Yes, Prime Minister (TV Series) The Tangled Web (1988) User Reviews

The final one

[safenoe · 10/10 · 21 November 2021]

It's hard to believe Yes, Prime Minister wrapped up over 30 years ago, when the Queen was a spritely 62. Anyway, it was a shame Yes, Prime Minister didn't go for more than two seasons, but 12 episodes seems the perfect number, just like Fawlty Towers. It's a shame the "reboots" of YPM aren't short of cussing and swearing, but I guess that's political correctness run amok for you.

Anyway, if YPM is rebooted then I nominate Danny Dyer to play the PM with a bit of Cockney edge.

Season 2: Still funny but broader and less sharp than previous outings

[bob the moo · 23 June 2012]

The second season of Yes Prime Minister was something I was looking forward to watching again for the first time in many years, mainly because the first season had been so good. The cynical plots that led into one another were full of as many barbs as they were broad laughs and the characters were sharply observed and delivered. With this as its base the second (and last) season has much to enjoy but yet falls short of those that have gone before. Part of the problem is that the popularity of the show which had built since Yes, Minister and the love of the characters has meant that the comedy has become much more broad and based on the enjoyment of the characters rather than the cynical plots.

This to me is what happened here because the characters seem to be to the foreground more than ever and they also seem to have been written and played much broader than before. The plots are written in service of this because more often than not there is not great satire at the core of the plots so much as there is the effort to get the characters to play off each other the way the audience love. This is the wrong way round for me because the satirical edge was always the most important thing because, even where the comedy became more accessible, it was this that gave it the winning margin and made it much sharper. It is still funny because these characters are funny, but it loses something for having its teeth dulled.

The cast enjoy themselves and, in their fifth season with these characters, clearly feel comfortable – although at times too comfortable. The broad material hurts their performances at times and there is the odd occasion where they mug it up more than they have before. I still liked them, but they had been better. The cast isn't helped by the addition of side-characters which, although devices mostly required in the plots, they are a distraction from the main event which is the trio of characters at the core of the show.

Season 2 is still very funny and it is still a great piece of comedy but it is weaker than what the show had done before. Accessibility because too broad and the characters become the focus more than the satire. Still entertaining and enjoyable but it loses a lot by how less sharp it is compared to previous seasons.

Half-farce, half-propaganda

[dan-902-916137 · 7/10 · 19 August 2020]

I am a huge fan of this series and its predecessor, and episodes where Humphrey comes a cropper are always particular favourites, as Hawthorne is as good at hysterical panicking as Eddington.

But something that can't be overlooked is the rather shameless way that a specific controversial viewpoint (essentially that welfare benefits should be slashed to force "parasites" into work) is presented as flawless truth. You might at first think the show is satirising Humphrey's attitudes, but the script takes extra care to emphasise that everyone agrees with him - they merely acknowledge that it's a truth that can't be said in public.