A Boosh Too Far: 'The Mighty Boosh'

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WHAT EXACTLY IS a boosh, and what makes this one so mighty?

Those are two questions unanswered — nay, ignored — during the four series of the comedy television show "The Mighty Boosh," which is immensely popular in the U.K. and a cult phenomenon over here.

Reminiscent of "The Young Ones" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Boosh" is known for its trippy set pieces, anarchic plotlines and wide cultural spray, not to mention the chemistry between its two leads, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.

"The Mighty Boosh" began first as a stand-up routine in the late 1990s, then transformed into a stage show, then a radio broadcast and, finally, in 2004, a TV series on BBC Three. Sporting a natty mustache, Barratt plays Howard Moon, a nerdishly imposing "jazz maverick," and Fielding plays Vincent Noir, the self-proclaimed "King of the Mods" who sports a hairdo like Rod Stewart's in 1973 and one of the slyest grins in television. Supporting characters include a shaman and a gorilla.

"The Mighty Boosh" drops Moon and Noir into different scenarios, as if constantly redefining the show. In the first and best, they work at a rundown zoo, where they box kangaroos and get lost in the jungle exhibition. Subsequently, they become London layabouts, space travelers and shopkeeps.

That sense of oddball non sequitur extends to BBC's new seven-DVD set, which includes all four series as well as a stockpile of extras. The packaging is decorated with crayon scrawls of what appears to be a masked wrestler or an electrocuted skull — the show's obscure mascot. Also, there are stickers. And trading cards.

The show has a tendency to drag whenever it gets away from Moon and Noir, which is often. They're the series' heart, with a genial rapport and good-natured humor that are always endearing. Maybe that's what a boosh is.

Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner
Photo courtesy Jack Barnes