I love how Hacker evolves during this series from an idealistic, but clueless former editor, to a wily, seasoned, effective politician.

@89Keith

3 ай бұрын

I think that's a contradiction if he's effective can he be a politician?

@donrayjay

2 ай бұрын

Yes but a more realistic trajectory might have been from an idealistic ineffective novice to a cynical politician effective at lining his own pocket

We gave the architect a knighthood so no one would ever say that🤣

"The universities...both of them" 😂😂 The PM will be upset to know his LSE wasn't included haha

@tinkerknight8022

8 ай бұрын

Sir Humphrey to Jim, "Glad to know that even the LSE is not totally opposed to education".

Great Comedy requires two things: great writing and great performance. The writing here is superb, but the brilliant actors took those words and made them something incredible. This quality is so rare. Rare now and rare then too. Love it.

@dontbewoke

10 ай бұрын

Its not rare now , its non existent. Sitcoms these days are trivial , irrelevant and , worst of all , not funny

@barbaraferron7994

13 күн бұрын

I believe the best comedy expresses the truth with irony.

"Half of them are your enemies anyway and the other half are the sort of friends that make you perfect for your enemies." Love it. Politics summed up in one sentence.

@robinhoodsherwood2646

9 ай бұрын

Prefer your enemies

Universities........both of them!! 🤣🤣

@MrHistorian123

Жыл бұрын

I presume he meant the ones now ranked 2 and 3 in the UK, behind St Andrews.

I absolutely watching Hacker gain the advantage every so often. It feels like a real victory every time it happens.

@travelfreak2

10 ай бұрын

Who is Hacker?

@travelfreak2

10 ай бұрын

Who is Hacker?

@FisherKing9633

10 ай бұрын

@@travelfreak2 Jim Hacker. The titular Prime Minister.

This masterpiece’s longevity was that it emphasizes the real-world corruption with fictional solutions. 😂

Genius. Absolute genius.

22:36 she called him Humpy! That is hilarious. A lot of people in the comments are almost surprised at how clever this show is - that's because it's a timeless example of brilliant writing, acting and of Britishness

@rationbookrebecca

Жыл бұрын

🇬🇧

@studiobencivengamarcusbenc5272

Жыл бұрын

Exactly! 😂🥃

@dontbewoke

10 ай бұрын

Theyre surprised because most of them are probably your typical arrogant Yanks who can't conceive of any other nation producing high quality entertainment.

@233kosta

5 ай бұрын

That's a little pet name he's had throughout the series, usually only used by close friends.

@Rapscallion2009

28 күн бұрын

I like to think he was quite the ladies man during his time at Oxford. Hence the nickname.

it makes my stomach churn that after all these years nothing has changed.

@FurQ69

20 күн бұрын

It has it's become much worse.

Hacker really outplayed the National Theatre guy

Ironically so many things are relevant still to this day! A brilliant comedy which was so underrated

@TeronEtrius

Жыл бұрын

underrated? the series got three baftas and Hawthorne four for his role. But perhaps it ought to have gotten more, or do you mean it should be more popular among your social group?

@DJ_ASH_B

Жыл бұрын

@@TeronEtrius I mean it’s not shown regularly like other comedies around that same era that’s what I meant. It’s underrated by the media, as you always see Dads Army, Only Fools, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers constantly repeated

@darreng745

Жыл бұрын

@@DJ_ASH_B Possibly because it requires people to attempt to understand the political process within Government and the competing use of resources so they can draw parallel's between what the writers created and the modern day political landscape. Cerebral comedy always works better but some people will never get the joke or will be offended by what they perceive within the joke. In fact YM and YPM also had a negative effect in that the Government of Tony Blair contained ministers who had been brought up on the programmes and who were reluctant to engage with the Civil Service for fear of what the programmes depicted happening to their departments and careers.

@TheMarcusrobbins

Жыл бұрын

@@darreng745 Worried with good cause I would say.

@davidmellish3295

Жыл бұрын

It's NEVER been underrated, it's always near the top of favourite comedy polls and won several awards. The critics loved it as did the public. I don't know what you're trying to say,but underrated is definitely the wrong word. This comedy was and is highly rated by all who've watched it

A global timeless comedy, tragedy, reality…and I can’t get enough of it 😂 😂😂😂😂…🧐

I love this show. JIM HACKER should be Prime Minister now!! We need him, Humphrey and Bernard.

