yes minister clips

[@claudine98052]

This show needs to be remastered and released again. It’s a pure gem, writers and actors alike. I am at awe with the prouesse of the actors, especially Sir Nigel Hawthorne. Memorizing those triads and the the way he acts and mimics them is a pure joy to watch.

[@msinvincible2000]

The ability of Sir Nigel Hawthorne to memorize such long and difficult speeches is something that never fails to amaze me

[@MrKeeft1]

Couldnt agree more

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

Nigel

[@MrKeeft1]

@@ZER0ZER0SE7EN AH I didnt notice...quite right..

[@msinvincible2000]

@@ZER0ZER0SE7EN My goodness! Why didn't I verify what I'd written?! Thankyou

[@vincentconti3633]

Check out the American comedian Cid Caesar. From the fifties. He was the best at talking nonsense....in various languages...sort of!!! Search for German general scene! You'll be glad you did.

[@jonnnyren6245]

If we ever have a British Prime Minister that has the same command of the English language as Sir Humphrey I will definitely move to Britain and work so hard to become his own civil servant.

[@billkeaveney1526]

A masterful actor

[@annemariefleming]

We have an MP of this calibre.....Jacob Rees-Mogg. Unfortunately he won't stand a a candidate because he has a young family of several children, and doesn't want to disrupt their family life. Perhaps he might be persuaded when they're grown,,,I hope so. He has a brilliant mind, a great dress sense, is articulate, studies everything carefully, and always gets the best of any argument. Check him out on You-Tube.

[@billkeaveney1526]

@@annemariefleminglol Mogg couldn't lace up Sir Humphries shoes

[@chateauferret]

@@annemariefleming Rees-Mogg is an idiot who disguises his stupidity with flowery language and obscure facts which on inspection turn out to be wrong. He is a total waste of space.

[@jp5481]

@@annemariefleming 🤣🤣🤣

[@captscarlet17]

I used to work in the civil service back in the early eighties and Yes Minister was a true reflection of it down to a tee. The BBC will never make another excellent series like this ever again, when you look at the tv programmes of the seventies and eighties you see quality not the rubbish you see today.

[@robbielobster3212]

Did you know a Humphrey or a Bernard?

[@captscarlet17]

Oh Yes!! That’s why this programme was so popular 😎

[@Jajalaatmaar]

What do you mean? I loved Troy: Fall of a City. Especially when I, after 7 episodes, figured out the black bald guy was supposed to be Zeus.

[@captscarlet17]

Jajalaatmaar, the BBC has never made another programme like this since the eighties regarding the civil service. But I do remember the original House of Cards Which was about the politics at that time. Another series was the famous Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy starring Alec Guinness which is a 5* spy production written by John Le Carre. If you get the time watch these 2 series, you won’t be disappointed by the quality of acting.

[@robbielobster3212]

@@captscarlet17 Any particularly interesting things that can be released under the thirty year rule?

[@maureenharrington4085]

if the BBC wanted to redeem themselves they should rerun all episodes of this

[@olesrensen7819]

"There can be no question of the BBC ever giving in to government pressure...!"

[@anthonyrose6133]

And people today think we’ve ‘progressed’! I wish they could name just one comedy series that has passed the superlative heights that this one achieved over 30 years ago! Surely, when compared to today’s mundane offerings it’s undeniable that we’ve actually been regressing instead!

[@billkeaveney1526]

👏

[@rvbguitar]

This was an absolutely genius script, played by great actors. I'm from Portugal, and I bow myself to the British Comedy and Culture and all what it gaved to the world. Thank you!

[@scottdd2]

Their timing is impeccable, one of the greatest shows there is.

[@pikiwiki]

"by means of the perpendicular pronoun." No one does English better than..the British, obviously.

[@frankbarbaro6845]

That's what Al Murray, the publican comedian, said in one of his shows. He actually argued that the human brain is designed to think in English and so therefore the Brits have an inmate advantage in this area. If so, It certainly hasn't been on display throughout the brexit drama

[@nikzeka8562]

hahahahaha ;) can cause confusions and conflicts with ...

