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Black Books - The Complete Series 1-3 (Box Set)One of the few genuinely outstanding British comedy shows of the past decade, Black Books unites excellent comedic performances, very funny scripts, and plenty of rewatch value. The concept is simple enough. Bernard (expertly played by Dylan Moran) runs a bookshop. The only problems are he can't stand people, hates customers, and would far prefer to be barking out cutting remarks and drinking wine. Still, it's after drinking much of the aforementioned wine that he offers Manny (Bill Bailey, again in terrific form) a job. Manny accepts, and finds his daily life involves taking abuse from Bernard, while remaining strangely and resolutely upbeat. Fran (Tamsin Greig) meanwhile also likes her wine, and finds herself stuck between the two of them, with a few odd encounters of her own thrown in too. So far nothing particularly out of the ordinary, right? Well, mix in some of the creative force behind Father Ted, combine those aforementioned performances, and simmer to the point where episode after episode garners a cocktail of sniggers and belly laughs, and you have something really rather special. Like many of the best shows, the curtain has come down on Black Books after only three series. But the long-lasting legacy are episodes that are set to be enjoyed for a long, long time to come. --Simon Brew |
Average User Rating: 80% (35 Reviews) | |
| 5 / 5 | Excellent
Kieran Cooper (Devon, England) - 21 July 2006 My other half bought me the previous version of this box set as an anniversay present. She chose brilliantly. The writing here is incredible - I laughed so much that I literally ached for ages afterwards. Even now, we will quote to each other sections of this. The true testament to Black Books is to be found in the roll call of guest stars, many of whom have gone on to much greater things, including approximately half the stars of "Shaun Of The Dead"! Black Books humour works on so many levels that it can't fail to raise a laugh. Look out for Bernard, Manny and Fran dancing on disc three, and Manny's attempts to avoid the heat on disc one. And the attempt at producing Frankenstein's wine. And the results of Manny's coffee machine combined with The Sweeny. Hell, there are too many highlights. Just watch it and enjoy.... Read Full Review » |
| 5 / 5 | Gutted I never saw it when it was on TV
P. Burgham "Pedros" (Chester, England) - 26 April 2007 I had never watched or really heard of Black Books when it was originally on as I was at university. But when Amazon sent this as a recommendation and looked at the cast who I knew and like from shows/films Dylan Moran (Shaun of the Dead), Tamsin Greig (Green Wing) and Bill Bailey (Nevermind the Buzzcocks & Hot Fuzz). I thought based on this it was worth a try and was extremely happy I did. The first series was created by Father Ted and IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan and Dylan Moran. It all starts of in with a small book shop owner Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), the owner of a bits and bobs shop next door Fran (Tamsin Greig) and a stressed out accountant Manny (Bill Bailey). Manny ends up getting a job with Bernard in the shop and becomes his tortured and foolish assistant. In the first series there are lots of funny story lines involving priceless wine, impersonating a policeman and installing a new security system. In this series there are guest appearances from Martin Freeman (The Office) and Nick Frost (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). In the second series the relationship between Bernard and Manny becomes even more like a married couple. The second series see Black books get even funnier with some hilarious episodes based around teaching a gangster to read, a sleazy landlord, the bookshop becoming like a mini starbucks and going on holiday. In this series there are again plenty of great guest stars in episodes with Johnny Vegas (Ideal), Rob Brydon (Marrion & Geoff) and Jessica Stevenson (Royle Family & Spaced). The third and final series has some of the best episodes but the overall quality isn't quite as high. The series starts with Manny having left the book shop to work for an evil chain book shop as he cannot put up with the way Bernard treats him. The episode where Manny & Bernard write a book is one of the funniest things I've ever seen and consistently makes me laugh whenever I see it. I think the series saves the best to last and it manages to answer a lot of questions especially about Bernard which is done brilliantly. The guest stars in this series pick up in series 3 with Simon Pegg (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Lucy Davis (The Office Shaun of the Dead), Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave), Keith Allen (Robin Hood) and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing). It's a great shame that I as I'm sure there are other who discovered this gem of a comedy after it's original run but if you like shows like Father Ted, Spaced, Extras and Blackadder I think you'll love black books. ... Read Full Review » |
| 4 / 5 | Really, really funny... but lacking in Box-Settiness
Matthew Thorbes "Pads" (London, UK) - 17 November 2006 Black Books as a series is one of the most original, random and hilarious creations of the last ten years. There are moments of genius right from the off, with the ingestion of the Little Book Of Calm, deliberately inciting your own maiming at the hands of Millwall fans to get out of doing a tax return, an accountant being chased from his building by thousands of police officers and the joy of being a 'Birth Partner' all covered. /> Then you have another 18 episodes to go! I won't bang on too much about the series itself, as the other reviewers here have covered that in enough detail. The box set itself - having waited several months (and three release date changes) to purchase this legendary series in the hope of some Space-esque special features only available to the discerning, box-set owner - was a bit of a disappointment. It is just the three discs from the earlier individual series releases put into an admittedly snazzy cover. It does, however, feature a 'foreword' by Dylan Moran on the packaging itself which is really funny (if not entirely relevant!). In short, if you've never seen Black Books but like your humour dry, cynical and well executed, then this is for you. If you already own the earlier discs and are looking for better special features, then this is for someone else. Enter the thing. And you too can win, a thing... ... Read Full Review » |
| 5 / 5 | A genius series bursting with talent.
