The Mighty Boosh is the name for the creators of a British comedy written by and starring 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.

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History

Fielding first met Barratt after seeing him perform his solo stand-up routine at the Hellfire Comedy Club in the Wycombe Swan theatre. ^[1] The pair soon found that they shared comic interests, formed a double act, and "decided to be the new Goodies". ^[2] After their first performance together at a bar in London in April 1998, Barratt and Fielding developed their zookeeper characters - Howard Moon and Vince Noir, respectively - in a series of sketches for Paramount Comedy’s Unnatural Acts . It was here that they also met Rich Fulcher, who would become Bob Fossil. Fielding’s friend Dave Brown and Fielding's own brother Michael also became regular collaborators. Richard Ayoade was another original cast member, playing the role of adventurer Dixon Bainbridge, though was later to be replaced by Matt Berry in the first television series, since he was under contract with Channel 4. ^[3] Ayoade did return in the second and third series however, as a belligerent shaman named Saboo.

The Boosh soon produced three stage shows - The Mighty Boosh (1998), Arctic Boosh (1999) and Autoboosh (2000) - all of which were taken to the Edinburgh Fringe. With the success of Autoboosh , a radio series was commissioned by the BBC. Produced by Danny Wallace, The Boosh was first broadcast in 2001 on BBC London Live, later transferring to BBC Radio 4, from which the team were given a half-hour television pilot of the same name.

The first eight-part series, directed by Paul King, was then commissioned for BBC Three and broadcast in 2004, with a second of six episodes the following year. The second series moved away from the zoo setting, and instead sees Howard, Vince, Naboo the shaman and Bollo the talking ape living in a flat in Dalston. ^[4] In 2006, the Boosh returned to theatre with The Mighty Boosh Live , which featured a new story entitled "The Ruby of Kukundu".

After two years away from television, the Boosh returned to the small screen in November 2007. Set in Naboo’s second-hand shop below the flat, the third series drew in approximately one million viewers with its first episode, ^[5] and in light of its success, BBC Three broadcast an entire night of The Mighty Boosh on March 22, 2008, which included a new documentary and six of Barratt and Fielding's favourite episodes from all three series.

In April 2008 it was announced that the Boosh are planning to "get dressed up for a day in the country", organising their own one-off festival day, with "a load of friends and comedians and bands" at The Hop Farm in Kent on July 5. ^{[6] [7]} Reports suggest that U2 will headline the event. ^[8] Later, in August, they are to have an "entire Mighty Boosh-curated evening" at The Big Chill music festival. ^{[9] [10]} Other upcoming projects include a second tour of the UK from September 2008 through January 2009, ^[11] an album of Boosh music currently being recorded, ^[12], a feature-length film version of the series ^[13] A book called "The Mighty Book of Boosh" has been published by Canongate Books.

On Channel 4 TV programme "Transmission", rock star Alice Cooper mentioned a possible collaboration between himself and The Boosh.

Theatre

Original stage shows

The Mighty Boosh (1998)

The Boosh, then consisting of only Barratt and Fielding, conceived The Mighty Boosh whilst working on Stewart Lee's Edinburgh Festival show King Dong vs. Moby Dick in which they played a giant penis and a whale respectively.

In 1998, they took The Mighty Boosh to the Edinburgh Festival, recruiting fellow comedian Rich Fulcher, whom the pair had met while working on Unnatural Acts. The show won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. During their residency at the Hen and Chickens Theatre in North London the following year, they built up a cult following, introducing new characters whilst developing old ones.

Arctic Boosh (1999)

In 1999, the Boosh returned to the Edinburgh Festival with a new show, Arctic Boosh , with Dave Brown acting as choreographer and photographer, as well as playing a variety of characters. Arctic Boosh sold out every night and was nominated for the Perrier Award.

Autoboosh (2000)

In 2000, the Boosh premiered their third stage show, Autoboosh , at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, adding Fielding's younger brother Michael to the cast. Autoboosh won the festival's Barry Award.

Nationwide tours

The Mighty Boosh Live (2006)

The Boosh returned to the stage in 2006, touring the UK for the first time. Though drawing heavily from their earlier material, the main story combined these elements into a new narrative. A recording of this show at the Brixton Academy was later released on DVD, before being broadcast on BBC Three on Boxing Day, 2007.

