Customer Reviews

The Complete Black Books

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Oddly enough, Comedy is the hardest thing for people to agree on.
Now, I have to say, I am open to enjoying many forms of comedy, but Black Books consistently has me going into seizures of laughter. I don't know why, but the unique and particular TIMING in their shows is the key to my personal HUMOR button. Mind you, I love FAWLTY TOWERS, and I LOVE Eddie IZZARD stand up, but Black Books never fails to throw me into hysterical fits of laughter when the afore-mentioned items have even grown cold.
Black Books touches a sarcasm bone I didn't know existed. Normally I enjoy the standard issue sarcasm and high-brow humor, but Black Books takes all that one step further and even adds a little Simon Pegg and his stark, straight-man-humor--as was so aptly illustrated in Shaun of the Dead-- and integrates that to Black books as well.
Black Books has a little of "everything" in it, as long as the everything is BRITISH humor. And I have to say it tickles my funny bone every single time I watch it. I can't say enough GOOD about BLACK BOOKS. But like all comedy, you have to see it yourself to determine if it is funny to you personally. So try an episode, give it a shot. And make your own determination. Honestly, it's the best $45 I ever spent.

Watching "Black Books" is the cinematic equivalent of a nonsensical Woody Allen novel - nothing makes much sense, the plot is as dubious as the characters, and the one-liners keep coming at breathless speed. Still, it is this zany, goofy, flat-out bizarreness that makes "Black Books" such an unexpected treat.

Be forewarned however, that this may not be for everyone. You definitely have to be a little 'out there' to get it. If you like straight-forward comedy such as "Fawlty Towers" or more languid, slow-paced comedy such as "Father Ted", then you may NOT like this, primarily because the entire show is a bit deranged and set in a mad, mad world that is entirely dialog-driven. You MUST be a fan of the written word to 'get' most of the comedy here, and you certainly have to be a bit spaced out to appreciate the finer moments here. Fans of "Little Britain" and the morbid "The League of Gentlemen" will readily fall in love with this show.

On paper, "Black Books" looks rather unremarkable. A self-loathing lunatic book-shop owner hires a fat, squat, balding hippie as his book-assistant. Thats pretty much it. But to watch this highly uninteresting concept take flight and become one of the greatest TV shows ever to grace Planet Earth is a revelation indeed. "Black Books" is a certifiable classic - near flawless in every way, and lead actor Dylan Moran proves that he is a master of comedy, both situational and slapstick.

A true work of art - this is one collection that you need to have in your possession. "Black Books" still remains a 'cult' show that not many people know about. In fact, its nowhere near the huge popularity of "Little Britain", but get it, watch it alone, and savor the spirit of true comedy.

Five Stars.

I wish they had sitcoms like this in America. This show is amazingly funny and gets funnier and funnier the more you watch it! I'm so glad that its finally being released on DVD in America.

I personally think that John Cleese's masterpiece Fawlty Towers is the funniest comedy series in the history of television. With that said however, Black Books is probably a close second. I bought these DVD's originally as PAL Region 2 imports from the UK, then bought a multiregion player to watch them on! Now I'm going to buy them again so that I can have the luxury of watching them on *any* player! This is comedy at it's best... well written, great characters, original storylines, and most importantly VERY funny! Now if they'd just get their act together and release Dylan Moran's two stand-up comedy DVD's, "Monster" and "Like, Totally".

Bernard Black is a perfectly normal bookstore owner, with the exception of the fact that he hates his customers, not to mention his annoyingly-upbeat sidekick, Manny. Fran keeps the peace, and all sorts of unlikely hijinks ensue. Series 2 slows down a bit on the laughs, but Series 3 is right back up there. If you take your TV seriously, Black Books might be a bit too irreverent or bizarre for you. But if you appreciate dry wit and the absurd, you'll like this show.

The English have a genre no one else has anywhere in the world. They call that comedies on television. Short less than half an hour episodes of situational humor positioned in 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 and 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 recuperate in his book store that becomes a haven for stray cats, though he hates cats, a flunked and failed accountant who is fired from his job because he is kind of abnormal for the job, both in looks and behavior. And he has a neighborly relation with the next door shop lady who is soon going to get out of business and 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 and less out of the way, funny or strange. The fun in American sitcoms or soap operas comes from the wit of the characters. The fun of English comedies comes from the situation and the slight details in the behavior, appearance, reactions of the characters that make them weird. There is always something unforeseen and 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 up in 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 and laughing like a baboon in 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 and hear it, record it and then multiply it one thousand time into a two or three hour long baboon laughter. That should make you both happy and sad for some time and 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

Black Books as a profoundly comic British TV show. Similar to Seinfeld, the show revolves around Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), Manny Bianco (Bill Bailey), and Fran Katzenjammer (Tamsin Greig) in Bernard's bookshop.

