The Mighty Boosh (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy
television
show created by Julian Barratt
, Noel Fielding
and others (collectively known as The Mighty Boosh
). The Mighty Boosh is a comic fantasy containing humour and pop-culture references. Episodes often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal
, funk
, and rap. The show has been 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 performs it with Noel Fielding. Fielding also designed many of the show's graphics and artwork.
The TV 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
, 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
, Dave Brown
, and Michael Fielding
.
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 is killed at the end of the episode, before the credits. However, in subsequent episodes, Bollo is also seen alive and well.
s, the "central cast" consists of five characters:
Recurring characters include:
Notable guest actors and actresses include:
and produced by Baby Cow Productions
. 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
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
's Boosh webpage. Series 3 started airing on BBC Three from 15 November 2007.
Series 3 began airing on America's Adult Swim
on 29 March 2009. Series 1 aired on Adult Swim on 10 May 2009 with Series 2 airing on 5 July 2009.
(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 the 17 October 2009.
British comedy
British comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years.-Film comedy:...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show created by Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt is an English comedian, musician, music producer and actor. Barratt is best known for playing the character of Howard Moon in the cult comedy The Mighty Boosh, which he also co-writes with comedy partner, Noel Fielding.-The Mighty Boosh:Barratt stars as the character Howard Moon...
, Noel Fielding
Noel Fielding
Noel Fielding is a British artist, comedian and actor. He is known for his roles as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh, which he co-writes with comedy partner Julian Barratt, and as team captain on the music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.-Stand-up comedy:Noel Fielding performed regularly as a...
and others (collectively known as The Mighty Boosh
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 spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
). The Mighty Boosh is a comic fantasy containing humour and pop-culture references. Episodes often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and rap. The show has been known for popularising a style called "crimping
Crimp (song)
A crimp is one of the humorous a cappella nonsense songs sung by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt in the comedy television series The Mighty Boosh. A crimp is sung in a scat style featuring lyrics characterized by non-sequiturs that are rhythmically similar to beatboxing...
"; short a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
songs which are present throughout all three series. Julian Barratt wrote the music within the show, and performs it with Noel Fielding. Fielding also designed many of the show's graphics and artwork.
The TV 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
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
, 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
Rich Fulcher
Rich Fulcher is an American comedian and author based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for co-starring in the British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, alongside comedy duo Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.-Early life:...
, Dave Brown
Dave Brown (comedian)
Dave Brown is a British comedian, choreographer designer and photographer.He is most famous for his work with The Mighty Boosh.His most prominent role is that of Bollo the ape...
, and Michael Fielding
Michael Fielding
Michael Fielding, more commonly known as Mike Fielding, is a comedian and actor. He was born 1981 in Westminster, London, England and raised in Mitcham, Surrey.-Career:...
.
Format
The Mighty Boosh centres on the adventures of Howard Moon (Barratt) and Vince Noir (Fielding). These characters are often presented as the creators of The Mighty Boosh themselves. 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 wallFourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
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 is killed at the end of the episode, before the credits. However, in subsequent episodes, Bollo is also seen alive and well.
Characters
Though there are many recurring characterRecurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
s, the "central cast" consists of five characters:
- Howard Moon (Julian BarrattJulian BarrattJulian Barratt is an English comedian, musician, music producer and actor. Barratt is best known for playing the character of Howard Moon in the cult comedy The Mighty Boosh, which he also co-writes with comedy partner, Noel Fielding.-The Mighty Boosh:Barratt stars as the character Howard Moon...
) - Vince Noir (Noel FieldingNoel FieldingNoel Fielding is a British artist, comedian and actor. He is known for his roles as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh, which he co-writes with comedy partner Julian Barratt, and as team captain on the music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.-Stand-up comedy:Noel Fielding performed regularly as a...
) - Naboo (Michael FieldingMichael FieldingMichael Fielding, more commonly known as Mike Fielding, is a comedian and actor. He was born 1981 in Westminster, London, England and raised in Mitcham, Surrey.-Career:...
) - Bollo (Peter Elliot (2004), Dave BrownDave Brown (comedian)Dave Brown is a British comedian, choreographer designer and photographer.He is most famous for his work with The Mighty Boosh.His most prominent role is that of Bollo the ape...
(2005–present)) - Bob Fossil (Rich FulcherRich FulcherRich Fulcher is an American comedian and author based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for co-starring in the British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, alongside comedy duo Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.-Early life:...
)
Recurring characters include:
- Dennis (Julian Barratt)
- Dixon Bainbridge (Originally Richard AyoadeRichard AyoadeRichard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
, later Matt BerryMatt BerryMatthew Charles "Matt" Berry is an English actor, writer, comedian and musician. Berry is perhaps best known for his appearances in The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh; he also had his own series, Snuff Box...
