Shark Bytes

This is what the British are so good at sending up the establishment. Carry On... Up the Khyber fits in to that point to, the stiff upper lip ect. My Favorite episode is the one where Hacker tells Bernard to take away Sir Humphrey's key so he can't get into number ten and The episode with the visit to the arabian country and the alcohol hidden in the radio room where Hacker cet more and more indiscreet "There is a Mr Smirnoff on the line" or "A delegation of teachers" and "A mister Johnny Walker"

NEVER, EVER, EVER JUMPED! This is comedy/satire at its most biting, witty, intelligent and screamingly funny! Great writing plus wonderful acting. I have the DVD box sets and watch them regularly. Favorite episode is a toss up between the episode of YM where Hacker and Bernard found out Humphrey lost a huge amount of money over some Scottish deal, and the episode of YPM where the island is going to be invaded. "A surprise goodwill visit" - classic!

Never Jumped! For me, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister are easily the greatest television shows ever made.

Watching some of the episodes dealing with issues in the Middle East or Africa are hilarious with how relevant they remain today, and the plots and acting were extremely sophisticated. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone who enjoys smart comedy.

I never felt the same way about Sir Humphrey's wordplay, but I agreed with a previous comment that by the end of Yes, Prime Minister, Bernard's long-winded comments were leaned on a bit too much. That being said, they were never a crutch for not writing a proper show. Having seen the entire series, not a single episode ever lacked.

Nothing but the sharpest television ever produced.

In my opinion the best comedy ever on TV. I loved all the episodes when they came out, and I subsequently saw them all many times on repeats and DVD. Unlike most comedies, YM & YPM get funnier over the years rather than dating. That is the mark of greatness. I unhesitatingly bracket this series with the works of Moliere and Aristophenes, i.e. comedies that will be enjoyed centuries hence.

Class golden almost perfect.

There is scean were humphey says he want to assure the arabs that he is on their side and his is not the united kingdoms side. This is taken from real life. George Shultez was being taken on tour of the state department and asked each desk officer what his or her country was. To which the responce would be Upper tras sibera, the united federation of planets, ect, ect. The frist memo he send out as Sec. of State was T0: all desk officers Note: YOUR Country is the United States of America

there is a reason they call the State Department foggy bottom

Never jumped. Absolutely classic comedy, you should move it to the 'few the proud' section. Government employees should watch this programme before they are allowed to get their first paycheck.

Never jumped - threatened to sag, but then he got made Prime Minister. Writing and acting spot-on. Classic!

This show has been great. When it became Yes Prime Minister it gained even more. But in series two of Yes Prime Minister it just became a reuse of old concepts and ideas, with Humphry and Bernard having speeches which are now getting longer and more outrageous to try and create laughs. Glad they didn't make a series three.

Never Jumped. Not even close. Saw an episode on tv last week for the first time in ages and was shocked at how relevent YPM still is. Brilliantly written (much input from civil servants) and brilliantly acted (most of it was filmed in front of a live audience). This is finely judged satire - you cannot help but have a sneaking regard for Hacker & Appleby.

Yes Minister never jumped. Neither did the second series Yes Prime Minister. Sadly, both Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne are gone now. Watching the episodes currently running on our local PBS station is done with a certain amount of wistfulness. But, that takes nothing away from the quality of the program and the shows still hold their relevance even though they are several years old and deal with events and leaders now behind us. Having personally dealt with government bureaucracies in the States and abroad, I can tell you that as long as there are governments there will be Jim Hacker-like cabinet ministers trying their best to stand for something, implement their policies and stay popular with the voters. For every one of those there will always be a Sir Humphrey Appleby-like bureaucrat attempting to counter every governmental effort.

This show never jumped the shark. It was pure brilliance. It was proof that you can have a clever and satirical show about governmental affairs and officials (unlike the extremely lowbrow "That's my Bush"). I just recently got the DVD set of YM and YPM, and it's so great. The extras on the DVD's are good too. They had interviews with the cast and crew, and how they came up with the show. It's funny how the producer describes how he's amazed the show was so popular despite the fact that it's a 30 minute show of three men just talking to each other. There was also another part in the interview with the director about how they came up with the scripts, and it turns out that they actually took some former politicians and civil service workers out to dinner, and after a bottle of wine the stories just flowed. The episode with the visit to the arabian country and the alcohol hidden in the radio room (alcohol being illegal in islamic culture, but the Brits always need a drink during official functions) was apparently a true story about a British diplomatic delegation. "You can't make this up" was a quote from the director. Classic.

Great writing and acting. The best of the britcoms in both the Minister and Prime Minister forms. You can learn and laugh with this snapshot of 80s Britain. It surely deserves to make it to the classic never jumpers.

Never jumped. An absolute classic of comedy with the added bonus that it gives you more insight into the world of politics than you'll get from a year of serious news programmes

Never Jumped! The series got better from Day One. It rose a notch when Jim Hacker first got the better of Sir Humphrey in "Big Brother" and as he got a better grip on his job. In turn, Sir Humphrey had to up his standards too. When Hacker became PM, things really started to rock. Hacker had power to counter Appleby. Bernard trying to untangle the PM's metaphors. Sir Humphrey uttering longer and longer tongue twisters! Amazing right up to the end. Having the books of the series helped immensely too. I have watched each episode at least thrice (and some episodes even more) and read the book pretty close to ten times (if not more). I have also bought the books more than 3 times as the copies I lend out never seem to come back. Eagerly awaiting (but not holding my breath) for the next series of the same quality.

One of the greatest television of comedies. Jonathan Lynn himself said he was somewhat surprised that a show consisting of elderly men discussing government should be so popular. For non-Britons it must be a little difficult to follow if you don't know that "Number 10" is referring to the Prime Minster's Office, or the "LSE" is the London School of Economics and that its graduates are looked down upon by those from Oxford and Cambridge, or that Minister being given the "Northern Ireland" portfolio is being sent to the political version of purgatory. Nigel Hawthorne is absolutely amazing, particularly his ability to memorize and declaim those long, convoluted sentences that he says. Among my favorite lines are those stated by a former member of the House of Commons who was given a peerage and moved to the House of Lords. He was asked how he liked the move. He replied "I have gone from the animals to the vegetables!" Another is when Bernard tells Hacker that although he is being given a choice of candidates to pick to become a new bishop in the Church of England, the committee that proposed them is like a magician who tells someone to pick a playing card. The magician forces the person to take the card he wants. Prime Minister Hacker then asks Bernard which "card" he should pick. Bernard replies "it will be either a knave or a queen!". Priceless!