The combination of Bernard's rude, cynical demeanor toward customers and his friends is highly entertaining. Manny has transitioned to the shop from a high-stress regular job and now spends his time minding the shop while taking constant flak from Bernard. A wonderful dark comedy that you cannot find in America...anywhere. There's many great quotes that are instantly memorized thanks to the sheer aptness and unmistakable abusive nature for the moment. The constant wine drinking and smoking by characters is something rather absurd in American culture today, but Dylan Moran (also a writer of the scripts) manages to find many amusing methods to underline the characters' apparent addiction while keeping the show from dwelling on the fact through the episode.

Myself and many friends have fully enjoyed Black Books and plan on a marathon of the show. It's just a shame that, "The Complete Black Books" is only three seasons long. At only 6 episodes per season, it may seem a stretch for the price, but there are extra features available such as trailers for new seasons, outtakes, a few other shorts and additions, and commentary (which sometimes can get annoying and you don't get much that is interesting. The characters just sound like they're talking you through the whole scene with some of their backstage anecdotes). Commentary is the only real drawback for the seasons.

I highly recommend this to the audiences of British comedy. If you haven't watched anything from this genre before, this is a good start if you're not the type to easily hold contempt for people's vices or first impressions. The episodes are well written.

I saw some clips of this show online and I instantly bought the whole set when I found that I could get it for DVD Region 1

Black Books is an excellent British comedy about a small bookstore, its quirky owner, and his two friends. Every episode is funny and quotable in its own way, although the first episode is the best. The only bad thing I could say about this show is they should have made more episodes!

This collection gives you all three seasons (series in the UK) for less than the price of buying them individually. The minor flaw with this collection is that, unlike the collection released in Australia, this one consists of 3 full-size DVD cases in a flimsy box. The Australian version is a flat-pack, where the DVDs sit in plastic frames in a foldout that slides into a sleeve. That release is about half as wide as this one. On the other hand, if you want to lend the show out one season at a time to a friend, the individual cases in this set will be useful to you.

This series went from a complete unknown to a perenial favorite thanks to an inadvertant click on an Amazon recommended list. A few U-Tube pre-views later I plonked down the very reasonable price and gave it little more thought. From the first episode I was hooked.

#1 - Black Adder. Black Books is this classic serial revisited in spirit, but certainly not copied. The dynamic between the lead and the supporting cast are similar, but setting, acting and plot development allow for a very well sown comedy crop.

#2 Red Dwarf. The brief span of Black Books almost automatically relegates it behind Red Dwarf in the standings. However, while Red Dwarf's Lister is as funny and endearing as any character created, Black Books Bernard Black is far more identifiable, equally clever, and far more sardonic.

If you are a fan of eith Black Adder or Red Dwarf, this series is a must.

I don't know if I'm considered being a bit of a traitor when I say I like my comedy when it comes from across the pond. There are, or rather, were (RIP Arrested Development) some amazing comedies in America but I find myself always coming back to the Brit shows like the beloved Black Books here or Absolutely Fabulous, and Green Wing to name a few.

I've got a friend that said this previously was not available in Region 1 (only 2--which is for most of Europe, some of the Middle East and a few other countries while 1 is for the US and Canada). This had been on my holiday with list for a while, and no one bought it but then I saw the price had dropped and I jumped on it. I'm glad to see more things previously unavailable to America (and Canada) that is quality TV.

This show is absolutely hilarious. Even from just the pilot, I knew I'd love this show. Bernard Black as an introverted bibliophile and alcoholic and his only friend Fran Katzenjammer, and the accountant turned assistant to his book store Manny Bianco who is delightfully complacent (for the most part) after accidentally swallowing The Little Book of Calm. As goes with many comedies, this is a recipe for chaos and amusement as only Britain could do it.

My set arrived before I even expected it, in perfect condition. The discs (of which there are three--one for each 6 half hour episodes of the three series on each disc) play great and I am extremely satisfied.