Yes Minister: Difference between revisions

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[[File:yesminister.jpg|frame|'Almost all government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out.']]

 

The best political [[Satire]] ever put on television, it dealt with both specific issues and general principles of governance intelligently, with a painfully precise balance of cynicism and good humour; the series made a star of Nigel Hawthorne, and rightly so.

''...''

'''Jim Hacker:''' "Are you trying to say "Happy Christmas," Humphrey?"

 

(These are all the more remarkable if you know that Hawthorne memorised these speeches. He ended up on anti-anxiety medication as a consequence.)

 

 

 

[[wikipedia:Humphrey (cat)|Humphrey the cat]], the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1989 to 1997, was named for Sir Humphrey Appleby.

 

Any modern commentary on the civil service will almost certainly reference the series; a recent BBC look at Cabinet Secretaries through history was entitled "The Real Sir Humphrey", and interviews with the living office holders show they are intimately aware of the series' finest moments, and '[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17723935 Yes Ministerism]' is even used to describe when civil servants are said to be controlling matters.

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Adorkable]]: Bernard and his "''Gosh.''" and "''Crikey.''" and occasionally speaking at length about etymology.

* [[Analogy Backfire]]: This exchange between Bernard and Sir Humphrey:

{{quote|'''Bernard:''' Well I can’t accept that, Sir Humphrey, no man is an island.

* [[Antiquated Linguistics]]: I inquire of your presence to place your distracted attention from the apparatus to which you view these aptly pages to a passage of text spoken before from another character. Sir Humphrey often used this technique to obfuscate issues, or, ironically, when he was having a hard time saying something. Similar to [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]] because of its usage.

** As seen above, Sir Humphrey's wish of "Happy Christmas" in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vShJa6GobFQ this Christmas sketch].

* [[Balance of Power]]: Explicitly, and pretty truthfully, lays out Britain's primary foreign policy objective for at least the last 500 years: Create a disunited Europe.

* [[Ban on Politics]]: [[Averted Trope|Surprisingly averted]]. For the most part, the focus of discussion is usually on the intelligence of the plot and dialogue, and the acting of Eddington, Hawthorne and Fowlds. Whatever political discussions do occur are either good natured, in keeping with the humour of the show or just kept down to a minimum. You get the odd exception, but considering how heated political discussions can get, its actually quite refreshing.

* [[Batman Gambit]]: ''Oh so many.'' The opening episode alone shows Humphrey slipping a large purchase order for American-made computer monitors at the very bottom of the stack of daily paperwork in Hacker's red box work assignments (that most ministers just dodge anyway.) Knowing Humphrey would try to hide the ''good'' information from him, Hacker goes straight to the bottom of the pile and finds it, becoming irate that Britain would not buy British-made equipment instead, and plans to denounce it in a speech to be given the next day. {{spoiler|This is of course ''exactly'' the reaction Humphrey was hoping for, and Hacker gets immediately called in by the Prime Minister who received an advance copy of the speech. The purchase of American monitors is part of a multi-million dollar business deal with NASA and will generate even more revenue for England unless Hacker fouls it up with his speech which has already been sent in advance to newspapers for review. Humphrey then stepped forward and humbly apologized for his grievous mistake earlier that day... he did not complete the paperwork correctly, and thus the media did ''not'' get the speech, only the Prime Minister. Hacker's job is thus saved and Humphrey has proven his usefulness to him... ''exactly as he had planned.''}}

* [[Beleaguered Bureaucrat]]: There are few series that show quite how daunting the task of running a country actually is. One of Jim Hacker's main problems is merely knowing and understanding the issues. Then of course, he has to try to solve them (usually unsuccessfully).

* [[Bulungi]]: Buranda, referred to on the show as a TPLAC: "Tinpot Little African Country".

* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: Not exactly, but when Jim Hacker gets drunk, he gets ''drunk'' and it doesn't seem to take an incredible amount to do it.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: Nearly every episode ends with someone saying "Yes, Minister" (or "Yes, Prime Minister" in ''Yes, Prime Minister'')

** Similarly, Sir Humphrey's and Sir Arnold's "thin end of the wedge."

* [[Character Development]]: It's subtle, but over the seasons Hacker gradually learns how to beat Humphrey at his own game, Humphrey learns how to recognize when his interests coincide with Hacker's, and Bernard learns how to balance his two masters.

* [[Christmas Episode]]: The "Party Games" special.

'''Jim''': Good. ''[[Beat]]''. Let's open another bottle.

'''Annie''': You haven't got one.

* [[Expospeak Gag]]: Humphrey's overly long speeches are a hallmark of the series.

