From the Anglophile, er, File
 
I began the first season of Yes, Minister on DVD last night.  Brilliant!  Biting satire and dense plotting in 30 min. episodes!  How can those BBC guys get away with this?

The series traces the career of a first time minister in British government, and the back-and-forth struggle between the protagonist and the permanent staff is a wonder to behold.  I had no idea that purchase orders for computer parts from America could be so funny!