) - The Hitcher (Noel Fielding)
- Kirk (Kirk Gaitskell-Kendrick)
- Lester Corncrake (Rich Fulcher)
- The Moon (Noel Fielding)
- Old Gregg (Noel Fielding)
- Rudy van DiSarzio (Julian Barratt)
- Saboo (Richard AyoadeRichard AyoadeRichard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
) - Tony Harrison (Noel Fielding)
Notable guest actors and actresses include:
- Dee Plume and Sue Denim ("Mutants", "Electro", "Nanageddon", "The Strange Tale Of The Crack Fox")
- Gary NumanGary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
("The Power of the Crimp") - The HorrorsThe HorrorsThe Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
("The Chokes") - RazorlightRazorlightRazorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
("The Priest and the Beast") - Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
("The Priest and the Beast") - Diva ZappaDiva ZappaDiva Thin Muffin Pigeen Zappa is an American artist, also known for several acting roles in film and television, as well as recording a one-off comedy single. She is the youngest daughter of musician Frank Zappa.-Personal life:...
("Party")
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 KingPaul King (Director)
Paul King is a writer and director. He works in television, film and theatre, and specialises in comedy.He graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge University with first-class honours in English in 1999...
and produced by Baby Cow Productions
Baby Cow Productions
Baby Cow Productions Ltd is a UK comedy television production company established in 1999 by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal based in London and Manchester. It has since diversified into radio, animation and film. In 2008, BBC Worldwide bought a 25% stake in the company...
. The pilot episode was directed by Steve Bendelack
Steve Bendelack
Steve Bendelack is a British film and television director, who has worked primarily on a range of highly-acclaimed comedy programmes.Originally an assistant to Peter Fluck and Roger Law on satirical TV puppet show Spitting Image, Bendelack went on to direct the show in later years...
, 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
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
on 18 May 2004 and, from 9 November, also on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, 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
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
'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
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
on 29 March 2009. Series 1 aired on Adult Swim on 10 May 2009 with Series 2 airing on 5 July 2009.
Series overview
| Series | |Originally broadcast | Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... | Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... | Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2004 | 21 July 2009 | 29 August 2005 | 11 April 2007 | |
| 2 | 6 | 2005 | 21 July 2009 | 13 February 2006 | 12 April 2007 | |
| 3 | 6 | 2007 | 21 July 2009 | 11 February 2008 | 6 August 2008 | |
Series 1: 2004
| # | Original airdate | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 101 | 18 May 2004 | "Killeroo" |
| 2 - 102 | 25 May 2004 | "Mutants" |
| 3 - 103 | 1 June 2004 | "Bollo" |
| 4 - 104 | 8 June 2004 | "Tundra" |
| 5 - 105 | 15 June 2004 | "Jungle" |
| 6 - 106 | 22 June 2004 | "Charlie" |
| 7 - 107 | 29 June 2004 | "Electro" |
| 8 - 108 | 6 July 2004 | "Hitcher" |
Series 2: 2005
| # | Original airdate | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 9 - 201 | 25 July 2005 | "Call of the Yeti" |
| 10 - 202 | 2 August 2005 | "The Priest and the Beast" |
| 11 - 203 | 9 August 2005 | "Nanageddon" |
| 12 - 204 | 16 August 2005 | "Fountain of Youth" |
| 13 - 205 | 23 August 2005 | "The Legend of Old Gregg" |
| 14 - 206 | 30 August 2005 | "The Nightmare of Milky Joe" |
Series 3: 2007
| # | Original airdate | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 15 - 301 | 15 November 2007 | "Eels" |
| 16 - 302 | 22 November 2007 | "Journey to the Centre of the Punk" |
| 17 - 303 | 29 November 2007 | "The Power of the Crimp" |
| 18 - 304 | 6 December 2007 | |
| 19 - 305 | 13 December 2007 | "Party" |
| 20 - 306 | 20 December 2007 | "The Chokes" |
DVD releases
In the UK the Mighty Boosh has released Series 1-3 individually and in a few boxsets. Series 1 was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
(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 the 17 October 2009.
| DVD Title | No. of discs | Year | No. of episodes | DVD release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
|||||
| Complete Series 1 The Mighty Boosh (series 1) The Mighty Booshs first series was originally broadcast between 18 May 2004 and 6 July 2004. The series features five main cast members; Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Rich Fulcher, Michael Fielding and Dave Brown. The first series centers on Howard Moon and Vince Noir , and the adventures they... |
2 | 2004 | 8 | 21 July 2009 | 29 August 2005 | 11 April 2007 | |
| Complete Series 2 The Mighty Boosh (series 2) The Mighty Booshs second series was originally broadcast between 25 July 2005 and 30 August 2005. The series features five main cast members: Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Rich Fulcher, Michael Fielding and Dave Brown. The second series centers around Howard Moon and Vince Noir , and the... |
2 | 2005 | 6 | 21 July 2009 | 13 February 2006 | 12 April 2007 | |
| Complete Series 3 The Mighty Boosh (series 3) 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 series revolves around Howard Moon and Vince Noir , and the... |
2 | 2007 | 6 | 21 July 2009 | 11 February 2008 | 6 August 2008 | |
| Complete Series 1 & 2 | 4 | 2004–2005 | 14 | — | 13 February 2006 | — | |
| Complete Series 1 - 3 (Special Edition) |
7 | 2004–2007 | 20 | 13 October 2009 | 17 November 2008 | 6 August 2009 | |
| Complete Series 1 - 3 (HMV HMV His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone... Edition) |
6 | 2004–2007 | 20 | — | 17 November 2008 | — | |