[@hoagy_ytfc]

He says he refers to himself "by means of the perpendicular prounoun", which is fine. But then he says "it was I". In THAT context, he should say "it was me".

[@johnbranscombe3817]

David Stevenson Not so. It is he who is correct in the usage. The difference between a transitive and intransitive verb is consistent.

[@videosrus99]

You mean . . . the English, obviously. :-)

[@Sussudio70]

I watched this series on Turkish television back in the late 80's. Although the Turkish dubbing was quite good and I absolutely loved this series, the original version, especially Sir Humphrey's speeches, are tremendous.

[@michaelclemensen8475]

I so miss this show . Magnificent actors and sublime english humour .

[@TimberwolfC14]

I enjoyed Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister and my family got it for me on disk. Trouble was I started to understand what Sir Humphrey was saying

[@joekerr3638]

Now apply it to Brexit...Brexit is a whole lot funnier

[@jumbodoug]

If this show was still going, they'd have had a field day with Brexit. The biggest problem would be separating the comedy from the news

[@highpath4776]

@@jumbodoug they did one on europe, maybe two or three.

[@Thursdaym2]

The greatest demonstration of our language in modern times.

[@Wintermute909]

It amazes me this was filmed in front of a live audience! Which adds new dimensions on all the actors, especially Nigel Hawthorne's, speeches

[@newperve]

I love how Humphrey can always summerize his parargraph of verbiage in a sentence.

[@winternow2242]

A real cross section of the nation (6:52); this show was really ahead of its time.

[@blxtothis]

Quality comedies such as this are sadly long gone from Mainstream TV, replaced by vulgar, infantile, right-on, insipid and childish garbage.

[@jimjamjimjam7700]

😢

[@realitymatters8720]

That is the result of free market thinking gone to far.!

[@nickjgunning]

Compare this with "Mrs Brown's Boys..." or don't; you might feel like severing an artery!

[@kevinhall3188]

Hear Hear !!!

[@abistonservices9249]

Sadly it will never be the same, the whole country has gone to the dogs, either that, or i am getting too old! -- Nothing really like those programs i reckon, replaced by Mrs Browns Boys. 🤬🤯

[@paulwhelan4676]

The script writers on this show were truly brilliant.

[@Beiki]

Some of it came straight from people in the civil service.

[@milesjolly6173]

“How are things at the campaign for the freedom of information by the way?” “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about that” 😂

[@FooRocker1245]

Miles Jolly One of my favourite jokes from any show!

[@abistonservices9249]

😂🤣😅

[@bucksman]

That was a good one 😂

[@adrianridgway4333]

2020 and I can't believe we don't have any decent political satire like this any more.

[@johnking5174]

Satire died when the last episode of The Thick of It aired way back in the autumn of 2012. That is a fact.

[@ianmclachlan7476]

Too close to the truth, so no longer permitted.

[@jimspink2922]

The thing is the situations are still the same and the comedy is just as fresh. Must agree that political satire is not the same as today.

[@adamhann7584]

It is one of the best shows ever!!! I keep watching it again and again from time to time, and I just started couple of days ago. Too bad they only made 5 seasons altogether and one movie. They should have done more, also other great show is Allo Allo!!!! these never get old or a person gets bored from them.

[@brianmckinnon4591]

I watched this program for the best part of a year before I found out it wasn’t a documentary!

[@jondoglegs7124]

... Hourargh !!

[@rhocroft5898]

@Schaden Freud Tory or.Tories

[@bachblues2]

If Machiavelli could reincarnate , he could surely do so as Sir Humphrey. Doubtless

[@ahcokris]

I believe Sir Humphrey could teach a thing or two to machiavelli ;)

[@hannesbaumann8509]

Surely you are referring to Sir Arnold.

