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SERIES 1 - First broadcast 1986
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The Grand Design
New Prime Minister Jim Hacker gets a frightening briefing
on Britain's ability (or rather inability) to defend itself.
After a conversation with his Chief Scientific Advisor, he
realises that the best solution is to cancel the order for
the Trident nuclear missile, channel all the money into conventional
forces, and reintroduce the draft, simultaneously solving
Britain's defence, unemployment and education problems. The
Civil Service and the military establishment are appalled.
But Sir Humphrey, now Cabinet Secretary, manages to put off
the problem with some scrambled eggs.
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The Ministerial Broadcast
Hacker intends to reveal his Grand Design for Britain's defences
in a live television address. After all, his Cabinet colleagues
are all in favour of it, and the party's polls show that it's
a vote-winner. But Sir Humphrey has other plans.
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The Smoke Screen
Hacker wants a 1.5 billion pound tax cut. The Treasury does
not. The Health Minister wants a massive government anti-smoking
campaign which would deprive the Treasury of four billion
pounds of tax revenue. Jim decides to pretend to support the
anti-smoking proposals to get the Treasury to go along with
the tax cut. As usual, it all goes wrong and Sir Humphrey
must come to the rescue.
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The Key
Encouraged by his political advisor, Hacker decides to clip
Sir Humphrey's wings. Sir Humphrey tries ever more desperately
to maintain his power and privileges.
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A Real Partnership
A financial crisis is stopping government pay raises just
as the Civil Service is due for a pay raise. Sir Humphrey
is honour-bound to get a substantial pay raise for his fellow
civil servants (his own massive increase is, of course, beside
the point), but must somehow make it look modest to the Prime
Minister.
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A Victory for Democracy
Hacker's "Churchillian" desire to preserve a democratic
Commonwealth nation from a Communist take-over brings him
into conflict with the Foreign Office, which is negotiating
an agreement with the Communist nation backing the coup.
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The Bishop's Gambit
As Prime Minister, Hacker must appoint a bishop--er, "recommend
the appointment to the Sovereign"--but unfortunately,
the two candidates are a suspected disestablishmentarian and
a left-wing troublemaker who doesn't even believe in God (naturally,
he's the one the Church of England wants). Meanwhile, a British
subject has been arrested in the Islamic state of Qumran and
is set to be flogged for possession of a bottle of whiskey,
and Sir Humphrey has his own reasons for helping his old Oxford
college get rid of its Dean.
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One of Us
Hacker is annoyed that a dog lost on an artillery range is
stealing headlines from his new defence policy, while the
head of MI5 is annoyed that his predecessor has just been
revealed as a Russian spy. Worse still, he was cleared of
spying by an inquiry conducted by Sir Humphrey Appleby.
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SERIES 2 - First broadcast 1987
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Man Overboard
The Employment Secretary comes up with a brilliant idea for
reducing unemployment by transferring much of the military
establishment to the primitive wilds of Northern Britain.
Hacker approves. Sir Humphrey and the generals do not.
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Official Secrets
Hacker is chairing the committee responsible for security
clearance on his predecessor's memoirs. But is it really a
state secret that Hacker "raised the average age of the
Cabinet, but lowered the average IQ"?
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A Diplomatic Incident
The French want control of the new Channel Tunnel, and are
willing to cause a diplomatic crisis to get it. Meanwhile,
the question of the former PM’s memoirs is settled by
a timely--er, tragic--death.
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A Conflict of Interest
A scandal in the City of London threatens to embarrass Hacker
during the Party Conference. Hacker wants to respond by appointing
a tough-minded Bank of England Governor. Sir Humphrey wants
to appoint an old friend who will help sweep the whole thing
under the carpet.
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Power to the People
Hacker wants Sir Humphrey to deal with radical Houndsworth
Council Leader Agnes Moorhouse, who is embarrassing the Government
by hamstringing her local police. When Hacker's political
advisor comes up with an imaginative plan for bring democracy
to local government, Sir Humphrey realises that the scheme
would be disastrous for the Civil Service. He and Agnes must
form an unlikely alliance to put a stop to it.
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The Patron of the Arts
Hacker has foolishly agreed to speak at the British Theatre
Awards dinner on the very day the arts budget (with only a
very small increase) is to be announced. And the Director
of the National Theatre (which is receiving almost no increase)
will be introducing Jim, armed with facts and figures about
how government wastes the money it can’t afford to spend
on the arts. Where those figures came from is a mystery; the
fact that Sir Humphrey sits on the board of the National Theatre
is pure coincidence.
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The National Education Service
The Prime Minister is worried about education--and not merely
his own. But his scheme (or rather, his political advisor's
scheme) to abolish the Education Department and allow parents
to choose where to send their children to school horrifies
Sir Humphrey, who believes that "parents are the worst
people to raise children."
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The Tangled Web
Hacker's pride in his clever responses to Parliamentary Questions
turns to horror when Sir Humphrey informs him that those responses
were not entirely true (although Hacker didn't know, as the
responsible Minister he is "deemed to have known").
Jim wants Sir Humphrey to back him up if further questions
are asked, but Humphrey feels he has a responsibility to the
truth. But he may soon find that truth cuts both ways.
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