Yes, Minister and its successor Yes, Prime Minister managed the difficult trick of being extremely humorous, intelligent, and relevant, all at once. With the exception of a very few dated references, most episodes are as relevant today as they were when they were made -- quite a trick! If you want to know how parliamentary democracy *really* works (as opposed to the theoretical details they teach in school), this program will teach it to you, and provide plenty of laughs at the same time. Another nice touch is the fact that in the series, the deck isn't entirely stacked against Jim Hacker, and he does occasionally put one over on Sir Humphrey. Some of the shows greatest moments are listening to some of the incredibly long strings of government-ese gobbledegook that Nigel Hawthorne delivers with such aplomb. Perhaps the greatest thing that could be said about the program is that apparently both politicians and bureaucrats considered its portrayal of "the other side" as dead-on accurate.
Review of Yes Minister