* [[Eye Take]]: Humphrey's reaction whenever Hacker has a particularly ambitious, unexpected, and ill-advised idea.

'''Humphrey''': Of course not, Prime Minister, I wouldn't dream of it.

''Cut to a visibly-distraught Humphrey taking a sip of wine.''

* [[Glasses Pull]]: Hacker suggests doing this during his first Prime Ministerial broadcast, so that he can look both formal and informal at different points in his speech. The broadcast's director talks him out of it, saying that it would just make Hacker look like an insurance salesman.

* [[Government Procedural]]

* [[Gunboat Diplomacy]]: After getting caught up in a foreign policy mess about to cause substantial embarrassment and hearing about this trope being the approach in the "old days," Hacker briefly questions whether it is, absolutely, out of the question, much to the shock of his colleagues.

* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: The entire Civil Service, for the most part. A bit ''too'' competent for Hacker's liking.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: The Chief Whip.

* [[I Need a Freaking Drink]]: Hacker, fairly often. See also [[Drowning My Sorrows]].

* [[Insult Backfire]]: Hacker accuses Humphrey of being a moral vacuum. Humphrey is non-committal in the scene, but soon after Bernard asks if he'll end up a moral vacuum, too. Humphrey says he sincerely hopes so, if Bernard works hard enough.

* [[Invisible President]]: You never see the Prime Minister or even learn his name until Hacker himself gets the job.

* [[Jade-Colored Glasses]]: Hacker eventually gets these, but he has the heart (or lack of head) to take them off once in a while. Bernard follows a similar trajectory, while Sir Humphrey doesn't need them, as the lenses in his eyes were made of jade from birth.

* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: Premise of series (with special award given for civil service). Exemplified by Humphrey's admission that there are often complications:

{{quote|'''Hacker''': Humphrey, can you ever give me a straight answer? A plain "yes" or "no"?

* [[Only Sane Man]]: Varies from episode to episode, and on whether one sides with Humphrey or Jim Hacker. Humphrey is often coldly calculating and opposed to any kind of change on principle, but he also tries to rein in overtly politically based (and often ill thought out) moves from Hacker. Hacker, for his part, is earnest about reducing some of the bureaucratic insanity that Humphrey tries to pull.

* [[OOC Is Serious Business]]: In "The Writing on the Wall", Hacker is dead set on a course of action that won't do anyone any favours, and won't be swayed. It's serious enough that Sir Humphrey even drops his incredibly elaborate [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]] and tells him "If you're going to do this damn silly thing, don't do it in this damn silly way." This stops Hacker in his tracks.

* [[People's Republic of Tyranny]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the following dialogue from [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpUD7ZRTx4s&feature=player_detailpage#t=200s "A Victory for Democracy"]:

{{quote|''Sir Humphrey'': East Yemen, isn't that a democracy?

* [[Plucky Comic Relief]]: Bernard to a certain degree, a very slight degree as he was more than just the comic relief. Often seemed to have the funny thing to say at the least appropriate times as well as his acting out of animals or to visually show Hacker why his metaphors were wrong (see this clip [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnaZQYPd_40#t=126s "The Challenge"], in this case it was actually Sir Humphrey) and also see [[Metaphorgotten]] example above. Often found puncturing a hole in tension you could cut with a knife.

* [[Put on a Bus]]: Frank Weisel, Hacker's political advisor in the first series of ''Yes, Minister'', was written out of the show by the end of that season because the authors couldn't find much use for his overtly political character in a show that was supposed to focus on the conflict between government and administration.

** The same thing happened to Vic Gould, the government's Chief Whip, who was originally supposed to be Sir Humphrey's opposite number, and would try and terrify Hacker into getting the government's policies pushed through his department. The writers found him to be too one-dimensional though, meaning that he never even made it past the pilot episode.

** Another possible [[Qurac]] in "A Victory for Democracy" is "[[People's Republic of Tyranny|The People's Democratic Republic of East Yemen]]" (as well as its twin, West Yemen), although the name suggests that it is rather a Marxist dictatorship than an emirate or a theocracy.

*** M'yes, although that "People's Democratic Republic of Yemen" was generally known as ''South'' Yemen, not ''East'' Yemen.

* [[Reassigned to Antarctica]]: Bernard (and occasionally Sir Humphrey) is occasionally threatened with reassignment to the Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea -- not that Hacker would send him there (not having the power to do so), but Humphrey's inevitable Fate if they cannot jointly avert various impending crises.

