Hardy Bucks - THE TV SERIES

Duggy747 wrote: »

Right first off, fair play and much respect to those guys from Swinford for creating something that is, regardless of whether it being liked or not, known up and down the country before it even hit the TV. Hell, they pulled together a show that actually had people anticipating it on RTE, an extreme rarity. I am far from being a big fan of theirs but credit where credit is due.

When they first came on the scene I found their first few shows to be funny because they took the piss out of small towns (boredom, wannabe "high-rollers", the escape to Galway :pac:, etc), something people from the cities wouldn't fully understand. As the show progressed, though, the jokes became weaker and the show seemed like it ran it's course (The Xmas special being fairly disappointing to many fans).

The fact that they got a green-light for an RTE show after winning Storyland boosed their appeal. People tend to forget that these guys are just average joes like everyone else, they didn't go out with the intention to re-invent the wheel. They just wanted to make shìt they thought was funny, and a huge amount of people liked it.

However, this 1st episode was dire, even for the name that is The Hardy Bucks. It felt like RTE made them start from scratch again, ignore the base they already founded, and just build on the type of jokes people knew the show for (Bizzare quotes, the "culchie" way of doing things like the talent show) while trying to introduce others to it in a fantastical way. The interaction with the camera crew was a big no-no, the main gripe being that in "seperate angles" of scenes the crew would be nowhere to be seen, it detracted away BIG time. It wa as if they kept forgetting that the "camera crew" had something to do with the show.

The jokes felt so forced and, bizzarely, this felt "acted" and far, far less natural. It almost seems a galaxy away from what they created on the web. Now it just feels like a medicore run-of-the-mill comedy, something I don't think the guys should be entirely blamed for.

People shouldn't be so quick to put them down, a bunch of friends saw an oppertunity with Storyland and now they have a TV show on RTÈ. Seriously, who wouldn't want to have had that kind of success story?

The 1st episode was disappointing and I fear it set the tone for the other 2 shows but it was far from being awful like so much other home-grown "comedies" of the past few years. I never got the fascination with them but, then again, give them a chance.

EDIT: Actually, the Gardaì / Africian exchange piece was excellent, that was a superb piece of comedy right there.

Hardy Bucks

There's a well-known, if apocryphal, story that frequently does the rounds in Ireland stating that the show Father Ted was turned down by RTE (the main Irish TV channel), and was then snapped up by the British Channel 4. Of course, following this, Father Ted went on to become not only one of the all-time classic comedies, but a part of the Irish cultural landscape for years to come. It's difficult to underestimate the impact this show had on our little country. Finally, we had a show which lovingly parodied our own culture without patronizing, and it was actually funny to boot! All the great Irish writers and comedians of the time were finally put to good work, and only English capitol could make it happen! We could watch it and recognize aspects of our culture, regardless of how ridiculously they were being exaggerated.

Coming out at the same time as the first major Church scandals, Father Ted also allowed people to laugh at the Church perhaps for the first time. We were able to see (and reassess) the Church's position in our society. In a very real way, Father Ted chronicles a period in Irish life which it itself helped bring to an end. Truly great comedy is capable of such feats.

This (untrue) story reinforces the common notion that RTE are insanely conservative, and wouldn't know good comedy if it slapped them in the face with a wet fish. Now they may be about to do it again. And again, it has taken an outsiders' perspective to make the definitive statement about Irish life. I'm talking, of course, about Hardy Bucks.

Hardy Bucks is an internet series that crams more truisms, laughs and memorable lines into its 10-15 minute no-budget episodes than an entire series of Killnascully (which wouldn't be hard, anyway). It chronicles the lives of four young lads living in Castletown, County Mayo, and their ongoing feud with local smartass The Viper. They live in a tiny rented cottage. They drink, they smoke, they fight, and they dream of making it to the 'big smoke'- Galway. Underneath their bravado however, they occasionally appear smart and sensitive. The unspoken theme is that they're not idiots, and that they recognise how they're trapped in their small-town situation . A state of affairs I'm sure many will identify with.

Two of the shows' creators, Chris Tordoff and Martin Maloney, are English but spent their teens growing up in Mayo. Moloney in particular, who is in actuality a Scouser, pulls off a flawless West-Ireland accent. Perhaps it's because of their background that they have been able to parody the Irish small-town scene accurately and affectionately.

Of course, this would all be so much pretentious nonsense if the show wasn't funny. But damn is it funny. It gives the impression of being very lightly (if at all) scripted, with most of the lines being ad-libbed by the talented and likeable cast. Special mentions must go to the incredible wit and voice talents of the Viper (imitating his ridiculous sneer will become a national passtime), though Hardy Bucks is definitely an ensemble project, with all involved spouting memorable lines. And almost every line is immensely quotable. They're just lads that you'd find in any town in the country. They're lads you'd know yourself. Perhaps the shows' true point of reference is not Father Ted but the Canadian Trailer Park Boys- there are few 'jokes', the humour coming instead from knowing and liking the characters. It's a show that rewards rewatching.

Hardy Bucks is rapidly becoming an underground cult hit. Their catchphrases are heard everywhere in Ireland, and even their 'deleted scenes' videos get more hits that their peers' full projects. All episodes are available on Youtube, and the lads also have Bebo and Facebook pages. Check them out.