Black Books

Title: Black Books

Genre: Comedy
Created By: Dylan Moran
Starring: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Tamsin Greig
TV Run: September 29, 2000 - April 15, 2004 (Channel 4)
Seasons: 3, Episodes: 18



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Available on Netflix
Recommended
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Oh here we go, don't you watch anything other than British TV shows?

Sorry, sorry. I have a huge affinity for British comedy and Black Books fits right in there. I actually found this show tangent with The IT Crowd. How are they connected? The brilliant Graham Linehan (@Glinner for you Twitter heads) is a writer for both of these series. So what's the story?

Image from Channel 4.

So you have this fellow, Bernard (played by Dylan Moran) who owns a book shop. Oh great, sounds fun. Well, he's about as indulgent as they come. Drinking, smoking, saying what's on his mind, bullying, being surly, and so on. His store is pretty run down and he doesn't really care about people actually buying anything.


I love how the Channel 4 character page describes Bernard, "The easiest way to describe Bernard would probably be: a smoking, drinking Irishman." (Channel 4)

Image from Channel 4.

Then you have his friend, Fran (played by Tamsin Greig). She runs a very two-sided character. On the one hand, she seems to be about the female equivalent of Bernard in terms of liking to smoke and being obnoxious when she drinks, but then she (I suppose when she's sober) she also puts on an air of being righteous and good.

Image from Channel 4.

Lovable Manny (played by Bill Bailey). The third main character. How do I explain Manny. He's a kind hearted guy, kind of slow on the uptake, tends to be a bit of a doormat, and has a (generally) positive view on the world. He is Bernard's favorite bully target throughout the series. He comes off as somewhat childish as well.

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I have to admit one thing about this show. The first time I watched it I liked it.. However! The second time I watched it I actually enjoyed it more than the first time I watched it. What does that mean? 

For me this show ended up being what I call a phoenix show. Oh great here we go with the random analogies again. A phoenix show is a show that does alright the first time around, then you kind of forget about it. Suddenly, you decided to watch it again (perhaps out of boredom or spite or whatever) and the show shines much better the second time around. Sometimes this is associated with not appreciating everything the first time around, and going through a second time you are able to gloss over some of the lesser parts and focus on some of the more subtle humor. I don't know, but I liked it more the  second time around.

The humor is very in line with what you would expect from a British comedy series. It is witty, often dry, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes intelligent, and sometimes pretty deadpan. As I said earlier, Graham Linehan is a writer for this series so if you enjoyed The IT Crowd, you'll likely enjoy the type of humor in this show as well.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Image from thetvdb, creator equiv

Title: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV-MA)

Genre: Comedy
Created By: Rob McElhenney 
Starring: Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito   
TV Run: August 4, 2005 - Present (FX)
Seasons: 8, Episodes:94 (As of this posting)










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Recommended
Seasons 1-7 available on Netflix
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of those shows that I had heard about for a long time but never got around to watching. Well, once I started watching it I ended up watching the whole series within a couple of weeks.

It it brash, it is hilarious, it is straight in your face, and they take no prisoners. I hate to use the term "they go there" but this show certainly goes there without hesitation. It revolves around "the gang" a group of friends that own a bar called Paddy's Pub. It follows their daily lives which often has them hatching idiotic schemes which they try to make work.

Let's take a look at the main characters.

Image from thetvdb, creator LaTropa64.

Charlie Kelly (Played by Charlie Day)

Loveable Charlie. Probably one of my favorite characters in the series. Charlie is.. let's say less than average intelligence. He does a lot of what the gang calls "Charlie work" around the bar which is things like cleaning toilets and cleaning rat traps. He is pretty naive and gullible, but he has a heart of gold. It's really difficult not to like Charlie.












 

Image from thetvdb, creator LaTropa64.

Mac (Played by Rob McElhenney)

Mac is one of the more complex characters in this series. His primary job the bar is being a sort of bouncer (though we never really see him bounce anyone). He has an affinity for martial arts which he isn't skilled in but thinks he is skilled. He is the only pseudo religious one of the bunch. Mac is generally seen as less intelligent but not as bad as our friend Charlie.

Image from thetvdb, creator LaTropa64.

