The Mighty Boosh

The Mighty Boosh has always been one of my favourite programmes, sitcoms and beyond. It is nothing like the traditional sitcom - it is far more surreal and outlandish (in a positive sense), with plenty of strange characters that are a lot of fun.

The plots for each episode are almost highly unbelievable and silly, but that just adds to how lovable the series is. There are only 20 episodes at the current time, with no signs of another series being produced anytime soon, but each episode differs completely in terms of the plot with new characters introduced in pretty much every episode - be it a green-skinned hitchhiker with a Polo sweet for an eyepatch, a half-fish deep sea transsexual, or the legendary Yeti on heat, you never really know what to expect in any episode.

If you have a strict sense of humour, requiring the jokes and comical situations to be direct, rather than subtle, the chances are you will not like Boosh. There is no laughter track and the jokes/gags are generally deadpan, or at least low key. This is why the series often puts off American audiences. What they may not realise is that one character (as well as a variety of minor characters portrayed by the same actor), Bob Fossil, usually defies this sense of humour. Fossil, incidentally, is portrayed by an American (Rich Fulcher). He tends to be very direct with his humour, rather than the subtleness as depicted, by the main characters, Howard and Vince, as well as recurring supporting character Naboo the Enigma.

This is definitely a TV show you must not judge based on one viewing. It may take a few episodes to get used to the humour. And in all seriousness, you will often start with the first episode, 'Killeroo', which is the weakest episode of the whole 20 in my opinion. There is no explaining this to my beloved girlfriend who hated the show when I showed her the first episode. On reflection from this, I'd suggest starting with an episode like the 'Nanageddon' episode, one of the best of the bunch. This episode features an army of Satanic old ladies killing people across London using weapons such as OAP free bus passes and knitting material. No, seriously.

It's not to everyone's tastes, but I advise giving it a try. For me, it's a perfect 10. I imagine this show is like Marmite - love or hate. I don't know anyone who thinks the show is "all right", "okay", or "pretty good". It's either "brilliant" or "a load of rubbish/trash/garbage. Give it a try.

It takes a certain type of person to appreciate this type of comedy, and I'm glad to say I'm one of them! This show is cool, its British, it's laid back and it's trippy, much like Naboo I guess. I only just started watching it at episode six, but as soon as I saw Naboo holding up a picture of two kittens I was hooked. "Look at the cat on the left. His name is Phillip." Classic.

It's a great show, something really different and really funny. Vince and Howard are a great couple, their styles compliment each other well, but I have to say I like Vince the best. He has really cool hair.

I hope this show gets another series. I love it. I just went out and brought a poncho!

Its a hubba bubba nightmare!

but I can honestly say I love it now. I downloaded the first series and almost deleted it after watching the 1st episode. But I decided to give it a shot and after the 2nd episode it started to slowly get under my skin in a good way. This is not your daddy's sitcom and if you judge it as such, you will probably hate this show. This show is certainly original if nothing else. I love the weird premise of the show and the many assorted weird characters. And I love the musical and dance numbers as well, they're all really well done ! I really like the guy who plays the Howard Moon character. He has a very subtle comedic genius about him. The Vincent Noir character complements him well with his eccentricities ...and his hair ;) I'm currently downloading season 2 -- don't worry, i plan on importing the dvds soon -- and can't wait to see if the magic remains.

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!!!!!!!

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.