People always talk, quite rightly, about how good Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne were in this series, but Derek Fowldes' brilliant performance as piggy-in-the-middle Bernard is rarely given the credit it deserves. So often, as here, the killer line is his.
I love the dead silence of the audience with Bernard’s line “it won’t last long enough for the weapons to be tested”. You can almost see the horrible realisation
Somewhere across the Iron Curtain, a Russian Defense Minister was having the same conversation with his aid, ruminating on the fact that the Russian army was drunk half the time, and that they could probably hold off the NATO powers for 72 hours. How many times has peace been achieved only through sheer incompetence?
How many times has peace been deferred because both sides misunderstood their adversaries so thoroughly as during the Cold War? Or any war, really but this old show is about my Father's Times, so, the Cold War.
@exorientelux It was the Russians that started the first world war. Austro-Hungarian Empire only wanted to remove a a terrorist organazation which had assassinated one of the must senior leaders of the nation. USA did the same as the Austro-Hungarian Empire when they invaded Afghanistan. Afganistan and Serbia was the same the their gorvement was so much involved with the terrorist organazation. These mean that all other European countries have the moral obligation to invaded the USA to stop the country's spred of war and death through out the world.
Wonderful final statement from Bernard-- "If there's a nuclear war, Prime Minister, it won't last long enough for the weapons to be tested." Very succinct.
Bernard.... the quintessential English gentleman... steering the ship of the state from running aground... he deserved more recognition ... but he will remain in the heart of all people who ever watched the ‘Minister’ series..
This reminds me: David Davies MP had served in the part-time version of the SAS. A Reporter asked him If he was capable of killing a man with his own hands. He replied “ yes- but only at Weekends”
Bernard will walk into the office and Jim Hacker will exclaim, “Ah! There you are, Bernard. Come in, Humphrey and I are about to discuss the the cutback in civil service bureaucracy...”
"Of course not; there was a cover up. The members just found a new bunker on the 7th fairway the next morning." One of my favourite jokes in the whole series.
@@StarboyXL9 No, because naval vessels on patrol should not have to make unscheduled returns to port to drop off female sailors who have gotten pregnant.
@@brandonholmes8485 OK - a torpedo landed on the golf course having presumably fallen from an aeroplane in error. These days it would be all over Facebook but then a military cover up and a mysterious new bunker on the course did the trick.
...and just behind Heaven's Gate, Derek Fowlds took a deep breath: "At last, eternal peace and anonymity." Nearby standing angel: "Oh my God, it's Bernard!"
Even the armed forces of larger EU nations like the UK are facing huge cuts. The UK has recently cut back from 386 to 227 tanks, +158 tanks in reserve. Compare that to Russia which has 2,562 active tanks and about 12,500 in reserve.
These days, the Russians specialize in invading countries that have no army at all. They've found those countries are the only one they can beat. And even then... (Ukraine having been at a standstill since 2014. Six years to *not* beat a country that had no army at the time. Bojemoi, I believe is the phrase.)
RIP . The last Musketeer has left. I remember watching this series without understanding in black and white TV. I used to enjoy the laughter. When I grew up, I understood. And still I watch it. Three great actors will be greatly missed. None can replace them.
For those who are a bit confused by certain terms spoken in this video, _Trident_ and _Polaris_ are (or were, in the latter's case) both American submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles (SLBMs). During the Cold War, there was an agreement between the US and the UK (the Nassau Agreement, in 1962) according to which the US would sell UGM-27 _Polaris_ SLBMs to the UK to arm its ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), but the British had to provide their own self-made nuclear warheads. This arrangement was renewed when the UK upgraded to the UGM-96 _Trident_ C4 then to the UGM-133 _Trident_ D5 (AKA _Trident II_ ). The Royal Navy's current SSBNs, the _Vanguard_-class subs, still carry the _Trident II_ ...and so shall their planned successors, the _Dreadnoughts_ (ETA sometime in the next decade).
The Trident missiles are owned Jointly by the US and UK and are in a common pool. Every so often a submarine loaded with unarmed Tridents goes to the US and swaps them for other pool missiles. A missile could spend a couple of years on a British SSBN, Be sent back for maintenance and be loaded onto a US SSBN.
I give top marks to Dereck, he was up against two brilliant actors and to his credit he was nothing short of excellent, and to think he was Basil Brushes right hand man.
This is hilariously funny!! 😂🤣 UK Prime Minister: "So, on the whole if the Russians are going to invade, we'd prefer them to do it between Monday's and Friday's?". Almost 4 decades since this British Sitcom aired (in 1986), Russia did invade Europe (Ukraine) on weekdays: Thursday, 24/02/2022! 😂
Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union then. How can it be part of Europe now? They "invaded" themselves (the eastern part of Ukraine where the fighting is going is majority Russian speaking, with a lot of ethnic Russians).
@@plurabelle5 Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. Geographically . The Soviet Union is a political organisation. Europe is a geographical area.
The comment about old weapons working when the new ones don't is very true. When HMS Conqueror torpedoed the Belgrano during the Falklands conflict, The captain had a choice of two different torpedo types. One was the new 'Tigerfish'; the other were WW2 era Mk VIII. The captain chose to use the older ones because he knew they were designed at a time when they _had_ to work.
How ironic, considering the Belgrano was a USN cruiser in World War II. How odd to think the product of US shipyard workers in 1944 sank from torpedoes made British factory workers at about the same time. What would those ‘allied’ factory workers have thought if they knew.
