Black Books

[Vilandra]

Did anyone watch this show? It's so funny - I love Dylan Moran :)

[prydain]

I've never heard of it, lol.

[Black Eye Guy]

It's soooooo Funny, I had never seen it untill a few months ago, then a friend of mine showed me season 1 on DVD, and I just sat there laughing for the entire thing!

[prydain]

What's it about?

[Black Eye Guy]

It's about a Man that owns a Book store, a really crappy one that he does not take care of. In the first episode, He hires someone new, reluctantly. It's mostly about them and the women in the neighboring shop, a random stuff shop.

Wow it's really weird to explain because I can't really capture it, It sound really simple and like there is nothing to it, but it is really funny.

If someone else can explain it better, please do, lol!

[prydain]

I'll try to find an episode, lol.

[Vilandra]

Oh my god it is so funny! I wish I had it on DVD, but I've taped all the episodes lol. My friend and I ended up watching it Halloween morning - all the eps in one go lol

It's basically this guy who owns a bookshop who drinks and smokes a lot and hates his customers. So one night while drunk he hires this guy to work in the shop. And so it's their interactions plus as BEG said the woman who runs the shop next door.

Here's the first scene from the pilot:

Scene: A small bookshop.

A man, BERNARD, is sitting at a desk talking on the phone. He is the shop's proprietor.

BERNARD: I don't know Nick, you're the accountant.

A customer comes up to the desk.

MAN: These books...

(Bernard ignores him)

BERNARD: Yeah, I know.

MAN: Hello?

(Bernard still ignores him)

BERNARD: Maybe I'm not sure.

MAN: Vendor! Excuse me!

(Bernard still ignores him)

BERNARD: Yeah.

MAN: Excuse me, I just wonder if...

Bernard writes something on a post it. He sticks it on his forehead. It says "ON PHONE".

BERNARD: They're much simpler this time Nick, honestly. The accounts are in order. Okay, allright, well I'll see you in an hour. Okay, bye.

(Looks up at customer.)

BERNARD: Now.

MAN: Those books how much?

BERNARD: Hmm?

MAN: Those books - leather bound ones.

BERNARD: (annoyed) Yes, Dickens. The Collected Works of Charles Dickens. (takes a drag on his cigarette)

MAN: They're real leather?

BERNARD: They're real Dickens.

MAN: I have to know if they're real leather because they have to go with a sofa. Everything else in my house is real. I'll give you two hundred for them.

BERNARD: (rubs his eyes) Two hundred what?

MAN: (confused) Two hundred pounds.

BERNARD: Are they leather bound pounds?

MAN: No.

BERNARD: Sorry I need leather bound pounds to go with my wallet - NEXT!

(rings a bell on his desk)

[Mr Pointy]

Black Books was superb: an excellent way of spending half an hour on a Friday night that didn't involve pubs :) Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey were great as the two male leads (Bernard and Manny) and Tamsin Greig provided perfect support as their friend Fran. It was a strange, surreal, meandering and mostly hilarious sitcom. I loved it...

Here's a link to the BBC Comedy Guide entry - it was actually shown on Channel 4 but the BBC guide is very good and easier to find;)

BBC guide to Black Books (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/blackbooks_66600660.shtml)

[Vilandra]

They show it now on BBC America - I think usually Saturdays and Sundays.

:)

Black Books was superb: an excellent way of spending half an hour on a Friday night that didn't involve pubs :) Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey were great as the two male leads (Bernard and Manny) and Tamsin Greig provided perfect support as their friend Fran. It was a strange, surreal, meandering and mostly hilarious sitcom. I loved it...

Here's a link to the BBC Comedy Guide entry - it was actually shown on Channel 4 but the BBC guide is very good and easier to find;)

BBC guide to Black Books (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/blackbooks_66600660.shtml)
Oh crap! I thought there was only one season! There's two more! I wish they'd hurry up and show them here, they just keep playing one over and over. :(

[prydain]

Oh gosh, that was hilarious! I just watched the pilot. I actually had to watch it twice, because to be honest, most British humor is just...blech, but some scenes were really funny, and when I watched it the second time I thought almost all of it was just hilarious.

It's very, very random, lol.

[Vilandra]

It's so good...

[prydain]

This show is really growing on me...it gets funnier and funnier as it goes on. It's about ten times funnier than the British version of The Office, but not quite as funny as the US version of The Office...but I love it!

[Vilandra]

They just started showing the second season on BBC America, fyi :)

[prydain]

Oh cool. I'll definitely check it out...I'm like two eps away from the end of season one. :)

[prydain]

I have a question...in England will you really be thrown out of a store if you don't buy something? In the Lockdown episode he couldn't find a place to stay warm...but here you could just go in and sit somewhere and no one would say anything to you.

[Vilandra]

Well they're in a city - it's not like they have all night Walmarts there or something. Here people will ask you to leave if you're just hanging out and not doing anything.