Black Books

[springbabydays]

Watched the first episode (having just finished and thoroughly enjoyed the IT Crowd).

Does it get better? Maybe need some more familiarity with the characters before fully appreciating it?

"i'm coming Fran" is the same episode as "senior administrative nurses".

I just think it's all so well put together.

Howell or however you spell it was on Richard Osman's House of Games last week and I couldn't look at him because of that episode 🤣

I find it astonishing how much was in each episode. There seem to be so many storylines but then you realise there are only 18 eps in total. They really packed them.

@LittleBitofBread it’s series 2 ep 4 “blood”
I have the DVD Box set to hand

Thanks! Just been on Wikipedia reading the episode guide. I've got a mental black on a few of the later ones. Beginning to wonder if I didn't watch them all

MOO MA, MOO PA is such a great episode.

Also love the one where Manny goes to work in a ‘proper’ bookshop.

Thanks OP, I’m going to watch some Black Books later.

I always think of him as being his character in Whitechapel - he was a senior detective, but I can't remember his name in there. He was only in one series of Whitechapel, but I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Probably the best one, actually. I think he's married to Elaine Cassidy. I saw her on the tube once. She's even more beautiful in real life. That seems to be a thing. Helena Bonham Carter was so beautiful in real life. I was not prepared for it! She was in the same bar as I was and I had to resist the urge to go up to her and say "oh my God, you're bloody gorgeous" 😂

I didn't like the Moo Pa episode. Perhaps the whimsy of it wasn't for me.

@LittleBitofBread they turn out to be total freeloaders and they try to get her to drive them to Folkestone to pick up some ham. ‘It’s in a little glass’

Howell is Peter Serafinowicz. I love him in this sketch https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=peter%20serafinowicz%20estate%20agent&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9b6fa224,vid:ysshlzqDvvU,st:0

Couldn't Manny always play the piano, but he was the only one who could; and Bernard was claiming to be an accomplished player as well, to impress the woman he fancied - so Manny had to play (from underneath, with spoons!!) and Bernard pretended that it was him playing?!

Manny on the phone to the publisher/wholesaler, placing an order:

"Complete Trollope... no, not you!"

Do we need to be careful of spoilers here?

IIRC Manny hadn't played the piano before and that was part of the ridiculous joke of it all. I heard it was based on a somewhat true story of Bill Bailey and his musical skills.

Honestly, I had a friend at school who picked up a harmonica and just started playing it. She was a little kid - she had no musical training at that point. She had a really impressive brain. I can't even explain it, but it's probably a bit like Bill Bailey's. She came preloaded with brain stuff that I didn't have!

Bit rich coming from a prostitute robot from the future. (not you, Manny, obviously)

Oops, yes, apologies re spoilers - that was remiss of me.

You have left me with no other option but to go back and enjoy study the entire run of the programme again now!

I'm really not too worried about spoilers don't worry! It is 25 years old after all 😵

No. The joke was him sitting down at a piano and saying how he always wished he was allowed to play as a child but his parents forced him to practice his football. Then there’s classical music on the radio and he finds he can play along.

The one where Bernard finds out his old girlfriend faked her death to get away from him 😂

Oh and the one where Fran goes to a hens night and they all end up leaving in separate cabs. "You slept with my Dad????"

Utterly brilliant show.

Loved it!

My claim to fame is that Tamsin Greig sat next to me in Infants. We were the top readers in the class. We went to each others birthday parties.

However I changed school going into juniors and haven't seen or heard of her since, and that was over 50 years back. I remember seeing her name on the credits, wondering if it was the same person and thinking "no, can't be'. My mum who liked her on The Archers ( she was much too prim and proper to like BBC!) heard her being interviewed on R4 and told me she'd heard my old school friend on the radio. She was talking of growing up in the same part of London I grew up in, and clocked who it was.

I often wonder if she remembers me. Tamsin, if you're reading this, my initials were A.M!

I think I particularly enjoyed it because I ran/owned a 2nd-hand bookshop when it came out here in Australia. I joked with the customers that I wanted Bernard to open his shop across the road from mine.

I saw Dylan Moran live at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and he was pretty funny but not that fabulous. Was a bit disappointed. But the characters of Bernard, Fran & Manny together were genius.

Borrowed the 1st season dvd from the library and just watched the 1st two episodes with OH. We had both forgotten just how brilliant it is, laughed so much.

Does make me want to drink wine though.

This has to be my favourite episode! So funny!

That's because nobody is prepared to admit that wine doesn't actually have a taste.