Redrafting The Redraft Of The Redraft | Yes, Minister | BBC Comedy Greats

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#Comedy #YesMinister

[@marcghiggeri4965]

"Urgent, What alot of new words we are learning Humphrey!"

[@animathias1]

😂

[@stevescott1929]

This clip finishes before Sir Humphrey's unusually direct closing line: ""If you're going to do this damned silly thing, don't do it in this damned silly way."

[@reginatang9310]

The way the actor delivered that line is just perfect

[@xn85d2]

Can't believe the audience didn't laugh at the exchange: "I'm sorry minister, but sometimes one is forced to consider the possibility that affairs are being conducted in a way, which, all things being considered, and making all possible allowances, is, not to put too fine a point on it, perhaps... not entirely straightforward." "Well, you're the expert on straighforwardness!"

[@naysay02]

Great observation because it shows how great this show is. It probably means the laughter was genuine, not canned, elicited by an outstanding combination of scriptwriting and acting.

[@denisfonarev]

@@naysay02 My thoughts precisely;)

[@Musicienne-DAB1995]

I laughed at several lines that the audience didn't laugh at, including this one.

[@artyfarty3]

@3:20 " I don't want the truth ! I want something I can tell parliament ! " LOL ;)

[@michaelvidal1971]

Interestingly the one thing a Minister cannot do is lie to Parliament.

[@io4439]

Indeed, the Minister for Administrative Affairs got into a frightful state when informed by his permanent secretary that he had lied to Parliament when answering opposition questions about the bugging of Hugh Halifax's telephone

[@siredith8846]

@@michaelvidal1971 but it doesn’t stop them

[@judsonbaker8128]

Humphrey is usually the foil to Jim’s honesty and sincerity but in this scene, at least one point he’s right. The expansion of civil service really is due to legislation and not bureaucratic Empire-building, and Jim even seems to admit it when he says “I don’t want the truth, I want something I can tell Parliament!”

[@johnwolf6082]

The need for legislation arises because of malevolent acts by administrative officials.

[@guzy1971]

the eternal story of the chicken and the egg

[@JobiWan144]

...legislation that the civil service supports and encourages. In one episode (YM season 1, I think), Sir Humphrey explains to Bernard that a civil service department measures its success by the size of its budget and staff. A larger, more expensive department is a more successful one. At another point, Hacker says he sometimes wonders if securing the DAA's budget in Parliament is all Sir Humphrey cares about. In other words, civil servants want their departments to grow, and the politicians in Parliament let them get their way. The legislation and the bureaucratic empire-building are really one and the same.

[@richardbanker6041]

Jim Hacker is like a weathercock eternally spinning round in being drawn in by one or other political idea that both puts him in a good light and will favour his career. No wonder why Humphrey Appleby is so cynical about politicians. His agenda is a long term agenda which is Conservative in the literal sense.

[@striker8961]

@@richardbanker6041very much in line with their careers. Jim is a politician who’s position is incredibly tenuous and given to him in a popularity contest. Humphrey is a deeply entrenched career bureaucrat making sure his department changes about as much as the coastline. Which gives a funny irony to their policies, Jim wants radical change, despite the fact it could easily cost him his seat, and Humphrey wants things to stay the same, even though he’s about as embedded into the system as is possible and would be Excaliburian to remove.

[@shetah8039]

I still think it's the best documentary series about governments everywhere, ever made.

[@Cryptonymicus]

It's not actually about government. It's about the entire human race. The same things go on everywhere.

[@dvolkov76]

I work in Russian government office for 20 years. And Yes, this IS a very accurate documentary. :)

[@user-cn8vb9hh5z]

It is indeed!

[@johnwolf6082]

@@dvolkov76 is there any way to save humanity?

[@playtime6909]

In the fullness of time... one eventually realises that Humphrey do have a important function... providing stability and long term institutional memory for short term politicians. Not always right, but neither are the politicians.

[@sampuatisamuel9785]

The Minister was having fun by using the same flowery vocabulary that Sir Humphrey uses to avoid giving a direct response to the Minister

[@purusharma6029]

woah Humphrey is actually doing his job...

[@FortuneZer0]

Well. All goverment policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out.

