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Yes, Prime Minister - The Complete Series 1 [1986]
 
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Yes, Prime Minister - The Complete Series 1 [1986]
VHS ~ NIGEL HAWTHORNE
5.0 out of 5 stars  (4 customer reviews)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's superb sitcom Yes Prime Minister entered 10 Downing Street with Jim Hacker now Prime Minister of Britain, following a campaign to "Save the British Sausage". Whether tackling defence ("The Grand Design"), local Government ("Power to the People") or the National Education Service, all of Jim Hacker's bold plans for reform generally come to nothing, thanks to the machinations of Nigel Hawthorne's complacent Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey (Jeeves to Hacker's Wooster) who opposes any action of any sort on the part of the PM altogether. This is usually achieved by discreet horse-trading. In "One of Us", for instance, Hacker relents from implementing defence cuts when he is presented with the embarrassingly large bill he ran up in a vote-catching mission to rescue a stray dog on an army firing range. Only in "The Tangled Web", the final episode of series two, does the PM at last turn the tables on Sir Humphrey.

Paul Eddington is a joy as Hacker, whether in mock-Churchillian mode or visibly cowering whenever he is congratulated on a "courageous" idea. Jay and Lynn's script, meanwhile, is a dazzlingly Byzantine exercise in wordplay, wittily reflecting the verbiage-to-substance ratio of politics. Ironically, Yes Prime Minister is an accurate depiction of practically all political eras except its own, the 1980s, when Thatcher successfully carried out a radical programme regardless of harrumphing senior civil servants. --David Stubbs

Synopsis
A two-tape package featuring the complete first series of the TV comedy 'Yes Prime Minister'. 8 episodes including: 'The Grand Design', 'The Ministerial Broadcast', 'The Smoke Screen', 'The Key', 'A Real Partnership', 'A Victory For Democracy', 'The Bishop's Gambit' and 'One Of Us'.

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4 Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Humphrey, Bernard and Jim: sure to all your comedy buttons!, 18 Feb 2003
Every episode of Yes, Minister was a delight to watch. It is quite astounding, therefore, that the creators managed to surpass all their earlier work with series one of Yes, Prime Minister. We are allowed a glimpse into the murky world that surrounds No 10 Downing Street and bear witness to the continuous battle between Westminster and Whitehall, between what is right and what is administratively practical. The issues discussed may be complex, but the jokes come thick and fast and hit the spot every time. Paul Eddington's Jim Hacker is a man who the audience is more than willing to empathise with, as he tries time and time again to get the upper hand over the power of the civil service. Derek Fowlds' Bernard Wooley is believable as the private secretary who is torn between his role as a member of the service and his loyalty to his Prime Minister. The late great Nigel Hawthorne is in a league of his own as the almost Iago-like Sir Humphrey Appleby. While the audience may feel distaste towards Humphrey's complete lack of principle ("I've never believed in anything my whole life"), we cannot help but be delighted by his magnificant ability to manipulate those around him. If you want a comedy series where the comedy is guaranteed to please and the actors are enchantin