Hardy Bucks is a web-based comedy series gaining notoriety among comedy-hungry You Tube users. It is currently in the final four of RTE’s Storyland competition, having made it through two rounds of voting. The series follows the lives of Eddie and Buzz, two ‘sturdy, reliable fellas’ from the fictional Mayo hamlet of Castletown, as they struggle to hold down a job, while dabbling in various money-making schemes, all the time faced with their own incompetence, and having to contend with their arch-nemesis ‘the Viper’.
The show is the brainchild of Chris Tordoff and Martin Maloney, who moved to Swinford, Co Mayo – from Leeds and Liverpool respectively – in their early teens. Their outsiders’ perspective gave them a unique insight on small town Irish life. Having roped in their friends, Owen Colgan (‘Buzz’ McDonnell ) and Peter Cassidy (‘French Toast’ O’Toole ) they began making a few short episodes in the ‘mockumentary’ style. They entered the Storyland Internet drama competition, and have made it to the final four, due in no small part to their dedicated fans who follow their every move on You Tube and the Storyland website.
Voting for episode three takes place from June 5 to 15, and you can keep track of the action so far on the Hardy Bucks You Tube channel: www.youtube.com/user/hardybucks?blend=2&ob=4, as well as the competition site: www.rte.ie/storyland/finalists/hardybucks html