I live in Poland. I watch politicians in medias, I have friends who work in public service and I'm shocked how accurate this series is. Different age, different geopolitical reality, different cultural circle, different country... but the mechanisms are exactly the same. This show never gets old! I got all seasons on DVD!

@MAGJ86

Жыл бұрын

Government, regardless of the ideology, politics, beaurocracy, geography, demographics & economoc structure, will always be the same. The more people you have involved in the decision making, the more inefficient it becomes.

@jstrahan2

11 ай бұрын

@@MAGJ86 : That's why we need a dictator, like Stalin or Hitler, quite efficient.

@LordDaret

5 ай бұрын

@@MAGJ86no, the slower it becomes. Everyone compromises in the end without wanting to kill one other, which makes it more effective. The problem is that it makes it so that it becomes slower to get anything done. Sometimes, not doing anything to avoid breaking something is the right solution, and other times making a quick decision can be a better one.

@MAGJ86

5 ай бұрын

@@LordDaret that kind of thing only happens in a country where everyone is after the same thing. Unfortunately, in the real world, every person has their own agenda. Also, "not wanting to kill"? Only someone who grew up in a sheltered environment can speak of such things. Sure not everyone "wants" to kill, but not everyone has the luxury to not to.

This series was Brilliant in every way

“Shall I be mother?” Always cracks me up 😂

Timeless, clever, unmatchable

It actually was margret thatchers favorite program in the 80s . She admited that in an interview . The only time i ever agreed with anything she said

25:31: Honesty always gives you the advantage of surprise in the House of Commons. So true and it still cracks me up every time I hear it.

When Hacker has Humphrey and the director of the National Theatre by the short and curlies is one of the best scenes in the series! Not often it ends up Hacker: 1 Humphrey: 0 !!!

"We gave the architect a knighthood" - Absolute gold.

How did they ever learn to memorize those long sentences with so many convulusions. Brilliant, just brilliant!

@anthonylittle2396

Жыл бұрын

The late Sir Nigel Hawthorne (playing Humphrey) was one of the finest actors of our era.

@TonyWhite22351

3 ай бұрын

I believe you meant convolutions !

The universities - both of them 😅

Honesty is a surprise in the house of commons.Brilliant.

This is British democracy bernard. British democracy recognises that you need a system to protect the important things of life and keep them out of the hands of the barbarians. Things like Opera, Radio3, Countryside, the law, the universities (both of them) and We are that system.

@Rapscallion2009

Жыл бұрын

It's actually a constitutional monarchy. One of the very few that really functions.

@LHRTW

Жыл бұрын

@@Rapscallion2009it can be just constitutional now that old Liz has hit the bucket .. it can be annulled

@Stand663

Жыл бұрын

@@LHRTW Look around the globe mate . You’ll find a constitutional monarchy works better.

@nigelkthomas9501

Жыл бұрын

So accurate of today!

That guy with glasses appeared in Doc Martin as a singer who lost his voice. What Humphrey said about unemployment is SO TRUE in Australia!

I truly hope that everyone realizes that this show is not just relevant to the United Kingdom. I've never even landed on Great Britain, nor Ireland, but I find the dialogue hilarious.

@DatsDone

Жыл бұрын

As an IRISH Citizen I find nothing about the present or past British government... Hilarious..! Their current BREXIT Bullshit against the Irish people and European union may be a joke in your eyes but we are not fucking laughing here. Typical prick making a misinformed opinion on Ireland.

@youngc0930

Жыл бұрын

In china, this show is often quoted.

@Delightfully_Bitchy

Жыл бұрын

^I'm surprised it's allowed to be run in China, truthfully.

@youngc0930

Жыл бұрын

@@Delightfully_Bitchy it could demonstrate the weakness of western democracy lol

@Delightfully_Bitchy

Жыл бұрын

@@youngc0930 ah, that makes sense.

Shame the BBC can’t make any programmes like this any more .

