Yes Minister Page 12

Quote: lofthouse @ 12th August 2023, 1:17 PM

It's hard to believe that it's been over 40 years since co-creators, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn wrote the unbelievably brilliant British comedy, Yes Minister, and that it is more relevant today than when it first originated. Long praised for being accurate as well as funny, Lynn and Jay created brilliance out of a simple idea consisting of, as the writers put it, three elderly men sitting around talking about government while basing it on the premise that real power was held by civil servants rather than ministers.

For further proof that life does imitate art or vice versa, Yes Minister co-creator Jonathan Lynn has written a new stage play featuring Jim Hacker and Humphrey Appleby some 40+ years after the series premiered in February 1980 on BBC2.

I'm Sorry, Prime Minister, I Can't Quite Remember will run at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester from 25th September to 4th November 2023 showing how former PM Jim Hacker and Cabinet Secretary Humphrey Appleby are "faring in their old age and in the woke era", miles away from Whitehall.

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I agree, it's amazing. As I recall Anthony Jay had the political knowledge because of familial connections and Jonathan Lynn was the comedy side. I actually bought Lynn's book about comedy writing but it's yet another tome sitting unread on my bookshelves.

I didn't enjoy the Gold remake starring one of Dame Maggie Smith's sons. I might be up for a stage show though.

Quote: ypmfan @ 12th August 2023, 1:27 PM

i personally don't like when things are remade, it's not the same. i know there's a 2013 y(p)m but i refuse to watch it, same with these theatre shows. if it was derek, nigel and paul in australia then yes i would if i could, or even back in the day over here.

speaking of my last comment, there was a british tv discord from reddit but it's not active at all and the staff on that subreddit are extremely rude.

are there any other british tv sites i could check out to try and make friends, like this or similar?

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I find Reddit terribly rude too and deleted the app from my phone a while back. It doesn't seem to be moderated at all.

Maybe try the various Facebook groups relating to YMYPM?

Quote: MrsLogicFromViz @ 12th August 2023, 1:41 PM

I agree, it's amazing. As I recall Anthony Jay had the political knowledge because of familial connections and Jonathan Lynn was the comedy side. I actually bought Lynn's book about comedy writing but it's yet another tome sitting unread on my bookshelves.

I didn't enjoy the Gold remake starring one of Dame Maggie Smith's sons. I might be up for a stage show though.

I find Reddit terribly rude too and deleted the app from my phone a while back. It doesn't seem to be moderated at all.

Maybe try the various Facebook groups relating to YMYPM?

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yeah i'm in those facebook groups. or i find a discord that's british, join it, and people are rude so i get bullied and leave. would anyone here be interested in a discord for y(p)m? discord is a chatting app (you can change your settings there too)/site where you can talk to people, make group chats, join servers, make your own server, things like that. yes all for free.

Quote: ypmfan @ 12th August 2023, 1:51 PM

yeah i'm in those facebook groups. or i find a discord that's british, join it, and people are rude so i get bullied and leave. would anyone here be interested in a discord for y(p)m? discord is a chatting app (you can change your settings there too)/site where you can talk to people, make group chats, join servers, make your own server, things like that. yes all for free.

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The Internet is full of keyboard warriors unfortunately. I'll leave apps like Discord, SnapChat and TikTok to the youngsters lest my teen son call me 'lame' again!?

hmm, lots of people 40+ are on discord and other social medias but i understand. never too old for roleplaying and fanfiction, social media too.

are there any other british tv sites like this i could look at to try?

Not that I'm aware of, sorry.

What is it about YM, Bernard and Derek that captures your imagination so much?

well i do love every episode of yes minister & yes prime minister, aswell as paul & nigel (in the show & in other things) like i do derek. derek's just my favourite, i think he's shy & cute, but they all come across that way to me.

that's what i meant by the roleplaying, what i explained earlier. it's like a coping mechanism for me for my mental health issues, it's common people do that although not many people with british tv sadly.

i just want some friends who like old british tv, i did post my intro but haven't gotten many replies on it, on here.

i was thinking of maybe making a post for heartbeat (drama show from itv) & a post about derek here, to talk about those. would any of you be interested in that? aswell as talking in this thread too.

