Travis DeSimone.
Corsair.
Some days waking up is very hard, I don’t want to interact with people even on a good day. Sometimes I want to indulge in the finer things in life, like $1.99 wine and about 32 smokes. A splash of water on the face is a shower, and brushing my teeth is a long term goal I can accomplish. This is one of the reasons I was so drawn to Dylan Moran’s Black Books.
Black Books began airing in 2000 and was renewed twice. 3 seasons, 6 episodes a piece, and never a dull moment. The first season was co-written by Graham Linehan who birthed into our world two great BBC comedies, The IT Crowd, and Father Ted. Black Books is more of Moran than Linehan.
The show chronicles the misadventures of a nihilistic, misanthropic, self indulgent, Irish book store owner named Bernard Black. He drinks and smokes all day and can not even deal with his own customers. Imagine if your alcoholic uncle owned a book store. Next to his shop is a gift store where his only friend Fran Katzenjammer works. They do lunch (usually a cheap white) and lament on the dark nature of every day life, then Manny comes in. Bill Bailey plays Manny, who is a nervous wreck who comes to work for Bernard, and serves the role as a punching bag for most of the series.
So next time you just can’t bear to roll out of bed, indulge your darkness and kick back with Bernard and the gang. You might feel better, you might end up at the bar.