"He keeps falling asleep in Cabinet" "I thought they all did" "Yes, but not while they're actually talking" Four decades later, nothing's changed!

@tonydrozdjek

3 жыл бұрын

The system works

@32shumble

2 жыл бұрын

So you're seen people falling asleep in Cabinet?

@snapdragon9300

2 жыл бұрын

Didn't know they were talking about Joe Biden.😁

@iainballas

2 жыл бұрын

@@snapdragon9300 I think they are talking about British politics. Here in America, Trumpsters tend to scream too loud about the march of progress for anyone to get any decent sleep.

@TuhljinTampergauge

2 жыл бұрын

@@iainballas "Progressivism" is a misnomer, unless maybe it's a reference to some sort of progressive cancer. You can't even keep basic biology straight, and to prove its cancerous nature, if I go into more detail (even if I use only polite, scientific, and objective truths) my comment gets automatically deleted by KZread.

The writing is exceptional, the delivery flawless, and the facial expressions absolutely phenomenal. Pure comedy genius.

@igimyoume1515

3 жыл бұрын

I Completely Agree with you.👏🤗 USA Taught us everything Brits know about Sitcom Comedy

@igimyoume1515

3 жыл бұрын

@Praxis Alba America has Influenced every angle of acting,drama,and Comedy sitcoms. Europe is very Greatful i hope

@andrewmarshall9340

3 жыл бұрын

Flawless indeed - with the possible exception of Sir Humphrey' s repeated sips of an obviously empty soup spoon! ;-)

@chrisweidner4768

3 жыл бұрын

Best documentary on government ever.

@jemert96

2 жыл бұрын

That's what you get when you don't have to dumb everything down

"Glad to know you read the Sun". Sir Arnold is such a rascal :-D

@newjerseyyouth4853

2 жыл бұрын

@ZZKJ ZZKJ the sun is uk playboy

Sir Arnold strides the show like a Colossus - supremely dignified, possessed of diabolical craft, and always utterly unruffled by the quotidian shenanigans of high politics! My favourite character.

“He keeps falling asleep. I thought they all did. Yes, but not while they’re talking”.

Arnold was the only person Sir Humphrey was scared of.

@allenjenkins7947

3 жыл бұрын

Who is this impostor?

@allenjenkins7947

3 жыл бұрын

Seriously, let's hope that neither of us ever has to post a disclaimer that we're not the other (or at least not too often).

@SamvedIyer

3 жыл бұрын

And even as Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey had to solicit Sir Arnold's opinions on some occasions.

@georgebuller1914

2 жыл бұрын

LOL Possibly true. Though I think he wasn't actually 'scared' more wary...

@llukas58

2 жыл бұрын

There's Agnes too.

3:18 love the incredulous look on Humphrey's face and how his voice changed while saying "a big success, in the next day or two" they are all such wonderful actors.

There have been many satirical shows about politics over the years, but this is the only one that's ever stayed with me 😉

@HasturYellowSign

3 жыл бұрын

I judge all others by this one. It’s the only one I rewatch or have made it all the way through.

@CiceroLounge

3 жыл бұрын

The writers had inside knowledge of Parliament in writing this including Baroness Faukender and Lord Donoughue.

@LovingPrinceTamayuki

3 жыл бұрын

Right, satire, that's what this is. 😉😉😉

@tonyb9735

3 жыл бұрын

Indeed. The wit and intelligence of this show has never, imo, been bettered.

@ksec6631

3 жыл бұрын

Well because this is not a satirical shows but a documentary.

My favorite character was Sir Arnold. I watch these two series every year during the New Year Holidays. Believe it or not, I keep laughing every year, over & over again.

@zyc8198

3 жыл бұрын

Same. Especially I like his "Difficult. Like asking which lunatic should run the asylum."

@shawnkristoferu8303

3 жыл бұрын

@@zyc8198 His most famous phrase for me is this, I do not remember a Minister with two ideas.” in response to Sir Humphrey saying the Minister now has another idea.

