List of recurring The Mighty Boosh characters
Central cast
The Mighty Boosh centres on the adventures of Howard Moon (Barratt) and Vince Noir (Fielding), aided by the other two members of the central cast, Naboo the Enigma (Michael Fielding) and Bollo (Peter Elliott/Dave Brown), who by series 3 they share a flat with. Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher) is part of the central cast in series 1, becoming a recurring character thereafter.
In the course of the series a variety of bizarre and surreal recurring characters cross their paths, mostly also played by the same cast doubling up.
Howard Moon
Howard Tommy Jerry Moon is portrayed by
Whenever Howard is near to death, he pleads not to die, saying, "Don't kill me. I've got so much to give." While Vince is always dressed very flashily and into the current fashion, Howard tends to look unkempt and shabby. In the episode "
Howard and Vince tease each other constantly, but there is a deep bond between them and both have demonstrated repeatedly that they will risk death to rescue each other from various dangerous situations. When facing death, the two will often reminisce about very mundane things – "like that one time they ate
Howard's exact age is uncertain. In the episode "Party" when Vince tells him that fifty isn't that old, he corrects Vince by telling him that he is only thirty-two and goes on to state that that is ten years older than Vince is. Yet in "Fountain of Youth", during a flashback to the pair's school days, he exclaims that he is the same age as Vince, despite looking much older, and it's mentioned several times throughout the series that they went to both primary school and college together.
Vince Noir
Vince Noir was originally created by Noel Fielding for the 1998 stage show The Mighty Boosh. Vince Noir went on to appear in three more stage shows, a radio series and a TV series on BBC Three.
During the course of the stage shows, the radio series and the TV series, it is implied that he was born in the mid-1980s,
Vince's main personality trait is his relaxed outlook on life, living with perpetually laid back ease, socialising easily with those around him. Vince is often the voice of reason when Howard is being pretentious, although Vince has also been known to have a particularly naïve
Though he seems much more confident and secure than Howard, Vince is desperate to be admired as an individual and a trendsetter. In one episode he invites party guests to "bask in the glory of [his] outfit". When a doppelgänger calling himself Lance Dior arises, Vince's optimism crumbles and he becomes insecure.[12]
It was implied in the third series that Vince had
Vince is a fan of
Vince initially claims to have a cockney boxing instructor as an uncle, but it is later revealed that his uncle is actually a French Duke.[16]
Vince also claims he is the "King of the Mods".[6] In the season two episode entitled "Fountain of Youth", Howard Moon claimed to be the same age as Vince but in a later episode in season three,[3] Vince is ten years younger. Vince is often sarcastic towards Howard and sometimes acts out similar to a teenager with a parent, but he always sticks by him in the end.
Naboo the Enigma
Naboo Randolph Ropitibopiti the Enigma is portrayed by Michael Fielding. He was created for the 2000 stage show, Autoboosh, and later went on to appear in the pilot and all three series of the TV series, as well as both stage shows.
Naboo is a
In 1978, Naboo was mistakenly sent to Earth by the
Bollo
Bollo was originally portrayed by
Bollo is an
He first appeared in "
Bob Fossil
Bob Fossil is portrayed by Rich Fulcher. In the radio series Fossil is the ill-tempered owner of Bob Fossil's Funworld, an inept zoo. In the TV series, he is the manager of the Zooniverse and zoo owner Dixon Bainbridge's right-hand man. He is loud and brash and is normally portrayed as Howard and Vince's enemy, often trying to set them up for disaster, although on occasion he has expressed attraction to both of them. On radio, Fossil liked Vince and hated Howard, while on television he generally dislikes both of them, although by season 3 he's friendly to Vince, and his radio persona is somewhat replaced by employer Bainbridge. Fossil has a desperate crush on Bainbridge.
In the TV series Fossil is portrayed as incompetent and bizarrely unaware of common terms; for example he does not know how to dial with a phone and calls a portable tape recorder his "talk box".[16] He is often very childlike and emotional.[1] Though Fossil is chief zoo keeper, he knows nothing about animals, describing the elephant as "the grey leg-face man" and a bear as "the hairy Russian carpet guy". According to the radio series, Fossil also had a traumatic childhood. In the series, Fossil has his own theme song for the zoo: "Nicey nicey zoo zoo, for him and her and me and you!"[1] In the radio series, Bob has a brother called Wilbur who reunites him and his mother, who had believed that Bob died in Vietnam.
Though Fossil and the zoo were absent from the second television series, he makes a brief reappearance at the end of The Nightmare of Milky Joe as the presenter of "The Pie Face Showcase" TV music programme. In this appearance he makes a joke about his wife; she is also mentioned in the radio series ('I got a tiny wife to support'). He returns in the third episode of series 3, "The Power of the Crimp", as the owner of the Velvet Onion club, where Vince and Howard regularly gig. It is revealed that his mother thinks he is in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp and that he has sent a bundle of sticks to his brother, Donny.[12] Fossil was last seen on the TV show, in the episodes "Party" and "The Chokes".[3]
Board of Shaman
Dennis
Dennis is portrayed by Julian Barratt. He was originally created for the 2005 TV episode "
Dennis is the head of the Board of Shaman. He is skilled with a sword, and defeats three attackers in the party episode.