[@nedludd7622]

It was clever at the beginning where, in response to Humphrey's question "When?", Hacker threw back delaying phrases that Humphrey often uses.

[@empiricalandinquirical2435]

“Well, I wouldn’t call civil service delays tactics, Minister. That would be to mistake lethargy for strategy.” For the civil service and Sir Humphrey, they are the exact same thing.

[@0Zolrender0]

We need this series back now. To educate the kids today on the stupidity of Govt. I was 14 watching this and learned a lot on not only irony but how Govt ran.

[@Alexanderiii]

It was brought back in 2013 with a new cast playing the same characters. It lasted one series of six episodes. It was not generally well received and was compared badly to the original.

[@Cryptonymicus]

The stupidity of government? Try the stupidity of everybody everywhere.

[@deadmanomegagaming4061]

Impossible, all the major actors and many of the minor ones are no longer alive. Any attempt to remake with a new cast would always seem shallow in comparison to the original

[@orbemsolis]

I like how he just pops up at the beginning of the clip

[@abxkumar]

Hacker: You're my Permanent Secretary, you're supposed to enact my policies, yet I still don't understand why you seem implacably opposed to them. I must know where you stand in all this!!! Sir Humphrey: Where one stands, depends on where one sits!

[@peterbassey9668]

Clearly, Jim is developing good sea legs in his dealings with Sir Humphrey.

[@kalebm2530]

Delays in the bureaucracy aren’t tactics, they’re functions.

[@purusharma6029]

where you from 3rd world

[@raphaelalexandreyensen6291]

@@purusharma6029 during the Nixon administration a drug was developed to prevent morning sickness in pregnant woman, in most countries it was rapidly approved, It would have been approved in America as well If the woman in the office required to approve it hadn't taken a two-week vacation and came back to piles and piles and PILES of forms on her desk (the approval form for this drug was somewhere near the bottom) as such it took her some time to deal with all the paperwork that had built up over the two weeks in addition to her usual work. The result however was a delay causing enough time for the news to come out that the drug cause Horrific permanent damage, mutation, and retardation. Thus it was never approved in the united states. She got a medal, for not approving it. however, mostly it comes down to laziness and inefficiency saving the day. to quote the romans "Make haste slowly"

[@TremereTT]

@@raphaelalexandreyensen6291 Do you read the NYTimes by any chance? Greatings From Germany

[@sugarnads]

@@raphaelalexandreyensen6291 thalidomide

[@raphaelalexandreyensen6291]

@@TremereTT it's been a while I'm more of a Wallstreet journal man, Greetings from America

[@rezimonavardisashvili393]

Magnificent

[@georgeh5075]

The way he just popped into shot 😂

[@rawyld]

I heard an Audience sneeze in the background and they kept on going at 1:36

[@RasPutintheGreat]

Maybe it was on the other room.

[@purusharma6029]

Damn good observation...

[@rawyld]

@@purusharma6029 I had to repeat the spot over and again to make sure I heard it and yep it was a sneeze.

[@richardmattocks]

Rachel Wyld at this time in the BBC, shows were recorded multi camera like a theatre production. All the actors are used to plowing on no matter the external situation unless something goes actively wrong. Also, fun fact, the BBC recording policy was (I believe) that they had 1.5 times the programme running time to get an episode taped so for a 30 min show like this, they had 90 minutes to get it done. Exceptions exist of course but it’s a guide time. So a sneeze... nothing to stress about! 😁😎

[@lewisgreen1633]

These actors were trained theatre people. A mere sneeze wouldn’t put them off..

[@nnannakalu9423]

"Drafts is easy. It's a game anyone can play." HA! Splendid volley!

[@j.abbink1099]

Still utterly brilliant - after 30 years..

[@julianaylor4351]

Eventually when Jim Hacker becomes Prime Minister, he gets his own back on Sir Humphrey. Please show that scene, where the civil servant gets locked out of a meeting.😆

[@DasSkelett]

That's already on KZbin, you might be able to find it when you search.

[@stephenphillip5656]

"The Key" is the episode in question, where Hacker gets to clip Sir Humphrey's wings.

