Black Books Complete Box Set - DVD ( - Dir: )

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

Customer Reviews of Black Books Complete Box Set

Lisino
Glasgow
18th November 2008

Underrated brilliance
One of my most favourite sitcoms of all time. Perfect performances, biting and surreal writing, daftness and cleverness in equal measure, great cameos from quality actors like Simon Pegg and Annette Crosbie: an absolute gem of a TV show.

Rarely do the scenes venture away from the squalor of Bernard Black's bookshop, but they don't need to. The three main characters' foibles perfectly balance each of the comic scenarios. God I wish I had written this!

MAJOR CLARET
Marlow, UK
16th November 2008

How Can This Not Be Funny ?!!
One reviewer gave this series just 1 * & seemed almost regretting having to do that ! Quite where that reviewers humour lies I really cannot guess. When so much that passes for "humour",either from the UK or the USA,is utter dross with shallow,vacuous & wooden characters churning out lines that could only be responded to by "canned" laughter, Black Books came like a breath of fresh air - well observed,with sharp,acidic yet truely funny script writing. I have watched this with many friends,some who work in either bookshops or record shops, & all could relate to much of the content of these shows & all found it seriously funny. In fact all of us give it 5 ***** !

Jansen Coolem
UK
1st October 2008

Humourless
Only gets 1 star because that's how many times I laughed through all 3 series. "One of the few genuine british comedies" they said. After watching this rubbish, that statement is funnier than anything in this. Can't even begin to describe how bad this is. Was totally sucked in by all the good reviews. I must be on a completely different comedy level to the people who gave these reviews. I want my money back NOW!!

Wrath
UK
31st July 2008

Absolutely Excellent!
I do remember catching the odd episode when it was broadcast but I really didn't pay too much attention to it then.

I recently received this item as a present and, to be honest, was slightly disappointed and thought it'd end up on ebay :-)

However, I watched the whole lot in just a couple of days. The writing is just fantastic and I haven't laughed that much in ages. Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey are fantastic and the complete extremes of characters works so well.

I really can recommend getting this box set, you won't regret it.

noggy1810
Ireland
24th July 2008

Some hilarity but on whole just falls short,
Brilliant heartwarming characters, great ideas and a audience willing "Black Books" on but somehow it just fails to make the grade of top top comedy. The acting is superb as is the premise but the jokes are a bit lacking. You will this comedy on but I felt slightly let down in the end as it fails to deliver total brilliance like "Father Ted", "Gavin and Stacey" and "The Royle Family" for example. Still good value for money.