Spontaneous Crimp: The Mighty Boosh on "Late Show with Jimmy Fallon"

This is the week of the Boosh.

After releasing all three seasons of their eponymous series on DVD the other day, The Mighty Boosh--or at least the Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding parts of The Mighty Boosh--appeared last night on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon to dazzle and confuse Jimmy with their crimps, outrageous style, and just general all-around fabulousness.

The Boosh will be down at San Diego Comic-Con later this week to present a panel and a DJ mix set late Friday night but in the meantime, you can catch Barratt and Fielding (or Howard and Vince, if you prefer) on Fallon via the full clip of their appearance last night below.

In their first American talk show appearance, Jimmy talks to British comedy duo The Mighty Boosh.



Pick up copies of The Mighty Boosh: Seasons One to Three for a suggested retail price of $29.98 apiece. (N.B.: each season box set is sold separately.) Or pick up copies today in the Televisionary store for $19.99-$24.99.

TV on DVD: "The Mighty Boosh: Seasons One to Three"

"Come with us now on a journey through time and space... to the world of the Mighty Boosh."

Thus begins each episode of the gleefully surreal British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, which is finally available Stateside on DVD beginning today after brief runs of the series' three seasons to date on both BBC America and Adult Swim over the past few years. Available as three separate two-disc sets, The Mighty Boosh: Seasons One, Two, and Three offer up a delightful look inside the deliciously twisted minds of creators and stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.

Despite their relative anonymity in the States, The Mighty Boosh has long been a watchword for comedians and comedy fans in the know. Each episode of the series, which began as a stand-up act and then a radio series before making the leap to the small screen, follows the unlikely duo of Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) and Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) as they get themselves into a series of acid-trip misadventures.

The three seasons of The Mighty Boosh are positively overflowing with musical riffs, crimping (yes!), animation, image projection, philosophizing moons, talking gorillas, and druggie shamans. There's no real sense of continuity or cohesion; characters murdered on-screen in one episode return in the next no worse for the wear. Everything has a feeling of a waking dream about it. Or in some cases ("Eels" or "The Legend of Old Gregg") an outright nightmare.

Which is what I love so bloody much about The Mighty Boosh: you never know just what you're going to get episode to episode. Season One finds the duo working as zookeepers, Season Two as housemates in a Dalton flat, and Season Three as shopkeepers at Nabootique, a second-hand shop owned by shaman Naboo the Enigma (Michael Fielding) and his familiar gorilla Bollo (Dave Brown). But the setting never matters; it's always a jumping off point for some supremely weird journeys into the psychedelic.

Howard and Vince couldn't be more different: Howard's a jazz freak with a penchant for organizing stationery and worshiping vintage vinyl records of obscure musicians; Vince is the anthropomorphized embodiment of au courant fashion and music, a cutting-edge bohemian who is several steps ahead of the public in every sense. Together, they comprise a winning mix of yin and yang, id and ego, and twisted self-indulgence. There's no scrape that these two don't wind up in, whether it's summoning an evil elderly woman demon named Nana and inadvertently unleashing Nanaggedon, searching for the fountain of youth on a distant planet, battling a flatulent syringe-fingered crack-addicted urban fox, tangling with a green, murderous Cockney alien called The Hitcher, or creating coconut people after getting stranded on a deserted island.

Barratt and Fielding play a host of other characters in addition to Howard and Vince, creating some memorable (and at times terrifying) personalities in the process. In addition to The Hitcher, the half-man, half-fish transsexual Old Gregg (with a downstairs mix-up and a love of Bailey's), the dim-witted Man in the Moon, and the aforementioned Crack Fox remain some of the most stunning and twisted creations ever created for television. (And that's to say nothing of Rich Fulcher's Bob Fossil or the slew of characters he contributes to the mix.)

But words really fail when it comes to the unique magic of The Mighty Boosh, which has to be seen to be enjoyed and understood. There's no way to explain the magic carpet stag party, stationery village, Old Gregg's Bailey's sketches, Tony Harrison's tentacled head, or gun-slinging transvestite Eleanor without actually seeing them for yourself.

The three box sets each feature extended episodes (compared, that is, to those that aired on Adult Swim) along with hours and hours of bonus material on each set, including publicity featurettes, making of documentaries, outtakes, commentary, picture galleries, musical numbers, deleted scenes, promos, trailers, and the original Boosh pilot, just to name a few.

Ultimately, these releases will change the way you look at comedy (and possibly the world around you) and I completely predict that you'll be won over by The Mighty Boosh's winning blend of surreal comedy, out-there musical numbers, and bizarro characters. So why not open the doors of perception, take a magical journey through time and space, and pick up the three volumes of The Mighty Boosh today? After experiencing the loopy charms of one of the most original and unique television series ever, your brain will thank me in the morning.