@MurrayJoe

3 жыл бұрын

John Nettleton aka Sir Arnold Robinson, is one of the cast that is till alive, he’s 92.

@shawnkristoferu8303

3 жыл бұрын

@@MurrayJoe Sir Arnold was the best. I still remember some of his great statements: 1. I don’t recall meeting a Minister with two ideas. 2. I can’t discuss it. National security. 3. Specially in Winter months. Going to Caribbean in Winter month for meeting on how to improve England’s Civil Service.

@paulkerrigan9857

2 жыл бұрын

That's not hard to believe at all!

3:23 - Notice the slip from Sir Arnold here "That would give me" and he then quickly turned it to "Give the PM" - we all know who does the real cabinet reshuffles. We have always known.

@ajkhan1115

2 жыл бұрын

Oh hey! You're right.

@freebornjohn2687

2 жыл бұрын

I can't believe the Cabinet Office would have chosen the cabinet we have now. Patel, Raab and Gavin Williamson FGS truly awful people.

@andyrob3259

2 жыл бұрын

@@freebornjohn2687 I think things have changed since the 1980’s. It’s become far less independent and far more political on one side.

@freebornjohn2687

2 жыл бұрын

@@andyrob3259 What side?

@andyrob3259

2 жыл бұрын

@@freebornjohn2687 the Tories were far less likely to cut back before the 1980’s the civil service , specially the Whitehall ones. They seem far more readier to do that these days, particularly with the lower echelons and privatisation so I think as a whole the Tories have become to be seen as the enemy somewhat by the ‘general staff. ’ Labour being more likely to protect them as a rule. Don’t know about the senior civil service

Sir Humphrey and Sir Arnold were always seen dining in fine establishments. They never went hungry working in the civil service. Even Bernard was well fed in the Civil Service Mess.

@mutfol

3 жыл бұрын

If you watch this clip carefully, you'll notice that Humphrey is "eating" from an empty spoon...

@giovanniacuto2688

3 жыл бұрын

In my 13 years in the Civil Service I preferred to bring sandwiches to work rather than eat in the staff canteen

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

@@giovanniacuto2688 I prefer eating out too, as you escape the madness of your work for an hour. I usually eat lunch at the Marks and Spencer cafe near my office.

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

@Ruth Collins That is life. It has always been that way and always will.

RIP, Sir Arnold. John Nettleton, 1929 - 2023.

The West Wing was a show written by folks who read some stuff about politics and injected about 1 ton of idealism into it. Yes Minister was a show written by folks who actually knew how politics works and injected about 5 pounds of british humor into it.

@roadrunner3232

2 жыл бұрын

Hear hear.

@Blackcomanche

Жыл бұрын

Very well-put!

@Diego-zz1df

6 ай бұрын

They injected about 1 ton of empty, shallow idealism into it.

@johnhughes2124

5 ай бұрын

Same goes for Borgen

@Fake_Dude

4 ай бұрын

Most of the time, you also get two intelligent people arguing with each other. Humphrey can argue convincingly for 500 employees in a hospital that doesn't take patients, and he makes a good case! Total bullshit, but you get the feeling that this person actually could exist in the real world and defend this policy instead of being a cruddy strawman. West Wing showed a 'fanatical Christian' that both didn't know the First Commandment, AND also gives his direct political opponent a chance to show off by asking him what the First Commandment is - all because that political opponent was a main character.

“Yes but not while they’re actually talking.” That one caught me by surprise.

I think John Nettleton plays the cool, matter of fact Svengali/Oracle Sir Arnold to absolute perfection.

"You know how it is with politicians; they get taken in with their own speeches" .... here we are in 2020 ...

I notice that Sir Arnold is wearing a Royal Marines tie.

@ahmedamine24

3 жыл бұрын

Hardly implausible.