Boosh Live (2008/09)

The Boosh went on a second tour of the UK and Ireland from September 2008 to February 2009. The show featured characters from all three series as well as the Boosh Band.

They made appearances and DJ'ed throughout the U.K after their live shows, at after parties held in different places in each city. The events were called "Outrage", after the saying by one Tony Harrison.

Radio

The Boosh (2001)

From the success of Autoboosh , the BBC commissioned a six-part radio series for the Boosh. In October 2001 The Boosh radio series, produced by Danny Wallace, was broadcast on BBC London Live, then BBC Radio 4, and later on BBC 7. The show focuses on the adventures of a pair of zookeepers at "Bob Fossil's Funworld": deluded jazz enthusiast Howard TJ Moon, and fan of retro fashion Vince Noir.

Further appearances

The Mighty Boosh returned to radio on October 22, 2004, in a one-off comedy special for The Breezeblock , a show on BBC Radio 1. ^[14] Instead of the plot driven nature of their own series, this show featured improvised conversational comedy with Barratt, Fielding and Fulcher, combined with the show's usual mix of electronic music.

On November 15, 2007, as part of the publicity for the premier of their third series the same day, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding returned to Radio 1, this time on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge. ^[15]

Television

The Mighty Boosh (2004-present)

In May 2004, after the success of a Boosh pilot, Steve Coogan's company, Baby Cow Productions, produced the first television series of The Mighty Boosh for BBC Three, before it moved to BBC Two in November that same year. Though each episode invariably starts and ends in Bob Fossil’s dilapidated zoo, the "Zooniverse", the characters of Vince and Howard often depart for other locations, such as the Arctic tundra and limbo. thumb A second series was then shown in July 2005, which saw Howard and Vince now sharing a flat in Dalston with previously minor characters Naboo and his familiar, Bollo. This series had an even looser setting as the four characters leave the confines of the flat in every episode, using their van to travel to further surreal environments. Series three started in November 2007, still set in Dalston, but this time has the foursome working in their shop called the Nabootique. Their adventures and outings in the third series were more toned down than the previous two series', and they focused more on the involvement of new characters (e.g. Sammy the Crab, or Lester Corncrake, etc) than just the two of them 'journeying through time and space'. A fourth series has been rumoured since the broadcast of the third, though no official confirmation has been released regarding this speculation. ^[16] It transpires that the fourth series won't be written until at least 2010, because of the duo's other commitments throughout 2009.

The Mighty Boosh began airing in North America on Adult Swim, starting March 29, 2009 with the third series. ^[17]

Howard Moon makes a cameo appearance in the forthcoming TV film Bunny and the Bull , which is directed by Paul King (who directed all three series of The Mighty Boosh ). In trailers which have aired on "Film 4", he is seen wearing his arctic attire from the series one episode Tundra . Both Noel and Julian appear in the film playing other characters too.

The Mighty Boosh Night

On 22 March, 2008 BBC Three broadcast a whole night of The Mighty Boosh from 9.05pm, starting with a new documentary entitled The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space , documenting the history of the Boosh from their first amateur performances to their upcoming 2008 tour. This was followed by six of Barratt and Fielding's favourite episodes from the three series: "Party", "The Power of the Crimp", "The Nightmare of Milky Joe", "The Priest and the Beast", "The Legend of Old Gregg" and "Tundra". The pair also appeared in live links throughout the night, in a similar style to the openings of Series 1 episodes. And on 23rd December 2008, BBC3 held a Merry Booshmas Party featuring the entire series 3 as well as a broadcast of The Mighty Boosh Live. ^[18]

Festival

On July 5, 2008, the Boosh held their own festival in the Hop Farm in Kent. It featured musical acts, Robots in Disguise, The Kills, Gary Numan, The Mighty Boosh Band, Everest, Laura Marling, Rufus Wainwright, Supergrass, Primal Scream, and Neil Young, as well as comedy acts, Frankie Boyle, and Ross Noble.

Film

It has been confirmed that BBC Films are interested in producing a film adaptation of the series, and though the first draft of the script is currently being written, work is not likely to start on the film until after their tour. After their tour they will be taking a short break, then either make a new series (the fourth) or release a movie. ^[19] The film will be entitled The Mighty Boosh Film.