Pick up copies of The Mighty Boosh: Seasons One to Three for a suggested retail price of $29.98 apiece. (N.B.: each season box set is sold separately.) Or pick up copies today in the Televisionary store for $19.99-$24.99.

BBC America Brings David Tennant, Russell T. Davies, "Doctor Who," "Mighty Boosh," "Torchwood," "Being Human" to Comic-Con

Holy TARDIS!

BBC America just shocked the hell out of me by announcing that they will be bringing Doctor Who's David Tennant--yes, the Doctor himself--and writer/executive producer Russell T. Davies, director Euros Lyn, and executive producer Julie Gardner to Comic-Con San Diego next month.

The quartet will be participating in a panel for Doctor Who, shortly after Tennant has completed his legendary run on the British sci-fi series, that is scheduled for Sunday morning at 10 am PT.

And if that weren't enough to get you salivating, BBC America also had me jumping for joy by announcing that Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher, and Dave Brown--the stars of the surreal and hysterical comedy series The Mighty Boosh--will also be dropping by Comic-Con this year with a panel slated to run on Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm PT.

The digital cabler also announced panels for such series as Torchwood and Being Human on Sunday.

I don't know about you but I am just shaking with excitement, not to mention absolute glee. Just... wow.

The full press release from BBC America announcing their Comic-Con 2009 panels, can be found below.

DAVID TENNANT AND RUSSELL T DAVIES ATTENDING COMIC-CON 2009

- BBC hosts Doctor Who talent for their first ever appearance at Comic-Con -

New York, NY – June 17, 2009 – In support of BBC AMERICA’s U.S. premiere of four Doctor Who Specials, the Doctor himself, David Tennant, will appear alongside writer/executive producer Russell T Davies at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. They will take part in a Doctor Who panel along with executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn, Sunday July 26, 10:00-11:00am PT.

David will travel to Comic-Con, fresh from the Doctor Who set, having shot his final scenes as the tenth Time Lord. He and fellow panelists will discuss the latest incarnation of television’s longest running science fiction series and take questions from the floor. There will also be exclusive sneak peeks from the upcoming specials.

Fans can visit the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629) to capture their own photograph alongside part of the Doctor Who set - as well as purchase exclusive merchandise including David Tennant figures.

Fans of BBC AMERICA’s highest rated show ever, Torchwood, which will have just completed the five-part special, Children of Earth, will get to chat with the stars and makers of the show first-hand. Just 48 hours after the last episode, the show makes a return visit to Comic-Con with a panel featuring star John Barrowman, writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn, Sunday July 26, 2:15-3:45pm PT.

As part of the same panel, Sunday July 26, 2:15-3:45pm PT, catch the talent from BBC AMERICA’s most buzzed about new sci fi drama, Being Human. Creator and writer, Toby Whithouse, plus lead actors Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, talk about the inspiration for the show and what it’s like to play three twenty-somethings with secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. All four panelists will be signing exclusively at the BBC AMERICA booth, Saturday July 25, 3:00-4:00pm PT.

Cult comedy favorite and BAFTA-nominated, The Mighty Boosh, comes to Comic-Con for the first time to celebrate the airing of all three seasons on Adult Swim, and the BBC’s DVD release, just two days before the convention begins. Inspired by the Perrier Comedy Award-winning live comedy show, creators-stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, along with actors Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher and Dave Brown, will be on stage to discuss the magical, bizarre and exciting world of The Boosh, Friday, July 24, 4:45-5:45pm. The hit UK comedy series follows crazy zookeepers Howard Moon and Vince Noir and was described by The San Jose Mercury News as “an acid-trip fantasy-comedy [that] is seriously deranged and seriously funny.”

Fans can also catch exclusive BBC AMERICA screenings during the convention with back to back episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood. Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and a U.S. premiere viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant.

Underground Toys (#3949) will be selling their entire Doctor Who and Torchwood lines of toys and novelty items. In addition, this year they will once again introduce new limited edition Comic-Con action figures that have never been seen before.

BBC AMERICA Comic-Con Panel and Signing Schedule

Friday, July 24
4:45-5:45pm The Mighty Boosh: creators-stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding along with actors Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher and Dave Brown will be on stage to discuss the magical, bizarre and exciting world of The Boosh, currently airing on Adult Swim and released on DVD by the BBC two days before the convention begins. The San Jose Mercury News describes the show as “an acid-trip fantasy-comedy [that] is seriously deranged and seriously funny.” Room 6A

3:30-4:30pm The Mighty Boosh signing in the Autograph Area.