@@benwatson5787 No. Probably the most famous (because of the photo) but not the only. Battleships Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania were only slightly damaged. All 3 were at Surigao strait even tho Pennsylvania didnt fire. Heavy cruisers New Orleans and San Francisco were barely touched. Both would haunt the Japanese later. Light cruisers (and sisters to Phoenix) Honolulu, st Louis, and Helena all had active careers with only Helena being sunk. And then there were the subs.... oh yes, the Japanese paid dearly for ignoring the subs.
@@patricklamshear6662 perhaps you missed League of Gentlemen, The Office, Fleabag, Episodes, Extras, Mighty Bhoosh, Rev, The Thick of It and Alan Partridge. You have some catching up to do.
I really loved the gentle cynicism from the TV Civil Servants that advise Hacker. For those of us from Lower Middle Class, Comprehensive Schools backgrounds though, our cynicism was anything but gentle. Promotion to the higher ranks was pretty much impossible for us lowly born officers in HM Civil Service back then ( From mid 70's, in my case).
A nuclear weapon that doesn't work is the ideal nuclear weapon anyway. The enemy still has to assume it will work, so it deters just fine, but no danger accidently starting a nuclear war.
Be amazing if it turned out that none of them actually worked for anyone and they only wanted each other to think they did.... talk about the biggest cover up since well... ever.
I think the torpedo story has a reference to the Falklands War. When the HMS Conqueror decided to sink the ARA General Belgrano, they used the WW2 MkVIII** torpedo (designed in1920s) rather than the more advanced Tigerfish torpedo (in services since 1979) to avoid reliability problem.
considering 90% of what they shot is truth, it wouldnt be a surprise. In a documentary on youtube you actually hear how the writers would take out MP's to posh dinner and get them to give them secrets. Like the Moral Dimension episode, its a 100% true story.
Nope. Tigerfish was built with small (90 kg) warhead, as speedy counter-submarine torpedo. Mk VIII carried 4x amount of explosives. Target was WW II era vessel.
@@Internetbutthurt Keeping what works pays off. The superbly effective M2 Browning machine gun is an early 1930s design and WWII era replacement parts are still issued. The Colt M1911 pistol is even older. B-52 bombers are still in combat and none are newer than 1962!
Always was the greatest medicine. Whenever I was over stressed my wife would slap in one of my old Benny Hill videos for the 1000th time and let me burst with laughter whilst reciting out loud the entire sketches, word for word.
Even in the late 70's and early 80's the USA forces in Germany were solid fighting forces. I was there. The pot heads and druggies were being viciously weeded out.
Sounds plausible I heard stories like this in the early eighties from conscript Dutch soldiers who went on exercises with American troops in Germany in the early eighties. They were amazed how easy it was to destroy the Americans in these exercises. They were not impressed by the intelligence of said soldiers, but that said both sets of soldiers got along fine drinking, boozing and taking drugs together.
Read a book by an ex SAS soldier called Ken Connor. He was part of a mission that under treaty with the Russians was sent to observe their military exercises in East Germany. They would drive over the border in specially marked landrovers and watch and take notes as the Warsaw pact forces practiced for WW3. The Russians were also allowed to come over and watch Nato exercises. Anyway, the view back in the 70’s was that while the Russian army was big, it was also incredibly crap. None of their truck drivers could read a map and so every truck had to have an officer on board because they had the IQ to navigate. The job of the Russian Spetsnaz special forces in WW3 was to drive ahead of the tanks, capture certain vital crossroads, bridges etc and then direct the tank formations in the right direction. The role of the SAS was to go to the same destinations, ambush the Spetsnaz troops, kill them, steal their uniforms and then direct the Russian tanks up dead ends, into impenetrable forests, over blown bridges where the NATO artillery would blow them to bits. Then the race would be on, who would get to Moscow first, The US army, British, French or German armies? There were genuine bets of vintage alcohol etc among senior officers.
mac history is also replete with the sad history of Russians not wanting to fight for their awful tyrannical leaders. Germany got to Moscow in a few months before people realized that they were genocidal and started desperately resisting.
@@chrisdelzell8467 but they did resist and overcome the Nazis they did so I am only saying what has happened in history,it is not just the Russians themselves but also the weather(cold and Rasputina) and the vastness of that country that makes invading it an impossible task if the people are commited to stopping the invaders
Actaully, in late '70s Soviet Army was absolutely at top of their game, with more and better equipment and training constrained by doctrine rather than by economic depression of 80s.
In the mid-70s, French researcher Emmanuel Todd, who was writing about the decadence of the Soviet system, compares its army's disciplinar to the dutch one's.
This reminds me of the movie "Pentagon Wars", about how faulty weapons are pushed into service and then fixed over the next decade or two, just in time for a replacement weapon system, that's more expensive and bug-ridden.
You see it in modern gaming too. Rather than develop a game long term and using extensive play-testing, they release it in development (beta) so that they can get hundreds of thousands (or more) of free play-testers who find all the bugs for them while turning a profit during the development. Then they do it all over again with a sequel which somehow has all the same problems as the original that all need working out once more. Hell, even games that aren't released in a beta version are often released and then a few days later receive a massive patch to fix the myriad of issues with them to the point where it's less of a patch and more of a re-release of a 'fixed' version. Some games can take years to become 'complete'.
@@fulcrum2951 I wouldn't be so sure. in 2018 they ran tests of the F35 in close air support situations versus the A10. Turns out they fudged every test in favour of the F35. Including lack of multiple moving targets, reduced payload to improve f35 maneuverability, no reference to sortie rates or fly time and a lack of testing against anti air capabilities. Do not underestimate the level of corruption that comes with trillion dollar military designs.
