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Black Books: Difference between revisions
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Relied on [[A Simple Plan]] for pretty much all of its plots. The characters would decide to go to a party, or do their taxes, or write a children's book, or something, and would more or less use this as a springboard for a lot of bizarre and/or appalling behaviour, until they eventually failed, or at best broke even.
Came fifty-eighth in ''[[
{{tropelist}}
* [[Airport Fantasy]]: Bernard sells ''Tempocalypse'', a thriller about a single woman looking for love who has 12 hours to stop nuclear armageddon. His sales pitch lampshades its trashy appeal to both sexes.
* [[The Alcoholic]]: Bernard and Fran. Fran's last name even means "hangover."
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* [[Alliterative Name]]: Bernard Black.
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents]]: Manny's.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: When Fran tries to sabotage Bernard's new relationship <ref>[[It Makes Sense in Context|(as he's forcing Manny to help him play jazz piano with spoons on his day off)]]</ref>, she claims he's actually such a modest genius that he has rooms full of his most recent paintings, can speak nine languages, blow glass and ''do hard sums''.
* [[Audio Erotica]]: Howell Granger the shipping forecaster's sexy voice is a plot point.
* [[Bigger On the Inside]]: When stuck having dinner with Manny and his parents, Bernard drops his fork on purpose to escape; when he climbs under the table, it is then revealed that there is a bar concealed underneath, [[Units Not to Scale|complete with bartender]].
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* [[A Date With Rosie Palms]]: Fran's night with the shipping forecaster.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Bernard and Fran.
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Manny's defection to Goliath Books is treated as if it was some sort of romantic abandonment.
** Also, the plot of the first season finale has Manny leaving the bookshop and the whole thing is treated as if he was a teenage girl who's run away from home (picked up by a skeezy dude who takes creepy pictures of him, almost sold into prostitution...)
** Manny and Bernard's intervention over how many shoes Fran intends on taking on holiday is played as if they were in a [[Spy Fiction|Spy Thriller]] trying to deprogram a [[Manchurian Agent]].
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* [[Grammar Nazi]]: "Don't you ''dare'' use the word "party" as a verb in this shop!"
* [[Happy Place]]: Bernard's is apparently a bar. Under a table.
* [[Her Codename Was Mary Sue]]: Fran reads part of a [[Self
* [[Hide Your Pregnancy]]: Tamsin Greig in series 1, with the help of several long scarves.
* [[Holy Backlight]]: Manny just after internalizing ''The Little Book of Calm''.
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* [[Only Sane Man]]: Manny and Bernard take turns at this role
* [[Overly Long Gag]]
* [[Overly Pre
** Doubly ironic considering how all three of them must possess a newfound hatred for the blind after being forced to feign to play piano (or climb inside and play with spoons) for the benefit of three blind piano teachers.
* [[Object Ceiling Cling]]: Manny sees a piece of toast on the ceiling whilst he is calling a cleaner. Later in the same episode, Bernard launches a piece of toast with jam onto the ceiling.
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* [[Scotireland]]: An American tourist in Bernard's shop refers to him as a "Scotchman." Bernard is displeased. Well, more so than usual.
* [[Second Person Attack]]: The end result of Bernard taunting a trio of skinheads is getting three simultaneous fists to the face.
* [[Self
{{quote| '''Bernard''': What this, Blue Tunes? [...] [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Raunchy Leonard Blue runs a second hand record shop with his half-wit, mustachioed assistant Danny...]]<br />
'''Manny''': (laughs)<br />
'''Bernard''': When this zany pair team up with bitchy, neurotic neighbour Pam, things are sure to be a riot of laughs. [[Self
'''Manny''': They must think we're idiots.<br />
'''Fran''': [looks at picture] Look at them. Wankers. }}
* [[Shaggy Dog Story]]: Bernard's explanation for breaking his arm, a convoluted tale of [[Pulling the Thread]] to unravel [[What Did I Do Last Night?|how he'd drunkenly ruined his oldest friendship]], which culminates in him... [[Anticlimax|falling down some steps]].
* [[A Simple Plan]]
* [[Sit Comic]]
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** The cleaner sweeps his finger through ''thin air'' and it comes away black with dust.
** "Everything's dirty! See? I am right now eating scrambled eggs...with a comb...from a shoe!!"
* [[Truth
* [[Twice Shy]]
* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]
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* [[We Want Our Jerk Back]]: Manny starts to miss Bernard when he goes to work for Evan at Goliath Books.
** Fran disapproves of Bernard's behaviour when he tries to be a bit less miserable: "Look! I can do ''fun''!"
* [[What Did I Do Last Night?]]: Bernard frequently gets alcohol-induced memory gaps for comic effect (see the quote below) but this plot was the particular focus of the episode where he tries to work out why his oldest friend blanked him in the street.
{{quote| '''Bernard''': I don’t remember that.<br />
'''Fran''': Do you remember that night last week when you slept in a revolving door?<br />
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* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: Manny appears to briefly turn into Jesus after ingesting ''The Little Book of Calm''.
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] near the end of the episode, when the two missionaries from earlier in the episode see [[Looks Like Jesus|Manny]] in the store, and promptly run away screaming.
* [[Who Would Want to Watch Us?]]: When considering going to the cinema, Bernard reads out a review of a film whose premise is practically identical to the show's - to groans from all.
* [[Wimp Fight]]: Bernard and Fran settle their differences with a fight, which involves them turning their heads away and slapping each other like sissies until Fran twists Bernard's arm behind his back and pulls his hair.
* [[You Do NOT Want to Know]]: Manny refuses to say what happens to him if the temperature reaches 88 degrees, referring to his condition only as "Dave's Syndrome." It turns out it involves {{spoiler|a war dance on top of a car, naked save for a strategically-placed hot water bottle.}}
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