I'm Old Gregg...in the Tundra...

Compare & contrast two episodes of the situation-comedy The Mighty Boosh, paying close attention to similarities & differences in tone, structure, & style.

Comedic duo Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, and their created personas, Vince Noir and Howard Moon, are collectively known as ‘The Mighty Boosh.’ They have had success with stand-up comedy, travelling stage shows, a radio series, and as “radio begat television,” [Bushman,1996:122] a television series. For the purpose of this essay The Mighty Boosh will be used exclusively to reference the BBC television program, which first aired with the episode Killeroo(18/05/04). Including the pilot, only thirteen episodes have been produced so far. To investigate similarities and differences within the The Mighty Boosh in relation to the ‘situation comedy’ genre, two episodes, Pilot (previously unscreened) and The Legend Of Old Gregg (23/08/05), have been selected for study.


The Mighty Boosh is classified, on a most basic genre level, as a situation-comedy determined by elements of ”character types, setting, iconography, narrative and style.” [Creeber,2001:3] “Television is stretching and transforming” [Rattigan,2004:160] to accommodate more hybridised genres, meaning one absolute genre for any television show is obsolete. In The Call Of The Yeti (26/07/05) Howard Moon says of himself: “I span the genres Vince, they call me the genre spanner”; a perfect explanation of what the show itself does. Genres it spans include: comedy, fantasy, surrealism, horror, musical, animation, advertising, and even, to an extent, the western; evidenced by Vince’s penchant for cowboy boots, “the white hat…the signifier of a ‘good’ cowboy,” [Fiske,1987:63] his Howard imposed sense of being ‘the sidekick’, and the way there is often a ‘show down’ with an evil character; Nanatoo, Beta Max, and the recurring villain ‘The Hitcher’ who claims: “I’m evil, pure evil!”


The Mighty Boosh plays as a conventional sitcom in “its nature as an episodic series…a program with continuing characters but with a new plot (situation) each week,” [Feuer,1992:122] but it is the nature of the situation which removes it from the conventional realm, placing it somewhere between surrealist territory and fantasy land. Vince befriending a polar bear in the Tundra, and Howard held captive by a lonely Merman looking for love, are two examples of the wonderfully surrealist, yet comedic, situations Vince and Howard find themselves in. The show’s style of comedy, which doesn’t take itself too seriously, directs the audience to believe these absurd situations are normal. Characters react emotionally to situations, eg. Howard’s fear of the romantic advances of Old Gregg (Noel Fielding), while the fact he fished a Merman wearing a pink tutu, white suit jacket, and tie out of a lake is a secondary concern, as if these things happen every day.

The audience understands from the outset the show is not a realistic world, as Barratt’s voiceover invites in the opening credits, “Come with us now, on a journey through time and space, to the world of The Mighty Boosh!” Upon accepting the invitation to join the Boosh in their world the audience must suspend disbelief and accept whatever happens is how it is meant to be. Often in the world of The Mighty Boosh this involves inanimate objects, or mythical creatures coming to life, within just two episodes the audience is exposed to:
• Vince with “the legs of a ram.”
• Black Frost who “makes Jack Frost look like a warm cardigan.”
• Naan Bread.
• Old Gregg – “Legendary fish. Some say he's half man, half fish. Others say it's more of a seventy-thirty split. Whatever the percentage, he's one fishy bastard.”
• A fishwife covered in shells.
• The Funk – “a funky ball of tits from outer space.”
• Bollo – a talking gorilla, ‘familiar’ of Naboo (Michael Fielding), friend to Howard and Vince.
The Mighty Boosh is a world where a self proclaimed ‘Jazz maverick’, a ‘Camden leisure pirate’, a 406 year old ‘Shaman’, and a 40 year old gorilla DJ, live together in a tiny flat in Dalston, but it still abides by the sitcom’s traditional narrative structure which is “constructed as movement from equilibrium to disequilibrium to a new equilibrium.” [Marshall,2002:50] Jane Feuer explains the salient features of the sitcom as the half hour format, an obvious basis in humour, and the advent of a ‘problem of the week’ from which the humour of the episode stems, somehow resolved by the end of the episode. [1992:120] The ending of the Pilot sees Howard and Vince walking across the ”blinding whiteness of the Tundra,” presumably headed for home, providing the audience a sense of narrative closure. They aren’t back exactly where they started, at the Zooniverse in cages dressed as apes, but Black Frost is defeated, they are together again, and out of danger. The Legend of Old Gregg ends much the same way, with the four characters driving home after rescuing Howard from Old Gregg, this ending however offers no narrative closure as the camera shifts focus from characters in the van, panning up to reveal Old Gregg standing on the roof in a wedding dress. This demonstrates the evolution of the narrative structure from series one; although a sense of equilibrium has been achieved; the audience is left with an open ended narrative and a ‘danger’ which is still present.

