May 10, 2003 10:38 PM
6592 Views
(Updated May 10, 2003 10:38 PM)
“Yes Minister” was initially a television classic offering a satirical insight into the working of the British political system as seen through the eyes of an insider at Westminster Abbey and The Whitehall. Written brilliantly by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, the episodic series concentrates on Right Hon. Jim Hacker (MP and Minister for Administrative Affairs) and his Permanent Under Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby as they engage each other in a battle of wits to outdo each other.
The Theme
Each episode would bring a new gem of an idea into Hacker’s mind to either take up some new scheme for the development of his constituency or for improvement in the working of his department but would find his apple cart upset by Sir Appleby as they engage in a battle of wits to thwart each others plans.
The characterization of the 2 main characters is simply awesome. Hacker is an archetypal British MP and a novice in the world of politics but has an abundance of improbable ideas that he sincerely believes will enable him to gain the confidence of his constituency as well as see his political stock soar in the eyes of the Prime Minister. Appleby, on the other hand, is a hands down, I-know-it-all, born and bred bureaucrat who is more realistic and hates to see the internal balance of power swinging in favour of the politicians from the bureaucrats.
While Hacker seriously believes that more than the bureaucrats, it’s the elected representatives who are responsible for the running of the Department, Appleby secretly loathes the likes of Hacker but realizes that the marriage of convenience between the bureaucracy and political ascendancy is inbuilt into the British form of Governance and therefore, he skillfully devises novel methods of confusing Hacker fro implementing his ideas.
Why it Went Down Fabulously Well
It was probably for the first time that an enjoyable cocktail of “Thatcheristic” politics and off-the-cuff humour were blended very well. The series gave more than a small peek into the “Chinese Veil” that British politics was notorious for being. The series was refreshingly devoid of lengthy political harangues and dubious plans to topple Governments. Instead, it dealt pre-dominantly with the day-to-day working in one of those “not-so-important” ministries and was therefore more of a political satire, perhaps the best ever on the TV and Book media till date.
Viewers and readers both sympathized with the character of Hacker, considering his political innocence and his obsession for genuinely trying to improving things around him. Hacker is invariably taken for a ride by Appleby for a major part of the series, mainly by explaining things to him in such a complicated manner that Hacker would eventually give up his plans rather than try to understand what Appleby says. Towards the end of the series however, Hacker’s confidence, his understanding of politics and bureaucratic procedures makes him more assertive and allows him to turn the tables on Appleby, often leading to wildly hilarious consequences.
The most important reason for its continued success is maybe because the political pyramid and the bureaucratic tangles are more or less the same anywhere in the world. Though the concept was strictly supposed to be English in nomenclature, the intricate details of its workings were widely appreciated by readers across the world as they immediately identified their own system as being equally bad, if not worse.
Thus Spake TiC
As mentioned before, YM was initially commissioned by BBC as a TV series and successfully ran between 1980-82 with the incomparable duo of Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne essaying the roles of Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby respectively. In order to cash in on its popularity and to make it more accessible to subsequent generations, it was later chronicled into a well-compiled book form.
I was (thankfully) forced to watch the TV series on DD as a kid by my father who wanted me to learn some good “Politically Correct” English. My undeveloped grey cells didn’t allow me to understand a thing on the screen but my dad more than compensated by gifting me the 2 part book series for my 18th Birthday. I have since read the books dozens of times but their timeless appeal never ceases to amaze me to this day.
Despite being more than 2 decades old, the humour remains as fresh as a daisy flower. Perhaps that’s because Politics seems to hardly change over a period of time. We still come across real life characters with the same mindset as Hacker and Appleby. We are even confronted with the same burning issues, survival instincts and one-upmanship that political systems across the world are notorious for.
Each episode tackles a new confrontation between Hacker and Appleby and is more often than not, interspersed with the Machiavellian/Churchillian brand of perfect English with utmost stress on political expediency.
Here are a few select “crackers” which I still remember:
The Official Secrets Act isn’t there to protect secrets, but to protect officials.
Never believe anything until it is officially denied. Never disbelieve anything until it is officially confirmed.
In the spirit of “Open Government”, one should always make public anything that can easily be discovered by some other way.
When discussing important matters, the more acronyms and abbreviations are used, the better it is in driving home the point.
Having a hierarchy of committees and sub-committees in the Ministry is a double advantage. It affords the luxury of pretending to be occupied with chairing some meeting or the other. There is also the more hidden advantage of denying any politically incorrect statement made to the press.
The Books are published by “BBC Books” and Rekha (Rekh) tells me that an older publication in her possession carries a price tag of 7 Pounds (about Rs. 450-500). It’s worth shelling out every penny of that amount for the sheer enjoyment that its pages provide.
Finally, my sincere thanks to Rekha for “inspiring” me to review this magnificent book and for helping me out with a few details as well.