[@JP-sm4cs]

He seems more of a Baltasar Gracián type. Spends most of his time string enough words together to seem more important/useful than he actually is.

[@jwenting]

he did, as Theresa May, Emanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Mark Rutte, and the entirety of the European Council, all at once.

[@DuelistDragonRey]

I recently saw "History Makers: Machiavelli" by Overly Sarcastic Productions. I can't do their video justice but I will state a bit of Machiavelli's life that may show "The Prince" was supposed to be taken ironically. "The Prince" was a job application dedicated to a man in the Medici family. The Medici family tortured and banished Machiavelli some time before this book was made. Overly Sarcastic Productions has more information that conflicts with what people imagine him to be but I would rather have people see their video.

[@duxnihilo]

Paul Eddington was so brilliant!

[@NSWLancer]

In the late 1980s I completed a Grad Dip in Public Sector Management; clips of the show were used to illustrate points. Can't remember if they were used to train us students in what to do or what not to do. They were great fun to watch. Ceased to be a public servant within 2 years of graduating.

[@Lisnageeragh]

A loss to the nation...

[@rhocroft5898]

I used it in an anthropology class as an example of coded language.

[@weepingangel6805]

I knew doing a law degree would come in handy....at least I can understand "Yes, Minister" haha

[@dubey_ji]

Funny thing about law and science ... Always trying to make the previous versions obsolete

[@akanecortich8197]

I've seen this in action. It is the reason the public service moves at snail pace. Every person is intimately engaged in arse protection. The most important thing is the Process, outcomes don't matter. And it is absolutely true. You never tell a minister anything they don't need to know. So they can have plausible deniability.

[@tomgreene6579]

Those who can laugh at the same humour have a lot in common.

[@warnpassion]

And they are intelligence and intellect.

[@Xpalzin]

The episode "The key" is possibly my favorite episode

[@Osa49]

"A lie" implies that you know that what you say is wrong. To give the wrong information is not "a lie".

[@baardkopperud]

"Well, what would you call the opposite of telling the truth?"

[@Osa49]

@@baardkopperud I would call that a "lie".

[@brontewcat]

Telling the opposite to the truth is an untruth, which is not exactly the same as a lie. All lies are untruths, but not all untruths are lies. If someone says something that is untrue but believes it to be true and with no intention to deceive then I would not call it a lie.

[@emucentral]

I think the implication is that he "lied" to Parliament, which is an offence requiring resignation under Westminster conventions. A parliamentarian who provided an untrue answer (even in good faith) would be, of course, attacked by the opposition for telling a deliberate lie, regardless of the reality of the situation.

[@kommo1]

In this perticular case, Hacker is in the position off the one "who should have known the truth". But noone in the civil service actually told him the truth. The civil service keeps secrets from Hacker about stuff Hacker is supposed to know about.Hacker told the untruth, but not out off intent, but because the CS hid the truth from him.Humphrey off course twisted it, shaving all responsiblity from himself and claims that Hacker actually lied, because Hacker is in the position off the one "who should have known".

[@madabbafan]

RIP Derek Fowlds

[@timholt8141]

What a fantastic program.! Very relevant in todays political situation. brilliant.

[@saikat93ify]

In my opinion, Yes Minister was better because the victories between Humphrey and Hacker were evenly divided. There was even one episode where they work together - regarding the transportation policy. In Yes Prime Minister, Hacker won only twice and defeats were more pronounced.

[@orsomethingorno]

I dunno, his defeat in The Whisky Priest (at the end of this video) was probably his most dire one. Poor bugger.

[@HiveFleetUlfang1]

That's telling though, isn't it?

[@PTCello]

saikat93ify “,Dear Jim’...JIM.? Look! It’s in her own hand… And it’s signed! Do you know how much this is worth?” “I believe the going price is 30 pieces of silver.” Oh that was Hacker’s most treasured victory, and I laugh every time I think of the look on Humphreys face.

[@fasthracing]

The fully integrated transport policy I seem to remember

[@MudithaMaths]

@@PTCello Which episode? I can't find that dialogue.

