MovieChat Forums > Yes Minister (1980) Discussion > I just started watching this - it's bril...

I just started watching this - it's brilliant...

posted 19 years ago by AND77
21 replies | jump to latest

I'm American, and my local PBS station has just started airing this show as part of their Saturday night "Brit-com" line-up. I'm ashamed to say that, at first, I judged it as boring (it's a very full, script-heavy show), but after sitting down to actually watch an episode, I LOVED it. I adore smart television, and this is one of the wittiest, most intelligent shows I've ever seen.
Anyway, just wanted to let you guys who've loved it for years know that there's a new fan out there. Americans who love shows like "Arrested Development," "Seinfeld," and "the West Wing" will like this show, I think.
Question: Does "Yes, Minister" have anything to do with "Yes, Prime Minister?" I see that Nigel Hawthorne is in both...

[–] miruvorgreenleaf 19 years ago

SPOILERY if you haven't watched Yes Prime Minister yet...

Yes Prime Minister is basically the sequel of Yes Minister - Hacker becomes PM, Humphrey becomes Cabinet Secretary and Bernard comes with them and remains Hacker's private secretary.*dances* Glad you like it! Too many people in Britain are obsessed with Friends...

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I think "Friends" was a fantastic show in its first years - the scripts were way better, and the characters were completely different than they are at the end. After about 5 seasons, however, I got tired of it, and only seldom watched it.
I love Yes, Minister because it requires you to actually know something about politics and government before watching it. They don't insult their audience, or talk down to them. I've only seen about 6 episodes now, but I couldn't love it more.
I'm considering buying the dvd set, but it's very expensive. Can you tell me approximately how many episodes are in the Yes, Minister series? Reason I ask is, I'd buy it if I found out that 30-50 episodes are on it, but not if there were only, say 20 or so.

[–] miruvorgreenleaf 19 years ago

About 20 in Yes Minister - 21 if you include the Christmas special, and about 16 in Yes Prime Minister. It's a shame about not buying them, though - they really are fantastic, especially when you get to know the characters better. If I were you I'd buy one DVD (I don't think they're that expensive) and watch it before deciding whether you want anymore. If you go on Ebay or something, they have a whole load of separate DVDs there; they don't have the extras, but at least you'll get more of an idea of what it's like. I'll try to find somewhere you can buy them from. And I don't mean to insult everyone who watches Friends - but I have to admit that I only really became aware of it in its later years, so I guess I kind of caught it at the wrong time. But, again, one of the great things about Yes Minister is that they ended the series before they ran out of good ideas. Yes, there's less of them, but they're funny right up to the last episode. They do tend to use the same sort of format for every episode - Hacker wants something, Humphrey wants something and then one comes up with a way of outwitting the other by threatening their objective, but to be honest, it's the way they carry it out that makes it good.

But enough of my shameless advertising.

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I'll do a web search when I'm not working sometime. I could probably find a used copy of the complete set after Christmas on eBay, not to mention the fact that prices of these sets tend to go up and down. The Vicar of Dibley complete set was around $60.00 last year, and is now $37.00, so i won't give up hope.
Now, if PBS were to take YM off their Britcom line-up, I might actually panic and go out and buy the whole set.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I just joined Netflix, so I'm going to rent them all. If they're as good as I think they're going to be, the set will make a wonderful "happy birthday to me, from me" gift. :)

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] AND77 19 years ago

I turned on PBS the other night to find...the first episode of Yes, Prime Minister! Such a good show...Nigel Hawthorne was so brilliant. Especially for a show that takes place in 1-3 rooms - no flashy sets, no bimbo stars, just incredibly writing and acting. It really makes me wish we could go back to that.

[–] aamirabbas 19 years ago

Yes Prime Minister is the sequel to Yes Minister and equally good. My favorite episode of Yes Minister is the one in which they are drinking whiskey in Qumran! Very funny show!

[–] aitch-10 19 years ago

I love this show but then I did work with the producer director many times.

Aitch,

http://web.ask.co.uk/web?q=%22Harry+Fielder%22

[–] SaturdayNightFry 19 years ago

How wonderful :)

I'm a bit of a Yes Minister/ Prime Minister addict... I have to watch one episode everyday to keep my happy :)

Luv Claire!x
Britain's future Prime Minister

[–] aitch-10 19 years ago

Hello Clair, I think I was the assasin in The Death List.
(I worked on so many shows years ago and the old grey cells need recharging.

Aitch,

http://web.ask.co.uk/web?q=%22Harry+Fielder%22

[–] miruvorgreenleaf 19 years ago

Wow, did you ever meet the cast, or did you just work with the producer? Either way, that's cool.

Hey, Claire, haven't seen you on here for a while.

[–] aitch-10 19 years ago

Of course you meet the cast at the rehearsals.
Peter Whitmore producer/director used me many times over the 32 years I was in the biz. I write about him on my web. Click on below.

Aitch,

http://web.ask.co.uk/web?q=%22Harry+Fielder%22

[–] SaturdayNightFry 19 years ago

I shall watch that episode again and keep a look out! I had a look at your site - its great! :)

Heya Miruvor!x I have returned! :)

Luv Claire!x
Britain's future Prime Minister

[–] Swansoni 18 years ago

I concur with the original poster, I am an American who recently saw this show and also thought it was brilliant. Nigel Hawthorne's character is hilarious and the plots and dialog are top-notch, some of the best I've ever seen. What are some other BBC series of this calibre?

[–] krl97a 18 years ago

I'm an American who grew up watching British comedies, but I didn't discover this one until I was in college. I have to say it's my favorite. The scary thing is how many realistic insights this show provides into the workings and nature of government. But it's also hilarious, brilliantly written, and wonderfully acted.

I need to buy the DVDs too.

[–] WatchAD 17 years ago

Any YES MINISTER fan has to check out ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. The two smartest, word-play heavy comedies ever made.

..
Arrested Development 2009
http://www.arresteddevelopment2009.com
Spread the word!

[–] joestone99uk 15 years ago

Word. AD is like da *beep* yo

[–] stuartcork7 14 years ago

Any chance of someone translating the previous post into English please.

"I'm not really me. Thats me there- that pile of albino mouse droppings!"

[–] conductor71 8 years ago

Viewers in the UK who haven't yet watched Yes Minister have the ideal opportunity to start now from the very first series. BBC2 broadcast the very first episode yesterday and will continue showing episodes from series 1 on weekday afternoons at 2.45pm. So you've only missed one episode if you start watching from today. Even better - they can be viewed on the BBC2 HD channel in the original 4:3 screen format.

It is hard to say how long BBC2 will continue screening them as they tend to get taken off if there is some sports tournament that clashes. I know that BBC2 also showed a lot of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister episodes in the same afternoon slot in the summer of 2015 but I had missed a lot of the earlier ones before I found out. It's great that they're repeating them again because I doubt we'll be lucky enough to have a third opportunity in the near future on such a major channel. Make the most of it and set your recorders if you're out at work!