Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Black Books

Page: (1)2

Regrettable Juvenilia

20:29 / 11.03.04

Could have sworn we already had a thread about this, but anyway...

It's back, and Bernard has hit new levels of squalor. The real star of this episode however is Simon Pegg, as the sinister but pally chain bookstore manager. He gets most of the best lines - like the one about being a cool guy who "likes the Stereophonics, rides a scooter", or the one where he calls Manny a "rudderless hippy"...

"Get your own human plaything!"

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

20:35 / 11.03.04

Peggy definitely stole this episode. Top stuff, spot on.

nedrichards is confused

21:32 / 11.03.04

Still no line as good as the genius of the first episode:

Bernard to Manny: "Whores will have their trinkets".

Love the black books.

NotBlue

17:25 / 12.03.04

They didnt always have that awful inappropriate canned laughter did they?

bigsunnydavros

18:17 / 12.03.04

God yes - back in black! I have to agree with the consensus thus far - Pegg owned this episode, and I hope we'll be seeing more of his character throughout this series. The line that went something like "And they're thinking, who is this hippy, and does he have a hunting knife strapped to his shin?" had me laughing for a good five minutes solid!

I think the canned laughter has always been there, but I'm not sure - I tend to block out canned laugh-tracks when I'm watching comedy shows.

By the by, is it wrong that I find Dylan Moran (as Bernard or otherwise) kinda sexy? It feels so wrong, but yet there's a certain HOTTness to his brand of bumming about that I just can't resist.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

18:29 / 12.03.04

It is a HOTTness we should all strive for.

I don't really have a whole lot to say, it's all there! It's great. Father Ted holds up mighty well for something that's... 7, or 8?! years old after it too.

I've never really minded laughter tracks, sometimes... sometimes I think shows kinda fall flat without them. But, having said that, I don't really ever notice them being there either.

bigsunnydavros

18:29 / 12.03.04

Heh - just noticed what it says in the topic abstract. Yay, Dylan Moran is officially "oddly attractive" - I'm not alone!

bigsunnydavros

18:34 / 12.03.04

The Black Books/Father Ted double bill is an effective one, and there's no mistaking it. When the (much different but equally ace) aceness* of Six Feet Under is taken into account, then Thursday night looks damned good on the TV front. I approve.

*Yeah, I just used the term "ace aceness" - so sue me.**

**Please don't sue me!

Squirmelia

18:35 / 12.03.04

I was a bit worried that Bernard was becoming a bit Mr Bean-like in the last episode. Hopefully Manny will sort him out.

bigsunnydavros

18:40 / 12.03.04

No need to worry Squirmelia: even if Bernard does become a bit Mr Bean-like (and I didn't get that vibe from this ep, but hey!) at least he'll still be HOTT, which is more than can be said for Mr Bean!

■

18:45 / 12.03.04

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh. Missed it!
Right, Dylan Moran came in to our shop a while back and bought an inordinate number of fold out pocket maps of the USA. I want to see the gag he uses them for. Did I miss it?

Mourne Kransky

18:56 / 12.03.04

I can feel bits of my brain falling away like a wet cake...

Genius.

FinderWolf

20:52 / 12.03.04

This must be a UK show, right? Never heard of it here in the US.

Mourne Kransky

21:12 / 12.03.04

'tis indeed, Hunterwolf. By the man responsible, largely, for Father Ted. Of course, that will mean nothing to you unless you've seen Father Ted. Sheesh, imagine a life without Father Ted. Or Father Jack.

Damn fine, Black Books. Glad to see it remains as irrealist as ever in series two.

Ringo

22:55 / 12.03.04

Its series three now Xoc, and Dylan Moran is writing it on his own, I think.

I think I am in love with Fran.

ONLY NICE THINGS

23:39 / 12.03.04

Gah! Knew I needed never to leave the house again, and this is why. and I missed it! Damn me and my knowing people!

And Dylan Moran is a whole world of HOTT, but you already knew that.

_pin

16:32 / 13.03.04

Moran's name, from waht I could tell from my far away and tiny telly, is one of three, but he also gets his own name for directing. I may be making this up. He is HOTT.

So am I alone in thinking Pegg actually wasn't that good? The lines were fucking great but... no. He wasn't doing it for me.

Am I also the only one who actually finds the slapstick thing of Bernard's squallor not that funny? Like when he ate the mushroom from his hair?

Why am I soundnig like a hater?? I still love this show. Fran! Living in the wendyhouse with puppets! Also, Fran describing Cornwall! Why is no one liking Fran here??

_pin

16:33 / 13.03.04

Other then Ringo, who I only just noticed.

bigsunnydavros

16:37 / 13.03.04

I think I always underestimate how funny Fran can be, to be honest with you. When I think about the show it's Bernard and Manny that dominate, but when I actually watch the damn thing, she's just great, isn't she. The puppet thing was probably the best visual gag in this episode! I want those puppets!