[@khamsinshamal7988]

It is uncomfortably spot on regarding politics. Pure genius. 👍🏼😊

[@clemstevenson]

Sir Humphrey knew the unknown, but he kept it unknown that he knew how serious the unknown actually was. It was very serious, because it was an unknown quantity.

[@matthew8153]

Quite serious indeed.

[@clemstevenson]

@@matthew8153 The fear is definitely caused by not knowing what it is that we don't know, minister. We simply do not know what the consequences might be, and that is frightening.

[@matthew8153]

@@clemstevenson I wouldn’t know for I don’t know what you don’t know.

[@clemstevenson]

@@matthew8153 I can assure you that I strongly suspect that there are a lot of things that I do not know. But the worrying thing is that my unknowns might be different from your unknowns. There are bound to be overlaps, such that we are equally ignorant in certain unspecified areas.

[@matthew8153]

@@clemstevenson Precisely the point of this perplexing piece. Pointing and prodding will presumably persist until all present parties propose the position of proliferating public perception.

[@paulvinkenoog8587]

"By means of the perpendicular pronoun" - LOL

[@jjrj8568]

Democracy is at its healthiest when you can make the funniest parody of it.

[@davidcole9971]

Brilliant series, wonderful acting from the main 3, however what brilliant supporting actors week after week.

[@deesplaylists6941]

The double speak on this show was pure brilliance.

[@Plethorality]

You can say that again.

[@colincharlton9339]

when I watch this show again and again ..it seems that the same problems are still here today. ..

[@jaakkooksa5374]

The smoking minister of health reminds me of the Belgian health minister Maggie Celine Louise De Block.

[@anonUK]

It was a take-off of Kenneth Clarke, who has now retired but somehow is still alive.

[@insertclevername4123]

@@anonUK I think Clarke is still alive because the whiskey deactivated the nicotine that was in his system. It's just science.

[@hansheden]

This is both Beautiful and a scare at the same time.

[@aussiedadreviews]

“You mean you’ve lost your key!”

[@BedsitBob]

Some day, when I'm ready to resign from my job, I shall use Sir Humphrey's speech from Party games.

[@idleonlooker1078]

Nigel Hawthorne at his very best! Superb timing, poilshed delivery and flawless, sophisticated, poise - one of the greatest products of the English film and theatre industries!! IMO he should've been knighted - but perhaps his greatest legacy now lies within the English language and the Civil Sevice: the phrase "Doing an Appleby!!" R I P Nigel - and thank you! 👍

[@spongebobsquaretits]

He was Knighted, in 1999

[@idleonlooker1078]

@@spongebobsquaretits As a Knight Bachelor yes, but I my meaning was that he should have been promoted from CBE to KBE. Why knight someone as a "Bachelor" - a knight not belonging to any Order - when they already hold the rank (in this case CBE) immediately below a knight in an Order? Seems absurd to me!

[@lukemarshall1701]

He that would keep a secret must keep secret that he hath a secret. The super-injunction before it came into existence, I believe.

[@michaelnaisbitt1590]

Loved the minister of HEALTH sitting there coughing his guts up typical government jobs for the boys

[@zelphx]

I always felt honored to have such an assortment complex and intelligent banter presented to me as entertainment.

[@kc9602]

Sir Humphrey Appleby - prevaricator-in-chief!! And an expert in the use of the English language!! 😊

[@anagramconfirmed1717]

This is one of the better YM/YPM clips comp.

[@doctornietzsche4750]

Thank you

[@091188ruben]

For the first time in my life, I heard the full definition of I.

