I know that Graham Linehan only wrote Series One of the marvellous Black Books but you can't fail to notice the parallels.

1. Takes place in a closed world, with a restricted, very messy studio set.

2. Desk on the left of screen, home to dishevelled, cute, anarchic and occasionally abusive Irishman.

3. His sidekick starts off as a bit of a loser, but ends up being the funniest character in the show.

4. Third main character is a female who starts off as an outsider (always entering from stage right) but ends up being sucked into the gang. Unresolved sexual tension between her and messy Irish geezer.

5. Many cameo celeb appearances.

6. It's on C4

7. It's very funny.

What do you all reckon?

Yeah, there is a lot in common between the two shows. Also, there seems to be a lot in common with father ted. Could be just the writer bringing in successful parts of his previous shows into one.

wish i'd watched black books now...

shame on you. You can redeam yourself at the local play.com