Best part is I believe I know where the cracks about the American Military stationed in Germany come from (bear in mind this is a Yank talking so take it for what you will). U.S. European Command was PARANOID about the Soviets/Russians launching preemptive strikes prior to any invasion, and as such would consistently run training exercises where decent sized swathes of troops would not participate as the exercise treated them as being pre-emptively neutralized by Russian special forces or opening volleys or conventional ordinance (to see how well what forces remained performed) An unfortunate side effect was large numbers of troops appearing to the untrained eye as doing "nothing" during crucial NATO defense drills...not a good look in the least.
That doesn't explain the the times when the US forces failed to turn up at their designated position or numbers of US troops being stoned and actually being in the woods- any other places with anything female they could find.
You have to remember that this show was initially run in the 1980s when the US military was still recovering from the demoralization of Vietnam. So, while there was still a drug problem, (and it was even worse in the 1970s) the references were largely historical even then. Not the case of the US military today, which has a low tolerance for drug use. You also have to remember that this was a comedy, not a documentary. While it's based on fact, there is considerable exaggeration for satirical effect. I suspect that the Dutch, Belgian and Danish armies were just as stoned, especially after a weekend off.
@@allenjenkins7947 I went into the US Navy in 1979. Drug usage was rampant. Mainly pot, but there were other drugs being used as well. The best thing that the military did for itself was to institute a strict drug testing program. There were a lot of sailors getting busted for drug use in the early eighties after they started testing. I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of drug use in todays military is lower than it was when I was active duty.
I love the line about the new torpedoes not working, when the British sunk the General Belgrano in the Falklands war they used Mark 8 torpedoes that first entered service in 1927
An Argentinian cruiser built by the Americans in the 30s and that survived Pearl Harbour and the Pacific War, only to be sunk in the South Atlantic by a British nuclear submarine... Using WW2 torpedoes. Appropriate really.
One of the best episodes in this brilliant series. However, recent events in Ukraine seem to indicate that the estimates of British resistance may have been pessimistic. It's also interesting that they always talk about the Russians, not about the Soviets or the Warsaw Pact.
@@4wheal Precisely. The "other side" back then was actually the much larger and more powerful Soviet Union, which included Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, Moldova and several 'Stans. It also included all of the Warsaw Pact countries. Yet we nearly always referred to them in popular speech as "Russians". Most westerners didn't know that the RSFSR was only part of the Soviet Union. Many still don't.
Been thinking about that lately myself. I sort of put it as, "Russia" is kind of like "America"; it means... a few different things. (Just ask non-American Americans.) We tend to say "Russia"/"Russian" when we mean something like "the cultural-influence-sphere of the former Russian Empire and/or USSR."
Galtieri seriously misjudged Thatcher on the Falklands - he didn't think that she would bother about islands in the Southern Hemisphere that have more sheep than people.
+Squadron266 everyone knew the new Tigerfish torpedo didn't work it started design in 1959 and it wasn't until 1987 that it worked. The design requirements where simply to advanced the for technology of the day. The Spearfish replacement which started design work in the mid 70's (15 years after the Tigerfish) entered service just 9 years after the Tigerfish and just 5 years after the Tigerfish actually worked.
I do miss them all. Such wonderful scripts and lines. Comedy is just not the same anymore, I struggle to find one swear word in the whole series and most of the time I am on the floor. Thank you. Between saville, Diana and many other unmentionable gaffs bbc did produce something worth treasuring.
@@Bagster321 Yep. I was very wrong. We all knew Russia was a shadow of its former self but I don’t think many predicted their army would be this incompetent. I’m not complaining. Good for the Ukrainians.
Wrong. The idea of a Conventional torpedo was to create a hole so large that it could not be repaired at sea and could not be drained thereby sinking the ship. Modern torpedoes are designed to go right underneath the ship to its keel and detonate there effectively breaking the ship in half. Torpedoes in WW2 sometimes managed to break a ship's back if it was lightly armoured, but they were designed much in the same way that a traditional tank shell is, by just smashing through and doing damage. Modern torpedoes are like the STAFF shells, smart and aiming to efficiently exploit the weakness of a design.
@@_Anato_ Yes-no. Tigerfish had very small (90 kg or so) warhead which wouldn't do a squat to WW II era ship, like Berglano. Mk. VIII on the other hand had 340 kg. In order to successfully use method you mention you need ultra-reliable fuse and monsters like Spearfish or Mk.48. @Lachy T - Spearfish was not available to Conquerer at the time.
Hey, my dad was in the American army, stationed in Germany! (Which is to say that the description is pretty accurate, but they shouldn't have said it.)
This series should be freely distributed to all adversaries of UK and the west... they will be do endeared to the Brits that they wouldn’t dream of having a conflict with us... too busy laughing their heads off... absolutely brilliant... British comedy at its best...
Generally speaking most Military Forces are at their strongest between 8 am and 4 pm Monday to Friday, although some do take Wednesday afternoon Off for Sport.
Would have loved if that were to be true. But as a former member of His Majesty's Royal Army, we Dutch soldier's definitely do not get the weekends off, neither do our brethren soldier's from Royal Danish military.
Isn't that the American way now? Call something 'patriotic', then condemn anyone who criticizes it for criticizing 'patriotism'. It's the idiotic mindset that also embraces 'if you're not with us, then you're against us'. The world is not black and white. And it's not red, white and blue either.
Russian slipped up, they invaded on a Thursday
This is so ironic. Circle of Life..... except this time the Russian and NATO rockets are working
@@ndaku11 Nothing has changed I’m afraid. The same delusions.
That’s a funny comment, well done.
Hehehe 😂
Their mistake was that they invaded while the Ukrainian farmers weren't busy in the fields.
People always talk, quite rightly, about how good Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne were in this series, but Derek Fowldes' brilliant performance as piggy-in-the-middle Bernard is rarely given the credit it deserves. So often, as here, the killer line is his.
