Yes, Minister Series 1-3 DVD

There is a certain type of comedy that I’ll fall instantly in love with: sharp plots, witty lines, characters who feel real and a pinch of relevance will net me every time. Yes Minister is the perfect example of this. Though it was made in the eighties, and has a very distinct eighties feel, it’s the sort of comedy that will never go out of date. Probably. Starring the great Paul Eddington and the utterly sublime Nigel Hawthorne as Jim Hacker MP ...
...witness to the daily struggles of a Parliamentarian as he tries to get anything done when confronted by the overwhelming force that is the British civil service, and its conviction that nothing should ever change, as things work perfectly well the way they are. The heart of the show is the conflict between these two characters. When Hacker is introduced, he is entering the Department of Administrative Affairs as a well intentioned but somewhat naive ...

Calapine 24.09.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Yes, Minister Series 1-3 DVD

Have you ever wondered just who runs the country? Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn obviously had these thoughts, and brought their musings to the screen in the form of Jim Hacker and the Department of Administrative Affairs. In 1980, when the pilot show went out, Maggie Thatcher had just come to the job of Prime Minister. The country was on the verge of recession, and strikes abounded. So, for the BBC to take such a radical step as to air a comedy ...
...least, a risk. The new PM was not renowned for her sense of humour, and the fate of the biggest broadcasting network in the world was on a knife edge as Jim Hacker waited to hear about his ministerial posting. Much to everyone’s surprise, Mrs Thatcher loved the show, often referring to it in interviews as a true, if comic, portrayal of government. And so was born one of the most cerebral and witty comedies of this or any other generation, Yes Minister. ...

CRIPPLE 26.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Yes, Minister Series 1-3 DVD

Yes Minister was first broadcast in 1980 and stars Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne, with able support from Derek Fowlds (now seen on Heartbeat). It is set in the fictional government Department of Administrative Affairs. Eddington plays MP Jim Hacker whose party have just been elected to government. A former editor of reform magazine, Hacker has ideas to change the way government is run in order to cut out buerocracy. Hawthornes character, Sir ...
...thwarts Hacker at every stage. The show is basically about how it is the cvil service, not the governmnt who really run the country. While Hacker's aim is to cut down on staff and the department's budget, Sir Humphrey's aim is to increase it's budget in order to seem more prestidgious. In the first series it builds up the characters, with Hacker being very inexperienced of government, and Sir Humphrey running rings around him. As the show progresses ...

Benn3004 03.09.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Yes, Minister Series 1-3 DVD

I bought these DVDs recently and wasn't disappointed. If you shop about, you can get them for about £9 each and each has at least 6 episodes on it (series 3 also includes an hour-long Christmas special), so I'd say they were excellent value for money. Yes Minister follows the day to day happenings in an imaginary ministry in Whitehall, usually with very funny consequences. All of the episodes are great pieces of witty comedy and also convey a slight ...
...this? Its only flaw in my book is that people who aren't into politics will probably not appreciate it, but if you think you'll like it, then you almost definitely will. I would recommend it highly to anyone who's looking for something a bit different from modern comedies. Buy series 1 and if you like it, get the other two as well - and, of course, Yes Prime Minister once it arrives on DVD! *updated in response to comments* the DVDs are completely ...

pud1m 21.04.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Yes, Minister Series 1-3 DVD