Compromise Candidate | Yes, Minister: 1984 Christmas Special | BBC Comedy Greats
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- Опубликовано: 8 авг 2021
- Sir Humphrey and Sir Arnold discuss who should be the new PM over dinner. Seeking a compromise candidate, they sound Bernard out about whether Jim Hacker would be up to the task. Subscribe: bit.ly/BBCComedyGreats
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John Nettleton (Sir Arnold) wasn't a regular cast member, but he elevated every scene he appeared in.
Absolutely
Ironic that he is the only main cast member still alive
@@joshhosseinof8425Yeah he is like 93 or something , wonder if thats his real voice ?
@@joshhosseinof8425 Sadly no more. John Nettleton has passed away July 2023 aged 94.
Sadly John Nettleton has joined the rest of the cast ... A shame, Britain ruled by Hacker, Appleby, Woolley and Sir Arnold would function far more effectively than our present Government
"a considerable body of opinion" - exactly two people.
Two people who's opinions matter.
Trump used the same line: "...a lot of people come up to me and say..." nothings changed in 40 years!
It's like when a sports reporter says that footballer has been linked to a certain club. Linked by who? The reporter and his mate down at the pub that's who
Two people who really do matter.
Don't forgot the chef whip.
"Yes, well, I think that is probably what he was planning to do anyway." Is the best line of the entire show. It's both hilarious and accurate at the same time.
Bernard always had the best one liners . Without him both series would've lacked a lot of quality. They often talk about Paul's timing but Derek had perfect timing throughout the series as well. Brilliantly written too.
Unfortunately although your comment was indeed clear, simple and straightforward, there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to it the 4th of the epithets you applied to the statement, in as much as the precise correlation between the information you communicated and the facts, in so far as they can be determined and demonstrated is such as to cause epistemological problems of sufficient magnitude as to lay upon the logical and semantic resources of the English language a heavier burden than they can reasonably be expected to bear
@@LEGOpachinko explain in plain English please
@@marufmehedi9367 he told a lie. My quote was from Sir Humphrey and imho the best line of the entire show
77777
"Someone who you know can be manipulate- professionally guided."
The Civil Service in a nutshell.
And thank goodness for that. Imagine if the likes of Norman Tebbit or Diane Abbott were unleashed on the nation without a little bit of "professional guidance"...
A friend of mine was PPS ("Bernard Woolley") for Tebbit, and some of the stories are hair-raising.
Without us mere civil servants it would be an utter shitshow. The Foreign Office for example will have their hands full with Liz 'doesn't think before she speaks' Truss. A woman who openly admits shes not good at diplomacy....Anyone would think this current lot are openly taking the piss out of the idea of good government.
@@Gethsemanes I don't just think it...
@@tullochgorum6323 I would not be surprised, knowing what our friend in the leather jacket was like.
What's disturbing is when they try to do things themselves it gets worse.
Every political crisis has a Yes Minister scene that accurately describes it.
It's been said a thousand times already, but Yes Minister is 50% comedy and 50% crash course in the fundamentals of British politics
Rest in Peace John Nettleton. Nobody could have played Sir Arnold better. He was Sir Arnold. Timeless and amazing quality.
Godspeed Sir Arnold
Sir Arnold is my favourite character on the show
Gosh, I just looked that up today!
Writing and acting just doesn't get any better. This is the gold standard.
I hadn't appreciated at the time how good the acting and comic timing actually was.
@@Marvin-dg8vj that's what the thing quality was back in the day. We cannot realise it's brilliance until it's over
Absolutely got the whole box set.
The way Sir Arnold trills his r's is fantastic.
It's fairly common among educated Britons, or, at least, it used to be.
@@DieFlabbergast Yes, I'm not sure it is that common anymore. RP has evolved overtime. Even the Queen speaks differently to when she was younger
@@NotYowBusiness you can even see evidence of it fading even in the show when you compare the speech of Arnold to someone like say humphrey or Bernard who don't roll their R's nearly as much as sir Arnold does despite all of them being highly educated
For a very long time, speech patterns in Britain were the widely-used markers to distinguish the educated elite from the "common man." Much snobbery and outright discrimination can be attributed to that standard. I don't know how much that's changed in the present day. I mean, even Boris Johnson is articulate.
British sophistication. In France it was different, the upper class and the aristocracy needed to master and use a tense called "imparfait du subjonctif". Only few scholars are able to use it properly nowadays.
