
James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?
First Aired: 1/9/1986
Languages: English
Created by: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn
Type: Scripted
Companies: BBC
Countries: United Kingdom

Vision, integrity and a ruthless streak are the weapons of the political power. Unfortunately new Prime Minister Jim Hacker has none of these, but he does have the cowardice, desperation and a scheming, pragmatic Cabinet Secretary in Sir Humphrey...

If Prime Minister Jim Hacker has a fault (and god knows...), it is that he has ideas. Fortunately his Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey makes sure they never come to fruition. Meanwhile poor Bernard, his Private Secretary, sits uneasily on the fence between them...

6 episodes
CinemaSerf
This, rather logical extension of the BBC "Yes, Minister" series is every bit as good. The hapless but, by now, far more politically savvy "Jim Hacker" (Paul Eddington) with the help of his civil service advisor "Sir Humphrey" (Nigel Hawthorne) and long-suffering aide 'Bernard" (Andrew Fowlds) has managed to wheedle his way to the job of Prime Minister. Our topics (i.e. his responsibilities) are now upscaled from the earlier series' as he deals with everything from arts funding to the defence of the Realm; he has to appoint a bishop and defend a tiny island from impending communist invasion - and most importantly of all; he mustn't upset relations with "The Palace"... Each episode tends to have a visiting guest to heighten the topic and exacerbate his invariably vacillating response to whatever needs to be done. "The Key" is probably my particular favourite as in this, "Sir Humphrey" is very much forced from his comfort zone... It's still a fantastic critique of the machinations at the very top of the British political establishment and frequently laugh out loud. It could probably be true of most international administrations (perhaps not in Paris!).
Bernard Woolley
1997

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