Bernard made it all happened.
Hear hear, most effective deadpan humor ever.
@Max Wylde Agreed. He was quite brilliant.
You only have to look at the remake and compare to see what it could have been.
Sun readers don't care, as long as she's got big tits on page three.
I love the dead silence of the audience with Bernard’s line “it won’t last long enough for the weapons to be tested”. You can almost see the horrible realisation
The truth is a subtle knife and foil for comedy.
It reminds me of something my dad once told me:
“Don’t worry about World War 3, since it’ll only last about 5 minutes.”
I don’t know Prime Minister. I don’t know what you don’t know.
RIP Derek Fowlds 17 January 2020
:'-(
He was great in Yes Minister & Yes P/Minister and also great when he played the part of the Police Sargent in Heartbeat.
Somewhere across the Iron Curtain, a Russian Defense Minister was having the same conversation with his aid, ruminating on the fact that the Russian army was drunk half the time, and that they could probably hold off the NATO powers for 72 hours. How many times has peace been achieved only through sheer incompetence?
How many times has peace been deferred because both sides misunderstood their adversaries so thoroughly as during the Cold War? Or any war, really but this old show is about my Father's Times, so, the Cold War.
"Da, Premiere"
Most historical events have been achieved due to sheer incompetence.
@exorientelux It was the Russians that started the first world war. Austro-Hungarian Empire only wanted to remove a a terrorist organazation which had assassinated one of the must senior leaders of the nation.
USA did the same as the Austro-Hungarian Empire when they invaded Afghanistan. Afganistan and Serbia was the same the their gorvement was so much involved with the terrorist organazation.
These mean that all other European countries have the moral obligation to invaded the USA to stop the country's spred of war and death through out the world.
>Russian Army was drunk half the time
You fool that makes them stronger
This series started out as a comedy, then it became a documentary
thedarknesscallingme - it was ALWAYS a comedy. Like all great comedy it accurately reflected reality. This series is as true today as it ever was.
hahaha great comment
yeah. =) it became a manual
and people are still writing comments 30 years on...its brilliant
To a point.
Wonderful final statement from Bernard-- "If there's a nuclear war, Prime Minister, it won't last long enough for the weapons to be tested." Very succinct.
Chilling...in a masterful way.
Isn't that why the American's are helping in Ukraine?
No laugh track on that line. I guess it was too real.
It's not a laugh track, It's a live audience. They must have really "felt" it.
The other one is "Much cheaper to push a button"... pushing that button would be the most expensive thing in human history
Bernard.... the quintessential English gentleman... steering the ship of the state from running aground... he deserved more recognition ... but he will remain in the heart of all people who ever watched the ‘Minister’ series..
To this very date, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister is among the finest and most brilliant comedy, ever made.
To be honest, you could delete the "among", I have yet to see one that is better.
Not only that, 40 years later and it's still so relevant to 21st century politics . No one has learned anything.
you wanted to say "documentary?
@@rottengirl4046 Of course!
They are the best sitcoms, in my opinion.
This reminds me: David Davies MP had served in the part-time version of the SAS. A Reporter asked him If he was capable of killing a man with his own hands. He replied “ yes- but only at Weekends”
Well, he has certainly K*lled his country and economy with sheer incompetence 🥲
Derek Fowlds has left us now. Now the three of them will be back together, spreading laughter.
And good God, I'd rather have them at the head of government that the jokers we have now.
Administering Heaven..
Bernard will walk into the office and Jim Hacker will exclaim, “Ah! There you are, Bernard. Come in, Humphrey and I are about to discuss the the cutback in civil service bureaucracy...”
OH God I only knew that from this comment. R.I.P
May he rest in peace :(
"Of course not; there was a cover up. The members just found a new bunker on the 7th fairway the next morning."
One of my favourite jokes in the whole series.
i wonder, is there a bunker on the 7th fairway?
"Dispersed, and picnicked in the woods with lady soldiers." - The finest bit of British civil-service-speak, ever. ;)
Exhibit A of why women shouldn't be allowed in the army.
@@StarboyXL9 a sketch from a comedy show is a reason why women shouldn't be allowed in the army?
@@StarboyXL9 No, because naval vessels on patrol should not have to make unscheduled returns to port to drop off female sailors who have gotten pregnant.
Are you referring to anal sex?
@@redrackham6812 it takes 2 to tango .
"The members just found a new bunker on the 7th fairway"
Rumour has it that this was based on an actual incident.
I didn't get that joke, could someone please explain?
@@brandonholmes8485 OK - a torpedo landed on the golf course having presumably fallen from an aeroplane in error. These days it would be all over Facebook but then a military cover up and a mysterious new bunker on the course did the trick.
@@brandonholmes8485 I suspect that 'bunker' in this context might mean 'sand trap.'
@@princecharon you'd be correct with that translation of terms
...and just behind Heaven's Gate, Derek Fowlds took a deep breath: "At last, eternal peace and anonymity."
Nearby standing angel: "Oh my God, it's Bernard!"
Just gets better as time passes.
The current Dutch army not only goes home on weekends, they also recently sold all their tanks because they cost too much and weren't being used...
Even the armed forces of larger EU nations like the UK are facing huge cuts. The UK has recently cut back from 386 to 227 tanks, +158 tanks in reserve.
Compare that to Russia which has 2,562 active tanks and about 12,500 in reserve.
shpider has to be said that the russians do have a far greater undeveloped land mass in which to store them.
The Finnish army bought (some of) the used Dutch tanks.
The average tank battalion isn't that big, though. A warehouse or two could fit most of it.
+Harle Quin it is not the tanks, it's a battle ready crew that takes time and experience.