The way Arnold and Humphrey crack up together at the notion as Hacker as PM.
Also I love Bernard. "I was just checking to see it wasn't April the 1st."
Absolutely, the same thought occurs to them both in the same moment yet seems so absurd they can’t be the first one to raise it to the other then they realise at a mere glance it has occurred to the other and promptly lose their usually ironclad composure over it
Especially after he had just been wished a happy new year by Sir Humphrey.
Seeing the normally self-possessed Arnold and Humphrey almost hysterically laughing at the thought of Prime Minister Hacker is just such a delicious moment, that can only be fully enjoyed after having spent years getting to know these characters.
It’ll never not be funny watching them both come at the realisation at the same time that Hacker was the perfect puppet candidate.
A bit like BoJo perhaps…..
Bernards reaction when checking his watch to check its not April 1 is priceless as well.
That moment is a great example of what is called "comedic timing" - the prhase usually refers to the timing of a certain remark, but in this case, their facial experessions and body movemnets are spot-on as far as timing.
@@Driver2616 more like Bumbling Biden
@@mikeodonovan9299 Oh yes, that was his purpose. He needed to not change anything for the right people, keep the wrong people like Sanders out, and not be Trump. The idea that he had any business being an elected official or in a position of authority or wasn't senile was completely beside the point.
"For Brrrritain!!" 😂
3:35 "Yes, well I think that was probably what he was planning to do anyway". We all have our favorites from Yes Minister and this is one of mine. Impeccable delivery by Fowlds.
40 odd years old but still absolutely spot-on and hilarious.
The look on their faces when they both realise they're thinking about the same person. Priceless.
"Like asking which lunatic should run the asylum." - perfect analysis of current politics.
Such is the timelessness of this entire series.
Like asking which clown should run the circus.
A masterclass in how to write intelligent comedy. No profanity, no obvious jokes or punchlines, just wit, and a command of the English language.
I love that the audience clearly knows where it's headed a full 20 seconds before Arnold and Humphrey do
It's a sign of good writing when they could put the punchline first then work backwards through the joke. 😊
2-24: That movement of Sir Humphrey's chair AWAY from Bernard - so subtle; so meaningful! LOL
I don't understand, care to explain?
@@haiqal5333 Up until signing the paperwork that Bernard presented to him, Sir Humphrey was merely Bernard's boss. With the movement of the chair, he places himself firmly on the side of Sir Arnold and HIMSELF in their views on why Jim Hacker should become Prime Minister.
This programme was so accurate and so good, thats it’s not a comedy show anymore, it’s actually a documentary.
Reviews of the program at the time of first airing commented on it being more of a documentary than a comedy show. I think that I read that Margaret Thatcher used to enjoy the weekly episodes.
This is not a tv show, this is a master class on policy making
RIP, Sir Arnold.
RIP John Nettleton.
1:20
That burst of laughter by Sir Humphrey makes the conversation even funnier 😂😂😂
" How are the things in the campaign of your freedom of information by the way "
" Sorry, I can't talk about that "
I laughed so much, damn 🤣🤣🤣
And that's just the start of the scene. Now-a-days they only put such one-liner at the end..
This remains one of my favorite scenes. The verbal description of the "compromise candidate" followed by the slow recognition then laughter is wonderful. The icing on the cake remains Bernard's reaction. Pure comedy gold. 👍
A considerable body of opinion consists of two bureaucrats, the past and the present cabinet secretary
And the Chief Whip!
Sir Arnold and Sir Humphrey certainly amount to a considerable body of opinion.
Sir Arnold is my favorite guest character.
Those first two lines are some of the finest in the history of British television comedy.
RIP John Nettleton. 1929-2023.
First thing I thought of when I heard he died.
I believe it's "Compromise candidate". Entirely different from "Compromised candidate". A compromise candidate is one who keeps the peace between the party's different wings. A compromised candidate, is someone who has been involved in a scandal, and is hence a danger to his party.
Hasn't stopped the current incumbent so far....
I went back and listened and it does sound 'compromised' with the 'd' letter in position. However, you must surely agree that the exceptional standard of writing over the whole series allows for this one pernickety point.