[@JobiWan144]

@@stephenphillip5656 I recall seeing "The Key" being voted the #1 favorite episode in all of YPM. One of these days, I'd like to re-watch the entire show (3 seasons of YM and 2 seasons of YPM) and keep track of who wins and loses at the end of each episode: Sir Humphrey, Jim Hacker, and/or the British people.

[@lewisgreen2957]

Timeless..

[@snelgrave101]

Urgent Humphrey? What a lot of new words we are learning 😂😂

[@sands7779]

"urgent Humphrey, what a lot of new words we are learning"

[@animathias1]

😂

[@SamirBelafonte]

😂Humphrey is duly at work!!

[@michaelcaldwell5786]

Brilliant brilliant Too important and beautiful for s coma. Thanks awfully 😎

[@larryyao1322]

Epic Epic Epic! I think every voter should watch a series of this m.

[@RadTechFred]

They would realise that politics is a joke and that all decisions are actually made by civil servants so why bother voting.

[@Leonf123]

You’re the expert on straightforward humphrey

[@rogermoore27]

0:50 - masterpiece

[@whatsay3382]

Which episode was this from

[@RahulKumar-ng2gh]

Obfuscation served with verbosity at its best.

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

I don't feel there is any obfuscation nor is there verbosity, it looks that there is verbosity because such a language is making the audience laugh at Sir Humphrey. Rahul Kumar read James Joyce's " Ulysses " even hear some hard words spoken by Dr. Shashi Tharoor then you will come to know how more complex & intricate the English language can be. You may also try Sir Stephen Fry ,Sir Salman Rusdie & Vikram Seth, then you will have to acknowledge that even Indian authors who are writing in English could be difficult to understand.

[@SamvedIyer]

@@anuradhainamdar8967 And, on some occasions, William F. Buckley Jr.

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

@@SamvedIyer Haven't become acquainted with him till now.

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

@@SamvedIyer Just looked up on Google who William. F. Buckley was. Doesn't seem a very decorated person in army at least, are you sarcastically commenting on his role as a T.V. presenter, columnist, author of many books in reference of his verbosity/ obfuscation or in praise.

[@dubey_ji]

They forgot to add the laughter track on you're the expert on straight forward Humphrey

[@g-forcemapping8454]

They don't because there is a real-life audience and all the laughter is genuine and not added in afterwards so the laughter you hear are from real-people and they were too daft to pick up the joke.

[@TheEldarGuy]

No need for a laugh track, or a wind-up guy to warm the audience, or a large "LAUGH" sign. This is pure gold. Sometimes, there are moments when the audience goes deathly silent because they can feel how close to reality the scenes were.

[@richardspikman7116]

put a mustache on that guy, and he´s Manuel from Faulty Towers.

[@gokhanj.yenigun7933]

The best thing has every came out of England.

[@gokhanj.yenigun7933]

@@jennk6313 Do not let my name fool you my friend. And yes, I get your point.

[@mohamedselmi9370]

which episode is this

[@mohamedselmi9370]

@TheRenaissanceman65 thanks

[@GathKingLeppbertI]

Bloody good show eh what?

[@matthew8153]

Imagine Bureaucracy as a Bethesda game, it’s up to the people paying for it to make it work.

[@dawidnazarko926]

Where can I watch full episodes?

[@JobiWan144]

Daily Motion

[@stephenphillip5656]

All YM & YPM episodes are available on DVD. Enjoy!

[@suvonil_]

Amazon Prime

[@siredith8846]

The Minister can redraft whatever he wants. And the Civil Service must comply. Here, Humphrey displays immense power being able to block and delay the Minister’s instructions.

[@thejfg7741]

Yes Minister is about power

[@RasPutintheGreat]

Documentary and not a tv series.

[@ykkrasaoz9748]

Redraft of the redraft of the draft*

[@vrisbrianm4720]

The draft is also a redraft.

[@KINGMJ1990]

Minister wins...the rare ocassion

[@Stilgarsan]

IIRC it was a pyrrhic victory. Sir Humphrey actually tried to protect the minister.

[@tsepoletsunyane596]

Still hard to believe that both Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne are late MTSRIEP

[@David-ve5iq]

So is Derek Fowlds.

