Black Books

The Entertainer

Season 2, Episode 1, Aired 3/1/02

Episode Summary

Fran buys a piano and starts taking lessons, discovering she has no talent whatsoever - meanwhile Bernard falls in love and tries desperately to impress her. Between them, they con Manny into throwing away a hard-earned break to help them out.

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Cast & Crew

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Dylan Moran

Bernard Ludwig Black
Tamsin Greig

Fran Katzenjammer
Bill Bailey

Manny Bianco

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

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Bernard wants to impress a woman he fancies but Fran is upset at being bullied by her piano tutor for being unable to play. Manny ends up being exploited to help them both out at the expense of his weekend's holiday which Bernard promised him.moreless

8.9

"Great"

By eddie071, Oct 28, 2007 Report Abuse

Very funny episode. I liked the bit where Manny is hiding under the piano hitting the strings with spoons and Bernard "playing" confidently. It shows that despite the fact Bernard frequently bullies Manny, he tries to be nice to him when he is in trouble. Fran, who normally makes Bernard behave himself, is also exploiting Manny. Jozef's family who have travelled from far abroad are also funny. I wonder how old Jozef's Grandfather is? A brilliant start to the new series of an original comdedy. It is a same this comedy has now stopped. Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey worked so well together.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- The hangover cure Manny makes for Bernard consists of black coffee, white chocolate ice cream, a hamburger, chips and a flake. Edit
- Music used in the episode (all played by Bill Bailey), includes Grieg's 'Piano Concerto in A Minor', Beethoven's 'Rage Over a Lost Penny' and one of Bach's 'Preludes'. Edit
- The music heard on the radio is actually a recording of Bill Bailey playing the piano. Edit
Notes
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Quotes
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- Manny: I want the weekend off. I want a life. Bernard: This is life! We suffer and slave and expire. That's it! Edit
- (on Manny learning a piano piece) Bernard: Don't worry. Manny'll pick it up. Manny: No he won't. He's on holiday, remember? He'll be watching the test match in bed, eating tiramisu with a long spoon. Edit
- Fran: Josef is coming, he'll squeeze my face again, my brains will come out of my nose and I'll die. Edit
Allusions
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- The Entertainer A popular ragtime piece of piano music, made famous as the theme to the film "The Sting". Edit
- Bernard: She thinks I'm the Renaissance! A period of European culture which saw a rapid expansion of the arts and sciences. The embodiment of the period is not, in fact, Bernard but Leonardo da Vinci. Edit
- Episode Title: The Entertainer. "The Entertainer" is a play by John Osborne about a man "largely spent, but still sufficiently self-aware to suffer from the knowledge that he is, as he puts it, "dead behind the eyes".". Rather like Bernard's view on their future... Edit