Saboo
Saboo is portrayed by
Saboo is a shaman, and a member of the Board of Shaman.[11] He is also a DJ.[3] He is close to Kirk but dislikes Tony Harrison, whom he has attempted to kill, and Naboo, whose propensity for getting in trouble with the Board of Shaman often results in Saboo attempting to make an example of him. During his first appearance, he frequently referred to 'the crunch,' criticising other characters for their lack of familiarity with it. He was Maheshwari.
Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison is portrayed by
Tony Harrison is a disembodied pink head,[22] with eight or so tentacle-like appendages sprouting from his neck, and a coarse, nasal East London brogue.[11] He is a shaman, and member of the Board of Shaman. Tony is barely mobile within the show, but is frequently outraged at suggestions that this is the case.[11] Tony is married, and makes frequent reference to Mrs Harrison who, as yet, has not been seen on the show.[11] Tony's catchphrase, "This is an outrage!" has been spoken by him during every appearance in the show. He is an ardent fan of Fleetwood Mac, to the extent of suggesting playing the album Tusk in its entirety while DJing Howard's birthday party with Saboo.[3]
Tony first appeared, alongside the rest of the Board of Shaman, in the 2005 TV episode "Nanageddon", where he and fellow Shaman
Kirk
Kirk is portrayed by Kirk Gaitskell-Kendrick.[23] Kirk is a nephew of Noel Fielding's former girlfriend Dee Plume, although Noel referred to Kirk as his own nephew.[24] He first appeared in the 2005 episode, "Nanageddon", and later appeared in three 2007 episodes.
Kirk is a child Shaman, and a member of the Board of Shaman.[11] Kirk is renowned by the other members of the Board of Shaman for having the greatest capacity for taking drugs.[18] A deleted scene from "Nanageddon" reveals that Saboo trained Kirk in the ways of the Shaman.[25]
Other recurring characters
Dixon Bainbridge
Dixon Bainbridge was portrayed by
Bainbridge is the owner of the Zooniverse, as well as being an admired adventurer.[8] Bob Fossil is deeply in love with Bainbridge, which often results in Bainbridge beating him up.[8]
His first appearance is in the pilot episode of the TV series, portrayed by Richard Ayoade. He then appears in "
It was revealed in The Mighty Book of Boosh that Bainbridge had been knighted in a story that involved Bainbridge rescuing his kidnapped wife in Brazil.
Lester Corncrake
Lester Corncrake is portrayed by
Lester Corncrake is a blind
Lester first appeared in the 2007 episode, "Journey to the Centre of Punk" in which he accompanies Howard on his microscopic journey inside Vince to eliminate the jazz virus he has ingested.
Rudi van DiSarzio
Rudi van DiSarzio is portrayed by Rich Fulcher and Julian Barratt. He was originally created for the 1998 stage show,
Rudi is a High Priest of the Order of the Psychedelic Monks.
In Jungle and some other appearances he has a tiny (puppet) body and he appears attached to a mobile backdrop; in most appearances he is of normal size and wears a long purple robe. In all of his appearances on stage or TV, Rudy has large buck teeth, browned skin and a large afro haircut with a door in it, called the door of Kukundu, that can open to take people on bizarre psychedelic trips. He claims to have earned his door by becoming spiritually enlightened as a monk.
Mrs Gideon
Mrs Gideon is portrayed by Victoria Wicks. She was mentioned briefly in The Boosh as Howard's band partner and lover, until the smooth talking Rudy Mancheigo (a precursor to the character of Rudi van DiSanio) wooed her with empty wisdoms.
Mrs Gideon was the Head of Reptiles at the Zooniverse in the
Old Gregg
Old Gregg is portrayed by
Old Gregg is a
Old Gregg is first seen in the 2005 episode, "The Legend of Old Gregg" in which he meets and falls in love with Howard, who is then rescued by Vince. Old Gregg then joins Howard in the 2006 stage show, after tracking him down and having himself delivered in a box, where they sing a rendition of "Love Games" and are later seen
The Hitcher
The Hitcher is portrayed by
The Hitcher is an old
The Hitcher has a confused history; he states in "
The Hitcher is sometimes accompanied by two short, rotund henchmen called the Piper Twins. The Piper Twins are dressed similarly to the Hitcher, with similar Polo mint eyes, but wear
The Hitcher's first appearance was in
In the television episode, he is proprietor of the "Zoo for Animal Offenders".[5] He later appears in the 2005 television episode, "Fountain of Youth", where he plans to use the fountain of youth's magical qualities for himself with the motive to rule the universe.[4] Next he appeared in the episode "The Nightmare of Milky Joe" as one of the coconut people. He then appeared in the 2006 stage show, The Mighty Boosh, which contained elements of both Autoboosh and the 1999 stage show, Arctic Boosh.[19] His latest appearance was in the 2007 television episode, "Eels", in which he attempts to run a protection racket on The Nabootique.[10]
The Hitcher' appearance changes somewhat between appearances. In the first series episode "The Hitcher" he has an abnormally large thumb, as well as nose and chin. He explains his huge thumb as stemming from his visiting a Hornet Shaman in the bin of a primary school and asking him to enlarge his thumb by stinging it repeatedly. In the second series his thumb is normally sized. In the third series he has a normal chin and nose. As he melted at the end of prior appearance while washing in the Fountain of Youth, this last change of appearance could stem from being de-aged.
