Wednesday, 26 December 2007
08:55pm Black Books: Cooking The Books

This repeat season of Black Books begins Wednesday, December 26 at 8:55pm.

Bernard Black (Dylan Moran) loves his books and hates his customers. A foul-tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner, Bernard is grumpy, very grumpy.

He does not understand the ordinary world and has created his own safe haven within the grubby confines of his shop. Anyone attempting to buy a book from him is more likely to meet with the full force of his temper than they are to leave his shop with a purchase.

Strangely, Bernard's assistant Manny (Bill Bailey) manages to breathe life and light into Bernard's environment. Manny is laid back and considerate where Bernard is tense and embittered. Though he would never admit it, Bernard loves Manny, not least because Manny's unfailing optimism is the perfect foil for his own cynical outlook.

The only person who can give Bernard a run for his money is his friend Fran (Tamsin Greig), owner of Nifty Gifty, the gift shop next to Black Books. Fran is just as crazy and sardonic as Bernard and can be charmingly engaging one minute and totally paranoid the next.

If it weren't for Fran and Manny, Bernard would retreat troll-like behind his bookshop counter.

Black Books witnesses Bernard's forced contact with the outside world and charts the comical consequences.