Spin-off

It was announced on 11 November 2008 that MTV has commissioned a spin-off series of The Mighty Boosh, starring Rich Fulcher as Eleanor the Tour Whore, the transvestite who appeared in the Series Three episode "Eels". ^[20] Although rumoured, it is not clear if any other Mighty Boosh characters will appear in it. A 20-minute pilot episode has already been made, which can be viewed on several comedy websites currently and is expected to air on MTV2 shortly (as will the series).

Media

Audio CDs

Title	Release date	Contents	Bonus material
The Mighty Boosh	8 November 2004	All 6 episodes of the Boosh's radio series across 3 discs	Interview with producer Danny Wallace, outtakes
The Mighty Boosh Live	13 November 2006	Audio recording of their live show at Brixton Academy	N/A

According to an official MySpace page for PieFace Records (the fictitious music label mentioned throughout the series), Barratt and Fielding are to release an album of music from the show, "along with extras, versions, remixes and rare unreleased stuff all to be released later in the year on their own label - this one.". ^[21] In interviews since, including one Noel Fielding gave to the Guardian Newspaper, The Mighty Boosh have confirmed they will indeed be releasing an album of their music.

DVDs

Title	UK Release date	US Release date	Contents	Special features
The Mighty Boosh	29 August 2005	21 July 2009	All 8 episodes of the first television series across 2 discs	Inside the Zooniverse, history of the Boosh, Boosh music, out-takes, picture gallery, commentary on "Bollo", "Tundra", "Electro" and "Hitcher".
The Mighty Boosh 2	13 February 2006	21 July 2009	All 6 episodes of the second series, plus a second disc of special features	Boosh pilot, Boosh publicity, making of Series Two, commentary on all six episodes, photo gallery, out-takes, deleted scenes, Sweet
The Mighty Boosh: Series One & Two	13 February 2006	n/a	Box set of first and second series DVDs, plus exclusive booklet	Identical to individual releases
The Mighty Boosh Live	13 November 2006	n/a	Recording of their live show at Brixton Academy	Backstage & tour documentary, the Ralfe Band, a deleted scene, The Culture Show piece
The Mighty Boosh 3	11 February 2008	21 July 2009	All 6 episodes of the third series across 2 discs	Making Boosh 3, Boosh publicity, deleted scenes, Mint Royale promo, Boosh music, out-takes, Boosh 3 trailer, audio commentaries
	17 November 2008	13 October 2009	Box set of first three series DVDs, plus seventh disc	Identical to individual releases, plus stickers, postcards, 'A Journey Through Time and Space' documentary, behind the scenes of a live night, footage from the Royal Television Society Awards, Dave Stewart interview, the making of Sammy the Crab, outtakes and deleted scenes from the pilot, pre-recorded live night links, cinema trailer, crimping collection, Unnatural Acts zoo-keeper sketches, Bob Fossil audio
Boosh Live; Future Sailors Tour	9 November 2009	n/a	A DVD release of Boosh Live at the Manchester Apollo on the 3rd & 4th December 2008	Features the full show, commentary, audience participation option, Bob Fossil's Vietnam Video Diaries, highlights from The Mighty Boosh Festival and performances from the Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Footage was filmed during the aftershow party that week at Club Academy, and members of the audience in costumes were filmed and photographed throughout the week, which may also add towards the additional features. There will also be a "Limited Edition".

Previously most of the DVDs were only released in Region 2 but as a result of a growing fan base in the U.S., the BBC rereleased in Region 1, Series 1-3 individually on July 21, 2009, ^{[22] [23]} and a Special Edition Series 1-3 Boxset on Oct. 13, 2009. ^[24]

Books

On September 18, 2008, Canongate Books published The Mighty Book of Boosh , designed and compiled by Dave Brown and written by Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher, Dave Brown, Richard Ayoade and Michael Fielding. The book includes original stories, crimps, concept art, behind-the-scenes photography, comics, and various other things, featuring old and new Mighty Boosh characters. On 1 October, 2009, a paperback version was released under the name The Pocket Book of Boosh .

Awards

Particularly popular amongst followers of the indie and electro music genres which the NME magazine caters for, The Mighty Boosh has been recipient of the Shockwaves NME Awards Best TV Show for three consecutive years, even though there were no new episodes broadcast for the latter two of the three years.