"So, on the whole if the Russians ARE going to invade, we'd prefer them to do it between Mondays and Fridays"
Ever notice Russia Invades somewhere at Christmas, Likewise Israel-Middle East Escalations.
9-5 also if possible...
najhoant smart soldiers! Go for weekend, instead of fighting for what you don’t know about.
@BigGuy4u That is the nature of humans I suppose. Down right lazy. This is why we want AI. Always ready to do what they were designed for.
These days, the Russians specialize in invading countries that have no army at all. They've found those countries are the only one they can beat. And even then... (Ukraine having been at a standstill since 2014. Six years to *not* beat a country that had no army at the time. Bojemoi, I believe is the phrase.)
RIP . The last Musketeer has left. I remember watching this series without understanding in black and white TV. I used to enjoy the laughter. When I grew up, I understood. And still I watch it. Three great actors will be greatly missed. None can replace them.
Bernard Woolley at his best. Goodnight Mr Derek. RIP
For those who are a bit confused by certain terms spoken in this video, _Trident_ and _Polaris_ are (or were, in the latter's case) both American submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles (SLBMs). During the Cold War, there was an agreement between the US and the UK (the Nassau Agreement, in 1962) according to which the US would sell UGM-27 _Polaris_ SLBMs to the UK to arm its ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), but the British had to provide their own self-made nuclear warheads.
This arrangement was renewed when the UK upgraded to the UGM-96 _Trident_ C4 then to the UGM-133 _Trident_ D5 (AKA _Trident II_ ). The Royal Navy's current SSBNs, the _Vanguard_-class subs, still carry the _Trident II_ ...and so shall their planned successors, the _Dreadnoughts_ (ETA sometime in the next decade).
Thanks for the context info!
The Trident missiles are owned Jointly by the US and UK and are in a common pool. Every so often a submarine loaded with unarmed Tridents goes to the US and swaps them for other pool missiles. A missile could spend a couple of years on a British SSBN, Be sent back for maintenance and be loaded onto a US SSBN.
I give top marks to Dereck, he was up against two brilliant actors and to his credit he was nothing short of excellent, and to think he was Basil Brushes right hand man.
Wasn't Basil Brush his right hand man?
Of course! Basil Brush doesn't work with just any old scruff, you know!
Actually, Mister Dereck wasn't the puppeteer was he, so you could say he didn't have a hand in Basil Brush - Boom, boom.
The little hand gesture when he's talking about the warheads not fitting is just fantastic!
Fowlds was great with those. A great gesture actor.
This is hilariously funny!! 😂🤣
UK Prime Minister:
"So, on the whole if the Russians are going to invade, we'd prefer them to do it between Monday's and Friday's?".
Almost 4 decades since this British Sitcom aired (in 1986), Russia did invade Europe (Ukraine) on weekdays: Thursday, 24/02/2022! 😂
Very thoughtful of them I must say!🙄
Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union then. How can it be part of Europe now? They "invaded" themselves (the eastern part of Ukraine where the fighting is going is majority Russian speaking, with a lot of ethnic Russians).
@@plurabelle5 Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. Geographically . The Soviet Union is a political organisation. Europe is a geographical area.
@@plurabelle5 Part of the Soviet Union, including almost all of their major population centers, we're in Europe.
The comment about old weapons working when the new ones don't is very true.
When HMS Conqueror torpedoed the Belgrano during the Falklands conflict, The captain had a choice of two different torpedo types. One was the new 'Tigerfish'; the other were WW2 era Mk VIII. The captain chose to use the older ones because he knew they were designed at a time when they _had_ to work.
How ironic, considering the Belgrano was a USN cruiser in World War II. How odd to think the product of US shipyard workers in 1944 sank from torpedoes made British factory workers at about the same time. What would those ‘allied’ factory workers have thought if they knew.
@@TXGRunner USS Phoenix right? If memory serves me correctly (it probably doesn't) the only ship to survive Pearl Harbour.
No, no, no. He used Mk8s because Belgrano wasn't worth a Tigerfish or 2.
@@TXGRunner 1944? Phoenix was build in the 30s. The torpedo was probably newer. Regardless, your I take your point.
@@benwatson5787 No. Probably the most famous (because of the photo) but not the only. Battleships Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania were only slightly damaged. All 3 were at Surigao strait even tho Pennsylvania didnt fire. Heavy cruisers New Orleans and San Francisco were barely touched. Both would haunt the Japanese later. Light cruisers (and sisters to Phoenix) Honolulu, st Louis, and Helena all had active careers with only Helena being sunk. And then there were the subs.... oh yes, the Japanese paid dearly for ignoring the subs.
This series started as a comedy and it became a reality !
“It is only the NZ High Commissioner.....”
When you need a reference to something obscure and unimportant, there's New Zealand right on cue.😀😄😉😊
Brilliant British humour... so subtle and so true.. have not watched anything this good for years...
They don't make comedy like that anymore,no wonder the bbc is crap.
@@patricklamshear6662 perhaps you missed League of Gentlemen, The Office, Fleabag, Episodes, Extras, Mighty Bhoosh, Rev, The Thick of It and Alan Partridge. You have some catching up to do.
@@seang3019 None of them as good as this!
"I don't know what you don't know" One of my favorite lines.
This might get a few more views in the coming days
Superbly written, directed and acted. Truth hilariously told. Love you Bernard.
I really loved the gentle cynicism from the TV Civil Servants that advise Hacker.
For those of us from Lower Middle Class, Comprehensive Schools backgrounds though, our cynicism was anything but gentle. Promotion to the higher ranks was pretty much impossible for us lowly born officers in HM Civil Service back then ( From mid 70's, in my case).
