是，大臣第一季

第一季
第四集：专制国家

安妮：给汉弗莱打电话，说你不同意。
哈克：我一早就会见他。
安妮：现在就打给他。
哈克：现在可是凌晨2点，他都睡熟了。
安妮：要的就是这效果。凭什么他安稳入睡你却仍在工作? 他害你白白忙活，现在轮到你整整他。
……
汉弗莱：我的老天，出了什么大事?
哈克：没有，一切正常。不介意我打电话给你吧？
汉弗莱：不，大臣阁下，一点也不。
哈克：听到您的声音总是非常愉快。
……
哈克：我还要跟他说要在内阁会议前把对策告诉我。
安妮：现在别打给他。
哈克：是啊，现在是晚了点。
安妮：让他先睡10分钟。

第五集：大白天下

哈克：这份报告我仍然不满意，汉弗莱。
汉弗莱：好的大臣，我们很乐意为您重新起草。
哈克：你们已经重新起草三次了。
伯纳：这么说不准确。
哈克：准确，伯纳。我会数数，这是第三稿。
伯纳：对，就是说先起草了一次，然后重新起草了两次。

第二季
第三集：死亡名单

伯纳：要把它们存档吗?
哈克：存档? 销毁了，别让人找到。
伯纳：既然这样，存档就行了。

第二季
第五集：两害相权

哈克：典型欧共体官员什么样? 意大利人的组织能力，德国人的弹性，法国人的谦逊，再加比利时人的想象力，荷兰人的慷慨，还有爱尔兰人的智力水平。

国庆看完了三季共21集的《Yes Minister》，英式的嘲讽幽默扑面而来，我表示我的词汇量根本不够用，特别是涉及英国政体的词汇，比如Parliament、Cabinet、Civil Service、Monarch，因为之前比较熟悉美国政体的词汇比如President、Congress，不禁让我把这部英剧和美剧《纸牌屋》放在一起，对英美两国的政治体制的异同感兴趣起来。


Quora上也有一样的问题“What're the differences between UK and US political system?"
链接：//www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-the-UK-and-the-US-political-systems
下面的最高票回答值得一看。

下图是我总结的。


《Yes Minister》中尽管有些单词不太懂，但我仍然笑得前俯后仰，英式的嘲讽幽默充满的智慧，在脑子转一转才觉得好搞笑，这点跟美式幽默很不一样。

《Yes Prime Minister》是它的续集，据说没有《Yes Minister》好看，但也是水准之作。

能嘲讽自己国家的最高统治者，说明这个国家是非常民主、自由的，我们什么时候能拍出这样的剧呢？当然这是不可能的。

这部剧不管对于想要娱乐一下，还是了解英国政治的“黑箱”，还是学习纯正英式英语的人来说，都简直堪称经典神作！刚开始只是出于消遣，从来没有兴趣认真通过台词提高英语水平的我，也终于忍不住要做笔记了，因为台词实在是太太太经典！！！

为了督促自己，也许也可以造福他人，整理其中的经典台词。（不定期更新）

简称：大臣 M；常务秘书汉弗瑞 H；私人秘书 B；私人顾问 W.

Ep05

M : The Think Tank asked us for our evidence on Civil Service overmanning; Three times I have briefed a group of civil servants in words of one syllable and each time they’ve sent back an unintelligible report, saying the exact opposite of what I asked them to say.
H : With respect Minister, how do you know it says the opposite if it’s totally unintelligible ?

M : Will you give me a straight answer to a straight question ?
H : Oh, well, Minister, as long as you are not asking me to resort to crude generalizations and vulgar over simplifications, such as a simple yes or no, I shall do my utmost to oblige.
M : Is that yes ?
H : Yes.

H : If you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one time with another, in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis, it is probably true to say that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn’s very much in it one way or the other...as far as one can see...at the stage. （英语写作表示不确定的同义词替换，没有比小汉在这里的用法更花样繁多了）
M : ...Is that yes or no ?
H : Yes and no.

B : Can I ask you a hypthetical question ?
H : That’s always a good idea.
B : Well suppose a Minister, a purely hypothetical Minister, were to be unhappy with a department draft of evidence to a committee. And suppose that Minister were planning to replace it with his own draft worked out with his political adviser and his party... (suppose的虚拟语气用起来！）
H : I can’t believe it.
B : Oh, no, no. It’s purely hypothetical. And suppose that Minister were planning to bring in his own draft so close to the final date that there won’t be any...
H : Wouldn’t...（小汉居然还有心情给伯纳德指出动词语法错误）
B : Wouldn’t be any time for the department to redraft it for him. Suppose this hypothetical Minister’s Principal Private Secretary were to be aware of this hypothetical draft, in confidence of course, should he pass on this information to the Permanent Secretary of this hypothetical department ?