Still rate the slapstick squallor though - Moran just has a certain way about him that carries it... *swoon*

Our Lady Has Left the Building

15:56 / 16.03.04

I missed the first episode, which I wasn't as distraught as I thought I'd be, because the second series was runny poo. Is it repeated, or am I going to have to miss out and wait for the second episode? Is Moran scripting it himself again, or has he got Grahame Linehan helping him again?

■

16:41 / 16.03.04

Tamsin Greig is one of the sexiest women on the planet.

The Strobe

16:43 / 16.03.04

the second series was runny poo

I'd disagree entirely. Why do you say this, Flowers?

"See me for what I am, OK?"

18:51 / 16.03.04

I don't think Tamsin Greig's particularly sexy (sorry Cube), but she is very funny.

It's just that HOTT Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey are so much funnier.

And Simon Pegg was also great.

Thursday thursday thursday thursday thursday

Our Lady Has Left the Building

10:33 / 17.03.04

I just think that Dylan was alright at churning out stories by rote, Bernard gets a girlfriend, you just know at which point Bernard's going to do something ghastly, the holiday finale was devoid of humour and fell back on the 'let's throw every holiday cliche we have at them'. There was none of the inspired surrealism of the first series, like Manny in the Sweeney, the guy with the beard fetish, or the first two episodes which are practically textbook brilliance.

autran

10:52 / 24.03.04

Whenever I watch Black Books I get the urge to become Bernard Black.

Regrettable Juvenilia

07:59 / 26.03.04

On the basis of last night's episode, I think I already am.

Evidence:

"I'm about to turn you into a moo-corpse!"

"If you don't get rid of them I'm going to stop playing 'who shall I kill first?' in my head and just go with what feels natural. I'm thinking first me, then you."

bigsunnydavros

09:54 / 26.03.04

There... there was a bar... under... the table!

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

09:57 / 26.03.04

You know, much as I love so much of this show... I keep finding myself thinking "not as funny as it should be" when I watch it. All the elements are there, but it's just not quite there all the time. Like it's slightly dulled, or something.

What's happened to Pegg, eh? The first episode remains the best, for me. I had imagined the rival store story would be continued...

Warewullf

10:51 / 26.03.04

Yeah, it suffers in comparison to the first series, which was gold.

Thebar under the table was bizzare but damn funny. Loved the fact the mother cleaned Bernard's suit and it was actually white...

Jack Vincennes

11:10 / 26.03.04

I've not seen either of the other series, so maybe it's just a 'joy at new things' reaction here... but I'm really enjoying this. The bar under the table was brilliant, as was Bernard, post-wash, with white suit and fluffy hair. And Fran to Manny's mum -"Well, the sex is incredible. He's just a beast in bed."

Out of interest, what was better about the previous series? I'm sure I'm going to get it on DVD eventually, just wondered what it is that makes it funnier.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

11:23 / 26.03.04

I agree with Suedehead, though there were things of beauty last night, like the bar under the table, they left me feeling that they were building to something really big that never really arrived. There was much more farce to be had about Manny being part owner of Black Books or engaged to Fran. And the slightly naff Friendsesque "we just want you to be happy" ending.

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:25 / 26.03.04

...Which was completely undercut by how appalled Manny was once he realised he'd just agreed to spend a week with them. The point being, for many people, it doesn't matter how nice your parents are to you, they can still drive you mad if you have to spend more than an hour with them.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

11:51 / 26.03.04

The thing I find is it always hints at being slightly better than it eventually is... all the lines/plots seem achingly obvious at points. It just doesn't feel like they're really going for it. Whatever it may be.

It may be the show, or it may be channel 4's trailer heavy mentality showing all the best bits for the entire week before-hand so when it finally comes the funniest bits aren't that funny anymore...

Any trailers for 6FU? No.

_pin

22:32 / 11.04.04

Well Thursday's ep is probablly the first in a long time to make me laugh out loud.

Also, he was just a slightly less posh Haus, no? Can I call Haus Captain Pants now?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

08:09 / 12.04.04

Yes, when the film of Barbelith is made, we have our Haus.

Unfortunately I thought it was shit. They had two situations and no idea where to go with either of them. The cat idea would have probably worked as a A plot on it's own. Whether, if it were removed from this episode, they could have found funny things to do with Jason I don't know, each sketch seemed to limp along, the jokes weren't really coming.

In the first series they all had their own definite characters, each of them would do daft things but their own individual strengths would help each other out (Manny's accountancy, Fran's knowledge of the most painful parts of Bernard's body). Now though they're three complete idiots only one of them has an Irish accent. The highlights of this series (bearing in mind I missed the first episode) for me were when they were treated like individual characters, Manny with his parents, Fran at the Hen Weekend, Bernard with the gamblers.

Page: (1)2

Add Your Reply