DangermouseZilla "He's the strongest, he's the quickest, he's the best!" (Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.) - 1 March 2007 Dylan Moran is one of the best comedy writers / performers around, Bill Bailey is one of today's most popular comedians, Tamsin Greig has since become a Lawrence Olivier award winning actress - this was always going to be great! I got this box-set and watched it all in a few days, by the final series I was willing it not to end. This is one of the best written, best acted, and best enjoyed comedies of the last few decades. Bernard (Dylan Moran) is my favourite character. He is so dark with a simmering genius which sometimes manages to break through his vitriolic outbursts. You soon realise that he is a deeply insecure character though; who probably needs Manny more than Manny needs him. In the very last episode you find something out which may explain why he is such an angry-at-life guy - but the reason turns out not to be as it seems. I'm sure it's not a big spoiler to say that he explains that he had a girlfriend that died, but it turns out she got a friend to lie so she could escape from him! Dylan Moran is a solid actor, far more capable than most - I hope to see him in a lot more stuff in future. Manny tends to be most peoples favourite character. He is the most off-he-wall of the three, and the performance from Bill Bailey is nothing short of perfect! He has a unique childishness about his beardy person, it might sound strange, but one of my ambitions is to give Bill Bailey a cuddle - he looks like the cuddliest person in the world! Fran gives the most sober aspect to the situations the 3 find themselves in - although ironically she is rarely ever sober (just like Bernard!). Again she gives a brilliantly believable performance and her character adds new tangents to the show. This won several awards, and rightly so. The first series was co-written with Graham Lineham - a comedy writer with so many other credits to his name (Father Ted, Big Train, The IT Crowd). For series 2 and three, other top comedy actors joined to write on the show. Dylan Moran remained constant as an actor and the result is three series with not 1 weak episode. There is an episode where Manny's mum and dad (moo-ma and moo-pa!) come to stay and I didn't feel the characters of Bernard and Fran were quite true to type - but it was still a great episode. Black books is an example of what can be achieved with a great team behind it - a comedy with characters you grow fond of and love to watch. They feel real even though some of the situations are outlandish and abstract. Do yourself a favour and watch this if you've never seen it before. ... Read Full Review » |
| 5 / 5 | A comedy gem!
Kermit (Doncaster) - 4 April 2007 When i started watching this i didnt think it was going to impress me as i had a few preconceptions of it being bad but a few people had told me how good it was and how much i would enjoy it. After the first episode i thought "Well ok this isnt too bad after all" so i watched another. After the second episode i though "actually this is pretty funny in places" so i watched another. />After the third episode i thought "this is funny in a lot of places" so i watched another. After the fourth episode i thought "This is hillarious! absolutely fantastic!" and so i was hooked now with only one episode left to watch i am thinking "I dont want this to be over, this can't be the end!" With how cheap this box set is you would be foolish to pass it up! well worth the money! ... Read Full Review » |
RRP
£43.97
Release Date
14 August 2006
Price Range
£9.99 - £27.49