
Black Books: Subsisting on the mushrooms in your hair

At the turn of the new millennium - as the clocks struck midnight and we braced ourselves for societal collapse - it felt like comedy was due for a bit of a refresh. New faces like Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson had already closed out the end of the 1990s with the surreal cult hit Spaced, and The Office was just around the corner, which would shake up the sitcom scene for good while rocketing Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to international stardom.
The early 2000s was a chance to be a bit more daring, more-so now that the stars of the time were already well established. The doors were open for up-and-coming comedians and writers to burst forth and while we were still a few years away from more off-the-wall shows like The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace - bringing with them such names as Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry and more - a young Dylan Moran would be one of the first to ring in the new millennium with his own brand of absurdist humour.
Perhaps not such a newcomer in the obvious sense, Moran was certainly one to watch on the comedy circuit. Beginning stand-up in 1992, he went on to win the So You Think You're Funny? award in 1993, followed by the Edinburgh Fringe's prestigious Perrier Award in 1996 (at 24, he was the second youngest person to do so). It was pretty clear the Irish comic was destined for loftier pursuits. To that end, we got Black Books and its wholly memorable anti-hero lead, Bernard Black.
How would you describe Bernard Black? Imagine a cross between the existentialist writer Albert Camus and the disaffected cynicism of John Cleese's Basil Fawlty - only with messier hair - and you've pretty much got it. Black Books is, on the surface at least, somewhat traditional in its format, boasting such tropes as a recognisable setting that comprises the show's major locations and a hapless bunch of characters who get into all sorts of scrapes. Hilarity ensues.

But the similarities between it and other formulaic sitcoms end here. This is Dylan Moran we're talking about and while he was new on the TV scene, he was already making a name for himself with his deadpan, almost Luddite, take on society via way of a dark, chain-smoking poet.
Set in the titular bookshop, misanthropy is Black Books' raison d'ĂȘtre, with Bernard Ludwig Black immediately thrust into the limelight as he verbally abuses customers, reads obscure hardbacks, and longs for his next cigarette.
Before we even see the main character, the opening credits set the tone, thanks to late composer Jonathan Whitehead's dreary, perhaps even discordant, guitar. Himself a veteran musician, Whitehead was no stranger to composing for surrealist comedy, with musical credits on The Day Today, Smack The Pony, and Brass Eye. Our first hint at what's to come in Moran's sitcom lies fiercely in those opening 30 seconds.
At once, Black Books feels like a cult hit, popular among serious comedy fans but ultimately a product of its time. However, it ran for three series, which is arguably a good stopping point for many shows before they go on to become tired. It also won two BAFTAs, as well as the Bronze Rose at the Rose d'Or festival, stamping its brand of humour internationally as well as in the UK.
But being Moran's first sitcom project, some big names were called in to lend a hand (that's not to say he couldn't have achieved what he did solo). With a joint creation credit going to Graham Linehan, and scripts being co-written by Father Ted alumni Arthur Mathews and Andy Riley, as well as Kevin Cecil of Trigger Happy TV, Armstrong & Miller, and Little Britain fame, Black Books had a formidable writing team powering it.
All the show needed now was an equally strong ensemble cast; people who could match Dylan Moran's comedic elements and animated outbursts while still bringing their own style onto the set.
Although Bernard Black was a force in his own right, his stance as the people-hating bookshop owner whose only real company was cheap red wine, endless smoking, and a chastising slant on the world could only do so much. He needed some balance in his life or, at the very least, a degree of conflict. Enter: Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig.

Neither Bailey nor Greig were mere complements to the diatribes of Dylan as Mr. Black; they were a necessary part of the show's format. The former was already a contemporary of Moran on the stand-up circuit (he was nominated for the Perrier Award in the same year), while the latter had envious acting chops that could be utilised in sitcoms and more serious dramas alike. Together, all three members of the main cast would bring their award-winning comic skills to Black Books in a way that mixes the absurdist aspects of the show with some world-class gag timing.
Bailey fulfils the more subservient, Igor-like role of Manny Bianco, a docile former accountant whose bug-eyed and domesticated enthusiasm serves largely to soak up Bernard's anger. The long, thin locks - complete with receding hairline and neatly trimmed beard - of the comedian are fodder for much of Moran's creative insults. Such lines as "you're a beard with an idiot hanging off," "he looks like a horse in a man costume," or being referred to as Ming the Merciless are instant classics.
If Manny is the obedient assistant to Bernard's tyranny, then Greig's character, Fran Katzenjammer (a German word allegedly co-opted by the English to refer to a hangover), is its more self-confident counter. Her close friendship with Bernard remains steadfast, but is often challenged by her sympathy towards Manny.
At this point, Tamsin was already becoming established as an actor. A small part in the 1994 sitcom Blue Heaven (written by Frank Skinner and also featuring Bailey in one episode) and appearing in a few episodes of Neil Gaiman's urban fantasy miniseries Neverwhere had already showed her range. More than capable of playing the straight character while also holding her own in a classic sitcom setting, there was simply no one else who could play Fran.

