The original Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister is a classic. The writers Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn hit upon a formula that satirised the administration of government and made it funny with both gentle and cutting wit.
Some of it more nearer to the truth according to the politicians of the time.
The new series looks cheap because it's made for satellite channel UKTV not the BBC. I think the cast looked uncomfortable and did not feel right.
Henry Goodman maybe should had played the Prime Minister. His Sir Humphrey is more urbane, aloof and calmer compared to the wily, scheming and at times abrasive Nigel Hawthorne.
David Haig who plays Jim Hacker comes across as manic and unsympathetic whereas Paul Eddington in the Yes Prime Minister version was more in control and calculating especially with his dealings with Sir Humphrey.
Worse still, in the intervening years we have had 'The Thick of It' and Malcolm Tucker which reshaped the political comedy climate and made Yes, Prime Minister look like old hat with its neutered Sir Humphrey.
