The Mighty Boosh

TV shows can be explained as postmodern when they include many aspects of

postmodernity such as intertextuality, pastiche, bricolage, parody etc. As tv shows
span over episodes and seasons, it is far easier for them to include elements of
postmodernity, they may even focus each episode on a different aspect of it or
address a topical issue in a postmodern way. As postmodernity is just a social
construct with no set definition this allows for many different shows to come under the
postmodern umbrella, they can reference theorists with ideas of hyper reality and
consumerism, or include intertextual references to other shows, films or big ideas.
The show is a comic fantasy containing humour and pop-culture references. Episodes
often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy
metal, funk, and rap. The show has been known for popularising a style called
"crimping"; short a cappella songs which are present throughout all three series.
(taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh_(TV_series)). The show
has many eccentric characters, who always wear strange and unique costumes as well
as having very specific character traits. As the show is lots of short scenes each
episode offers something slightly different within the main narrative of Howard and
Vince being zoo keepers. The show tries to create the weird and wacky relevant and
humorous so it can address pop culture through the use of characters and skits. The
mise en scene and script are two important elements as the look (being a very post
modern idea) is crucial for the show with the colourful costumes and sets, as well as
the script being imaginative and in keeping with the look of the show, dialogue such as
fizzy little man peach from the Old Gregg episode, is just one example of the unique
dialogue. Surprisingly the show uses ostly set and costume design, which is very
impressive seeing as it is all made purposely for the show, there is use of basic
continuity editing and some special effects to vamp un the scene, but the majority is
pink morph suits made to look like bubblegum to over eccentric rock band outfits.
The Might Boosh has quite a niche audience, as for people to understand/like the show
they have to accept and enjoy the strange sketch comedy, aspect as the show is very
out there and unconventional. The show parodies many texts, such as Scary Movie or
political issues as it assumes people will recognise the references, therefore, the
audience will probably be around late teens and up. The key part of the show that
people like it the originality of it, despite the argument that everything is a recycling of
ideas, the show manages to convey this whole next approach to situations and
characters through randomness. The show can be viewed as bricolage, yet it seems to
reinvent ideas in a unique way. The element of nostalgia within the show will also peak
the audiences interest as it allows them to connect to ideas of references which is
satisfying for them.
Some famous postmodern moments in the show are scenes such as Old Gregg, the
Tundra Rap, Eels or Charlie are all perfect examples of how the show is postmodern.
However, the most iconic episodes is the Old Gregg episode for its bizarre and
surreal character and idea. The episode is about a man who is fishing who captures a
sea man named Old Gregg who is a very eccentric character with famous phrases
like Motherlicker and his obsession with Baileys and Watercolours. Old Gregg
possesses strange seaweed-like hair, webbed fingers and green/scaly skin. He has the
ability to walk upright, but at times reverts to a frog-like crouch. Postmodern ideas
such as:
Strong focus on the look, style over substance
Inclusion of song, referencing pop/funk music as well of reference to /the funk
(Old Gregg I got the funk) as well as animation section (intertexuality)
Hyper reality baurillard, open narrative (many interpretations of scene) lack of
care towards verisimilitude

Incredulity towards meta narratives

Self referential, irony, bricolage
What is the over all message?
Flattening of effect, making something so odd seem acceptable eg mangina

https://youtu.be/6poBrYAFxjM (charlie)
https://youtu.be/HwcF6ea2PMQ (eels)
https://youtu.be/XxaP19pY1FI (old Gregg)
https://youtu.be/gBHGBWicAtM (tundra rap)

Institution
Reviews, articles and interviews:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416394/reviews
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/the-mighty-boosh
http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/the-mighty-boosh-interview
http://www.avclub.com/article/ithe-mighty-booshis-julian-barratt-and-noel-fieldi-33214
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/noel-fielding-on-the-last-days-of-the-mighty-booshthe-end-of-his-youth-and-his-camden-camel-a6694886.html
Websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/mightyboosh/
https://www.youtube.com/show/themightyboosh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh_(TV_series)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416394/
Audience
The Mighty Boosh was shown on BBC Three. The channel's target audience includes those in the
16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger
audiences, focusing on new talent and new technologies. The demographic would most likely be a
60/40, male to female split as the cast are predominantly male and the show hosts many sketches
that would greatly appeal to men. However, this being said, the male cast would also appeal to
women as Noel Fielding has a large female fan base so this would cause the split to be 60/40 as it
would only be slightly more male orientated than female.
From the looks of the reviews, many people who watch postmodern shows such as The Mighty
Boosh do like them as they are very innovative and creative. Shows like this are liked as they
encorage creative minds to engage in it which is a very interesting thing for the demographic.
Moreover, due to the shows comedic focus it gives another reason why the show is aimed at 16-34
year olds as its a very common genre of tv/film that younger people like to watch, specifically for
The Mighty Boosh as it has quite weird, quirky and immature themes that would appeal to the
target demographic.

Representational issues
Gender:
This is one of the main representational issues. This is mainly due to the fact that the main cast
members are all male and there are only a few female characters cast as additional roles. This
could be argued to be discriminative against women as there is little involvement of them in the
show and the men are the only ones given the most airtime/lines/roles etc. Gender could also be
seen as a representational issue as the main character Vince played by Noel Fielding has aspects
of cross-gender. He seems to have feminine features and can also be seen wearing eyeliner and
other deemed female aesthetic. This presents a gender issue as there is no set gender and may
prove quite sarcastic and insulting for some viewers.