Sir Arnold was a towering colossus

@SamvedIyer

3 жыл бұрын

@@jmack8767 Indeed, and may he be blessed with great health. I find his dignified and elegant character quite underappreciated.

At 2:55 when Humphrey says “yes, I know ..i know..” gets me 😂

Jim Hacker is the only man who can sort out Brexit

@mattevans4377

3 жыл бұрын

I think you mean Humphrey. We wouldn't like the result, but I'd think we'd all except it, just so we could make him be quiet ;)

@22espec

3 жыл бұрын

@@mattevans4377 Humphrey would have been in favor of staying in the EU.

@Account.for.Comment

3 жыл бұрын

@@22espec that is a big part of the problems, the technocrats warned that it would be a mess, and when it passed, none of them want to be dealing with it. So you got the politicians to sort it out with the same comedic results as Hacker when Humphrey not around. Edit:autocorrect.

@amoral_minority

3 жыл бұрын

@@22espec Humphrey is "but a humble vessel" xD

@muffinspuffinsEE

3 жыл бұрын

@@amoral_minority hahah x)

“Yes but not while they’re actually talking.” 😂😂😂

"Yes, but not while they're actually talking." 🤣

The writing and acting are exceptional.

Imagine if this was pitched to the BBC today as a sitcom. It would never see the light of day. Come to think of it none of our favourites would have been made if the Current BBC management were in place then.

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

The BBC changed when Alen Yentob became controller and John Birt became Director General. They laid the foundation of the rot which started to set back then in the late 80s.

@jakedee4117

3 жыл бұрын

Certainly no Monty Python.

@ALEXANDER1318

3 жыл бұрын

Aren't reruns of 'Allo 'Allo banned from BBC because of racist portrayals of Germans and Frenchmen?

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

@@ALEXANDER1318 BBC commercial arm BBC Studios are perfectly happy to repeat Allo allo all the time on GOLD, Drama or Yesterday channels. Maybe there is a difference between BBC Studios (commercial arm) and BBC Television (licence fee arm)?

@seanworkman431

3 жыл бұрын

Imagine the Goodies going to air again, took me a long time to figure what my father was laughing about.

‘There is such a thing as integrity’ *cut to sir Humphrey looking like he just saw someone drop their trousers and take a shit while yelling profanities in the middle of the aisle in Parliament*

@florinivan6907

3 жыл бұрын

That would actually be less offensive. If anything such an action would raise his curiosity as to why someone would do that.

I've seen the show and each episode finds me more and more ready to throttle Sir Humphrey and his ilk. This is masterful writing and the actors are splendid.

Sir Arnold is my spiritual advisor.

Sir Arnold: He keeps falling asleep in cabinet Sir Humphrey: I thought they all did Sir Arnold: yes but not while they are actually talking

Arnold is an understated and yet utterly invaluable character.

@danieldickson8591

Жыл бұрын

The truly powerful men never feel the need to raise their voices.

Oh god how I want this show back!!!

@alanjenkins6768

3 жыл бұрын

It never went away. If it was broadcast tomorrow on BBC1it would still be right up to date.

@MrGranfield

3 жыл бұрын

Alas the 3 protagonists are all deceased and are irreplaceable.

@Megabishop65

3 жыл бұрын

A remake was tried by Gold channel some years ago. It was badly written and the acting was dreadful.

@hiratiomasterson4009

2 жыл бұрын

The original series was created and written by Antony Jay (strong conservative views) & Jonathan Lynn (moderate Left to strong centrist views): these two worked together brilliantly and could easily find fault in both the other side and in their own. They both had extensive contacts in the British political, military and administrative establishment. And they were superb writers and highly educated, intelligent individuals. That mix is really, really hard to get again. And sadly, as mentioned, all of the three main actors have passed on. Yes, there are many great actors who with the right script we could all grow to love, but actually getting all the ingredients in place? It would prove exceptionally challenging.

Lol always loved the episodes where Jim and Humphrey had mutually beneficial goals and teamed up.