Of the eight varieties of comedy plots, established by Gerald Mast, it is assumed The Mighty Boosh fits best with “the reductio ad absurdum in which a single mistake produces utter chaos.” [Palmer,1987:28] In the Pilot Vince’s high pitched ‘Cars’ Gary Numan ringtone sounds at an inopportune moment, triggering a sequence of events ending with Howard and Vince held captive at the mercy of “Black Frost.” While in The Legend Of Old Gregg, Vince is warned too late by a local fisherman: “You should never go out on Black Lake when the moon be full,” resulting in Howard’s imprisonment in ‘Gregg’s Place’.


Hyper reality is evident in the visual aesthetic of The Mighty Boosh. Howard and Vince’s world is bright and artificial, reflected in cheap sets, relatively basic special effects, childlike animation, and elaborate costumes.
In series one, Howard and Vince live in a tiny room at the Zooniverse. Music is evidently important to them from the electric guitar and jazz photographs visible in the background. Their apartment in series two (nothing is mentioned of the setting change and disappearance of the Zooniverse) is “retro but modern”; an amalgamation of Howard and Vince’s distinctive styles. Spots, stripes, checks, plaid, and artwork is everywhere. Music is even more important in their lives, it is now the only ‘career’ they have, meaning more instruments and memorabilia are scattered about. The move from a “workplace sitcom” to a “family comportment” does not dramatically affect the style of the show as “all sitcoms involve some kind of domestic unit.” [Creeber,2001:67-69]


“We use clothes…as a sign system, a kind of language to say things about ourselves.” [Marshall,2002:16] Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher), Zooniverse owner, is ignorant of fashion, personal appearance, and life; his ill fitting blue safari signifying this to the audience. Fossil’s ignorance creates his humour, as Henri Bergson says the “comic character is generally comic in proportion to his ignorance of himself. The comic person is unconscious.” [1956:71] This is evident in Fossil’s obscure animal descriptions: “You know, grey leg face man, he's got legs, and then another leg on his face.”
Howard and Vince have distinctive costuming styles, even when wearing Zooniverse uniforms. Fashion conscious Vince loves accessorising: belts, hats, badges, scarves, and cowboy boots, while sensible Howard is all about tweed and sturdy boots with an occasional Hawaiian shirt to show he’s relaxed. The Pilot best demonstrates their opposing fashion styles. Howard in full length mink coat, hat, gloves and snow boots, mocks Vince’s “human coke can” outfit, which Vince calls a “glam rock ski suit” with matching headband, and furry pink and white boots.

The use of back projection to create travelling scenes and outdoor locations is discussed in The Making of Series 2 documentary(2006); it is a technique people now generally shy away from, or at least try disguise, due to its less than convincing results, but it’s part of The Mighty Boosh style: hyper realistic, self-reflexive, and, for lack of a better academic term, fun.


Peripeteia, an element belonging to the logic of the absurd, described as “the moment when the fortunes of the principal character are reversed,” [Palmer,1987:39] is often used in The Mighty Boosh. In the Pilot Vince is banished outside in the freezing Tundra night, a towering camera angle with a shadow falling across Vince accompanied by a menacing growl traditionally signifies danger, but not so in the world of The Mighty Boosh. The next time we see Vince he is dancing, reading, and playing badminton with a polar bear. Palmer also explains in his book The Logic of the Absurd, a concept heavily utilised in The Mighty Boosh,
“We know that what we see on the screen is funny in so far as it is simultaneously plausible and implausible, but more implausible than it is plausible, absurd, in short.” [1987:56]
In the Pilot the idea Howard and Vince could thaw out and hear Biggie Shackleton’s final words by placing them in boiling water is at first utterly absurd, but further consideration reveals an element of logic in their plan. Another example of peripeteia is in The Legend of Old Gregg when Naboo asks: “Bollo, get the submarine out of the loft would you…underneath the Christmas tree.” His matter of fact tone makes the audience think while it is highly unlikely anyone would store a submarine in their loft it is still a possibility.
“The moon was always full” in the world of The Mighty Boosh; a constant reminder of surrealist elements, signifying no real sense of time passing, or of a natural flow of life, in this constructed hyper reality. This surrealism jumps to another level when The Moon (Noel Fielding), becomes a regular character in series two. Fielding describes The Moon as “pretty much a simpleton,” and it features twice an episode imparting ‘wisdom’ such as,
“Old Gregg is like a, a big fish finger, but big! Like um, like a garage. As big as a garage. Imagine that fish finger, when you can see it is as big as a garage”.