H: Have you redrafted the redraft of your draft ?
M: You don't want it yet, do you? Why ?
H: So that we can redraft it.
M: Drafting is not a Cival Service monopoly, you know ?
H: No, it's a highly specialised skill which few outside the Service can master.
M: Nonsense, it's easy. It's a game anyone can play.
H: Not without getting huffed.

H: When, Minister?
M: Later Humphrey.
H: Yes, but when ? On what day?
M: In due course, Humphrey. At the appropriate juncture. In the fullness of time. When the moment is ripe. When the necessary procedures have been completed. Nothing precipitate, of course. （大臣成功地以其人之道，还汉弗瑞其身，又是到了积累同义词变换的时候。）

H：You'll forgive me if I say this, but I am beginning to suspect that you are concealing something from me. I'm sorry but sometimes one is forced to consider the possibility that affairs are being conducted in a way which all thins being considered, and making all possible allowances is, not to put too fine a point on it, perhaps not entirely straightforward.
M: Well you're the exper on straightforwardness.

M: Humphrey, you are supposed to enact my policies. I still don't understand, why you seem implacably opposed to me. I must know where you stand on all this.
H: Where one stands, Minister, depends upon where one sits. （屁股决定脑袋）

D(Daniel, PM's senior private adviser) : Jim Hacker (M) will win through with a self sacrificing policy. The PM will probably kick him upstairs. Lord Hacker of Kamikaze. This could be the PM's masterstroke in one fell swoop. Approbation, elevation and castrationl. You know PM's motto:" In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge."

H: Brussels is about to decree that there is to be a new European Identity Card to be carried by all citizens of the EEC. The Foreign Office is quite ready to go along with it as a quid pro quo （抵偿物，相等物）for a deal over the butter mountain, the wine lake, and the milk ocean, the lamb war and the cod stink.

M: When you've hot them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.

EP 06

H: The Minister has three fonctions. First, as an advocate, making the Department's actions seem plausible to Parliament and public. In fact, he is our public relation's man. Second, he is our man in Westminster, steering our legislation through Parliament. And third, he is our bread winner. He has to fight in Cabinet for the money we need to run our Department. But he is not here to review departmental procedures with Principals and Assistant Secretaries.

前些天破烂熊开始发布《是，首相》，下了一集看了一下，感受可以用“心花怒放”、“乐不可支”来形容。捶胸顿足的后悔为什么以前没有下它的前传《是，大臣》，搜了一下电驴上也只有第二季，还好，我们还有强大的优酷，http://www.youku.com/playlist_show/id_1580967.html ，找齐了三季，几天内如饥似渴的全部看掉了。

真欣赏英国人的幽默，这可是上世纪80年代开始的剧集，距今已经有20年了，今天看来毫无过时之感，唯一的赞叹只有：经典！太经典了！电视特效和科技或许一定要与时俱进，但精妙的台词和经典的幽默永不过时。

人们常说“三个女人一台戏”，用在这里应该是“三个男人一台戏”，再精确些，是“三个老男人一台戏”。大臣哈克，报社主编出身的政客，能力平庸，爱喝点小酒，胆小怕事，视选票为生命，喜欢上镜头博版面，想干点实事却总被老奸巨猾的常任秘书汉弗莱用各种花招阻拦，所谓“常任秘书”，我以为可以翻译成“秘书长”，大概相当于幕僚长之类的角色，基本上哈克就是汉弗莱的提线木偶；汉弗莱爵士，这个老滑头，呵呵，堪称绝品，他最善于把简单的一句“NO”复杂化成一箩筐言辞含糊意义不明颠来倒去不知所云的废话，一般来说，还没等他说完，大臣就糊涂了，这时候，站在他们中间的秘书伯纳德的脸上就浮现出蒙娜丽莎般的微笑，哈哈，太喜欢他这个经典的表情了。哈克和汉弗莱是两朵红花，伯纳德也是一片不可或缺的大绿叶，他言语不多，为人低调，有些热衷于咬文嚼字，但实际上极为聪明，脑瓜子转起来可比糊里糊涂的大臣快多了。当哈克和汉弗莱唇枪舌剑时，他时不时插上一两句，常常令人绝倒……

汉弗莱也并非永远是胜利者，有几次也被哈克抓住了软肋恶整了一番。不过我最喜欢看的还是这两个不是一条心的老家伙在面对共同的危机时，不得不暂时放下彼此的争端，齐心合力携手共同捣糨糊的片段，隔着办公桌，一人一句，心照不宣，眉来眼去，说着说着就把一个弥天大谎编圆乎了，桌子的那一头，是伯纳德俏皮的坏笑。

太喜欢这部经典英剧了，那些滔滔不绝打太极踢皮球的官话废话可以被所有的在职公务员奉为经典深入学习。光看一遍是不够的，一定要买碟收藏！

 
PS：据说这部《是，大臣》曾经在正大剧场放过，我一点印象都没有，应该是没看过。关于正大剧场，我只记得最早的《侠胆雄狮》和《环游世界八十天》。