RIP, Sir Arnold.

This clip reminds me that one thing I love about Yes, (Prime) Minister is they leave the minor line flubs in, which just adds to how real this show feels.

@DomWeasel

2 жыл бұрын

That's also something I enjoy about That 70s Show, that and the characters actually laughing at the funny stuff they all say. Old British TV shows didn't have the money for reshoots, unlike today where they'll be up all night doing reshoots. Hugh Laurie described how while working on House, it was often busier at midnight than midday at Fox's studios.

@justin.booth.

2 жыл бұрын

And it also just highlights how fantastic all the actors were to deliver incredibly complex lines without mistake

"Minister, I'm now convinced on your views!"

Sir Arnold's discrete laugh says it all 🙂

There will never be another Paul and Nigel 👏

Wonderful programme. Pity the BBC have never aired this programme, not even on other channels. So glad l have this series, as well as yes prime minister on Dvd. Brilliantly funny comedy.

@MariusRiley

3 жыл бұрын

: You mean re-air the programme? They have done, just not lately, though it did get a feature on the Beeb as one of British comedy's greats. I doubt the Tories want it shown, not this current lot anyway. Thatcher loved the show.

@adamcarreras-neal4697

3 жыл бұрын

got my Dad the complete set on DVD for Christmas, just might have to go and get a copy for me

@robertmcqueen289

3 жыл бұрын

@@adamcarreras-neal4697 . Both of them are well worth it. Enjoy

@OverlandTT

3 жыл бұрын

These were a weekly broadcast when I was a child, my late father loved it.

@stuartrandall2584

3 жыл бұрын

It's currently on BBC 4 on a Tuesday evenings

The look of disgust on Humphrey's face at the word "integrity".

Love this series

Our generation really did have the best T.V comedies!!!!!!

*When the backbiting gets tough, the tough keep backbiting.* 🙏🙏🙏🙏

It's so brilliant it's true. How could it be anything else.

Sir Humphrey reads the Sun😂

Always amazes me how thick Arnold’s glasses are.

1 ov the few decent things they actually put on the bbc

Just perfect

Reality TV at its best...

Pure Magic! 🐎🐎🐎🇭🇲🇺🇸

Not while they are actually talking...lololol!!

brilliant brilliant

It really is a shame they're all gone. Would have loved them to do a Brecit sketch

1:42 - 😂

Sad, the best the BBC can do today is Mrs Brown's Boys

@derekmulready1523

3 жыл бұрын

And there IRISH. Funny isn't it. Irish and EU Citizen

@fredo1070

3 жыл бұрын

@@derekmulready1523 You'd have thought comedy would've moved on since Old Mother Riley.

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Mrs Brown's arseholes are aired time and time again, but gems like Yes Minister are either aired on GOLD, their subscription channel or hid behind a paywall on Britbox.

@michaelprobert4014

3 жыл бұрын

@@derekmulready1523 " they're "

@derekmulready1523

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelprobert4014 Don't you just hate autocorrect

So much better than the unfunny drivel that is supposed to be comedy now. Brilliant scripts (often based on how ministers and the civil service work!) and great acting. The whole lot should be shown again.

Those were the GREAT days of the BBC - before the standards plummeted and they started to commission nothing more than endless reality TV and grubby talent shows. Before woke trumped quality!

@mosspally6995

2 жыл бұрын

Yes Minister was itself a ‘woke’ show. It shows up the moneyed and established classes, frequently and pointedly showed up the fact that the establishment was dominated by white, rich men, and called out the prejudices of them. Plenty of problems with the bbc. Not sure if being ‘woke’ is among them.

@johnking5174

2 жыл бұрын

It is not just BBC - ITV, Channel 4 don't bother either. Remember the era of Saturday Live, Friday Night Live, The New Statesman, Spitting Image, Bremner, Bird and Fortune? Not made any more

Very prescient show writers given the on-going Brexit drama

Basil Bloody Corbett!!