In commenting on his eponymous appearance in series one, Fielding said that the Hitcher is based on his grandfather crossed with the character Fagin from the play Oliver Twist.
The Spirit of Jazz/Howlin' Jimmy Jefferson
The Spirit of Jazz/Howlin' Jimmy Jefferson is portrayed by
The series 1 episode "
Howard later obtains the voodoo scat record that Howlin' Jimmy made and Vince eats a piece of it which causes one of Howlin' Jimmy's blood cells (referred to as the jazz cell) to try and take over Vince's body. Howard along with Lester Corncrake shrink down and enters Vince's body in an attempt to defeat the jazz cell but end up bringing it out of Vince's body with them and making it much larger. It is eventually defeated by an infected safety pin (previously used by Sid Vicious) and walks away complaining, falling over just outside the door of the Nabootique.
In June 2020, Netflix removed The Mighty Boosh from distribution because of concerns that the Spirit of Jazz might be considered a blackface performance.[32]
The Moon
The Moon is portrayed by
The Moon made a cameo appearance in the first episode of Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy, and in June 2013 he made an appearance in a video message at Channel 4's Comedy Gala.
Tommy Nookah
Tommy Nookah was originally portrayed by
The Parka People
The Parka People are a diminutive race of people who wear
Leroy
Leroy is a recurring character who only appears on screen once in the television series when Vince creates a band which was a glam rock/folk fusion in episode 7 of series 1, "Electro". He is said to have helped Howard edit the show's script in the series 1 episode "Tundra", cutting out the scene where Vince has the legs of a ram. Leroy also goes on secret spy skiing missions in the Alps as is mentioned in the series 3 episode "Eels". He is mentioned in the episode "Electro" as having tried to form a glam-folk-rock band with Vince. He is played by Olly Ralfe in this short scene. He is also referred to briefly in episode 1 of season 1 Killeroo when Vince states that Leroy had told him earlier he saw Howard dancing for Fossil in the moonlight in "little blue pants" and is later referenced in "The Ape of Death" talking to Vince on a cellphone when Howard is "haunting" him.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mutants". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 2. 25 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Journey to the Centre of the Punk". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 2. 22 November 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ Party". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 5. 14 December 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e "Fountain of Youth". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 4. 16 August 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hitcher". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 8. 6 July 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e "Jungle". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 5. 15 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b "The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 4. 7 December 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "Tundra". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 4. 8 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "Bollo". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 3. 1 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "Eels". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 1. 15 November 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nanageddon". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 3. 9 August 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c "The Power of the Crimp". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 3. 29 November 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e "Electro". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 7. 29 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "Charlie". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 6. 22 June 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "The Priest and the Beast". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 2. 2 August 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c "Killeroo". The Mighty Boosh. Season 1. Episode 1. 18 May 2004. BBC Three.
- ^ a b "The Call of the Yeti". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 1. 26 July 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d "The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox". The Mighty Boosh. Season 3. Episode 4. 6 December 2007. BBC Three.
- ^ a b c d e The Mighty Boosh Live (DVD). Universal. 2006.
- ^ "The Nightmare of Milky Joe". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 6. 30 August 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ "The Mighty Boosh: interview". Time Out London. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
- ^ The Mighty Boosh 2 -Commentary – "Nanageddon" [DVD] BBC DVD
- ^ "Kirk Gaitskell-Kendrick". TV.com. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
- ^ The Mighty Boosh 3 – Making of Series Three (DVD). BBC DVD. 2008.
- ^ The Mighty Boosh 2 – Deleted Scenes – "Nanageddon" (DVD). BBC DVD. 2005.
- ^ "The Legend of Old Gregg". The Mighty Boosh. Season 2. Episode 5. 23 August 2005. BBC Three.
- ^ Tim Hope (2005). The Mighty Boosh 2 – Making of Series Two (DVD). BBC DVD.
- ^ "Love Games – Old Gregg & Howard Moon". The Mighty Boosh Lyrics. songmeanings.net. Retrieved 26 January 2006.
- ^ The Mighty Boosh 2 – Deleted Scenes – "The Legend of Old Gregg" Clip 2 (DVD). BBC DVD. 2005.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84767-322-0.
- ^ The Mighty Boosh 3 – Deleted Scenes – "Party" (DVD). BBC DVD. 2008.
- ^ "Netflix pulls The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen over blackface". The Guardian. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2021.