Yes (Prime) Minister

[Geoffrey Howe]

This is a glorious series largely available on YouTube.

I think it’s fairly well known in the UK, but not sure about the rest of the world. It is a comedy about politicians and the civil service, but acted oh so well and extremely well written such that it is worth rewatching over and over again. And because it deals with broader features of politics and not the odd things the latest politician does it has stood the test of time very well.

I would highly recommend to anyone outside the UK.
If you have watched it, which bits are your favourite? There is no way I can choose, but it’s always good to be reminded.



This is a good one to get you started. (The man at the beginning is the naïve minister for administrative affairs, and the other is the wily civil servant in charge of the ministry.)

Or this simply for the quality of the wordplay and acting. (Sir Humphrey is being promoted.)

[John Dule]

I've been a fan of this show for a long time. Sir Humphrey is a #elitist hero.

[Geoffrey Howe]

I've been a fan of this show for a long time. Sir Humphrey is a #elitist hero.

Perhaps it says something about me, but I’ve always secretly liked Sir Humphrey...

[The Dowager Mod]

I binge watched it on Britbox last year.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It was great at explaining the EEC.

[Geoffrey Howe]

It was great at explaining the EEC.

That one got a lot of views after the referendum.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

A very telling detail about it is that one of the writers was a right-wing neoliberal and the other was (and is) a left-wing 'good government' social democrat, but you generally cannot tell with absolute certainly who wrote what. And very often you will see arguments from both perspectives presented absolutely seamlessly. I suppose you could call it an example of synthesis.

The principle source was the Crossman Diaries, and though Hacker is nothing like Crossman (except for a few biographical details),* Sir Humphrey is clearly based on Dame Evelyn Sharp, the formidable Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in the 1950s and early 60s and the principle antagonist of Crossman's first volume. The other main sources were two extremely senior Wilson aides, Marcia Falkender and Bernard Donohue. Though because they hated each other, neither was aware that the other was acting as an advisor to the programme! As a general rule the more absurd the plot of any given episode or detail, the more likely it is to have happened in some form. Including, famously, the business with the secret alcohol supply on a diplomatic mission to a 'dry' Arab petrostate.

_{*In terms of personality he resembles quite strongly a slightly more sober George Brown and in terms of politics is clearly a moderate Conservative.}

[GeorgiaModerate]

I have never seen this show, but people keep recommending it to me and it sounds like something I'd like.  I'll have to look for it.

In a similar vein of humorous stories based on real-life government shenanigans, the novelist Lawrence Durrell (author of the Alexandria Quartet among many other works) spent some time in the British diplomatic corps.  He wrote a number of short stories based on his experiences that were collected into a few volumes.  I have the first two: Esprit de Corps, which is absolutely hilarious, and Stiff Upper Lip, which is amusing but not as LOL as the first one.  I've never run across the third volume.

[Geoffrey Howe]

I have never seen this show, but people keep recommending it to me and it sounds like something I'd like.  I'll have to look for it.

In a similar vein of humorous stories based on real-life government shenanigans, the novelist Lawrence Durrell (author of the Alexandria Quartet among many other works) spent some time in the British diplomatic corps.  He wrote a number of short stories based on his experiences that were collected into a few volumes.  I have the first two: Esprit de Corps, which is absolutely hilarious, and Stiff Upper Lip, which is amusing but not as LOL as the first one.  I've never run across the third volume.

Do watch it, though make sure you have nothing else important to do...

[thumb21]

I've watched a lot of the clips on youtube, and I bought the DVD collection from the whole series. Haven't watched all of it yet though.