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troperville

The reclusive owner of the eponymous bookstore. He is a misanthropic, pessimistic, belligerent Irish alcoholic who hates both the job and the customers.

The Alcoholic
Alliterative Name
Badass Bookworm
Bad Boss
Completely Missing the Point
The Cynic
- Nietzsche Wannabe
Deadpan Snarker
The Gambling Addict
Genius Slob: Extremely well read but to drunk and misanthropic to apply himself. His hygiene is so poor that the suit he wears only appears to be black when it is in fact an exceptionally dirty white suit.
Grammar Nazi
Jerkass
Guys are Slobs / Men Can't Keep House: he has very, very suspect hygiene and his place is unbelievably dirty.
Kavorka Man
Large Ham
Lethal Chef: "MY OVEN CAN COOK BITS OF OVEN!"
Man Child
Meaningful Name
Messy Hair: To the point it has edible mushrooms in it.
- Manny also cuts clumps of it off with a bread knife.
Named After Somebody Famous: got his middle name in Beethoven's honor.
The Nicknamer: calls Manny by a variety of names, including Bigfoot, Gandalf, and Thor.
No Social Skills
No Sympathy
Sophisticated as Hell
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: a shining example.
�Well Done Son� Guy: At certain points, he treats Manny like his child. Cultimates in screaming, 'HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? MY OWN SON!'

Manny Bianco

Played By: Bill Bailey

Bernard's shop assistant and flatmate. He is a skilled businessman, well liked by the customers.

Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!
Bumbling Sidekick
Butt Monkey
The Cast Show Off
Desk Jockey: at the very start of the series.
Foil: to Bernard. Even his name means "white".
Genius Ditz: possesses remarkable talents such as being able to play a piano melody after hearing it on the radio once.
Hidden Depths
Hypercompetent Sidekick: While perhaps not brilliant, he is far better at the financial and customer-service aspects of bookselling than Bernard.
Nice Guy

Fran Katzenjammer

Played By: Tamsin Greig

Bernard's best and oldest friend. In the first season owned a gift store next to Black Books, but the business went bankrupt and she was unemployed from then on.