Yes Minister episode
“Big Brother”
Episode title card
Episode no.	Series 1 Episode 4
Guest star(s)	Robert Urquhart Frederick Jaeger Diana Hoddinott Neil Fitzwiliam
Writer(s)	Antony Jay Jonathan Lynn
Producer	Sydney Lotterby
Original broadcast	17 March 1980
Episode chronology
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“The Economy Drive”	“The Writing on the Wall”
List of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister episodes Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom that was first transmitted by BBC television and radio between 1980 and 1984. ... Frederick Jaeger (29 May 1928-18 June 2004) was a German-born actor who found success working in British television. ... Diana Hoddinott appeared as Annie Hacker, the wife of Jim Hacker, in Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Categories: | | ... Neil Fitzwiliam was an English actor, making several appearances in theatre, film and television productions. ... Sir Antony Rupert Jay CVO (born 20 April 1930) was the co-author, with Jonathan Lynn of the successful British political comedies, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (1980-88). ... Jonathan Lynn (born April 3, 1943), is a British actor and comedy writer. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... This is a list of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister episodes. ...

"Big Brother" is the fourth episode of the BBC comedy series Yes Minister and was first broadcast 17 March 1980. The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is one of the largest broadcasting corporations in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of more than £4 billion. ... Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom that was first transmitted by BBC television and radio between 1980 and 1984. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Plot

Jim Hacker is being interviewed by Robert McKenzie for the TV current affairs programme Topic. The Minister would be more happy if the line of questioning concerned cuts in bureaucracy, but McKenzie wishes to discuss the new National Integrated Database: the detailed personal records of every UK citizen, which will be held on computer by the government. He presses Hacker on the implications regarding personal privacy, and his interviewee finds himself unable to answer and resorts to stonewalling. Jim Hacker, Prime Minister James Jim Hacker is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ...

Hacker watches the recording in his office with Sir Humphrey Appleby, Bernard and his political advisor, Frank Weisel. The latter is not impressed with Hacker's performance and congratulates Sir Humphrey on getting him "perfectly house-trained". Sir Humphrey protests that he simply carries out the wishes of his "master" and will entertain no further questioning from Weisel. As he leaves, it comes to light that Hacker has two conflicting appointments in his diary for the next day: one a civil service function in Swansea and the other a by-election meeting in Newcastle. Both sides press upon him the importance of keeping each engagement. At first indecisive, Hacker eventually chooses to do both and requests suitable travel arrangements. Sir Humphrey Appleby, on the left, giving directions to the Minister as usual Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB (April 5, 1929 – December 26, 2001)[1] is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. ... Bernard Woolley in Yes, Prime Minister Bernard Woolley (born September 2, 1937) is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister. ... The British civil service is the permanent bureaucracy that supports the Government Ministers responsible to the Sovereign and Parliament in administering the United Kingdom. ... Swansea (Welsh: , mouth of the Tawe) is a city in Wales and a Welsh County. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ...

When Hacker gets home, he greets his wife, Annie, and finds her packing suitcases. It's the Hackers' wedding annniversary the next day, and Annie had been promised a trip to Paris. Hacker has completely forgotten and tells Annie about his 'double-booking'. She insists that he cancels both appointments, so he phones Bernard to do so. By the end of the conversation it becomes clear that his trip to Swansea and Newcastle is still on. Hacker confesses to his wife that he is depressed by the amount of work he is expected to do and the fact that he is perceived as a civil service spokesman. Annie urges him to get a grip on the job and be more decisive — as he was when he was the editor of Reform. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

When Hacker next meets Sir Humphrey, he demands that certain safeguards in respect of the National Database be enacted immediately. He wants all citizens to be allowed to see their own files and legislation to prevent unauthorised access. Sir Humphrey is concerned that implementing such complex regulations will take a long time. Hacker points out that the database has been in development since his predecessor's time and that any difficulties must have already been discussed. However, Sir Humphrey's lips are sealed regarding any past conversations. Bernard enters with news of another TV programme, World in Focus, on which the Minister has been invited to talk about the database once more. Again conflicted, Hacker eventually decides to take part. Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ...

Later, Hacker chances upon Tom Sargent, the former Minister for Administrative Affairs, and sits down for a chat. Sargent enlightens Hacker as to the nature of Sir Humphrey's stalling technique. This comprises a five-stage plan that will ensure that nothing is achieved at any time between general elections, while also swamping his Minister with paperwork, thus effecting the desired state of "creative inertia". He specifically tells Hacker to look in the bottom of his fifth red box that evening to find Sir Humphrey's reasons for not proceeding with the National Integrated Database. A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ... The original Budget Box A red box is a red, wooden briefcase used by the British government to pass important information from one department (or person) to another. ...

That night, Hacker does indeed discover the memo in question and, at Annie's urging, rings Sir Humphrey to tell him — despite it being 2.00am. He also has in his possession Tom Sargent's original draft proposals.

The next morning, Hacker discusses the proposed safeguards with Sir Humphrey, and is careful to mark down each of his predicted resistance methods as he uses them. Nevertheless, the Permanent Secretary is stubborn in his refusal to co-operate. As Bernard enters with Hacker's 'announced' diary arrangements, he unknowingly gives his Minister a second line of attack. The Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (although the full title is rarely used), is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. ...

As a horrified Sir Humphrey watches on TV, Hacker uses his appearance on World in Focus to inform the nation that the safeguards to the database will definitely be in place.

The next morning, Sir Humphrey (who has been working all night) presents Hacker with a list of his desired recommendations. The Minister then delivers his coup de grâce and surprises Sir Humphrey with Tom Sargent's completely identical set of proposals from the previous government.

Paul Eddington playing Jim Hacker in Yes, Prime Minister. ... Sir Nigel Hawthorne, CBE (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was a renowned English actor. ... Derek Fowlds as Bernard in Yes, Prime Minister Derek Fowlds (born 2 September 1937 in Balham, London) is a British actor. ... Robert Trelford McKenzie (September 11, 1917–October 12, 1981) was a Vancouver, Canada-born professor of Politics and a psephologist. ... Frederick Jaeger (29 May 1928-18 June 2004) was a German-born actor who found success working in British television. ... Diana Hoddinott appeared as Annie Hacker, the wife of Jim Hacker, in Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Categories: | | ... Neil Fitzwiliam was an English actor, making several appearances in theatre, film and television productions. ...

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