St Patrick’s Day is one of the biggest drinking days on the calendar, and no show on television has ever combined Ireland and drinking as well as Black Books, the Dylan Moran sitcom that ran for three seasons. Co-written in the first season by Graham Linehan (with the following two written by Moran, Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley), it firmly stakes its claim as one of Ireland’s great contributions to comedy, despite being set in London and Moran being the only Irish person in the cast.
Of course, drinking is a huge part of Black Books, and it has the most simple drinking game of all: drink whenever Bernard Black drinks. The more hardcore fans would also drink whenever Manny or Fran drink too, and more hardcore still would be those who drink whatever the characters drink, meaning at one point you may have to down a bottle of absinthe and eat bees.
The fact that Black Books is so beloved after ten years only emphasises what a great comedy it was, from an excellent cast, to outstandingly crafted jokes, and no fear of exploring surreal elements (Manny’s “Dave’s syndrome” comes to mind) and not overcomplicating its structure. Black Books is simply a great sitcom that stands up to repeat viewing, and will continue to do so for years to come.