I really enjoy this whole scene, something actors rarely do anymore, actually eating and drinking while filming
I get so annoyed at fake drinks and food where there is no blur of articulation, or waiver of the vocals after swallowing a drink
This is perfectly real and executed, because it is... very simple things that make the difference
Huh... interesting. It is a nice touch. It does feel more real. More like a stageshow.
@@MrThorfan64 not to mention the pure talent helps too 😁
@@narmale It does have great actors.
At times I take them more seriously then the actual people in power. The whole lunatic asylum phrase feels like it can apply to the contest now.
@@MrThorfan64 im really happy i got turned onto british television, all our stuff here in America is total garbage now... ive got decades of great BBC shows to catch up on to keep me company now 😁
@@narmale Tried the British House of Cards from the 1990s? The lead died in 2007 and no horrible scandals have come out so I doubt they'll be getting cancelled.
The absolute pinnacle of comedy writing and performance.
I would love to read Boris Johnson's MI5 file 😂
This scene will never get old!
1:20 that sudden outburst from Sir Humphrey like Palpatine possessing him with a brilliant idea whispering; "HACKERRRRRRR..." 🤣🤣🤣🤣
My nomination for the funniest scene ever broadcast on television, in any series from any country. And it's all in the acting -- the script itself is amusing but typical for this series. Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Foiwlds and John Nettleton (Sir Arnold) do it all with body language. Brilliant!
I would go same series but the communications room in the middle east scene
@@dlamiss Agreed -- that scene is also a riot. But in that case the humor comes from the puns in the script -- all the double entendres on the brand names of drinks. Just two different styles of humor. I should know better than to try to label one scene the "funniest" =- that's silly. Cheers.
@@dizzyology7514We all have our favourites ironically the "question time" political debate on knowing me knowing you with Alan Partridge was also genius.........
Gotta go with the scene where confounds a lady asking a pertinent question but saying lots about absolutely nothing.
Or the episode "The Key" where he ends up outside the building 😂
It's a difficult call to make but this might be the most cynical and hilarious 4 minutes of the entire show 🤣
It is certainly pivotal because it sets the stage for Jim to make his move against both of the candidates.
It's in the top 100 for sure.
here in Germany, we have one, who does exactly that, keeps quiet and lets the other two stumble from debacle to debacle ... watching this, i could really see a scene like this taking place here... scholz is his name, minister of finance and merkels vice, which is a big shadow to hide in and since many dont really recall him being part of the current government, including himself it seems, he is now 2nd place right behind "none of the above" which keeps leading the polls but cant be voted for next month, when we go vote in a new chancellor.
That was accurate 🤣
Very,very accurate (sogar)
My childhood favourite, though of little understanding. Yet the expressions says it all. Old is gold they say; true to the meaning with this sitcom. Repetitively enjoyable at this day and age.
"I'm just making sure it's not April the first" - - one of the best lines in any comedy ever! - - up there with "whose line is it you cloth-eared bint, Dennis Compton's?"
LIZ TRUSS
NUFF SAID😆
"Manipulat... Professionally guided..."
Possibly the best scene ever shown on British TV.
Sort of agree, but the final scene of Blackadder runs it pretty close.
Siri, play me something nearly 40 years old that is absurdly topical.
Even after all this time, it could still be aired and be so relevant. Classic.
"Do you think it'll work? Putting a man who has no idea how government works in charge of the whole thing?"
"You say that like it's never been done before."
@TheRenaissanceman65 Yes, worked at getting 500k+ people killed to Covid, dividing the country, cutting taxes on the wealthy, and increasing the tax burden of the lower and middle classes. Yes, it worked at giving a narcissistic conman a platform to spew over 30,000 lies in little more than three years. Yes, it worked at ballooning the deficit without investing further in education, social services, and infrastructure. Yes, it worked at letting the problem of climate change rapidly worsen. Yes, it worked at allowing a demagogic sack of crap to undermine America's democratic institutions. Remember how this president literally incited a mob to storm the Capitol after he refused to admit that he had lost the election?
No, electing a conman who knew nothing about governance was a trash decision, no ifs ands or buts.
Now I understand Boris Johnson.
@@noahkidd3359 🤣🤣🤣 Not a single thing in your comment is true, so🤦♂️
Covid killed people all over the world at about the same rate, Trump wasn´t the one dividing the country, you´re completely wrong about the taxes, the "30000" lies thing is BS(ulike you I actually looked up the list, it´s pure BS), don´t pretend you care about the deficit, climate change didn´t rapidly get worse and he didn´t incite Jan 6th.