[@Laffingbooda777]

Today we have Benny Hill as prime minister......my good fellows...lol

[@markusgorelli5278]

I am bemused to say that I understood almost every word. [Civil Servant(resigned) from a former British Colony] Edit: Even though our civil service has a high percentage of women in the upper ranks and different cultures form its make-up I am not aware that this has had any demonstrable effects in either improvement or deterioration of the civil service as it now stands. Indeed, after the perusal of submissions from commenters self-identifying from different countries (mostly ex-British), I have come to the conclusion that irrespective of gender, race, nationality or culture, that the British Civil Service wherever it is implemented is able to eventually subsume all these variables to generate a monstrosity in inaction, ineptitude and apathy wherever it is established. Given that this is indubitably better than unending wars - All Hail the British Civil Service against which all our Civil Services are modelled! 😎

[@lanehacker5833]

Ehm.. what ?? First line somehow ,then i get lost...

[@jondoglegs7124]

You can either have homogeneously inbred retardation, or you can have frankensteins monster 😂

[@huangec]

Ohh, I see what you did there... LOL!

[@ahmedamine24]

Beautifully said.

[@welshpete12]

Wonderful stuff, how Humphrey can say such things and keep a straight face !

[@robin231176]

You mean you've lost your key!

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

I am from India, & yes minister used to be beamed on Indian television called Doordarsan , it was a most enthralling comedy.

[@suvonil_]

Can you tell me which year? I have vague memory but can't recollect the year.

[@ahmedamine24]

I would very much like to see this type of dialogue performed in Standard Indian English.

[@Plethorality]

The perpendicular pronoun. I remember that from decades ago. Just beautiful.

[@michaeltawiah1851]

oooh I miss this guy. BBC has to bring it back.

[@MrTohawk]

They made another season in 2013. Sadly without the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne

[@jonathanalves5078]

They did and it was atrocious , without the original cast an writers

[@rflmedia]

I suppose you know but for anyone unaware-sadly both Nigel and Paul Eddington died some time ago with Paul dying first in the 1990's. Derek Fowlds (Bernard.) is the only one still alive now out of the three. He recently released an autobiography that is also available in audio format. Both Nigel and Paul each have a respective autobiography as well and both can be picked up online at reasonable prices.

[@rflmedia]

Not quite so. The original writers, Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn did write for the revival, the revival which was basically an evolution of the stage production started some time before with more or less the same actors. That was their vital mistake, as I saw it. They brought back the original characters and their jokes struggled to shine through. Nigel, Paul, Derek and company were nowhere to be seen and none of the original cast can be replaced. The original writers should have ignored the BBC and instead argued for creating a similar but different enough show that takes on democracy and politics from a different angle but no- same characters, same idea just set in contemporary times. They set themselves up by begging us to compare with the original.

[@zachvanwolf0145]

Hilarious! For average Joes like myself it even gets funnier when skipping back and then actually understanding the joke. :)

[@johngray8249]

I agree with Antoine, it was and still is a joh to watch and listen to.👍👍👍👍

[@johnnayler9335]

Pure class from the first to the last episode

[@gaygaz9737]

Richard Colbeck In the Government of Australia, the minister is responsible for national health and medical research policy, providing direction and oversight of the Department of Health.

[@wholeNwon]

It was simply wonderful.

[@tomgreene6579]

It was indeed...could a production like that be a success nowadays...any views??

[@annmayor2442]

I thought exactly the same, such an incredible speech to remember.

[@akoelwinnie7413]

Sir Humphrey makes me proud to be British....and am not even British.

[@milton7763]

I believe that last brief scene was reenacted by Theresa May somewhere in June...

[@davidhunt240]

Sir Humphrey: 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.... Hacker : Epistemological? What are you talking about? Sir Humphrey: You told a lie. Genius writing and acting

[@JohnJohansen2]

I wish they'll soon republish this series. Actually it's still very relevant,

[@johnjr7070]

They couldn't pull it off. Far as i'm concerned, Yes minister, Yes prime minister and the life of Brian are all that's needed to undestand the present day.

[@adriennefuller4984]

I'd love to know how Sir nigel learned those monologues! brilliant.

[@thierrykaya766]

This how I picture the current government leading the Brexit negotiations. That's right let it sink in.

