One of the good things about UK shows is that often they finish rather than cancelled and, while one always wants their shows to continue, it is not very often that we have to see a once great show slip away as it runs out of steam but has to keep going. Black Books is allowed to step away from the table with good grace here and season 3 really shows no reason why it shouldn't have gone on. The quality is every bit as high as season 2 because it constantly plays to its strengths. There isn't really a season long thread to this but rather a series of scenarios – only the first episode represents a link as it relates to the new book shop next door (although typically and wisely it is never mentioned after that first episode!).
So again what we have is this rather madcap and inventive lunacy that works because all parts of the design buy into it. Yes the characters are maddening and erratic but they have each other and somehow the shop gives them somewhere they can simply "be". The dialogue is great and the physical humour is really funny throughout, with Manny in particular having some great stuff this time around. The cast continue to deliver on this and their comic timing and delivery is great. Impossible to see them as separates because they all work so well together as a unit. Moran and Bailey are great and, as with the second season, Greig's character has come on and she has come with it. The cameos are not made a big deal out of but it is fun to see Davis, Pegg, Kelly, Crosbie and a few others show up.
Overall Black Books concludes with a third season every bit as good as the second one. It makes no concessions to those that don't like it and in that way it delights those that do. Inventively wild and a lot of laughs from writers and cast.