You´re the litteral definition of a low information voter🤣
In 8 months Biden has pushed infaltion to 5%+, completely fu*ked up Afghanistan, created an enormous border crisis, caused crazy price hikes on food, gas etc, Pushed government programs based on race, is currently pushing for blatantly unconstitutional vaccine mandates etc. etc.
But hey, no more mean tweets, peace deal or jobs, right?🤣🤣
Holy fu*k you´re stupid!!
@@paulcrook187 Didn't Trump claim that Covid was a hoax, you know, before he caught it himself? I wonder how much damage to preventive measures that caused and how many extra lives were affected because of it?
btw I'm not saying Biden is any better, I'm not American so I have no reason to worship one over the other, but Trump certainly wasn't the super-president so many of you seem to think he was...
@@killakanzgaming Nope, Trump never claimed Covid was a hoax. In fact he talked about it being a problem at a time when media and democrats were saying the flu was worse and telling people to live like normal. So no, it did not cause any damage to preventive measures or affect any extra lives, becuase it never happened.
I don´t worship Trump, but he was objectively a million times better than Biden. Trump was the first President in 40 years to not start a new war, he did a lot to help minority communities(I wonder why the media never talks about that) and a bunch of other good things. Was Trump perfect? Nope. But compared to Obama, Bush and Biden he was absolutely a super-President.
When Sherlock Holmes said about his brother Mycroft "on occasion my brother IS the British Government", this is the kind of meeting I envision.
1:18 one of my favourite moments in the series!
RIP, Sir Arnold. John Nettleton, 1929 - 2023.
when Sir Arnold corrected himself
Manipulated --- professionally guided 😂
The opening lines cracked me up straight away
Great show, I watched it millions of times and still do, and every time I watch it, I learn something new. The only negative thing I can say about this show is that they only did 5 seasons: Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister!!!!
Whenever I see this show I'm quite fascinated how well the role of Bernard Woolley is written. As a supporting actor his time on this show is limited. But when his time comes, his sentences are the cherry on the cake.
It really seems that the other actors were secure enough to give him the best lines. Which just tells so much about their professionalism.
In the various retrospectives of the show Derek Fowlds always stated both Eddington and Hawthorne pleaded with the writers to increase the Woolley part and in fairness his role was expanded from the third series of YM
This scene is perfection.
And I always chuckle when Sir Humphrey giggle-snorts. :)
I could never watch this program when I was closer to power. Painfully accurate!
This IS political satire at its very best, written by intelligent people and performed by experts in their craft.
Eat your heart out 'In The Thick Of It'. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Both are of their time, as was The New Statesman.
Bernards priceless reaction🤪
Derek Fowlds probably had the most difficult job in the series - sitting back and watching whilst two brilliant actors went on, and not breaking until it was his turn to deliver his line - which would inevitably be a punch line.
Nothing in the history of telly comes close.
This scene is my favourite.
It described the entire series in the usual hilarious manner.
Sir Arnold is so slimy. Within one minute he goes from guffawing at the very notion of Hacker being PM, to telling Bernard that "There is a considerable body of opinion that sees advantages in the appointment".
"For Brrrrritain."
Well, him and Humphrey are considerable body :D
These programmes were NOT a comedy show, they were/are DOCUMENTARIES that are brilliantly funny !!!!!!
"Interventionist" usually refers to foreign policy -- sending troops on missions, etc. But not in this case.
The civil service views government intervention by politicians as foreign intervention. So it’s basically the same thing.
Depends on the context, in economics circles it refers to monetary and fiscal policy.
How John Major got to be Prime Minister? And.... did the civil Service have input into Starmer becoming Labour leader?
Quite apt
No, it was Thatcher who promoted John Major and made him Prime Minister, in order to stop Michael Heseltine getting the job. I guess the civil service would have preferred the other candidate, Douglas Hurd.
Great writing! Never a wasted word.
Brilliantly written and brilliantly cast
I learnt to roll my r’s from the way John Nettleton pronounced ‘Brrrritain’!
With Sir Arnold aka John Nettleton leaving us, it has made this world less comical... Sir Arnold was precise that even Sir Humphrey was afraid of him... Godspeed Sir Arnold
They’re talking about Boris Johnson!!! 🤣
@TheRenaissanceman65 : How can he have ideas? He’s short on grey matter….