Laughs in British 2:50 almost as good as the one from Lt Gen in the Patriot

Bloody hell isn't this comedy series a documentary in predicting Britain's current predicament.

On the same (top) level as Monty Python! Brilliant British humor @ its best.

😂😂😂

Nigel Hawthorn was a fantastic actor, but they could've given him real soup in this scene!

♥

2:10 Humphrey doesn't care who's running the country, etc.

They should revive yes minister and prime minister as we need a means of being able to keep up to date with politics whilst mocking politics. It would help elevate covid and brexit blues.

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Yes Prime Minister was revived in 2013, with a new version made for the GOLD channel, which bombed in the ratings and was panned by critics and fans alike. I don't think it will ever return again.

@tobydawes6007

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnking5174 the fact i didn't know that says a lot about how bad it must of been

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

@@tobydawes6007 Yes, it was a botched version of the successful stage play from around the same time, however the big problem was it was one continued story spread over six episodes, not self contained episodes like in the classic series. Each episode linked into the next one, as the story all was supposed to happen over the space of 24 hours. It went down the toilet very quickly in ratings. Also, they reused a lot of the old jokes and lines from the classic era, which just seemed lazy.

@tobydawes6007

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnking5174 could be rescued by a proper showrunner and producer?

@jeffhubbard4688

2 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't work for anyone familiar with the original. The original characters are so imprinted on the mind that anyone attempting to emulate them would fail at the first viewing. They made a Dad's Army movie a few years back which was filled with an amazing cast of great actors, and the whole thing was a total failure for precisely the reason I have given. Actually the original actor playing the Vicar was in it, but it wasn't enough to save the thing.

Hacker made a wise choice He became the prime minister in the end

Does anyone know why there aren't more of these clips than there are?

The acting is too good - we need to fine them retroactively 🤠😂reshuffle... sort of 🥳🤪

The only proven antidote to depression

@jude175

Жыл бұрын

Not the only. Wodehouse even better, because he never raises tempers.

Even back then everyone knew the EU was a massive gravy train.

The more I watch it, the more I like it, because of the insides of the working of politics. Don't you agree, current prime minister?

Hahaha

*Who's watching it while sniffing thier gas?? 😂😂😂*

Given the recent reshuffle, this seems relevant.

Where can I watch the entire series online?

@Blackcomanche

Жыл бұрын

Britbox!

Integrity !? wow !

@Peter-tg1kk

3 жыл бұрын

Obviously fantasy fiction

Ok, this is bugging the hell out of me. What exactly is Arnold eating??

@cargotv

3 жыл бұрын

Melon?

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Sir Arnold was seen before eating melon as a starter. I think it was in the Christmas special - must have been his favourite or at least John Nettleton's favourite food from the BBC canteen.

@vaughanellis7866

3 жыл бұрын

Looks like a kipper but not 100%

@allenjenkins7947

3 жыл бұрын

Kedgeree? A fish curry dish popular as lunch among the upper middle class. It's exactly the sort of colonial hangover served by the "Gentlemen's" clubs.

@postscript67

2 жыл бұрын

@@allenjenkins7947 Isn't kedgeree a breakfast dish?

We’ll never see stuff like this again

Must be proper to eat and talk at the same time in England

@TheNefastor

3 жыл бұрын

Depends on what you eat.

@funquay2219

3 жыл бұрын

It is considered "proper" to eat and talk at the same time in England, but I wish it wasn't. I prefer to shut up and concentrate on enjoying the food! But maybe I'm just an antisocial blighter!

@robert3987

2 жыл бұрын

It's not proper to talk with a mouthful.

Not while they're actually talking.

@noersang

3 жыл бұрын

The way the line is delivered is amazing. It is as if it’s just a normal thing, that a minister falls asleep in Parliament.

@odysseusrex5908

3 жыл бұрын

@@noersang Not in Parliament, in cabinet but, yeah.