Heartbeat isn't classed as a comedy. I'm sorry for your struggles but I honestly don't think that you'll find roleplaying partners on here. I could be wrong.

Anyway, we're going off topic. I accidentally clicked the "email me when someone replies" box but I'm off now.

Do feel free to make a thread about Heartbeat in the General Discussion forum, yes! I'm sorry you've not found anyone quicker who likes it. I love the era and the theme tune, just not so into dramas!

I always loved the world of Yes Minister. It felt, whilst clearly somewhat cynical, also very cosy. That comes in part from the sets but also from how the characters and their world is written. I don't think you ever wonder what goes on beyond their immediate world, whichever office or club they are in at the time. It's something really easy and reassuring to escape into.

Quote: Aaron @ 12th August 2023, 2:44 PM

Do feel free to make a thread about Heartbeat in the General Discussion forum, yes! I'm sorry you've not found anyone quicker who likes it. I love the era and the theme tune, just not so into dramas!

I always loved the world of Yes Minister. It felt, whilst clearly somewhat cynical, also very cosy. That comes in part from the sets but also from how the characters and their world is written. I don't think you ever wonder what goes on beyond their immediate world, whichever office or club they are in at the time. It's something really easy and reassuring to escape into.

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Absolutely Aaron - you're so much nicer than me

Although for real comfort comedy I'd suggest dinnerladies as it's absolutely beautiful - a buttered toasted teacake of northern wit and humour with some real-life grittiness thrown into the mix. I guess that the civil service feels quite raw for me for reasons I'd rather not share. Nah!

Don't watch The Thick of it then!

No Job For a Lady is a comfort watch for me, and it has quite a bit in common with Yes Minister.

Quote: lofthouse @ 12th August 2023, 4:29 PM

Don't watch The Thick of it then!

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I agree - it's swearing heaven!

Quote: zooo @ 12th August 2023, 4:33 PM

No Job For a Lady is a comfort watch for me, and it has quite a bit in common with Yes Minister.

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It's certainly calmer than 'The New Statesman'! Other calming sitcoms are George and Mildred in my opinion - homely and safe (barring some 1970s political sparring!)

sorry, i forgot to reply. yeah i know heartbeat is a drama, as i wrote it has bits of everything like funny stuff, like one liners, things like that.

i'll make those threads at some point on here, maybe one asking if anyone wants to roleplay or just talk, and if anyone wants to make and join a discord for y(p)m or just british tv in general. there's one on reddit but it's not active at all and the mods on the subreddit are extremely rude.

back to the topic of y(p)m, well sort of since it involves nigel. i had a dream about him last night. from what i remember, it was about the filming of the madness of king george (great movie which i recommend, amazing acting from him and one of my favourite movies). i was with him and i had to play his role for some reason, he was there kind of teaching me. i had to wear the same outfit as he did in the movie, the kings outfit, and long gloves like the ones where you get the falcons etc to land on your hand, don't know why.

i had to go into this elevator and this room and for some reason it was only cold for me, no one else. then we went through more stuff like the props hanging high up and so on. after that, nigel came on stage and did some acting then did a q&a with the audience.

i then snuck back to meet him, he was lovely (if only i could've met him, paul & derek). for some reason i kept calling mr hawthorne, he didn't mind but he said in a nice voice with a smile to call him nigel. then we went in his dressing room where he showed me his scripts & outfits.

that's all i remember, it was nice but sad since he's gone. i would've only been 2 or something when he sadly passed away.

Another show being endlessly repeated on one of the rerun channels at the mo, so been catching up on a few from both YM & YPM. And it just strengthens my own view against the consensus that the former was the better series. The plots get even more sophisticated in YPM, Hacker gets the better of Sir Humphrey more and most of all his weasel agent isn't there anymore. Although the final ep Xmas special of YM might just be the best ep of the lot, my favourite is still The Key in YPM, with Sir H given a good runaround.