Moone Boy

Moone Boy
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Chris O'Dowd
Written by	Chris O'Dowd Nick Vincent Murphy
Directed by	Declan Lowney
Starring	Chris O'Dowd David Rawle Deirdre O'Kane Peter McDonald Aoife Duffin Clare Monnelly Sarah White Ian O'Reilly
Opening theme	"Where's Me Jumper" by The Sultans of Ping FC
Composer	Ronan Johnston
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 mins (inc. adverts)
Production companies	Baby Cow Productions Sprout Pictures Hot Cod Productions Grand Pictures
Original release
Network	Sky1
Release	14 September 2012 (2012-09-14) – present

Moone Boy is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky. The series is co-written by Nick Vincent Murphy, guest stars Steve Coogan and Johnny Vegas, and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures, Hod Cod Productions and Grand Pictures. The series is semi-autobiographical of O'Dowd and focuses on a young boy's life growing up in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Moone Boy is the second series produced from Sky1's Little Crackers shorts and is inspired by O'Dowd's contribution, "Capturing Santa", which was produced by Sprout Pictures.

Plot

Seán (O'Dowd) is the imaginary friend of 12-year-old Martin Moone, the youngest child of a family living in a small town in Ireland. Martin has a unique perspective on life aided by an imaginary friend. His imagination comes into play both in his childish drawings, which come alive through animation, and in the ridiculous schemes he comes up with, against Sean's better judgement. With Seán's help, Martin negotiates life as the youngest in a chaotic, scatter-brained family.

Production

Chris O'Dowd said: "Moone Boy is a fantastic comedy which centres on a twelve-year-old boy who has an imaginary friend. It is set in the late eighties/early nineties and all of the experiences are ones that I had. It's a really funny show which has loads of animation and a number of laughs that I hope people will love. It was essential to film in Ireland and what was great about Sky was they wanted us to film here and they were really supportive. That wouldn't have happened at any other channel." (Except maybe Channel 4). Moone Boy is Sky's first commission off the back of a Little Crackers short. The series is a co-production between Sprout Pictures, who produced the original Little Crackers short, Baby Cow Productions, Hod Cod Productions and Grand Pictures, and began filming in early 2012 on location in Boyle and County Roscommon, Ireland,and County Wicklow.

Cast and characters

Actor/Actress	Character
Chris O'Dowd	Seán Murphy
David Rawle	Martin Moone
Deirdre O'Kane	Debra Moone
Peter McDonald	Liam Moone
Aoife Duffin	Trisha Moone
Clare Monnelly	Fidelma Moone
Sarah White	Sinéad Moone
Ian O'Reilly	Pádraig O' Lighthouse
Guest Stars	Character
Steve Coogan	Francie "Touchy" Feeley
Johnny Vegas	Crunchie Haystacks
Steve Wall	Danny Moone

Episodes

Series 1 (2012)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Ratings	Original air date
1	"Men of the Houses"	Declan Lowney	Chris O'Dowd & Nick Vincent Murphy	698,000	14 September 2012 (2012-09-14)
Martin celebrates his 12th birthday. While his sisters don't exactly go all-out with their gifts, Martin is thrilled with his Readybix bike from Mam and Dad, although it doesn't last long when the local bullies get their hands on it. If only Trisha's boobs weren't the key to getting a bully protector.
2	"Bunch of Marys"	Declan Lowney	Chris O'Dowd & Nick Vincent Murphy	543,000	14 September 2012 (2012-09-14)
Martin befriends new boy Trevor in order to dine on his family's regular gourmet meals while Debra is too distracted with political campaigning to feed her youngest child. Ma Moone and her friends hope to incite girl power in the local area by canvassing for politician Mary Robinson, but they're less than thrilled when they're forced to turn to fishy rich man Francie "Touchie" Feeley (Steve Coogan) for funding.
3	"Another Prick in the Wall"	Declan Lowney	Chris O'Dowd & Nick Vincent Murphy	483,000	21 September 2012 (2012-09-21)
Using the battle for the bathroom as an opportunity to catch extra zeds, Martin falls foul of Sinéad's pranks when she covers him in make-up while he's asleep. Unable to get to a mirror, Martin heads off to school unaware of his Boy George-esque look...
4	"Dark Side of the Moone"	Declan Lowney	Chris O'Dowd & Nick Vincent Murphy	TBA	28 September 2012 (2012-09-28)
Uncle Danny (Steve Wall) arrives just in time for Martin's birds-and-the-bees talk with Mam and Dad. Seán seeks solace with other imaginary friends when Martin dumps him under the influence of his visiting musician uncle.
5	"Godfellas"	Declan Lowney	Chris O'Dowd & Nick Vincent Murphy	TBA	5 October 2012 (2012-10-05)
While Fidelma joins the church choir, Martin's confirmation service leads to an epiphany: he wants to become to an altar boy. Has he got what it takes?
6	"The Bell-End of an Era"	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	12 October 2012 (2012-10-12)
It's a big moment in the life of young Martin Moone: his last week of primary school.

Series 2 (2013)

Before the first series had even aired, Sky recommissioned Moone Boy for a second series. Sky said they're "onto a real winner" with the show. The show will return in 2013 for its second series.

Reception

The show has been well-received, with many critics calling it the modern Father Ted. The Guardian called it "the most life-affirming delight to have hit our screens in a long time." and "It is surreal, within decent limits, and it is derivative, but I think the derivations are happily if tacitly acknowledged"

DVD Release

The first series of Moone Boy will be released on October 15th 2012.

External links

• Official website
• Moone Boy at British Comedy Guide
• Moone Boy at IMDb