I would suggest the best comedy show ever ... except watching the current Government in action makes me think twice ... The writing and the acting of Yes Minister has never been bettered before or since

I don't care what anyone says, Sir Arnold was the puppet master behind the primeminister

He kinda looks like Ian Smith

As if the EU would have a "word processing" conference.

@nni9310

3 жыл бұрын

@J M I think it was a joke on the part of the writers.

@davidian7787

3 жыл бұрын

Five star hotel, champagne, bring your wife or....the other woman. Maybe we could arrange it in Verbier and get some skiing in. You can't do any real political damage with word processing. Very safe topic. No. I think a Word Processing convention sounds like a splendid idea.

@allenjenkins7947

3 жыл бұрын

You have to remember that this was made in the 1980's when there were indeed intergovernmental conferences about which dedicated word processor to standardize on. Every one of the major typewriter manufacturers made a desktop word processor which used proprietary software and had limited or no compatibility with anyone else's.

@christianfournier6862

2 жыл бұрын

@nni9310= You are right : there never would have been a word processing conference at ministerial level, but there certainly has been (and will be) a number of conferences for specialized commissions in the EU on the matter of normalizing keyboards. This is serious stuff: I was once a consultant in a Paris outfit and a visiting American consultant had to quickly amend a report on our local keyboards; he stopped after two minutes… the AZERTY keyboard was too much for a man with a QWERTY muscle memory! I for one am a supporter of a universal (at least a European) keyboard for Roman languages, BUT with all the major accents in European languages AND with most of the characters used in international phonetic transcriptions. A daunting task indeed: specialized normalization conferences have been at it for more than fifty years. The use of international phonetic characters on keyboards would be handy for word-search purposes: many cities, rivers, and even countries, many names of persons and events are pronounced the same but not scripted the same way in various languages. Would be useful if phonetic spelling could be used [between brackets] to ensure a one-to-one correspondence between Wroclaw & Breslau, between Bratislava & Pressburg/Prešporok/Presbourg, and between Livorno & Leghorn… But this is an old pipe-dream of me… not to occur in my lifetime! __ .

@nni9310

2 жыл бұрын

@@christianfournier6862 Thank you for your interesting post. Do you think a competition to design the most nearly universal Roman alphabet keyboard would help?

The "Yes Commissioner" series was a road not taken that no doubt would have been hilarious, but might have triggered Brexit a decade or two earlier.

who is corbett btw?

Convid mentioned here.

Wonder if there Are Any soup in those deep plantes.

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Yes there would have been. I have been in the BBC canteens at Television Centre and I was told they had a lot of work supplying dramas and sitcoms with real food

do you think i should take my life seriously to make you look like a joke right now?

🐒

I can also talk and sleep at the same time. More people should in my opinion. Especially on mass media. It would make so much of a welcome difference.

Brussels as a city is boring and dull. Perfect location for the EU.

@christianfournier6862

2 жыл бұрын

@Dany_Fraser= Boring and dull maybe, the poet Beaudelaire thought so too; but rich and powerful. Don’t be jealous! __ .

The European ideal is no longer the done thing in Great Britain, potential national bankruptcy notwithstanding.

Love this American tribute of the British paying homage to American sitcom. We inspired China also. USA taught EUROPE

@hayreddinbarbarossa661

3 жыл бұрын

Whatever you've been smoking it's some good stuff.

@georgina3358

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, whatever it is you've been smoking, i want some as well...

@jonathanvesterlund9178

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I should like to have some of whatever you’re having aswell!

@jdd109

3 жыл бұрын

Bruh that's gotta be LSD

@green0563

3 жыл бұрын

What a brilliant man (or woman, or gender of their choice). Give him a cookie, guys.

Forget but it is not to find an answer,? !)(()

@peterkavanagh64

Жыл бұрын

Corbett

Where can I watch the entire series online?

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Daily Motion has them for free

Where can I watch the entire series online?

@johnking5174

3 жыл бұрын

Daily Motion