A nuclear weapon that doesn't work is the ideal nuclear weapon anyway. The enemy still has to assume it will work, so it deters just fine, but no danger accidently starting a nuclear war.
lol; impeccable logic!
Their spies will eventually know you're faking it.
Absolute retardation.
@@jamesperkins191 no they wont trust me
Be amazing if it turned out that none of them actually worked for anyone and they only wanted each other to think they did.... talk about the biggest cover up since well... ever.
RIP Derek Fowlds
the BBC are so generous to allow a 3 minute extract to stay on youtube
American troops stationed in Bulgaria stormed a sunflower oil factory last week (2021)
...as seen on BBC czcams.com/video/FcohosXI3m8/video.html
Paul Eddington was a Quaker and a pacifist. Not that you would know it. Oh for those golden days of BBC comedy. Many many years ago :(
I always thought Bernard Woolley was the funniest in this series - seriously funny
Especially about Sun readers.
he was a master of the deadpan . . .
“I don’t know what you don’t know”. Outstanding.
"I don't know what you don't know". So I'm guessing that Donald Rumsfeldt watched this show?
"I don't know Prime minister, i don't know what you don't know"
I think the torpedo story has a reference to the Falklands War. When the HMS Conqueror decided to sink the ARA General Belgrano, they used the WW2 MkVIII** torpedo (designed in1920s) rather than the more advanced Tigerfish torpedo (in services since 1979) to avoid reliability problem.
considering 90% of what they shot is truth, it wouldnt be a surprise. In a documentary on youtube you actually hear how the writers would take out MP's to posh dinner and get them to give them secrets. Like the Moral Dimension episode, its a 100% true story.
Nope. Tigerfish was built with small (90 kg) warhead, as speedy counter-submarine torpedo. Mk VIII carried 4x amount of explosives. Target was WW II era vessel.
Gobsmacking that they were even carrying a WW2 era torpedo.
@@Internetbutthurt
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
@@Internetbutthurt Keeping what works pays off. The superbly effective M2 Browning machine gun is an early 1930s design and WWII era replacement parts are still issued. The Colt M1911 pistol is even older. B-52 bombers are still in combat and none are newer than 1962!
im 76 how i miss good comedy a laugh is worth ten painkillers
Always was the greatest medicine.
Whenever I was over stressed my wife would slap in one of my old Benny Hill videos for the 1000th time and let me burst with laughter whilst reciting out loud the entire sketches, word for word.
this aged well
"well apparently the American troops in Germany are so drug ridden that they don't know which side they're on anyway" XD 0:32
"I see convoys curb crawling West German Autobahns
Trying to pick up a war"
- Marillion
At the beginning of 80s, American Amry still had large discipline and morale problems. By late 80s, situation was quite reversed.
Even in the late 70's and early 80's the USA forces in Germany were solid fighting forces. I was there. The pot heads and druggies were being viciously weeded out.
Sounds plausible I heard stories like this in the early eighties from conscript Dutch soldiers who went on exercises with American troops in Germany in the early eighties. They were amazed how easy it was to destroy the Americans in these exercises. They were not impressed by the intelligence of said soldiers, but that said both sets of soldiers got along fine drinking, boozing and taking drugs together.
@Raw Engineer lol lol
I ADORED this aeries. But without the Barnard Woolley character, it would not have been nearly as good...just Jim and Humpy fighting all the time.
Read a book by an ex SAS soldier called Ken Connor. He was part of a mission that under treaty with the Russians was sent to observe their military exercises in East Germany. They would drive over the border in specially marked landrovers and watch and take notes as the Warsaw pact forces practiced for WW3. The Russians were also allowed to come over and watch Nato exercises. Anyway, the view back in the 70’s was that while the Russian army was big, it was also incredibly crap. None of their truck drivers could read a map and so every truck had to have an officer on board because they had the IQ to navigate. The job of the Russian Spetsnaz special forces in WW3 was to drive ahead of the tanks, capture certain vital crossroads, bridges etc and then direct the tank formations in the right direction. The role of the SAS was to go to the same destinations, ambush the Spetsnaz troops, kill them, steal their uniforms and then direct the Russian tanks up dead ends, into impenetrable forests, over blown bridges where the NATO artillery would blow them to bits.
Then the race would be on, who would get to Moscow first, The US army, British, French or German armies? There were genuine bets of vintage alcohol etc among senior officers.
Germans were telling similar stories before WWII. Yet it was Russians who came into Berlin.
History is replete with the sad fate of whoever has underestimated the Russians
mac history is also replete with the sad history of Russians not wanting to fight for their awful tyrannical leaders. Germany got to Moscow in a few months before people realized that they were genocidal and started desperately resisting.
@@chrisdelzell8467 but they did resist and overcome the Nazis they did so I am only saying what has happened in history,it is not just the Russians themselves but also the weather(cold and Rasputina) and the vastness of that country that makes invading it an impossible task if the people are commited to stopping the invaders
Actaully, in late '70s Soviet Army was absolutely at top of their game, with more and better equipment and training constrained by doctrine rather than by economic depression of 80s.
Bernard wasn't joking about the Dutch Army. They got seriously lax during the early 80's.
They were lax, but they will still quiet able to destroy the Americans in war games in Germany during the 80's.
Roodborst Kalf Yeah, who do you think sold the GIs all those drugs.
Does that qualify as chemical warfare?
In the mid-70s, French researcher Emmanuel Todd, who was writing about the decadence of the Soviet system, compares its army's disciplinar to the dutch one's.
A brilliant series but let’s not forget who wrote their lines - they are the real genius behind the whole thing!
czcams.com/video/cNgxyL5zEAk/video.html
Sir Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn.
