Yes, minister series 1 (Paul Eddington)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s a very long time since we watched the series ‘Yes, Minister’. I recall seeing them - or some of them - on TV when they were first broadcast in the early 1980s. And I’m pretty sure we watched the series on DVD about fifteen years ago; but I have no record of it. And only a general recollection of the content.

So we started watching in early August. Each episode is only about half an hour, so we watched two at a time. The first episode shows the results of the general election when Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington) is elected, and a new party takes office. 

We never learn which party they are supposed to represent, and while that bothered me in the past, I think now that this was wise. The point is made, often, that even if political parties have different aims or goals, the way they function (and the role of the civil service) is much the same. 

We get to know the enthusiastic but rather naive minister as he’s helped (mostly) by his private secretary Bernard (Derek Fowlds), and advised (not always well) by Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne), whose role in the civil service is highly complex. Both tend to use jargon that confuses Hacker at first, and it’s clear that they expect to train him, rather than the reverse. And while it’s slightly disturbing that this kind of thing goes on (albeit not in quite such an extreme way) it’s also very funny. 

The second episode shows a diplomatic incident that could have gone very wrong, and demonstrates the way that the minister is manipulated by his advisors. It also shows that everyone has a price. One again, despite the serious topic, there’s a lot of humour. The dialogue is very clever, the acting excellent, and the pace just right for my tastes.

The third episode sees Jim Hacker becoming more confident in his role, and determined to cut costs, slim down the civil service, and avoid wastage. He’s shocked to learn that each new study requires yet more people, and can’t understand why so many are needed. He’s persuaded that he needs to start by economising in his own department…

In the fourth episode, the minister finally manages to push something through which Humphrey is trying to prevent. He gets advice from his predecessor, who is a friend (despite being in a different party).  Once again, it’s surprisingly realistic, albeit very amusing in places. And the discussion - and objections to - a national database feel very relevant over four decades after this series was released.

The fifth episode, ‘The writing on the wall’, sees the thread of Jim Hacker’s department being closed. This is potentially a popular move with the voters, but would put Hacker - and his staff - either out of work, or moved to other departments. For once, Hacker and Sir Humphrey have to figure something out together in order - hopefully - to prevent this. 

The sixth episode, ‘The right to know’ features a bit more of the Hacker family, introducing his student daughter Lucy. There’s a meeting with an environmental rights group, very concerned about one of the government’s proposals. Lucy and her boyfriend threaten something that would be front-page news…

This series had just seven episodes, and the final one is as amusing as the rest. It examines principles - how far will people go to preserve their integrity, when offered potentially lucrative posts in quangoes - an acronym I first learned when I saw this series all those years ago. In ‘Jobs for the boys’, Jim Hacker refuses to take Sir Humphrey’s advice about omitting to mention a particular project from a speech on the radio. I didn’t quite understand why nobody explained the reason to him, but it leads to an interesting and enjoyable finale to the first series.

While - I hope - a lot of what happens is caricatured, it undoubtedly has more than a grain of truth in the way that cabinet ministers in the UK interact with civil servants. The acting is good, the humour mostly relying on wordplay and comic timing, and - for me - it works extremely well. 

The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything 'adult'; I don't even recall any bad language, though there may have been a few mild cases. But it's unlikely to be of any interest to children, or even teens; indeed, it probably only appeals to those who understand and appreciate British humour. 

But if you fall into that category, I would definitely recommend this series. I’m already looking forward to watching the second series on DVD.

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