The surrealist nature of the show is aided by its self-reflexivity. The beginning of the Pilot sees Howard and Vince standing in front of a blank screen (in later episodes it is a red curtain) introducing themselves, discussing what will happen in the show: “I’m Vince, and this crazy character is Howard Moon” as Howard claims “I’m a very powerful actor.”
Vince and Howard’s dialogue establishes, even at such an early stage, their bizarre, somewhat antagonistic friendship:
Vince:…and in one scene I’ll have the legs of a ram.
Howard: …I rewrote that bit.
Vince: It’s the best bit.
This self-reflexivity is continued after the ‘Tundra Rap’ where Vince says: “All right! Proved your point, in song format.”


The relaxed and spontaneous tone of the show is created by the characters, their interactions with one another, and the fact there are a few actors playing most of the parts; Fielding and Barratt often playing up to three characters an episode. Howard and Vince are not stereotypes as they constantly change their opinions of themselves, and each other throughout both series. The repetition of phrases: “they call me the…” and “I’m a…” are used at least once an episode, and help establish previously unexplored sides of the character.
Vince’s claims relate to fashion and pop culture such as:
• I'm Vince Noir, Rock 'n' Roll star!
• I'm King of the Mods!
• I'm like Mowgli - the retro version.
• I’m a Camden leisure pirate
Whereas Howard’s claims are directed towards his internal creative nature:
• Jazz-maverick.
• I’m an explorer.
• I’m a novelist.
• I’m a poet, cyclist, I organise raffles.
The humour of Howard comes from the disjuncture occurring between self image and public perception. Vince tells Howard “you’re rigid…you’re like a breadstick,” he is never willing to admit his knowledge is superficial, or that he is ever wrong. Howard believes he is a man of “grand designs” but his arrogance can be construed as a defence against the world, as he frequently ends up victimised. He thinks more of himself than anyone else, evidenced by his repeated use of: “Don't kill me, I've got so much to give!” whenever he is slightly in danger. Vince’s comedy, however, surrounds his naïve optimistic nature, and his feminised style; often being confused for Howard’s “lady friend.” Howard says of Vince, “everything’s easy for you, you see a peanut and the day’s off to a good start.” While he appears less intelligent it is with Vince whom others connect. Noel Fielding says in the The Making of Series 2 “ Vince has grown up a little more. He was a bit like a tot in the first series and in [the second] series he’s like a teen.” Less naïve but just as optimistic.


The Mighty Boosh may change many elements of its style, tone, and structure, but the premise of the show, and the comedy within will continue to succeed provided a focus on Vince and Howard’s relationship remains, and the moral ‘you should be who you want to be no matter how you’re judged’ is maintained.


REFERENCES:

• Bushman D, 1996, Stand-up Comedians On Television, Harry N. Abrams, New York.
• Creeber G, 2001, The Television Genre Book, British Film Institute, London.
• Feuer J, 1992, ‘Genre Study & Television’ in Channels of Discourse, Allen R (ed), University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
• Fiske J & Hartley J, 1987, Reading Television, Methuen & Co Ltd, USA.
• Marshall J & Werndly A, 2002, The Language of Television, Routledge, London.
• Palmer J, 1987, The Logic Of The Absurd – On Film & Television Comedy, British Film Institute, London.
• Rattigan A & Waddell T, 2004, Lounge Critic – the couch theorist’s companion, ACMI, Victoria.
• Sypher W (ed), 1956, Laughter, Essays on Comedy Bergson & Meredith, Doubleday Anchor Books, New York.


FILMOGRAPHY:

Episodes:
• The Mighty Boosh, Season 1, Episode 0, Pilot, screening date unknown.
• The Mighty Boosh, Season 2, Episode 1, The Call Of The Yeti, 26th July 2005.
• The Mighty Boosh, Season 2, Episode 5, The Legend of Old Gregg, 23th August 2005.

Additional Material:
• The Mighty Boosh: The Making of Series 2, 2006, Dave Lambert, UK, Baby Cow Productions Ltd.