[@cornellwaters9089]

🧑 Thank You!

[@adelinelandry7044]

03:10 03:05 01:06

[@adegbeyekayodecoadegbeye8077]

When two elephants fight...

[@fitrianhidayat]

is this the one before Jim realized he made mistakes in his draft, and gets his ass saved by Humphrey not publishing it?

[@deadmanomegagaming4061]

I don't think so, that was earlier on iirc

[@michaelbayer5094]

Many episodes showed the back and forth with some jokes interspersed and the scene ending on a comedic note, but this was especially confrontational, not humorous at all but rather dark (literally, notice how Humphrey is shadowed). I would have liked to see the next few minutes for the resolution.

[@ernestoglesby5342]

Or reporting the redactions of the Grooming Gang Report.

[@TheMaleRei]

Sir Humphrey gives a sickly sweet grin: "Minister, are *sure* you don't wish reconsider your decision to tell the public all about the report on those poor misunderstood migrants? I mean, there is all manner of incriminating material in there that, not to put too fine a point on it, would cause a row amongst the plebians. Things which might cause all manner of trouble for a great many people who are truly innocent of these false charges." Minister: "Humphrey. I know your name is in the report. Get out before I have you shot." Sir Humphrey continues his sickly sweet grin: "Minister. There will be riots in the streets if this gets out. Public order will be threatened. Someone will have to fall upon their sword, and it won't be me. I'm far too lowly for such a sacrifice." Minister: "You mean you'll be swinging from a lamp post if you're *lucky* - now get the fuck out of my office."

[@LDacic]

Dear fans of the series, please, for the love of whatever you hold dear, stop making the "documentary" comment on every single video! Much appreciated.

[@whophd]

DOMINIC CUMMINGS … probably watched this sketch and now look where we are. I hate to say, but this sketch has aged terribly. Everything in this has come 180°.

[@Blackpool-no2vt]

First to like and comment

[@meisterlymanu5214]

comedy greats....yyyyess....hardly a chortle from anybody.

[@_aurangzeb_]

What it hilights is civil service is a curse (we ex colonies of the British are still facing it)

[@greva2904]

Aurangzeb Rao Try running your country without one then and see how far you get!

[@_aurangzeb_]

Ok i will try 😂

[@chen-qs3dl]

because government isn't there to do things. Government is there to stop things from being done. It is working as intended.

[@veroniquendambo3242]

Civil servants are a curse in any country. They are useless.

[@rogermoore27]

Permanent Secretaries are obstacles. Get rid of them

[@johnking5174]

You can't get rid of them. That is not how the civil service works.

[@jorenvanderark3567]

@@johnking5174 Then rework how the civil service works!

[@hyperdistortion2]

@@jorenvanderark3567 Which still begs the question of how. Either you have a hierarchy in which the permanent officials of a government department report to a top official - the Permanent Secretary - who acts as the primary bridge between the elected ministers and the officialdom; or you task the already-overburdened ministerial offices with direct management for the department’s group of Directors-General and the (often) dozens of Directors under them. The hierarchy is, quite simply, necessary as a function of management, especially when the top levels of government departments are a hybrid of those promoted and those elected to their offices. To reform away the top levels of officialdom simply transfers the responsibilities of those offices elsewhere, and likely introducing inefficiency and redundancy in process and procedure that comes with taking away the single point of coordination previously responsible.

[@jorenvanderark3567]

@@hyperdistortion2 Wasn't there a joke in this series about delegating to local government and the civil servants reaction was "no, there would be so little work the ministers might actually be able to do it"?

[@johnskelton1117]

get rid of ministers starting with the Prime Minister!

[@ibmlenovo1]

Such nonsensical governmental functions/ beauraucracies you find in all British ruled countries.

[@RahulKumar-ng2gh]

as an Indian, I confirm your theory

[@peterwest5525]

Just British ruled countries ?

[@aloshyreji4313]

As an Indian...hear hear

[@guguigugu]

you should see the bureaucracies in ex-communist countries...

[@nigelclats6970]

Like the colony of NZ

[@nigelclats6970]

Classic Labour tactics aren't they