** The most common threat is being sent [[Oop North]]. One episode resolves around a mass reassignment of defence personnel there, uniting every senior officer and civil servant who wanted to be near Harrods and Wimbledon against it. Bernard reacts in horror at being even a head of department in Lossiemouth. He thought it was [[Lassie|a kind of dog food]].

** Hacker's worry about being assigned to [[The Troubles|Northern Ireland]] is not an example of this, as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was and is based in London, but the post was regarded as one of the most troublesome in the cabinet and one of the few which carried a significant risk of assassination, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: The Permanent Secretaries talking about merging department responsibilities:

{{quote|Arts and Television together? What do they got to do with each other?}}

* [[Self-Insert Fic]] Possibly the only time the author of a [[Self-Insert Fic]] performed alongside the stars. Helps if you're [[Margaret Thatcher]].

* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: Sir Humphrey's (and occasionally Bernard's) preferred method of communication.

* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Subverted, in that while Hacker never really achieves much and the things that he does achieve are so inconsequential that you can understand why they're never mentioned again, this all has a specific cause -- namely Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service's constant stymieing of Hacker's attempts to push reforms through.

*** [[Truth in Television]]. John Major's excellent management of the economy (politely excusing Black Wednesday) was pretty much completely forgotten in the 1997 election, and New Labour's introduction of the minimum wage and legalizing gay marriage didn't prevent them from being killed in the 2010 election.

** In the pilot episode, it's mentioned that the Department of Administrative Affairs is a political graveyard, and it's implied that the reason is that Humphrey was too good at blocking the Ministers' policies for them to ever advance any further.

* [[Story Arc]]: None were done in the ''Yes Minister'' phase, but a few were tried during ''Yes, Prime Minister'': Hacker's "Grand Design" had three episodes dedicated to it, and was at least mentioned in passing during every episode of the first season; his predecessor's memoirs the following season lasted for two episode.

** Also played with when Hacker, initially believing the 'third option' Bernard is pushing him towards is Home Secretary, makes it clear that even ''he's'' aware that that option isn't worth it:

* [[Tender Tears]]: Hacker, apparently, as he starts crying in "Party Games" when he believes Humphrey is telling him that he's dying, and then wears an embarrassed [[Tearful Smile]] once the misunderstanding is cleared up. (It's more hilarious than it sounds.)

* [[Title Drop]]: At the end of almost every episode.

* [[Title Sequence Replacement]]: The pilot had a different title sequence, not drawn by Gerald Scarfe. In reruns (but not on DVD), it was replaced with the titles used for the rest of the series.

* [[Translation: "Yes"|Translation: Yes]]: Frequently, especially after one of Humphrey or Bernard's long-winded explanations leaves Hacker confused.

* [[Truth in Television]]: Many politicians have admitted that it is, effectively, their version of [[This Is Spinal Tap]]. The writers also frequently got into trouble for featuring "entirely hypothetical" situations that bore a remarkable similarity to real life events. The aforementioned sneaking drinks into Qumran was one such example. It wasn't until (relatively) recently that the writers openly admitted (and named) their mole. On a somewhat scarier note, they also admitted that they never used a lot of the stories they were fed as they were simply too unbelievable, proving once again that [[Reality Is Unrealistic]].

** This can lead into [[The Woobie|Woobie territory]] on occasion: by the end of "The Key", Sir Humphrey has been forced to eat [[Humble Pie]] and begs Hacker, on the verge of tears, to let him have his key back. One can't help but want to give him a hug...

** According to annotations in the published 'memoirs', Humphrey did end up going completely mad in his old age. It's implied that Hacker was the main cause.

* [[The Watson]]: Jim Hacker's personal private secretary Bernard, to whom Sir Humphrey is often obliged to explain how things really work.

** In other instances, Bernard has to explain to Hacker how things really work -- often in order to help Hacker attempt to win the day.

* [[Work Com]]

* [[Xanatos Backfire]]: Humphrey's gambit in "Man Overboard" to get rid of the Employment Secretary in order to foil his plan to move half of the [[Brits With Battleships|armed forces]] [[Oop North]] backfires spectacularly in the very last minute of the episode when {{spoiler|Hacker decides that now that the Employment Secretary is gone, he can implement the plan anyway and take the credit for it himself. It's only then that Humphrey realises that he spent so much time engineering the Employment Secretary's downfall that he never bothered to discredit the actual plan, leaving him with no counter argument -- and as Hacker unwittingly points out, he's actually unwittingly strengthened several of the arguments ''for'' it}}.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:British Series]]

[[Category:Work Com]]

[[Category:TV Series]]

[[Category:Britain's Best Sitcom]]