@Bostonite1985

9 ай бұрын

Two reasons...One, politicians these days are not as thick skinned as they used to be in the 80s. Two, politicians these days are so much committed to speaking for freedom of expression in Russia and China to such an extent that the media (under their indirect control) is totally preoccupied with promoting their noble mission at the expense of those dumbfounded critics who want to use the same freedom of expression to ridicule them till kingdom come. The death of freedom of expression in Britain twenty one years ago when Tony Blair emptied his bowels to reveal the 'September Dossier' (aka evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction).

Masterful writing and acting and hilarious

The most illuminating documentaries about privilege ever produced... as relevant today as they ever were.

I remember Watching this back in the 80s , it's so Sad that all Three have past on, .but it is a long time ago, Still So So Funny 🤣

@jstrahan2

11 ай бұрын

Yes, they have passed on in the past. :)

@RickDorian

9 ай бұрын

And John Nettleton who memorably played Sir Humphrey's mentor, Sir Arnold, has just passed away aged 94 (on 12 July 2023). He really was the last regular in both series to shuffle off. Any of those club scenes where Humphrey dines with Sir Arnold are absolute gold with Arnold's anecdotes about the foibles of past politicians and civil servants surprising even a jaded Sir Humphrey.

@nottmjas

6 ай бұрын

​@@RickDorianDiana Hoddinott who played Annie Hacker is still with us, as is Peter Cellier, born in 1927, who played Sir Frank Gordon of the Treasury in a few episodes.

The piece about the content of the school curriculum seems particularly insightful for the time, given what many young people are like when they leave university now... Satire to reality in 25 years!

Not a comedy more of a documentary. It will never get old.

Half a pound of margarine probably costs about £2.40 these days.

Great series

This is so currently appropriate even when years old. Never sure if politics never moved or we have circled back to these issues.

@thabisoleeuw6757

Жыл бұрын

Never moved certainly

Timeless TV. 😂😂😂Hilarious at first then you realize the chicanery and buffoonery in governments in many places are even worse. Great scripts; even greater delivery.

Thank you for still uploading clips from my favourite series.

Reaaaaallly? 😂😂😂

"parents are the worst people to bring up children" as a teacher, truer words have never been spoken

@conradflanagan5003

16 күн бұрын

If you genuinely believe that, then I hope you won't be a teacher for much longer.

Best of all Political Comedic paradies

I was born about the time this was made. I thought politics had changed since I got older. This is as relevant now as it was then.

This was Thatcher’s favourite show.

Agnes is so bloody cool 😂

@conradflanagan5003

16 күн бұрын

She's just as two faced as the rest of them, merely wearing a mask of concern in order to flatter her own ego.

This show is so funny yes prime minister 🎉 🇬🇧 so funny with such great lines With great questions. About the privileged and wealthy and successful families 🎉 🇬🇧 so much about the poor and needy🎉

5:10 Fruitful indeed, Sir Humphrey, fruitful indeed.

Boldly, one might imagine that no BBC type comedy show was so prescient, so advanced, so aware, so balanced, so bloody good as to be worth serious watching after nearly a half century of bathing in preposterous pungent poo of preposterous puerile pathetic profiteering pretensions to the public.

Superb 😂👍

This is a British democracy!

Brilliant show.

Top Episode Favourite One

14:16 Hacker wins, game set and match

So true for Indian intellectuals who wanted to keep power in their own hands

Comedy magic, !

brilliant comedy!

I'm legitimately curious to find out how much half a pound of margarine cost at the time.

I just noticed that Agnes is wearing a man’s shirt. This isn’t a comedy; it’s a documentary.

@embreis2257

Жыл бұрын

0:28 'you can call me _Agnes_ .' poor Humpy, that was 40yrs ago for him. even today, I wouldn't feel comfortable calling her on a first name basis as an employee in a government ministry when we barely know each other. otoh, it would still be very unusual if anyone would call me by my first name outside very familiar or informal settings - and I'm certainly not the cabinet secretary.

"Agnes" is talented...and not bad looking.

He said it wasn't him but even if it was he's prepared to pay it back

It is great that designers have gone for a Georgian look. Reminds me of Cheltenham Spa. However in the centre, I would have a park, a lake and a Church modelled on 12th or 13th Century. The pebble dash exterior renderings are going need to be repainted frequently and we could have some wonderful Tobermory colours.

Mrs Thatcher’s favourite TV programme!

Holds true for 21st century India

Yes, (prime) minister, the Ronnie O'Sullivan of British comedy.

