The Mighty Boosh

I've been raving about this comedy for a long time even though I missed some of it when it was on TV (usually late at night). So the arrival of the DVD was awaited with much anticipation. People often ask me to describe The Mighty Boosh - which is not an easy thing to do.

Essentially the structure is that of a sit-com, in that there is the reoccurring location of the zoo, and a set of familiar characters most notably the two main protagonists – zoo-keepers Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt). Vince is the fashion conscious shallow one, that plays against Howard's jazz loving, self-important but likable loser. Each episode is a juxtaposition of the Morecombe and Wise type banter between Vince and Howard, and the sheer surrealism of their subsequent adventures that take them to exotic locations and pit them against bizarre and often quite dark foes.

For me the triumph of the show is due to the breadth of vision that links the fantastic theatrical visual look (based on largely on Noel's sketches), with Julian's love of music, together with the off-beat acting style and witty script to provide an experience that is more than the sum of its parts.

There is nothing else quite like this on TV, you won't be splitting your sides every minute at quick-fire one-liners written by teams of caffeine stimulated comedy writers, but instead prepare yourself for a rather more gentle experience, peppered by some hilarious set-pieces, who's imaginative brilliance will ingrain itself into your heart and mind. It's quite simply lovable.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion and comedy is a matter of personal taste. However, don't be misled by most of the negative comments about the Boosch. It is NOT just humour for adolescents. I'm nearing retirement age and I remember Hancock in the early sixties but I think this programme is excellent. I think American sitcoms are generally grossly overrated (I despair at the popularity of that awful smug tripe known as Friends) and have been concerned at the recent trend to try and imitate this style in British sitcoms. The Boosch has no truck with that approach. It is wonderfully uncompromising in following the British tradition of not writing to a ratings-chasing formula (which nearly all US sitcoms do) but says "if you like this - fine but we're not going to water it down just to try and make it more acceptable to a mass audience". Whether you like it will depend on your personal taste in humour but it is right up there with the Goons, Python, the Young Ones, Father Ted and the rest. Future series may not be up to the standard of the first two but so what? There are only two series of Fawlty Towers but that's not exactly branded it a failure. Incidentally, I'm not totally anti US sitcoms. The Simpsons was great at first (well beyond its sell-by date now though) and one of the greatest of all time was, of course, Bilko.

I first became aware of Julian Barrett and Noel Fielding when they did a regular slot on the Lee & Herring review show of the juste pour rire comedy festival. I remember thinking that they were quite funny and that their main strength was in making you feel like you were just watching them talking among themselves, rather than acting a rehearsed script.

When I first saw the mighty boosh I didn't really give it a chance. I was channel-surfing late at night and, in my usual cynicism at any new comedy that the BBC releases, switched over after twenty seconds. It wasn't until about a year ago when I visited a friend and we had been out getting intoxicated that I was persuaded to watch a full episode, post-pub style. In spite of my earlier cynicism I found myself laughing, and since then it has grown on me to the point that I've just ordered the 2 series boxset.

Comparisons to Reeves and Mortimer are inevitable and I don't blame people accusing the writers of stealing some content. Of course I remember in 1990 people saying the exact same thing about Reeves & Mortimer in reference to Morecambe & Wise. As one reviewer has already said, they are standing on the shoulders of giants.

What sets the mighty boosh apart is its form. Reeves & Mortimer have never been any good at sitcom. Barrett and Fielding take the same surrealist approach to comedy but apply it to the form of sitcom with a sort of laissez-faire ease which allows the story to feel as if it's just unfolding in front of you.

I think it's interesting that some reviewers have criticised the actors for being too concerned with their image. Personally I thought one of the central jokes (if not THE central joke) of the mighty boosh was that EVERYONE is concerned with their image, and you can either admit it, preen yourself, and revel in how fabulous you look (like Vince) or you can deny it in pursuit of an elusive higher truth which (according to the show) always gets away from you and leaves you in the soup (like Howard).

This is classic double-act stuff (the vain, shallow one and the insecure, pretentious one) and these are two actors who are at home with each other and pull it off well. The supporting cast do their job very well, and Barrett and Fielding's bizarre side characters provide good, if brief, displays of their range as comic actors.

The sets in the mighty boosh are unashamedly low-budget and as far as I can tell none of it was shot on location. This (along with the curtain-up style intro which the two main characters perform (in character)at the beginning of each episode) serves to give the whole thing a thick layer of romantic irony, which neatly bridges the gap between the surreal train ride of the plot and the often mundane, very naturalistic exchanges between Howard and Vince.

In summary, the more I get into this show the more I love it for what it is; a well-crafted sloppy jelly of mixed ideas, held together with sound-acting-glue and peppered with quotable one-liners. It grows on you like cheese, which is a kind of meat, a tasty yellow beef.

That's the end of the review, but is it really the end?

I first stumbled upon this a few weeks ago, one late Saturday night on BBC3. I only saw half of one of the episodes but it had me killing myself laughing. I then felt I had to watch the remaining two episodes of series two in the following weeks. It is one of the most random shows ever (and the costume department love their polo mints) but it is hilarious. I think you have to give the show a chance and give yourself time to get into it(having a good sense of humour helps too). A review here said that it was 'a step too far' but I think that was just a wee bit too dramatic a statement to make. I don't think it's a point of not liking it, I think its the fact that people don't give it a chance or understand the humour. The Mighty Boosh could be described as a mixture between 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' and 'Spaced' with added randomness and songs but even that is quite vague and I guess you really have to see it for yourself. I just bought the series 1 DVD with my birthday money and so far, I am loving it. It will appeal to fans of 'Garth Marenghi....' and 'Spaced'as I said before(because of the type of humour)Finally, can I just say that I am so glad that the BBC decided not to use canned laughter in the programme. Canned laughter seems to kill a lot of comedies (with the exception of Father Ted and the like) and if the people at the BBC had decided not to ditch the canned laughter, The Mighty Boosh would not be nearly as fantastic as it is just now.

I can't praise Messrs Barret and Fielding enough for producing one of the finest comedies of the decade so far. It seems to have gone largely ignored by the masses, but I'm sure it won't be long before the rest of the nation catch-up and they'll all pretend they watched from the start! Like all excellent work you are constantly asking yourself "How did they come up with that?!" This for me is the beauty of this programme, it's completely original, imaginative and sometimes it seems completely spontaneous. It may take you one or two episodes before you are hooked but once you are you'll find yourself searching on your Sky remote through BBC2 and BBC3's listings trying to find out if it is on. If its on at 2 or 3 in the morning, so what, stay up, watch it, go into work tired the next morning it's well worth it. If your the kind of person who gets angry if you don't get enough sleep, then simply go into work wearing a poncho! It's impossible not to be happy in a poncho, but of course, you all know that! Boosh Forever!!!!!!!