In the sixth episode of the third season of the classic political comedy "Yes, Chancellor", Humphrey, the "Great British Conscience", took the "risk of communism" and quoted Lenin's famous quote "Things are universally connected" in front of the "little angel" Bernard, defending his civil service position and helping Bernard's "growth".
According to the personality of "Yes, Minister", Bernard, who graduated from the top university in the United Kingdom, is very knowledgeable in literature and history, and one of his "resignation tips" is to point out the literary and historical errors of his superiors. If so, why didn't Bernard, who was knowledgeable in literature and history, not know about Lenin's quote quoted by Humphrey?
The first thing to explain is that "Bernard did not know Lenin's famous words" is a common "baggage" technique in comedy. However, "Yes, Minister" can integrate the common techniques of comedy with the plot setting, and will not destroy the character for the sake of comedic effect, which is one of the reasons why the play is revered as an "intangible cultural heritage".
According to the characters of the TV series and official novels, Humphrey was born in 1929, graduated from Oxford University, and became the chief private secretary of the chancellor in 1947 (Note: Humphrey's birth and death years were later set to be the same as the actor Nigel Hawthorne, some of the age and plot lines do not match the "BUG"). ）
It can be speculated that Humphrey must have finished college between 1943 and 1947. Britain and the Soviet Union formed an anti-fascist alliance in recent years, the Cold War has not yet fully begun, and the cultural exchange between the elites of the two countries is smooth. Thus Humphrey had access to Lenin's theoretical writings when he was in school.
According to the characters of the TV series and official novels, Bernard was born in 1937 (the same as the actor Derek Fooz) and should have been in college around the fifties. In the 1950s, britain's relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated due to the Cold War, and the "Cambridge Five" appeared at this time.
Because of this, the British restricted the spread of Soviet writings and books on campus in the fifties and sixties. During his school days in the fifties, Bernard was afraid that it would be difficult for Bernard to come into contact with Lenin's theoretical works in school, and naturally he would not know Lenin's famous sayings.