He’s certainly got instincts that are attuned to himself…
It's more likely it's about Theresa May.
@TheRenaissanceman65 he just has noises.
Well, nothing BoJo did appeared to be guided by any experts... I didn't see any Sir Arnold or Sir Humphrey expertise in his policies...
Derek Fowlds was such inspired casting. Like all the cast, he's very much missed.
Not a "compromise candidate" lads, Hacker would prefer to be called a "moderate candidate".
In most scenes, Sir Arnold looks and sounds about seven feet tall, but in perspective, he's really not.
Indeed...John Nettleton is a very good actor!
it's funny in yes minister, sir arnold as cabinet secretary was made to look extremely powerful and intimidating. but when humpy gets the job he's made to look even less authoritative than he was in YM. permanent secretaries and even bernard pushing back at him at times. i guess it's just funnier that way
Must be the wittiest, most accurately satirical and brilliantly acted series ever. It will never date.
Never
That's how John Major became premier of GB
Absolutely bRrilliant!
Still a great show. Love it!
"Professionally guided" 😂
Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.
Wonderful stuff. I watch it if I’m depressed..crying with laughter.
Great idea. Trouble is, after a while your mind starts to associate whatever it is which cheers you up, with being depressed.
Phenomenal writing. And of course, acting.
“Just checking ts not April 1st” 🤣
This yes Minister and yes Prime Minister series has definitely been a problem, nothing even remotely equal to it come along 40 years :(
@Paul Mathews "They did a remake, total trash though :( " > Thank you for that advice I've lived in Australia the last 38 years so I'm very out of touch, the obvious problem for any remake is indeed the brilliance if not genius of the original... There is just so much magic in this..... But that is sad for later generations, I would hate this to be the one and only series to use this series of scripts....... "Only British television," absolutely no one else tries for this sort of up with the stars quality, it really does challenge belief, it did on the day, decades later it does even more so.... Thanks for the heads up. //// John - Perth Australia.... (I'm old, used to fly comets for British Airways, so very long long ago or so it seems)., Best wishes again thank you for the heads up......
Why is it when I see this I think of John Major.
HAHAHA
I really disliked John Major when he became Prime Minister. And then we got David Cameron, Teresa May and Alan (call me 'Boris') Johnson, and I realised that John Major was the best Conservative Prime Minister in the last 20 years. I still dislike him, but at least he was serious.
@@glynthomas6025 We haven´t had a Conservative prime minister for 30 years.
@@peterwest5525 Actually 120 years! Lord Salisbury was the last real Conservative Prime Minister.
The moment both Sir Arnold and Sir Humphrey both think of Jim Hacker. John Nettleton was brilliant as Sir Arnold.
love the hospital with no paitents
This is incredibly funny
You can laugh, but I'm telling you right now this is almost exactly how most Western heads of state got the job for the last few years at least!
They must have had an insider to be able to describe it all with such accuracy.
Yes, the writers behind Yes Minister and its sequel did have such access.
One of the funniest scenes ever, beautifully written and perfectly performed.
Totally brilliant 👏
Sir Arnold: There is a considerable body of opinion.
He is talking about Him and Sir Humphrey. It is the opinion of those two that matters in the UK.
Lol totally brilliant
Screaming with laughter. I assume that is how May and Boris got the job. And I think it is pretty much a recorded fact that that is Corbyn got to head the Labour party.
I don't think either Boris or Corbyn could be called a compromise candidate...
Thats how boris n corbyn made the ballot. The partymembership chose the leader which was impossible to control in the case of corbyn because the left had been waiting nearly 30yrs and put the full CLP system behind him. The PLP put him on the ballot but didn't realise just how big a disconnect there is between members and MPs
1:14 when you can see the same idea occurring to both of them. Doesn’t even need to Be said, wonderful acting.
Perfect wit
Sir Arnold made Sir Humphrey look like a child! He was, I thought, the most cunning character in the entire series... and HE never made a mistake!
Yes, a number of Sir Humphrey's mistakes returned to haunt him, but nothing on Sir Arnold.
"There is a considerable body of opinion that can see many advantages of the appointment". Quite.
So perfect for 25.10.22!
Classic !🤣👍
23y 11m 30 years it's still running
I can see why Borris is our PM