«Please put the books anywhere you like because we've got nothing better to do than put them back» — надпись в каком-то мелком книжном магазине, которую Грэм Линехан считает воплощением характера Бернарда из Black Books. Не знаю почему, но она меня очень смешит.

Пока искал первоисточник этой цитаты, нашёл интервью Линехана и Морана, которое они давали журналу «Observer» в 2000 году в связи с премьерой сериала. Там много забавного, милого и интересного.

Линехан и Моран спорят насчёт шутки из «Карты, деньги, два ствола»:
According to stand-up comedian Moran, it's a terrible line. 'It's one of the worst lines I've ever heard.I mean, think about it. "It's been emotional" - how vague is that?'
'But that's the joke,' interrupts his writing partner. 'It's understatement.'
'No,' counters Moran, 'I think it's terrible. It's not understated enough and points towards something bigger without being specific about it.'
'I disagree,' says Linehan, shaking his head in bafflement. 'I'm surprised at that.'

Линехан признаётся, что боялся разговаривать с Мораном:
'I was incredibly intimidated by you, absolutely, seriously,' says Linehan.
'I find that very odd,' says Moran.
'You've got a kind of persona, you have the air of someone that you'd better make sure you have something good to say when you talk to you.'
'That makes me sound like my old French teacher,' mutters Moran.
'Now that I know you, I know that's not true,' adds Linehan.
'No, I'll put up with any old shit,' says Moran.

Линехан расуждает о структуре ситкома:
'It must end as it began. Everything has to be in stasis, it's a constant loop. But that's quite liberating as well because when you're writing a story the structure is half there because you know all we have to do is get them back to the original place.'

Моран формулирует прекрасный творческий метод:
'We just wanted to cram as much elaborate stupidity into a half hour that could make it be coherent and that you would believe'.

Линехан и Моран говорят о том, что роднит их чувство юмора:
'What we share is a love of detail,' says Moran.
'And understatement and language,' adds Linehan.
'And characters revealing themselves without any exposition,' enthuses Moran.

Заканчивается статья тем, как Моран и Линехан демонстрируют общность своего понимания комического: достают книгу с рисунками из «Нью-Йоркера» и показывают на тот, который им обоим нравится больше всего. Вот этот: