''Hardware'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that was broadcast on ITV from 23 March 2003 to 11 April 2004. Starring Martin Freeman, it was written and created by Simon Nye, the creator of '' Men Behaving Badly'' and directed by Ben Kellett. The show's opening theme was " A Taste of Honey" by

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

's Tijuana Brass.

Cast

* Martin Freeman – Mike * Peter Serafinowicz – Kenny * Ken Morley – Rex * Ryan Cartwright – Steve *Susan Earl – Anne * Ella Kenion – Julie *Iain Pearson – Brian McCampion

Plot

''Hardware'' is set in "Hamway's Hardware Store" in London, where main character Mike ( Martin Freeman) works with Steve ( Ryan Cartwright) and Kenny ( Peter Serafinowicz) for shop owner Rex ( Ken Morley). They relax at the next-door-but-one cafe, "Nice Day Cafe", where Mike's girlfriend Anne (Susan Earl) works with Julie ( Ella Kenion). The series revolves around the store staff as they engage in a daily wisecrack battle with packs of DIY obsessed clients. The exterior scenes were filmed at 237 and 241 Neasden Lane in Neasden.

Episodes

Series overview

*Series 1: 23 March 2003 to 27 April 2003 (6 Episodes) *Series 2: 7 March 2004 to 11 April 2004 (6 Episodes)

Series 1 (2003)

#"Nice" (23 March 2003) #"Naked" (30 March 2003) #"Bondage" (6 April 2003) #"Finger" (13 April 2003) #"Women" (20 April 2003) #"Hutch" (27 April 2003)

Series 2 (2004)

#"Bastard" (7 March 2004) #"Big Foot" (14 March 2004) #"Nude" (21 March 2004) #"Loser" (28 March 2004) #"Tony Two-Ways" (4 April 2004) #"Celebrity" (11 April 2004)

DVD releases

The first series of ''Hardware'' is available on DVD in Region 4 (Australia). The complete series of ''Hardware'' was released in February 2009 in the UK on Region 2 from Network DVD.

Notes

References

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
''Hardware''
at British TV Comedy

External links

''Hardware''
at bbc.co.uk * {{Simon Nye 2003 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television series set in shops Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows set in London British English-language television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television