#4 - Black Books. I'm gonna get flamed. Hardcore.

Why would I publish anything knowing that most people would disagree with my opinion? Simple.

• It might inspire someone to watch or re-watch the series.
• It's MY LIST. It's a trip-down-memory-lane.
• How valid is any opinion if there is no-one in the other camp?

So, #4?

Black Books.

"Um...how is that better than Arrested Development? Did you even watch it??"

That is the sort of response I'm expecting on this particular issue. In short, it's better because of the stories it weaves, the characters it creates, the emotions it triggers etc. Arrested Development, like I mentioned, can be faulted for being "too cerebral." 

"That's hardly damning criticism, Konrad!"

I know. These series are all BRILLIANT, true genial works-of-art. So number 5, just because it's LAST on the list, can't be garbage, right? This is "in-your-face" comedy done extremely well.

"Sorta makes sense. So you say characterisation? Who's your favourite character?"

In a word, undecided. If forced to expound on that, *maybe* Bill Bailey's Manny? But Dylan Moran's Bernard is just so brilliant. It would never work without THE GLUE, a.k.a. Fran. I really can't choose. (But Manny). :-)

"/Blech. You're giving me nothing!"

The additional criteria for series vs. films, which I feel deserves its own mention, is CHARACTERISATION. I've already mentioned it, but I want to dedicate my next entry to it. 

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I have the perfect XFM - The Ricky Gervais Show segment to fit with it too. I cut from the Wiki entry: "After the first series of The Office, Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show. The show ran intermittently until January 2004 with breaks of 1–3 months between new shows. This was when the pair first worked with Karl Pilkington, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcasts."


I feel like this number deserves SOME justification.