Dennis Reynolds (Played by Glenn Howerton)

I like to call Dennis the "hound dog" of the group. He is generally displayed as the most intelligent in the group (though this is all relative). He is also the most vain and is constantly concerned about still being able to attract women even though he is starting to age. Dennis is often drafted as a pseudo leader in the group and the others seem to kind of follow his lead.

Image from thetvdb, creator LaTropa64.

Dee Reynolds (Played by Kaitlin Olson)

Oh, sweet Dee. The most "aww they're so mean to her" character (with exception to "The Waitress" character which I'm not including in this post). Her character is similar to the Dennis character (who is her brother) in terms of vanity, but she always tries to exhume some amount of morality into the group. The gang often makes fun of her for looking like a bird. She is the go to for when the gang needs to make fun of someone.

Image from thetvdb, creator LaTropa64.

 Frank Reynolds (Played by Danny DeVito)

Frank Reynolds. We actually don't see his character enter until the second season, but he immediately takes on an important role in the group dynamics. He is the midlife-crisis I want to act like I'm younger again person. He also has tons of money, which makes it much easier for the group to accept him so easily. Frank Reynolds is one of those characters who is completely off the rails. Like.. completely off.. in the ditch.. smelling road kill type off the rails.  







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This series is actually still airing and as of this posting I believe it has been renewed for another couple of seasons. If you're looking for a funny show that isn't afraid to delve into the more abrasive side of things this is one to see. For me, the show started a little shaky but as I watched more episodes it grew on me very quickly.

This is a very inside joke heavy show. Jokes will be presented in earlier episodes and will be referred to multiple times throughout the rest of the seasons, so while I don't think you really have to watch the episodes in order I think it helps. The characters are lovable and the schemes they end up in are hilarious. This is one of the few shows that I watch where I'm pretty sure I laugh multiple times during every episode.

Enjoy!

  

The IT Crowd

*Image from TheTVDB.

Title: The IT Crowd

Genre: Situational Comedy
Created By: Graham Linehan
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, Matt Berry
TV Run: February 2004 - July 2010 (Channel 4)
Seasons: 4 Episodes: 26 





Available on Netflix as of this post: Click here.


Full disclosure again, I have a thing for British comedies. I don't know why, I think the dry wit just works for me. The IT Crowd is a brilliant show, the characters are loveable, and it is one of the few shows that I have been able to watch multiple times without getting sick of it.

Characters:

*Image from Channel 4's website.

Roy Trenneman (Played by Chris O'Dowd)

One of the two IT professionals at Reynholm Industries. He is Irish and generally a slacker. He is often seen as less naive than his counterpart Maurice Moss. Doesn't seem to particularly enjoy his job in IT.

*Image from Channel 4's website.

Maurice Moss (Played by Richard Ayoade)

The other IT professional in the series. He is your socially awkward, incredibly intelligent, incredibly geeky, and relatively naive individual. He plays a brilliant counterpoint to Chris O'Dowds character Roy. Also probably my favorite character in this series.




  

*Image from Channel 4's website.

Jen Barber (Played by Katherine Parkinson)

The new "relationship manager" of the IT department. She is definitely a people person, but lacks any sort of computer knowledge. She lies on her CV to get the job and is placed as the manager of the IT department. Her lack of knowledge is a common joke point during the series.

*Image from Channel 4's website.

Denholm Reynholm (Played by Chris Morris)

The founder of Reynholm Industries. A bombastic, boisterous, no-nonsense kind of guy that expects to get everything he wants. His character is one of the most absurd of the series.



  

*Image from Channel 4's website.

Douglas Reynholm (Played by Matt Berry)

The son of Denholm Reynholm and somewhat has a similar feeling to Austin Powers. He is driven by sexual innuendo, is incredibly personable, and is also quite naive.







This show definitely has a bit of a computer geek slant to it, and while you don't have to be a computer geek to find it funny, I think it definitely helps to be one. If you are employed as an IT person you'll probably find this show even more identifiable. I don't often consider shows as part of a "favorite show of all time" list, but if I did have one this would certainly be on there.

If you're worried that it'll be too geeky for you, don't worry about that. The introduction of Katherine Parkinson's character "Jen" will even out those feelings for you, her character "degeekifies" things during the show quite a bit, and the common clash between the geeks (Roy and Moss) and the non-geek (Jen) is something that makes the show quite entertaining to watch.

So enjoy, and happy watching!