21mins 55 secs onwards is something I would like to see happen

Watch Dogs Legion in a nutshell, but with a laugh-track. 😆

What makes this even more funny 😂 is know days he would be fact checked . This is how Boris eventually went down , you just can’t do this anymore. If you quote one of your speeches from three months ago it had better be accurate

Calculator and brainculator should work along as to check per calculation accuracy indeed.

Fantastic

I can't tell if the places he said could be offices, were real or made up😂

Agnes would be a hero in modern times haha

Isn't that democracy ? Its a British democracy

Funny

❤

Fly on the wall documentary. But more interesting

漢弗萊翻車了w

A Docudrama

👍🤩

3:19 Humphrey has many estimable qualities, but he can't make cup of tea It's like pee

Really...

Gwen Taylor was a good looking woman in the 1980s

I think that even today asking anyong what the price of something at the supermarket is just stupid. Most people anywhere couldnt asnwer that question

@sophiachavez3377

5 ай бұрын

Wow! You really don’t get it , do you?

Humphrey was so right.

Oh no, shes one of those.

So £100 a week was regarded as poor in those days. How much is the state pension nowadays?

@jrd33

Жыл бұрын

£185.

@MD-tv5fp

Жыл бұрын

@@jrd33 In real terms, even poorer.

@pintpullinggeek

Жыл бұрын

A weekly income of £100 in 1980 would be roughly equivalent to £400-£500 today depending on how you measure inflation over the period. Median UK weekly income is currently about £580. While this would give Sir Humphrey a below average salary in our current system it should also be considered in the context of what Agnes was proposing which would be a complete shake-up of that system and redistribution of wealth.

It isn't a comedy. It is a satire of the highest quality. Never tired to watch it again and again. It was relevant for the the eighties and it is relevant for today. The only difference is that the governments became less accountable and more corrupt. Since the release of the series governments have concentrated even more power in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats who became a new class in our society. It is becoming even worse as more people accepting socialist agenda. America is moving towards fascism as a branch of socialism. Democratic socialism is an oxymoron. Socialism exists only in two forms: communism (government ownership of production and distribution control) and fascism (government control of production). Fascism is a preferable system as long as it is free from extreme nationalism. Both systems eventually lead to militarism. It isn't complicated and even poorly educated people can understand it if they put a little effort to think about it. Those who try to complicate those systems are liars brainwashing people with utopian ideas without any basis in reality.

@Bagster321

7 ай бұрын

Fascism is not a branch of socialism. It's fundamentally anti-socialist.

😅😅😅😅😅😅

Let them eat cake, let them watch comedy. sheeple

@wintertontoday

Жыл бұрын

:(

The trouble with socialism is what happens when the politicians run out of spending other people’s money.

Such a shame the BBC is now so cowed by government.

This (40 years ago) is civilisation devolving from the age of Empire. Now, after decades in the EU?

I would never have a problem being called dear lady think it is respectful , nor being called by a guy a term of endearment I like it very much . Women get so very stupid about this feminist garbage and sexism , what about them they are no better themselves . This show is fantastic current in the time it was made but very much also ahead of its time as well . The whole casting was fantastic and story line even Mrs Thatcher was a fan of both Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister . Gwen Taylor who played Agnes Moorhouse like that play on Agnes Moorehead in case no one caught on to it those who do not know who Ms Agnes Moorehead is a very famed US actress , she was very beautiful and did a lot of great things and is so very talented

@sophiachavez3377

5 ай бұрын

You really do not understand how patronizing “Dear lady” is???

What an appolling woman!

As much as I hate government expenditures. This women at the beginning is absolutely unbearable

Captain Tom was a decent and very well meaning old man and thoroughly deserving of our respect but I never got good vibes from his daughter. I think it's important we don't allow the very questionable actions and motives of his daughter to sully his reputation. Lovely cat.

Brillant the best english comedy very good actors

I know this is comedy but... it is making me cringe as it hits too close to home in our current climate. Is this part of the curriculum for aspiring politicians? Is it disinformation?

Will they be able to fix this if I go somewhere else or will I have to continue to be raped and robbed and impersonated

FOR LESS CORRUPTION VOTE FOR AL CAPONE, FOR LESS LIES VOTE FOR PINOCCHIO,SHAME ON THE EXPLOITERS