Wine and Whine

From left to right: Tamsin Greig, Dylan Moran
and Bill Bailey

In Black Books (2000, 2002, 2004), there is no talking, no mobiles, no walkmans and...none of anything else! It's a place where the owner is always right and the customer is encouraged to leave. And, of course, they always get service with a smile.

Dylan Moran plays Benard Black, the wine guzzling owner of Black Books. He's an ill-tempered, bossy, rude Irishman and we love him for it. Bill Bailey balances him off as Manny Bianco, a kind and generous soul with a tendancy towards high stress levels. Fran Katzenjammer, their unachieving and loveless friend, played by Tamsin Greig, completes the trio. This hilarious threesome live in a shut-in world of their own filled with wine, cigarettes and shenanigans.  



The three seasons allow us to peak in on the day to day toils and troubles of these characters. Most of the storylines occur in and around the book shop, but we do get a chance to see the shops nearby and occasionally, we wander off in London. All of the seasons were filmed in front of a live studio audience. Unfortunately, this gives a kind of laugh track feel, which can be bothersome and tiring. This British sitcom offers a little something for everyone. At times, the humour will be more intellectual and at others, it'll be submerged in silly physical comedy and slapstick. 

Dylan Moran

The first season manages to make us love these delightfully unrefined characters, who suffer through some silly and compromising situations. They become a little family of friends that care for each other in their own way. Some outrageous secondary characters add a lot of panache to the stories. The second season continues this tradition. Here, Fran finds herself jobless. However, there is very little introduction to this fact and it's a little desorienting; it slightly feels as if there's a missing episode. Nonetheless, it doesn't need to be so blatantly said as it is easy to catch up. The thrid and final season offers some of my favorite episodes. This season is slightly less over the top and acquires some maturity. When we initially meet the characters, it feels like they are caricatures of themselves. Through the seasons, we get to know them better and eventually, we get a glimps at the real person inside. This could be partly attributed to the time span between the seasons.

Many special guests make memorable appearances such as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Peter Serafinowicz. The DVDs feature commentary tracks, outakes, deleted scenes and other special tidbits. It's simply a pleasure to crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy the dynamics of these wonderful characters.