I have to be honest I used that line with my manager once: I don't know what you don't know
This reminds me of the movie "Pentagon Wars", about how faulty weapons are pushed into service and then fixed over the next decade or two, just in time for a replacement weapon system, that's more expensive and bug-ridden.
You see it in modern gaming too. Rather than develop a game long term and using extensive play-testing, they release it in development (beta) so that they can get hundreds of thousands (or more) of free play-testers who find all the bugs for them while turning a profit during the development.
Then they do it all over again with a sequel which somehow has all the same problems as the original that all need working out once more.
Hell, even games that aren't released in a beta version are often released and then a few days later receive a massive patch to fix the myriad of issues with them to the point where it's less of a patch and more of a re-release of a 'fixed' version. Some games can take years to become 'complete'.
Except "Pentagon wars" kinda misrepresent the whole development
@@DomWeasel Hmm.. very interesting 🤔😊
@@fulcrum2951 I wouldn't be so sure. in 2018 they ran tests of the F35 in close air support situations versus the A10. Turns out they fudged every test in favour of the F35. Including lack of multiple moving targets, reduced payload to improve f35 maneuverability, no reference to sortie rates or fly time and a lack of testing against anti air capabilities. Do not underestimate the level of corruption that comes with trillion dollar military designs.
Best part is I believe I know where the cracks about the American Military stationed in Germany come from (bear in mind this is a Yank talking so take it for what you will).
U.S. European Command was PARANOID about the Soviets/Russians launching preemptive strikes prior to any invasion, and as such would consistently run training exercises where decent sized swathes of troops would not participate as the exercise treated them as being pre-emptively neutralized by Russian special forces or opening volleys or conventional ordinance (to see how well what forces remained performed)
An unfortunate side effect was large numbers of troops appearing to the untrained eye as doing "nothing" during crucial NATO defense drills...not a good look in the least.
That doesn't explain the the times when the US forces failed to turn up at their designated position or numbers of US troops being stoned and actually being in the woods- any other places with anything female they could find.
Trust me. In many training exercises we were really doing nothing, and not just "nothing".
You have to remember that this show was initially run in the 1980s when the US military was still recovering from the demoralization of Vietnam. So, while there was still a drug problem, (and it was even worse in the 1970s) the references were largely historical even then. Not the case of the US military today, which has a low tolerance for drug use.
You also have to remember that this was a comedy, not a documentary. While it's based on fact, there is considerable exaggeration for satirical effect.
I suspect that the Dutch, Belgian and Danish armies were just as stoned, especially after a weekend off.
@@allenjenkins7947 I went into the US Navy in 1979. Drug usage was rampant. Mainly pot, but there were other drugs being used as well. The best thing that the military did for itself was to institute a strict drug testing program. There were a lot of sailors getting busted for drug use in the early eighties after they started testing. I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of drug use in todays military is lower than it was when I was active duty.
This is first broadcast in 1986 so the worst of the drug riddled, low morale post Vietnam era is over but that’s were the comments are coming from.
10 minis later, Bernard: wait Prime Minister, you still haven't told me how long you want to allow the meeting with New Zealand high commissioner.
72 hours
I love the line about the new torpedoes not working, when the British sunk the General Belgrano in the Falklands war they used Mark 8 torpedoes that first entered service in 1927
“I don’t know what you don’t know.”
That line by Bernard at 2:22 is quite chilling
BTW: It were WW II era torpedoes that sunk General Berglano.
An Argentinian cruiser built by the Americans in the 30s and that survived Pearl Harbour and the Pacific War, only to be sunk in the South Atlantic by a British nuclear submarine... Using WW2 torpedoes.
Appropriate really.
Relevant today, as we are in the midst of Russia-Ukraine war. Players didn’t change much.
Anyone else here at the end of Feb 2022?
One of the best episodes in this brilliant series. However, recent events in Ukraine seem to indicate that the estimates of British resistance may have been pessimistic. It's also interesting that they always talk about the Russians, not about the Soviets or the Warsaw Pact.
They were all controlled by the Russians so they're just being honest
This show was made in the 80s when Russia was much stonger and had a better army you can't really compare it with modern times
@@4wheal Precisely. The "other side" back then was actually the much larger and more powerful Soviet Union, which included Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, Moldova and several 'Stans. It also included all of the Warsaw Pact countries. Yet we nearly always referred to them in popular speech as "Russians". Most westerners didn't know that the RSFSR was only part of the Soviet Union. Many still don't.
@@allenjenkins7947 before Soviet Union was found, rfsfr included Ukraine Belarus and Caucasian states.
Been thinking about that lately myself. I sort of put it as, "Russia" is kind of like "America"; it means... a few different things. (Just ask non-American Americans.)
We tend to say "Russia"/"Russian" when we mean something like "the cultural-influence-sphere of the former Russian Empire and/or USSR."
It's funny because it's true.
Citation needed. Oh, wait, Yes Minister series have a record of citing actual documents...
BERNARD!
‘I don’t know what you don’t know’.
Its brilliant watching this for the first time in 2020. Could of been made last week as relevant today as ever 😂
It would appear we would be able to hold the Russians off a LOT longer than 72 hours!
Yeah, maybe for a week.
@W H Fitzgerald Three continents are supplying weapons, what did you expect?
Haha! Paul Eddington's misery is so artful.
Well, WWII era torpedos were used at the Falklands...
Galtieri seriously misjudged Thatcher on the Falklands - he didn't think that she would bother about islands in the Southern Hemisphere that have more sheep than people.
This show was a masterpiece!
I remember this scene from when I was a kid in the early 90's. so funny.
Maeda Toshiie And maps from 1890´s were used in the Bay of Pigs’ invasion.
