The Mighty Boosh (TV series)
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''The Mighty Boosh'' is a British comedy television show created by
Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe along ...
,
Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...
and others (collectively known as
The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired ...
). A surreal comic fantasy, it often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal, funk, and
rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
. The show is known for popularising a style called "crimping"; short '' a cappella'' songs which are present throughout all three series. Julian Barratt wrote the music within the show, and performed it with Noel Fielding. Fielding also designed many of the show's graphics and artwork. The show takes place in a surreal universe following Howard Moon (Barratt) and Vince Noir (Fielding), two eccentric, failing musicians, as well as Naboo, a mystic alien shaman, and Bollo, a gorilla and Naboo's familiar. They frequently have adventures while they pursue fame. The series has many animated sequences, puppets and special effects. Barratt has said that he approached Fielding with the idea of doing a show like ''
The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...
'', as if it were a complete "world" rather than simply a sketch show. Barratt and Fielding play many of the recurring and one-off characters themselves, with other characters being played by other Boosh members
Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van'' ...
, Dave Brown, and
Michael Fielding Michael Fielding (born 23 January 1982) is a British comedian and actor, known for his role as Naboo in the British surreal comedy ''The Mighty Boosh''. He was born in Westminster, London, England and brought up in Mitcham, Southwest London. He ...
. In 2019, ''The Mighty Boosh'' was ranked 98th on ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.


Format

''The Mighty Boosh'' centres on the adventures of Howard Moon (Barratt) and Vince Noir (Fielding). Series 1 opens and often closes with Howard and Vince addressing the audience in front of a theatre curtain, introducing the show and offering some final reflections. Series 2 leaves this format, instead starting in the characters' flat, with no direct address to the audience. Unlike the radio series, which is played as though real, the characters on the TV series all seem aware that they are in a TV show, and Vince especially will often break the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
to address the audience and to comment on the situation. Little attention is paid to continuity; for instance, in the second series the shaman Saboo is shown being killed by the demon Nanatoo, but in series 3 he is alive and well. In the first series episode, 'Bollo', Bollo the gorilla dies at the end of the episode, before the credits. However, in subsequent episodes, Bollo is also seen alive and well. Each series of the show featured Howard and Vince and the various recurring characters in a different context; in series 1 Howard and Vince are zookeepers in the "Zooniverse", Naboo is a fellow employee of the zoo and Bollo is one of the animals that live there. In series 2, Howard, Vince, Naboo and Bollo are flatmates in a district of London. In series 3, Howard and Vince work in Naboo's magical shop, the Nabootique, and plots often revolve around them getting in trouble whilst Naboo and Bollo are away from the shop. Several episodes featured a "crimp"; a humorous '' a cappella'' nonsense song sung by Fielding and Barratt. The crimps were sung in a scat style and were lyrically characterized by non-sequiturs that were rhythmically similar to
beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.
, often accompanied by a small performance of hand gestures and pantomimes. The term was first coined in "The Power of the Crimp", episode 3 of the third season. Controversy arose in March 2008 when a new advertisement campaign for the cereal Sugar Puffs was shown to have imitated the particular style of crimping.


Characters

Though there are many
recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...
s, the "central cast" consists of five characters: * Howard Moon (
Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe along ...
) * Vince Noir (
Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...
) * Naboo (
Michael Fielding Michael Fielding (born 23 January 1982) is a British comedian and actor, known for his role as Naboo in the British surreal comedy ''The Mighty Boosh''. He was born in Westminster, London, England and brought up in Mitcham, Southwest London. He ...
) * Bollo ( Peter Elliott (2004), Dave Brown (2005–2007)) * Bob Fossil (
Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van'' ...
) Recurring characters include: * Dennis (Julian Barratt) * Dixon Bainbridge (originally
Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...
, later
Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...
) * The Hitcher (Noel Fielding) * Kirk (Kirk Gaitskell-Kendrick) * Lester Corncrake (Rich Fulcher) * The Moon (Noel Fielding) * Old Gregg (Noel Fielding) * Rudi van DiSarzio (Julian Barratt) * Saboo (
Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...
) * Tony Harrison (Noel Fielding) Notable guest actors and actresses include: * Dee Plume and Sue Denim ("
Mutants In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
", " Electro", " Nanageddon", " The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox") * Gary Numan (" The Power of the Crimp") *
The Horrors The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spu ...
("
The Chokes ''The Mighty Booshs third series was originally broadcast between 15 November 2007 and 20 December 2007. The series features five main cast members; Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Rich Fulcher, Michael Fielding and Dave Brown. The third serie ...
") *
Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...
and
Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...
(" The Priest and the Beast") *
Diva Zappa Diva Muffin Zappa (born July 30, 1979) is an American artist and actress who has also recorded a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest child of musician Frank Zappa and wife Gail Zappa. Personal life Diva Zappa was born in Los Angeles. Sh ...
("
Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...
")


History

The Mighty Boosh made the transition from radio to television in 2004, when an eight-part television series - called ''The Mighty Boosh'' - was commissioned by the BBC. It was directed by Paul King and produced by
Baby Cow Productions Baby Cow Productions Ltd is a British comedy television production company based in London and Manchester, founded by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal. Since its establishment it has diversified into radio, animation and film. According to their ...
. The pilot episode was directed by Steve Bendelack, and a large portion of the pilot episode was used in the actual series, in the episode ''Tundra''. The pilot was shot with a live audience because there had been doubts as to whether the successful stage show could translate to the screen, but the actual series had no live audience. Series 1 of the television version of ''The Mighty Boosh'' expanded on the radio series. It was first broadcast on
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
on 18 May 2004 and, from 9 November, also on BBC Two, although in a different order and with the mild swearing censored or edited out. The second series began showing on BBC Three on 26 July 2005, though with a smaller budget. A full-length preview of the following week's episode was available online at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's Boosh webpage. Series 3 started airing on BBC Three from 15 November 2007. Series 3 began airing on America's
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
on 29 March 2009. Series 1 aired on Adult Swim on 10 May 2009 with Series 2 airing on 5 July 2009. The first series was shot on standard definition tape and digitally altered with the
film look Film look (also known as filmizing or film-look) is a process in which video is altered in overall appearance to appear to have been shot on film stock. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an unintentional ...
process. Both subsequent series were shot on digital at 25 frames per second.


Controversy

In 2020,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
removed ''The Mighty Boosh'' from its catalogue, citing the use of blackface in skits such as "The Spirit of Jazz" (where Fielding portrays the ghost of "Howlin' Jimmy Jefferson"), as well as the fifth episode of the first season, "Jungle." Comedian Jack Carroll tweeted that the removal was "an arbitrary gesture that means etflixdon't have to put any real work into combatting actual instances of racial discrimination."


Episodes


Series overview


Series 1 (2004)


Series 2 (2005)


Series 3 (2007)


Media


DVD releases

In the UK the Mighty Boosh has released Series 1-3 individually and in a few boxsets. Series 1 was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
( Region 2) on 29 August 2005, Series 2 on 13 February 2006 and Series 3 was released on 11 February 2008. As a result of a growing fan base in the U.S. the BBC released seasons 1-3 individually on North American NTSC-formatted DVDs on 21 July 2009. The North American series 1-3 boxset was released on 13 October 2009.


Notes


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Boosh, The 2004 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings 2000s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms British fantasy television series Demons in television Mermaids in television Race-related controversies in television British surreal comedy television series Television about magic Television series about ghosts The Mighty Boosh Wizards in television Yeti in fiction Fiction about zoos