Episodes of Black Books are typically independent, with the exception of the first. We begin with Bernard, stressed out in his bookshop and talking on the phone with his accountant, as he ignores customers with a confident rudeness anyone who's ever worked in retail would be jealous of. We then meet Fran, operating her own small business next door, whose immediate idea to close up early and have some wine when Bernard enters, says everything about their relationship. These people love their booze.
So far, it all feels rather familiar. Then we encounter Manny, whose hectic lifestyle as a city accountant has him seeking out the Little Book of Calm in Bernard's bookshop. His accidental ingesting of the mindfulness book - which assimilates into his system, as we're told by a doctor played by Martin Freeman - causes his persona to change into that of a zen-like guru. However, an altercation with some skinheads leaves his newfound powers of calm dazed, and he finds himself in the company of Bernard Black.
And thus we have all three: a drunk bookshop owner who snipes at the world, his close friend whose promiscuity is self-evident from the start, and a bewildered sidekick whose meek nature makes him the perfect sponge for Bernard's ire.
We watch as the trio get lost in a deluge of ill luck in a tried-and-tested situational format befitting any classic, while also giving us a taste of the surreal world of Black Books as both a struggling shop and a dark wonderland of ridiculousness. Scenarios like trying to turn the place into a fancy restaurant where staff should only ever speak French and "n' est pas de anything else", or Manny and Bernard attempting to write a children's book and becoming so anxious about their assured fame they end up burning it, are memorable episodes penned from Dylan Moran's mind.
Oh, and the guest appearances! Black Books is a veritable who's who of new millennium comedy. The aforementioned Simon Pegg makes an appearance as a rival (and somewhat psychotic) bookshop manager; you can expect to see Nick Frost in one episode, as well.

Add onto that small and big roles for the likes of Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Brydon, Kevin Eldon, David Walliams, Julian Rhind-Tutt (who would go on to star in Green Wing with Greig), Olivia Colman, Omid Djalili, Graham Linehan and more, make for a star-studded show. It's not just younger comedy actors, either. There was also space for such veterans as One Foot In The Grave's Annette Crosbie and 'Allo 'Allo!'s Sam Kelly, who play Manny's parents in the episode Moo-Ma And Moo-Pa.
All of this is encased in a melancholy that suggests an air of undignified loss and a desire for solitude, with a bookish backdrop that's always present. Bernard is as equally incompetent as Basil Fawlty, Tony Hancock, and any number of other sitcom characters, with his poor hygiene and hopeless chances at romance, but there's a sense of the tortured artist underneath, bubbling away. But he won't get out, because Moran won't let him.
What Black Books isn't, however, is a show that acknowledges politics, either of the world around it or TV sitcoms themselves. It's a vehicle for Dylan Moran's antisocial, misanthropic comedy persona, blending traditional sitcom tropes with a degree of absurdity that's just enough to be off-the-wall and eccentric, but without pushing it into that "weird for the sake of weird" territory.
It's a shame Moran never did make another series or, in fact, write any other sitcom in the years since. Yes, there was the short-lived Stuck, which aired in 2020 and consisted of five 15-minute episodes, but even he himself doesn't describe it as a "sitcom". Plus, it seems not many people watched that. And there's his long-gestating BBC comedy project Dr Cosmos - but nothing's been heard of it since 2021. No, when it comes to Dylan Moran acting, you can look to his appearances in Run Fatboy Run or his more serious role in John Michael McDonagh's Calvary, but for many of us, he will always be the wine-glugging bookshop owner with the mushrooms in his hair.
Where to start?

Series 2, Episode 1 - The Entertainer
When Fran attempts to learn the piano to compensate for her business closing down, Manny discovers he has a somewhat freakishly unnatural talent for playing complex music, including classical pieces and jazz.
What ensues is a duplicitous attempt at flattery and romance, as Bernard convinces a girl he fancies that he can play flawlessly, while Fran needs to show her blind teacher she's been practising. It's an episode that perfectly captures those classic sitcom elements while allowing for more ludicrous setups to take centre stage. And it affords Bailey the chance to do what he does best.
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Love comedy? Find out moreThe Complete Black Books - Series 1, 2 & 3

This Black Books box set appears to be another re-release as the three series of the comedy have already been bought out in a box set before. If you don't yet own Dylan Moran's cult comedy it will be very much worth picking this up though.
Dylan Moran stars as the bohemian, and frequently drunk, owner who has one major problem with his line of work: he hates customers. Help is soon at hand, however, in the form of mild-mannered Manny (Bill Bailey), who proves to be something of a star at selling books, and Fran (Tamsin Greig), who owns the shop next door...
First released: Saturday 12th August 2006
- Released: Sunday 1st September 2013
- Distributor: 4DVD
- Region: 2
- Discs: 3
- Catalogue: C4DVD10515
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- Distributor: 4DVD
- Region: 2
- Discs: 3
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: C4DVD10052
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- Released: Tuesday 9th August 2011
- Distributor: 4DVD
- Region: 2
- Discs: 3
- Catalogue: C4DVD10385
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- Released: Tuesday 13th November 2007
- Region: 1
- Discs: 3
- Subtitles: English
Buy and sell old and new items
Search for this product on eBay
BCG may earn commission on sales generated through the links above.