Customer Reviews
So Funny I Woke People Up With My laughing - By: T. Williams, 26 Jun 2008 
I had never watched Black Books on television but had heard of it. I am a big fan of Bill Bailey & had been tempted before to buy it but had never been quite sure. Both me & my partner have recently had a bit of a binge on DVD's & I decided to give this ago & ordered it. I am so glad I did as I just loved it. All the 3 main characters work so well together & they have got some great guest stars to add to the humour. There is a feel of Father Ted to it, not surpisingly as both the writers of Father Ted were involved.
I would definately highly recommend buying this series, very funny from start to finish.
great value for an average show - By: Hard 2 Pleze, 10 Jun 2008 
Picture the scene if you will... Stuckin France, no British TV, ordering series & films on Amazon & on a budget...
This series is not the best but... it will make you smile & you won't be able to resist the characters. It's not elaborate or expensive, but it's very easy watching. No really offensive stuff, just pleasing, smile-bringing, gentle humour. Part of me wishes it was a tad more vicious - I think that Dylan Moran is capable of far more extreme comedy, but with this he chose to please the masses. It is absolutely, without doubt, worth the tenner it's going to cost you!
Who said books, what's more black books, could not be hilarious? - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 07 Jun 2008 The English have a genre no one else has anywherein the world. They call that comedies on television. Short less than half an hour episodes of situational humor positionedin one particular social niche. In this case it is a marginal book store held by a social drop out who hates all other human beings & yet cannot survive without constant contact with some of these strange animals we call human beings. Unable to love, unable to have any sentimental life with any person that would approach a gender definition. Yet he recuperatein his book store that becomes a haven for stray cats, though he hates cats, a flunked & failed accountant who is fired from his job because he is kind of abnormal for the job, bothin looks & behavior. And he has a neighborly relation with the next door shop lady who is soon going to get out of business & remain behind like an errant animal. And the three of them are going to live the daily life of this book store. But it is nothing close to a social drama or anything social. It is nothing like a soap opera or even a sitcom. Those are more American, more normal, banal & less out of the way, funny or strange. The funin American sitcoms or soap operas comes from the wit of the characters. The fun of English comedies comes from the situation & the slight detailsin the behavior, appearance, reactions of the characters that make them weird. There is always something unforeseen & unforeseeable because so much out of the way that we could not even think of it as being possible. Each episode has one unifying element that may get some follow upin the next episode, but there is no obligation. So the episode is not supposed to end on any suspense but on a punch line that signs the end as inescapable. And that final touch or detail is so amazing that you can only sit there flabbergasted & laughing like a baboonin the jungle shade. Have you ever heard one? Very weird, the laughter of the baboon. If you haven't I would advise you to go fast to some jungle & hear it, record it & then multiply it one thousand time into a two or three hour long baboon laughter. That should make you both happy & sad for some time & give you some pleasant dreams. Just like Black Books if you can put your hands or your dirty grubby fatty fingers on the series.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Bernard Black is God!! - By: Helen Morris, 05 Jun 2008 How did I never watch this when it was on TV? Why did it take one very drunken/hungover weekend with someone who owned the boxset to introduce me to the best comedy show I think I have ever seen? A show that no matter how many times you see it it always makes you laugh! I have to admit that I am ashamed of myself for not realising the sheer brilliance & genius of Dylan Moran & Bill Bailey until now.
From start to finish Black Books does not disappoint. As with anything there are some episodes which are stronger than others but there is always something to laugh at, whether it just be the terms of endearment that Bernard calls poor MannyMoo. The characters are larger than life & their relationship, as with that of next door neighbour Fran, is a complete riot. The way they talk to each other spawning many a new phrase between me & my friends.
There are so many fantastic episodes, Manny's fear of 88 degrees, The children's book, where Bernard gets locked out of the shop for the night all laugh out loud comedy gems. Also the quotes: 'Bernard I ate your bees', 'It's hot inside the worm', 'The wiggle of Judas', 'The Little Book of Clam' & Fran's singing with an Irish accent are worth buying the boxset alone.
I mithered a friend of mine to by this set for weeks, eventually he gavein & bought it. I got an email from him saying he had to space out the episodes as he didn't want it to end! Praise indeed. It's a shame that there were only 3 series but it doesn't make it any less essential for anyone who loves to laugh.
Spend your 'leatherbound pounds' on this & enjoy!
I believe in God again. He's called Dylan Moran. - By: Mr. Tagli Regis, 28 May 2008 As a poor little Frenchman surrounded with poor little French comedies, I've discovered Black Books on Amazon, totally at random. To be honest, I bought it only because it was really cheap & the DVDs were subtitled.
Now it has become one of my favourite series ever. It's short, it's a little bit uneven, but it has so many classic lines & moments I can't count them. The re-reading of a children's book, Fran drawing a sex scene, the prostitute robot from the future, the French putain de kitchen, Bernard selling hamburgers, Simon Pegg's smile, Jason the glamorous adventurer, Frankenstein's wine, Manny's job appointmentin the bar, Motorhead, the cat killer... & on & on.
The boxset is not only really cheap, it also has a great bonus : the outtakes. They're not all subtitled (I remember the second series wasn't) but they're sometimes even more funny than the actual show - & THAT means something.
And of course I discovered Dylan Moran. Completely unknownin France, he became one of my favourite actorsin just two episodes time. His timing is brilliant, & he's so versatile ! He reminds me of the great Chris Barriein Red Dwarf - same perfect knowledge of humor & satire.
So if you don't know Black Books, go & buy it. If you don't speak English that well, there are english subtitles. And if you don't understand english language at all, just bloody learn it... Black Books alone is worth it ! ;-)
