Stumbled across a 2003 comedy that I possibly watched one half of a scene worth at the time, starring Martin Freeman - fresh from The Office.

I found myself watching an entire episode and it really was quite funny. Written by Simon Nye - which prompted me to give it a go since I'm a huge fan of Men Behaving Badly.

I love what is now classed as 'old school' live audience stage comedy.

It's on YouTube if you can be arsed. It's not a masterclass in comedy but enough for me to chuckle at most lines.

I can't believe this was on as long ago as 2003!

I would have guessed it was about 5 or 6 years old.

Wasn't Ella Kenion aka Mrs Cakeworthy from The Green Green Grass in this too?

Never heard of this before.

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 3rd January 2016, 5:54 PM GMT

It's on YouTube if you can be arsed. It's not a masterclass in comedy but enough for me to chuckle at most lines.

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Think I'm going to watch the first episode.

Quote: george roper @ 3rd January 2016, 6:33 PM GMT

the green green glass

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Remember watching about two or three episodes and gave up as I didn't find it funny at all - that and Martin Freeman playing Martin Freeman from The Office.

Quote: george roper @ 3rd January 2016, 6:33 PM GMT

Wasn't Ella Kenion aka Mrs Cakeworthy from The Green Green Grass in this too?

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Yeah she was.
Used to love Susan Earl

Quote: zooo @ 3rd January 2016, 5:58 PM GMT

I can't believe this was on as long ago as 2003!

I would have guessed it was about 5 or 6 years old.

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My thoughts exactly!

Quote: TonyT @ 3rd January 2016, 9:38 PM GMT

Yeah she was.
Used to love Susan Earl

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She seemed much funnier in Hardware than TGGG in my opinion.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 3rd January 2016, 7:03 PM GMT

Remember watching about two or three episodes and gave up as I didn't find it funny at all - that and Martin Freeman playing Martin Freeman from The Office.

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Martin Freeman played a much angrier, more confident version of Tim in this, I think.

Yes, an angrier Martin Freeman, which is all he seems capable of to me - why he is lauded is beyond me.

Martin Freeman talked about this show when interviewed recently. He said that he had visualized it as a non-audience sitcom and that the final shows were not as funny as the scripts.

Quote: Nick @ 7th January 2016, 10:11 AM GMT

Martin Freeman talked about this show when interviewed recently. He said that he had visualized it as a non-audience sitcom and that the final shows were not as funny as the scripts.

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"the final shows were not as funny as the scripts" - were any of them?

I seem to recall it had a bad attitude, as in none of the characters were particularly likeable, as if they were just off-beat and it was poorly presented. It just didn't have that magic other shows which became classics had.

Which is annoying because I want to see more Peter Serafinowicz on TV and would have loved for him to have been in a hit sitcom!

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 7th January 2016, 10:47 AM GMT

"the final shows were not as funny as the scripts" - were any of them?

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Sorry, I should have said 'the finished shows' for clarity.

Hard Going was a frozen turkey plucked from the bottom of a 1970s chest freezer. It looked like a cash in mish mash of all recent popular sitcoms, Dinnerladies and Royal Family, Nightingales, Black Books and The Office I thought just halfway through ep1.

Tried too hard to be cool and trendy and fell flat on its mush. The sit also looked much more 70s than noughties. Fork Andles it wasn't.

Possibly because I never enjoyed The Office it seemed more of an ensemble piece and the best bits were in the shop itself rather than the 'Martin Freeman' bit which felt a bit tacked on.

The shop itself felt a bit like the Not The Nine O'Clock News sketch (I think) where someone wants to buy a stereo and they blind him with jargon.