Moone Boy, on Sky1 (Ireland/UK)
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Caution: potential spoilers.

This is a quirky Irish sitcom, set in the town of Boyle. It originally aired in 2012, but I think I first heard of it in 2013, in ads on Hulu. I didn't get around to watching it until 2014, though, by which time the second season was over (each season is just 6 episodes long). The first season is set in 1989-90, when the main character, Martin Moone, is 12 years old, and is in 6th grade. Martin has an imaginary friend named Seán Murphy (played by actor/comedian Chris O'Dowd, who created and co-writes the series). Of course, only Martin can see and hear Sean, but I'm not quite sure if imaginary friends, in the context of this show, are completely unreal. Because Sean does seem smarter than Martin, and seems to have an independent train of thought and personality, and does sometimes interact with other kids' imaginary friends (whom Martin can't see or hear). Anyway, Martin himself is basically a good kid, if just a bit... I dunno, I think the ads I originally saw for the show called him "slow," or something. But basically he just seems to have his head in the clouds, so his perspective on things is often a bit odd. (Perhaps it would be most apt to call him "moony.") But while he may indeed sometimes seem slow, at other times he can be surprisingly perceptive. I should mention that he draws lots of doodles, which we sometimes see animated, in a rather simplistic way, though I don't really think that's important to the show at all.

Of course, the show's not just about Martin and Sean. Sometimes I could almost call them secondary characters. Martin's parents, Liam and Debra, also have stuff of their own going on. (They often seem barely aware of or interested in what's going on with their kids, which is not to say they don't care.) Martin is the youngest of their kids; he has three older sisters, Trisha, Fidelma, and Sinéad. Trisha seems to be kind of a rebel, and Sinéad is kind of a bully, or something. I dunno, they both just seem to be tough and have generally unpleasant attitudes (which is not to say I don't like them, because I do). Delma seems a bit nicer, I guess. She joins a church choir and starts dating the choir director, Dessie. Meanwhile, basically Martin's only (real) friend is Padraic O'Dwyer (his name is pronounced "Porrick," as near as I can tell). He's definitely much more perky and enthusiastic than Martin, which is saying a lot. And yet, in spite of being rather weirder than Martin, I'd say he's somewhat less naive. He also has an imaginary friend named Crunchie Haystacks, whom we see just a bit of. And there are various other recurring characters, I guess.

I can't say much more about the plot. It all seems rather random. But it's a funny and very quirky show. And I like the theme song, "Where's Me Jumper," by the Sultans of Ping FC. (It sounds sort of familiar, but I'm not sure whether I'd heard the song before seeing the show. I probably had. Maybe.)

Season two is set in 1990-91. At the end of season one, we learned that Delma was pregnant. So that becomes a plot point this season, along with Dessie wanting to marry her (over her father's objections). By the end of the season, Delma gives birth to a girl that Dessie names Rose. And they almost get married, but circumstances get in the way. But aside from all that, the season is mostly as random as ever. Also near the end of the season, a family of Travellers move in next door to the Moones. One of them is a girl about Martin's age named Majella, and the two of them sort of become romantically involved, but she and her family leave by the end of the season.

Season three is set in 1991-92. There's not much I could say about it specifically, though some of it deals with Martin's house being overcrowded, with Fidelma, Dessie, and their baby living there. There's also some stuff about Martin's grandfather, Joe. And in the series finale, we meet Joe's imaginary friend, George Gershwin (Paul Rudd). Anyway, I wish the series would have had more seasons.