The Mighty Boosh is a British surreal comedy television series created by Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Starring the comedy troupe The Mighty Boosh, it often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal, funk and rap. The series 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 series 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 series like The Goodies (1970–1982), as if it were a complete "world" rather than simply a sketch show.
In 2019, The Mighty Boosh was ranked 98th on The Guardians list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. Reruns aired on Adult Swim in the United States from 2009 to 2013.
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 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, 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 characters, the "central cast" consists of five characters: Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) Naboo (Michael Fielding) Bollo (Peter Elliott (2004), Dave Brown (2005–2007)) Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher)
Recurring characters include: Dennis (Julian Barratt) Dixon Bainbridge (originally Richard Ayoade, later Matt Berry) 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) 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 Numan ("The Power of the Crimp") The Horrors ("The Chokes") Razorlight and Roger Daltrey ("The Priest and the Beast") Diva Zappa ("Party")