What am I watching now?

It is time for one of the famed BBC comedies, Yes Minister. I bought a boxed set of 3 DVD’s over the weekend.

I remember watching "Yes Minister" as a kid in Doordarshan, the only television channel available in India those days. I particularly loved the character Sir Humphrey played by Nigel Hawthorne. Stiff upper lipped, cynical and the champion of redtape-ism. This character is simply brilliant.

For starters, Yes Minister is a political satire that revolves around 3 three characters (mainly). James Hacker MP. (played by Paul Eddington), who becomes the Cabinet Minister of Administrative Affairs (and later the PM), his Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by Nigel Hawthorne) and his Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley (played by Derek Fowlds). In some episodes there comes a fourth major character Frank Weisel (played by Neil Fitzwiliam), Hackers Political Advisor.

The advantage watching a British comedy is that even in case you don’t understand the English or the humour, you could time your laugh. This is made easy by the sound of people laughing in the background (an integral part of British comedies), one could time his / her laugh based on that. This would limit the embarrassment and make others think you understand and appreciate the British humour.

A good watch either ways, you understand or not!