Black Books

Amazing human and closet humorist, The Frog Queen, had me sit down in between running around and being incredibly social and terribly popular (ha!) at the WCHC and watch the first few episodes of the BBC series, Black Books. Though I was exhausted from the long hours, I really enjoyed it and made a mental note to watch the episodes again, when I wasn't falling asleep. I'm glad I did, and am grateful to the Frog Queen for turning me on to this great series.

Created by, and starring, Dylan Moran (You'll remember him from Shaun of the Dead), Black Books is the story of slob and book purveyor, Bernard Black. Black doesn't like people, keeping up with his accounts, or much of anything besides smoking and drinking, and is generally pretty cranky. Joined by accountant Manny (Bill Bailey) and next-door-shop-owner Fran (Tamsin Grieg), Black fumbles his way through numerous situations with classic British hilarity.

My favorite episode so far begins here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFHyevlB9AU , on Manny's first day. If you need a short break from prop building and a crappy economy, this is a good start!