenes was Humphrey explaining you can get opinion polls to say anything - it's all in the question kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWG9i32OrJmAiqM

[@Abbadonhades]

What about VEEP With Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I haven't seen it, but isn' t that one a comedy about the upper echelons of Power in the USA? And by the way why is there music playing during the Clip? It makes it a bit hard to hear what they're saying.

[@Budcat101]

Saw the series and loved it!

[@brianwalley7894]

I love your videos but I frequently find the addition of a background music soundtrack to be distracting and unnecessary

[@Isleofskye]

Even if it is not to react to you should watch whole episodes as this is the finest wordplay I have known in observing comedy for 60 years between The Head Of The Civil Service=Sir Humphrey and The Prime Minister played by 2 Late theatrical knights~ Sir Paul Eddington and Sir Nigel Hawthorne.

[@kennethmcgeechan604]

You need to watch all of this start to finish, from Yes Minister to Yes Prime Minister - a lot of the political comedy is still relevant today. Watch it for your own entertainment.

[@tonymayren9776]

A very intelligent comedy series, especially with it's use of words by the almost Machiavellian Sir Humphrey. I would think it would be difficult for you to understand the complexity of the series without starting from the beginning of Yes minister. You will be well rewarded if you did. I've only just found you but I'm really enjoying your reactions and opinions. I agree about the music, it's annoying.

[@TheBeatleman66]

even Maggie Thatcher liked the series

[@russellpointer4731]

Very Good show Yes Minister, the amazing thing is it hasn't aged at all

[@BritishComedyUK69]

Thanks for sharing, I love British Comedy x

[@BritishComedyUK69]

although I could never get into this show,..never a fan of political humour...I get bored easily :P

[@thatnorwegianguy1986]

1:15 yes you do VEEP is a comedic political show that is very much like Yes Minister it's also created ironically by a Brit and the show became a massive success.

[@vipertwenty249]

Oh yes, and as someone else said, watch the 2 Ronnies sketch Fork Handles - dead easy to find on you tube. It's set in a very old fashioned hardware store - those have all but disappeared now but were still quite common in my youth.

[@SpectatorAlius]

At 6:11, where he says "representative of the UK to Brussels, he missed it completely. Nobody told him before showing him the clip? Sir Humphrey is a professional government bureaucrat, whose social class does the real day to day running of the government, while the Minister is a politician voted into office by the people (when he finally becomes Prime Minister at the end of the series) or appointed by the Prime Minister. Sir Humphrey is the "humble vessel" for this Minister both in this series and when he becomes Prime Minister. It seems they have a rather vague understanding of the EECC, too. They also seemed to miss the joke about "front trotters" -- maybe they don't get the British idiom? How long have they lived there?

[@highpath4776]

I'm not sure I got the Front Trotters bit over and above the following on from snouts in the trough.

[@SpectatorAlius]

@High Path The context makes it pretty obvious: "front trotters" are their front legs, as their eagerness to eat compels them to dig deeper into the trough than just a snout will do.

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

There is an American show called "Veep" which does a similar thing to Yes Minister.

[@grantpiper1223]

EEC = the European Economic Community, precursor to the EU. "Yes, Minister" was about the fictional cabinet minister Jim Hacker and his ongoing battle with his bureaucratic Chief Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby. Later in the show's history, the confused and barely competent Hacker rises to the PM's office almost by accident. The show is then re-christened "Yes, Prime Minister." In every episode, Hacker manages to come out on top of Sir Humphrey, and the show ends with Sir Humphrey conceding, "Yes, minister." Or, after the rise to Number 10, "Yes, Prime Minister."

[@elingrimes4079]

Is there a way you could react to a full episode, but edit the clip to like cut out the middle part? That way you get the benefit and understanding of seeing a whole ep of the show, and that's the context of the reaction, but you don't get hit by copyright issues? Just a thought, apologies if you've read it hundreds of times and are rolling your eyes right now ;) I'd love to have you guys as neighbours, you seem like thoroughly good eggs.

[@Ilmarinen7]

Background: in the UK, we have a non-political civil service. They are professional public servants who serve the government of the day to the best of their ability, whichever party or parties that may be. When the government switches, the ministers (politicians) at the top of departments will change but the staff stay the same. The idea is that the minister sets policy and takes decisions, the civil servants advise, implement and administrate. Ministers are appointed by a Prime Minister who can command a majority in Parliament to get laws through. So we elect MPs, they decide who's the PM (normally leader of the biggest party), PM picks the ministers (who need to be in Parliament) that run government departments and make devisions. This means you have the series' three main characcters: Jim Hacker, a politician trying to climb the greasy political pole and in constant fear of slipping back. Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary, i.e. top career civil servant of his department. Bernard Wooley, a younger, more junior, career civil servant. His position is Personal Private Secretary to the minister, so handles his diary and correspondence. A lot of the humour relates to the struggle between Hacker and Sir Humphrey over who is actually in charge, with poor Bernard somewhere in the middle. Sorry for the long description. I only wrote it all so that you'd have understanding of the set-up to be able to enjoy the series. It's really worth watching even if you're not doing a reaction video: it'll make you laugh while giving an insight into how the UK (doesn't?) work. It's old but has aged well, most of what it pokes fun at still applies.