"Director: Graham Linehan"

• Black Books | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £5.89   |  Saving you £17.09 (589.31%)   |  RRP £19.99

  How can the concept of a drunk owning a bookshop be surreally funny? Well, Black Books may be owned by Bernard Black on screen, but off screen it belongs to writer/director Graham Linehan of Father Ted fame, that’s how. His writing partnership with Dylan Moran (Black) produced the strangest situation comedy of 2001, fully deserving its BAFTA. The almost blissfully vague plotline begins when stressed out office worker Manny Bianco (Bill Bailey) accidentally swallows The Little Book of Calm. Somehow his beard and Bernard's booze get on well enough for them to work together in the shop. They're ably assisted/distracted/confused by the hormonal interruptions of neighbouring storeowner Fran (Tamsin Greig). And that’s about it. But across six episodes this first year crammed in an enormous amount of insanity and sight gags. Definite highlights include Fran's over-the-radio seduction by Shipping News broadcaster Howell Granger, a good cop/bad cop Sweeney spoof and a cameo by Nick Frost (Mike in Spaced) as a more than slightly OTT Security System Installer. The standout episode is "The Grapes of Wrath" when Bernard and Manny agree to baby-sit a valuable wine cellar. No prizes for guessing what happens! Kevin Eldon guest stars as The Cleaner, declaring the shop to be "DIRTY". Manny already knew that. When he made the appointment he had to confess, "Right now I'm eating scrambled egg with a comb out of a shoe." --Paul Tonks

• The IT Crowd - Series 1-4 Special Edition Box Set | DVD | (27/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  This limited special edition contains all four series of the cult comedy smash plus a play at home IT Crowd fantasy role play game featuring 12 character cards a pop out 20 sided dice player counters and two game boards. Written by Graham Linehan (Father Ted Black Books) and produced by Ash Atalla (The Office) The IT Crowd centres on the worlds of Roy Moss and Jen who make up the IT department of Reynholm Industries. While their social betters work upstairs in fantastic surroundings the IT dept. work in a horrible dark basement underneath it all...

• The IT Crowd: Series 1-3 Box Set | DVD | (16/03/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Written by Graham Linehan (Father Ted Black Books) and produced by Ash Atalla (The Office) The IT Crowd centres on the worlds of Roy Moss and Jen who make up the IT department of Reynholm Industries. While their social betters work upstairs in fantastic surroundings the IT dept. work in a horrible dark basement underneath it all... The IT Crowd will strike a chord with everyone who dreads getting stuck in a corner with the IT boys at the office party or who's ever phoned their IT deptartment only to be asked Have you tried turning it off and on again? Filmed on location and in front of a live studio audience The IT Crowd is a surreal look at the underclass of a company.