[@darrenhemingway7121]

Thierry Kaya - I would rather prefer the Yes Minister government running brexit, at least there is some competence there. I have yet to see any semblance of competence in the actual UK government in many years...

[@petertancred3507]

'By means of the perpendicular', what a description...

[@guguigugu]

EPISTEMOLOGICAL!?

[@kimphilby7999]

Good God!What sharp mind wrote this brilliant script and dialogues!

[@olesrensen7819]

Leslie Potts, Minister of Health... *cough* 😂😂

[@rutisharoni9249]

If anybody thougt that the contents of this sitcom is just hilarious for the benefit of the audience well, wake up: this the raw truth about how a government works, no matter in which country, unfortunately.

[@randomsomeone2929]

Although the sentiment is not the same..it definately sounds like an interaction between that cutie, Jacob Rees-Mogg ( sir Humphrey) and boris Johnson ( hacker)

[@gregoryrussell9235]

Both tthe actors and writting of this tv sercies is just unreal and should be back on the boxhere in Australia as the dribble that is on is just crap to shows like this a gem in the highest order to of the English side of things to .

[@mypointofview1111]

Surely you're not saying the government of Great Britain is unimportant? No, it's very important. I just haven't met anyone who's doing it. Brilliant! They certainly haven't been doing important for the last 50 years

[@arigatoigosaimasu]

Sir Humphrey polite, sarcastic n street smart response is something we all should learn...

[@PatrickBijvoet]

You mean you lost your key??? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@colincharlton9339]

Maggie thatcher loved this show..

[@michaelbehan6222]

As did Her Majesty!

[@insertclevername4123]

@Paddy le Blanc Antony Jay, one of the show's head writers, was also a speechwriter for Thatcher (and got knighted for services to her government), so I would imagine she had reason to like it.

[@naly202]

I still think that if they put Penelope Keith as the minister's wife, the series would have been even better

[@babaganalawandalorima9609]

Nobody makes sitcoms better than the Brits.

[@eliasabi-elias8501]

3:31 best way to call someone a liar I have ever heard

[@CiceroLounge]

Epistemological..what??? 🤣👍

[@chrisweidner4768]

True expose of the global kakistocracy. Shame.

[@antonvann2576]

It makes me wonder what Yes Minister would be like without the Audience Laughter track

[@arthurmingo]

It’s not a laugh track. It’s a live audience.

[@royksk]

This should be televised again. It is still all revealing and relevant 🧐

[@gaygaz9737]

The current secretary of state for health and social care is Sajid Javid, who was appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June 2021.

[@billybabu]

Clear as the Brexit negotiations. Blessings from Wolverhampton England to you all.

[@scottleft3672]

This turned out to be a training series.

[@helenlauer9545]

1:30 - my favoriet speech of all time, perhaps. That alone was worth his OBE. If indeed he got an OBE.

[@troopertrooper8925]

@25052647 First the CMG (Call me God) then the KCMG (Kindly call me God) then the GCMG (God calls me God)…..can't remember the episode that is from!

[@troopship12]

He received a knighthood which trumps an OBE.

[@mymartianhome]

2:52 Perfect gibberish, I think. Wasn't it?

[@dannyb3663]

Maybe the Voynich manuscript was written in this type of language, and that is why its indecipherable.

[@willypeeters6136]

The only way to stand politics is to ridicule it and who better than the British... You just watch it for the language and the British accent... The acting was superb... That said, Fawlty Towers is still my all time favorite British comedy series...

[@wfcoaker1398]

3:20 and thereafter. Lol

[@sugarnads]

Oh youve lost your key? Still snort coffee every time and its been 40 + years...

[@CDB8939]

This was written as Satire but they are using the scripts for real now

[@tomgreene6579]

However , as with Covid 19...they wheel out the experts when the going gets difficult.

[@catherinekyngdon327]

Absolutely brilliant!!

[@duncanyourmate2433]

Politics 101 , the original version ,still used widely ,