+Squadron266 everyone knew the new Tigerfish torpedo didn't work it started design in 1959 and it wasn't until 1987 that it worked. The design requirements where simply to advanced the for technology of the day. The Spearfish replacement which started design work in the mid 70's (15 years after the Tigerfish) entered service just 9 years after the Tigerfish and just 5 years after the Tigerfish actually worked.
Yep those were the ones that worked, they had been tested.
I love Bernard...
1:22 "Well normally when new weapons are delivered the warheads don't fit the ends of the rockets."
Derek Fowlds once holidayed in Australia. He was received like an actual Prime Minister. And so he should.
It was Paul Eddington who visited Australia (portrayed PM Jim Hacker) and not Derek Fowlds! Derek was the PM’s private secretary!
Paul Eddington you mean. The same happened when he went to Japan.
I do miss them all. Such wonderful scripts and lines. Comedy is just not the same anymore, I struggle to find one swear word in the whole series and most of the time I am on the floor. Thank you. Between saville, Diana and many other unmentionable gaffs bbc did produce something worth treasuring.
Brilliant!!! Essence of British Humor!!!
This aged well
Well if the British couldn’t hold the Russians for 72 hours back then it seems likely they could do it now.
@@kingstarscream320I mean Ukraine has been able to hold the Russians off for 72 hours about 20000 times over at the moment
@@Bagster321 Yep. I was very wrong. We all knew Russia was a shadow of its former self but I don’t think many predicted their army would be this incompetent. I’m not complaining. Good for the Ukrainians.
That was right about WW2 topedos. Their older designs were intended for use against armoured ship hulls and are far more damaging than modern ones.
Wrong. The idea of a Conventional torpedo was to create a hole so large that it could not be repaired at sea and could not be drained thereby sinking the ship.
Modern torpedoes are designed to go right underneath the ship to its keel and detonate there effectively breaking the ship in half.
Torpedoes in WW2 sometimes managed to break a ship's back if it was lightly armoured, but they were designed much in the same way that a traditional tank shell is, by just smashing through and doing damage.
Modern torpedoes are like the STAFF shells, smart and aiming to efficiently exploit the weakness of a design.
@@_Anato_ Yes-no. Tigerfish had very small (90 kg or so) warhead which wouldn't do a squat to WW II era ship, like Berglano. Mk. VIII on the other hand had 340 kg. In order to successfully use method you mention you need ultra-reliable fuse and monsters like Spearfish or Mk.48. @Lachy T - Spearfish was not available to Conquerer at the time.
Bernard, is there anything else I don’t know?
I don’t know Prime Minister, I don’t know what you don’t know.
Hey, my dad was in the American army, stationed in Germany!
(Which is to say that the description is pretty accurate, but they shouldn't have said it.)
This series should be freely distributed to all adversaries of UK and the west... they will be do endeared to the Brits that they wouldn’t dream of having a conflict with us... too busy laughing their heads off... absolutely brilliant... British comedy at its best...
Generally speaking most Military Forces are at their strongest between 8 am and 4 pm Monday to Friday, although some do take Wednesday afternoon Off for Sport.
according to all our UK newspapers for the last week....as true then as it is today !
No coincidence they kept the Vulcans until Trident was safely delivered.
Oh how I miss the roar of the Vulcans.
absolute genius!!
Brilliant! nothing seems to change does it.
I wish the Russians had enough irony to come up with a counterpart show, "Yes, Comrade Premier"
They can't, because in Russia the joke's on you.
Bird and Fortune made similar remarks on British preparedness concerning the second Gulf War. The last remark about testing was rather profound
Would have loved if that were to be true.
But as a former member of His Majesty's Royal Army, we Dutch soldier's definitely do not get the weekends off, neither do our brethren soldier's from Royal Danish military.
Noooooooo you've spoiled the joke 🤐🤐😥😥😥😀
Just like the patriot missile defence system.. Nobody is holding raytheon accountable
Dr CBY Was that what they were on about in one episode of West Wing. Also the missiles are insanly expensive.
Isn't that the American way now? Call something 'patriotic', then condemn anyone who criticizes it for criticizing 'patriotism'. It's the idiotic mindset that also embraces 'if you're not with us, then you're against us'. The world is not black and white. And it's not red, white and blue either.
The problems were fixed quit your bitching.
@@lastswordfighter we will probably be able to know when the missiles start flying
"I don't know what you don't know"
I think Bernard always, very well knows what PM knows and doesn't know :D
The most accurate but timeless description of defence policy!
For once great pic quality, thanks!
0:53 You're damm right we do (Dane)
2:08 HMS Conqueror apparently had this in mind when making a decision which torpedo to fire at the ARA Heneral Belgrano...
When he describes American troops during this period I think of the movie Buffalo Soldiers.
These three are now all united in the heavens.
GENIUS
How can they say all this with straight faces?! :D
Lots of cuts and retakes.
Because it’s all true.
Can't be that many retakes. The audience is still laughing at the jokes. And yes this was filmed in front of a live audience iIrc
@@MrTohawk It was filmed yes but they would have practiced their scripts beforehand.
@@artofthepossible7329 Apparently Nigel Hawthorne was fastidious at rehesrssl and usually delivered his monologues in one take.
We need a Yes Minister/The Thick of it crossover sequel
So long as the language remains clean.
The situation is just the same today.
it is 2018and yet so relevant
"The only thing that changes is the names."
Britain has the greatest army in the world, as long as they do not have to fight when it is time for tea.
hahaha, your love for tea is much better than many love stories in hollywood
Such a funny show love the bit about the US army get drunk and forget whose side they were on the acting talent on that show was brilliant😀