Yes, Prime Minister Series One

In Yes, Minister, writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn created a devastatingly brilliant satire on Government and bureaucracy.

Politicians wanted to run their country. The bureaucrats are determined to keep that power safely in their own hands. Jim Hacker as Minister for Administrative Affairs and Sir Humphrey Appleby as his Secretary encapsulate this silent warfare, bitterly fought in the trenches of Westminster.

Here are the first eight episodes of the 16-episode sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, from 1986. This is classic comedy, which still stands as one of the finest creations of modern television.

Hacker has been put into the top job after skullduggery and conniving by Appleby and his cronies, because he has shown himself in the past to be a complaisant Minister, who can be trusted.

But can he? Early on in this series, Humphrey discovers the awful truth. This Prime Minister wants some real power....

"Bernard: I think he wants to govern Britain. Humphrey: Well, stop him, Bernard!"

This series builds on, and in some respects even surpasses, the earlier episodes.

For a start, things are evening out. Jim Hacker has gained some real teeth -- shapely teeth in the form of his Political Advisor, Dorothy Wainwright (Deborah Norton).

She is a wily strategist, fully up to Sir Humphrey's tricks. And in my favourite of all episodes in this series, The Key, we have the joyous sight of seeing Hump actually begging and pleading for his little favours -- a rare, but so sweet victory for Our Jim.

These eight episodes are chamber-television comedy. Most of the scenes are just two-or-three-handers. Situation comedies at their most intimate. And, thanks to Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, they are laced with comedy with a real cutting-edge. None of it has dated -- this is today's politics, dissected to the bone.

Derek Fowlds and Nigel Hawthorne as Bernard and Hump are as sound as ever, but Paul Eddington steals this series with a bravura performance as Prime Minister Hacker. It's a performance tinged with sadness - we can see a physical decline since his golden-days in The Good Life and Yes, Minister -- there are signs of the pain and weakness caused by the skin cancer which took his life.

But this volume is a fine memorial to him. I just hope that when the ABC releases the final volume in this series, they include the documentary on Eddington's life which was part of the Region One set.

This full-screen transfer (the original screen ratio) is in about as good a condition as we could expect. There are no disturbing artefacts; the strange colours and occasional washed-out tones are just reminders that this was filmed, not too adroitly, for television and wasn't meant to have a permanent life of the sort now granted by DVD.

The audio is two-channel mono, with no harshness or deterioration, and serving the brilliant scripts and acting with utmost fidelity.

There are no extra features. That's regrettable -- I would hope the next volume includes some biographical material on all three cast members -- Derek Fowlds, Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington. They warrant that much work on the part of the DVD compilers.

Yes indeed, Prime Minister. This is valuable, even obligatory viewing, for every elected Member in the land, and for all who placed them there. Senior Civil Servants need not view it -- they know it all too well already.