Yes Minister

Hugely popular political satire first aired on the BBC in 1980 - makes politics not only funny, but hilariously funny.

• Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister Complete Boxset | DVD | (16/10/2006 from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Yes Minister: (1980 - 1984) From the minds of Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay comes the complete box set of all three series of Yes Minister. First-class political satire and a worldwide favourite seen in over 80 countries Yes Minister is well-known for being closer to the truth than those in the political arena would like to admit. Re-live the exploits of the amiable and honourable Jim Hacker and his permanent Secretary the urbane but evasive Sir Humphrey Appleby as they balance the intricacies of government bureaucracy. The four-disc set contains the complete Yes Minister collection from Hacker's arrival on the political arena as Minister of Administrative Affairs through to the extraordinary events that turned Jim Hacker MP into Jim Hacker PM. Yes Prime Minister (1986 - 1988): Following his stout stand against the Eurosausage The Rt Hon James Hacker was propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Fortunately for the country however his scheming adversary Sir Humphrey Appleby finds himself in the exalted position of Cabinet Secretary. Appleby is more than willing to steer the unsteady ship of state through the perilous waters of government... Features every episode from both seasons of Yes Prime Minister.

• Yes Minister - Series 1 [1980] | DVD | (01/10/2001 from £5.30   |  Saving you £7.69 (145.09%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The first series of the elegant sitcom-cum-farce-cum-sophisticated political satire Yes Minister, setting off Paul Eddington's Jim Hacker, Minister for Administrative Affairs, against Nigel Hawthorne's discreetly obstructive civil servant Sir Humphrey. Series One features the pilot episode, "Open Government", curious in that it contains different and distinctly inferior opening and closing credits to the rest of the series. You also sense that Mrs Hacker was originally intended to have a larger role, with comedy focussing on the clash between political and domestic commitments, until the writers wisely decided to focus on the stand-off between Jim and Sir Humphrey, with Derek Fowlds' mousy private secretary Bernard making occasional interjections. While the series doesn't quite come fully to light--Sir Humphrey is at times a little too sinister for sitcom consumption--all the classic features quickly show up. Hacker's occasional Churchillian bombast, followed by panicky blank double-takes when flummoxed, Sir Humphrey's unflappable verbosity as he brings the dead weight of civil service bureaucracy to bear against Hacker's naively optimistic schemes for open government, Quangos and slashing red tape in episodes like "The Economy Drive". Ironic, that when this was first screened in the 80s, it was during the rampages of early Thatcherism in which Government had never been less like the ineffectual politicking satirised here. On the DVD: Full screen, no special features except scene selection and straightforward text profiles of the principal actors here. --David Stubbs

• Yes Minister - Series 1-3 Complete | DVD | (15/11/2004 from £9.58   |  Saving you £20.41 (213.05%)   |  RRP £29.99

  From the minds of Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay comes the complete box set of all three series of Yes Minister. First-class political satire and a worldwide favourite seen in over 80 countries Yes Minister is well-known for being closer to the truth than those in the political arena would like to admit. Re-live the exploits of the amiable and honourable Jim Hacker and his permanent Secretary the urbane but evasive Sir Humphrey Appleby as they balance the intricacies of government b

• Yes Minister: Series 3 [1982] | DVD | (29/09/2003 from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The complete third series of Jim Hacker's ascent up Westminster's greasy pole and the civil service scheming of his Whitehall aide Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne). Also includes the 1984 Christmas Special 'Party Games'. Episodes comprise: Equal Opportunities / The Challenge / The Skeleton in the Closet / The Moral Dimension / The Bed Of Nails / The Whiskey Priest / The Middle Class Rip Off

• Yes Minister - Series 2 [1981] | DVD | (30/09/2002 from £6.24   |  Saving you £6.75 (52.00%)   |  RRP £12.99

  All the episodes from the second series of the TV comedy classic.