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
1999	Edinburgh Festival Fringe	Perrier Comedy Award	Arctic Boosh	Nominated
2000	Melbourne International Comedy Festival	Barry Award	Autoboosh	Won
2001	Douglas Adams Award	Innovative Writing [25]	The Boosh	Won
2004	British Comedy Awards	Best New TV Comedy	Series 1	Nominated
2004	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest TV Programme	Series 1	Nominated
2005	RTS Craft & Design Awards	Costume Design - Entertainment and Non Drama Productions [26]	June Nevin Series 2	Nominated
2005	BAFTA Television Awards	Best New Director (Fiction)	Paul King Series 2	Nominated
2008	Alistair Baldwin Comedy Awards	Best Stage Show	The Mighty Boosh Live	Nominated
2006	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest TV Programme	Series 2	Nominated
2006	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest Double Act	Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding Series 2	Nominated
2006	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest DVD	Series 2	Nominated
2007	Chortle Awards	Best Full-Length Solo Show [27]	The Mighty Boosh Live	Won
2007	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest TV Programme [28]	Series 3	Won
2007	Loaded LAFTAS	Funniest Double Act	Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding Series 3	Nominated
2007	NME Awards	Best TV Show [29]	Series 3	Won
2008	NME Awards	Best TV Show [30]	Series 3	Won
2008	RTS Programme Awards	Situation Comedy and Comedy Drama [31]	Series 3	Won
2009	NME Awards	Best TV Show [32]	Series 3	Won

Notes

1. The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space
2. Boys from the Boosh
3. ''Inside the Zooniverse'', The Mighty Boosh: Series 1, BBCDVD1553.
4. BBC. Where is series two set?, bbc.co.uk.
5. Noel Fielding: The comedian is returning to his first love - painting
6. NME. ''The Mighty Boosh to launch their own festival'', NME.COM, 2008-04-18.
7. Trinity St. ''The Mighty Boosh Festival'', The Mighty Boosh Online, 2008-04-22.
8. The Quietus ''U2 to headline Mighty Boosh Festival''
9. The Big Chill. It has since been confirmed that they will form their own band specially for this event, playing songs from the television series ''The Mighty Boosh will perform at The Big Chill festival 2008'', bigchill.net, 2008.
10. Trinity St. ''The Mighty Boosh go to the Big Chill'', The Mighty Boosh Online, 2008-04-22.
11. The Mighty Boosh Online. ''2008 Tour Dates'', 2007-12-10.
12. PieFace Records. ''Boosh in the Studio'', MySpaceTV, 2008-03-24.
13. Ali Jaafar. ''BBC's 'Boosh' looks to big screen'', Variety, 2008-02-12.
14. Susie T. ''Radio 1 Breezeblock - The Mighty Boosh'', The Mighty Boosh News Updates, 2004-11-17.
15. Jo Whiley. ''Mighty Boosh in the Live Lounge'', BBC Radio 1, 2007-11-15.
16. British Sitcom Guide. About “The Mighty Boosh”.
17. Dragoncon08. Adult Swim Panel Highlights.
18. BBC. Mighty Boosh Night BBC Three, 2008-03-22.
19. Natalie Jamieson. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7275000/7275652.stm ''No pointless celebs for Mighty Boosh movie, BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, 2008-03-04.
20. Chortle: First TV Comedy shot only on mobilesAccessed 19/05/2009
21. PieFace Records on MySpace Music
22. ''It Is Coming: The Mighty Boosh Is Coming To Your American DVD Player'', 2009-04-08.
23. [1], 2009-04-08.
24. [1], 2009-05-29.
25. Chortle. ''Boosh win writing prize'', First Douglas Adams Award, 2001-10-26
26. Royal Television Society. RTS Craft & Design Awards 2004/2005, 2005-11-22.
27. Chortle. Chortle Awards, The UK Comedy guide, 2007.
28. Loaded. Loaded LAFTAS, 2007.
29. NME. ''The Mighty Boosh wins Best TV Show at Shockwave NME Awards'', NME.COM, 2007-03-01.
30. NME. ''Shockwaves NME Awards 2008: The Mighty Boosh wins Best TV Show'', NME.COM, 2008-02-28.
31. BBC. ''RTS Awards: Winners list'', bbc.co.uk, 2008-03-20.
32. NME. ''The Mighty Boosh win Shockwaves NME Awards Best TV Show gong:'', NME.COM, 2009-02-25.