The first in a series of 3, this is a must for anyone who finds the inhabitants of Craggy Island funny! Imagine meeting someone with a bit of a drinking problem, hates people he knows,...and then also hates people he doesn't know; and you've got Bernard Black. Black runs his bookshop the way that Father Jack would run a counselling session for those with a nervous disposition... Next door you have Fran, the man chasing yet slightly neurotic gifty type shop owner who tries very hard, but just doesn't! To this mess, we then need to add Manny -Bill Bailey's long haired, hippy type accountant with a really bad dress sense. Manny finds himself (after a really weird day), working for Black as his assistant/slave etc. You'll laugh then cringe at the exploits they go through ranging from 'don't sell the books as then you have to replace them!!', to making a bottle of classic wine good enough to kill a Pope, to eating scramble eggs out of a shoe! However, we find out that most of these problems can be solved with a good bottle of wine and some general customer abuse!

Perhaps not as widely known as the Father Ted series, this carries on in the same vein of humor that can only be truly carried with an Irish accent. Dylan Morgan is brilliant, yet abrasive, as Bernard Black. He manages to make you really believe that a book shop is just somewhere for him to read and drink in, and customers are just something to be avoided. Bill Bailey manages to combine the innocence of Father Dougal with a woodstock sense of happiness, while still fitting in a damm good impression of Jesus just in the first episode. Tamsin Greig hams it up wonderfully as Fran, the symbolic 'mother figure' of the team. Poor Fran is so busy keeping an eye on Bernard and Manny, she manages to invariably foul up her own life at just about every opportunity! Look out for passing appearances from most of the well known names in modern comedy as our intrepid trio sail from one disaster to another.

As a last thought, this is definately a must for anyone who's ever worked in a shop and found themselves with homicidal thoughts about those really annoying customers. Let Bernard Black show you the way to true customer satisfaction, that is... a satisfying way of dealing with them. You'll find yourself thinking or a career in book sales, guaranteed!

Thoroughly recommended, especially with a bottle (or three) of wine!

I first watched this series when it was on channel 4, and had forgotten about it until recently. I thought I would buy it as I'd forgotten most of the episodes, and it's still just as hilarious! I made the mistake of watching them all too fast - it's very addictive! However after a few weeks I'm ready to watch them all over again.. so the DVD definitely has replay value for me!

absolutely fantastic series staring bill bailey and dylan moran. extremely funny and witty, a must have.

You either love the humour or hate it. I think its hysterical!I watched it on channel 4 in 2002 and when I saw it for sale on e-bay I thought I'd just get 1st series and see if it was as funny as I remembered. It was even better, so I'm now bidding for next 2 series. HA!