Yes Minister, the BBC political comedy written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn first aired on this date in 1980. 10 things you might not know:
The writers had advisors who worked within the government and many of the stories were based on things which really happened.
It was recorded in front of a live audience, something which the principal cast members hated because they often had to pause (sometimes in mid-sentence) to wait for the audience Laughter to die down.
Most of the episodes ended with the words, “Yes Minister”, spoken as the answer to a question posed by Minister Jim Hacker. There were only three exceptions to this rule: season one, episode three, The Economy Drive, season one, episode four, Big Brother, and season one, episode six, The Right to Know.
The opening titles were drawn by artist and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe and the theme music was by Ronnie Hazlehurst, who based the tune on the chimes of Big Ben.
Jim Hacker’s political party is deliberately never revealed. His party emblem is clearly neither Conservative nor Labour, and his party's political colour is White. That said, Lynn later admitted they had always imagined him as a centre-minded Conservative.
Lady Appleby, Sir Humphrey's wife, is seen only once, briefly from behind (in an uncredited, non-speaking appearance) in "Big Brother", and her first name is never revealed.
The series opens in the wake of a general election in which the incumbent government has been defeated by the opposition party, to which Jim Hacker MP belongs. The Prime Minister offers Hacker the position of Minister of Administrative Affairs, which he accepts. Later, the party has a leadership crisis, and Hacker is unexpectedly made Prime Minister, hence the title of the sequel series, Yes, Prime Minister. Hacker is eventually elevated to the House of Lords as Lord Hacker of Islington.
There is a video game of the series, which was released in 1987 for Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum. The player takes on the role of Prime Minister Jim Hacker for one week as he navigates through meetings with Sir Humphrey, Bernard Woolley, and other government officials, making decisions about minor government policies which have an effect on his approval rating.
Real politicians liked it, a lot. In a 2006 poll, British MPs voted Yes Minister as the greatest political comedy of all time.
One real politician who was a big fan was Margaret Thatcher. In fact, she liked it so much that she wrote a sketch for the show herself with Press Secretary Bernard Ingham. It was recorded for the 1984 National Viewers and Listeners Awards with Mrs Thatcher taking the role of Prime Minister. The sketch featured Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne talking to the Prime Minister about her notion to abolish economists. Eddington and Hawthorne did not want to do it and were pressured into taking part.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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