Yes, Minister

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Excellent 1980's satirical British comedy driven by witty repartee; Yes, Minister, Yes, Prime Minister, or both

Summary

Cracking stuff. Filled with witty repartee (I believe the audio was played on radio) built around the interaction of the three main characters, all excellently written and portrayed.

The minister is (for the most part) a naive, somewhat weak willed idealist while the real job of government is handled by the civil service. The chief civil servant is the arch-bureaucrat, while the minister's private secretary, who sits between the two, is by far the most interesting and dynamic character.

The show is built around this formula and really hammers on the same idea throughout, but still manages to stay interesting and dynamic. There's just enough personality in each character to keep them real, while not so much that the show goes off the rails.

Details and Notes

BTW, this is really two shows but 'Yes, Prime Minister' is essentially later seasons (series as they call them) of 'Yes, Minister'.

Interestingly, it's the secretaries that really drive the show (which is kind of the point). The Minister's role is really to play along. The actor, Paul Eddington is quite good, but his character is just not as dynamic as the Under/Cabinet Secretary nor as interesting as the Private Secretary.

For the American audience, it's probably more interesting as a view into the British government (through satire of course) than as social commentary. I'd be interested to hear from a British citizen, especially one active in the 80's, on how this show went over. Interesting how the show focuses on plodding and tradition and status quo whereas US political dramas are all macho flash.

I also love how everyone in the show is older. This is something that US TV is terrible about. I can't think of a single show where the majority of the actors are over 50.