Saturday, July 25
3:00-4:00pm Being Human: creator Toby Whithouse and actors Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner signing at the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629).

7:30-10:00pm Torchwood/Doctor Who: Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and an advance viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant. Room 6A

Sunday, July 26
10:00-11:00am Doctor Who: actor David Tennant, writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, director Euros Lyn and executive producer Julie Gardner discuss their creative process and experiences working on BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who with exclusive clips and a Q&A session. Ballroom 20

2:15-3:45pm Being Human/Torchwood: Being Human creator Toby Whithouse and cast members Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, are on stage to give an inside look at BBC AMERICA’s U.S. premiere sci-fi drama about the lives of three twenty-somethings and their secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. Following that actor John Barrowman, creator/writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn talk about the making of the epic five-night television event Torchwood: Children of Earth as well as take questions from the fans. Room 6BCF

Future Sailors: A Look at Comedies "The Mighty Boosh," "Party Down," and "Better Off Ted"

It's rare when a comedy series comes along and makes me fall under its spell. I'm typically pretty averse to the weak charms of most sitcoms and it takes quite a lot for me to invest my time in brand-new comedy series, given their relatively short shelf lives these days.

So imagine my surprise when I fell head over heels in love with not just one but three comedy series over the last few weeks. All three air on very different networks, ranging from broadcast to cable to premium, but all three have managed to win me over with their loopy, goofy charms.

I reviewed ABC's Better Off Ted a few weeks back, before it premiered, and reviewed the first few episodes of Party Down, airing on Starz, but I've been far too quiet about the strengths of both of these innovative series. Likewise, I'm currently obsessed with British import The Mighty Boosh, which launched its third season over on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block.

Three very different series indeed. So what do they all have in common? For one, the very unique ability to make me laugh, no mean feat for this cynical and jaded viewer. Second, they each have a very specific comedic style, ranging from the twisted and surreal (The Mighty Boosh) to the satirical (Better Off Ted) to the jovially tongue-in-cheek (Party Down).

The Mighty Boosh is based on a radio series created by Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, who star in the series as aspiring musicians Howard Moon and Vince Noir. Over the course of the three surreal seasons of this indescribable comedy series, the duo seek to achieve their dreams of super-stardom while working at a series of unremarkable day jobs including a zoo (such as in Season One) and more recently (in Season Three) at the Nabootique, a second-hand goods store in London's Shoreditch, owned by the recreational drug-using freelance shaman Naboo (Michael Fielding).

Yes, this is that sort of series. The type of comedy where anything (and typically everything) does happen. In some series that sort of unexpectedness might mean an unpredictable plot twist or two. Here, it means the inclusion of some mightily wicked supernatural elements, such as talking animals (such as Naboo's familiar Bollo, a talking gorilla), wizards, ghosts, and the slightly demented man in the moon. When The Mighty Boosh (also the name of Barratt and Fielding's real-life comedy troupe) promises an adventure through time and space at the beginning of each episode, it really does deliver. Recent plots have involved Howard being shrunk with a blind jazz musician after Vince swallows part of a cursed jazz record and must battle a voodoo singer, an encounter with a green-faced Victorian ghoul obsessed with eels, and a face-off with a copycat band able to predict their every move before they make it. (No worries, they're quickly dispatched by an awesome crimping showdown.)

In fact, the only thing more erratic than the series' surreal sense of humor is the outrageous and unique attire worn by the series' style icon Vince Noir (Fielding), which can range from the dark and Gothic to what Howard describes as what a "futuristic prostitute" might wear.

Meanwhile, ABC's Better Off Ted, created by Victor Fresco, is a workplace comedy that's distinctly influenced by the off-kilter humor of Fresco's own Andy Richter Controls the Universe, the short-lived FOX series that played fast and loose with reality. (Puppy coat, anyone?) Better Off Ted is far more grounded but also offers a scathing indictment of today's corporate culture in the form of the terrifying (and terrifyingly funny) Veridian Dynamics, the sort of conglomerate that produces everything from cow-less beef to innovative weapon technology for the military.

It focuses on Ted (Jay Harrington), the affable head of Veridian's R&D department who must contend with his precious daughter Rose (Isabella Acres), an office crush on his researcher Linda (Andrea Anders), the quixotic nature of his best scientists Lem (Malcolm Barrett) and Phil (Jonathan Slavin, who starred in Andy Richter Controls the Universe), and his icy, no-nonsense boss Veronica (Portia de Rossi), with whom he used up his one office affair.

Along the way, everything from insipid company-wide memos to corporate racism is addressed with a keen eye and a surgeon's precision. While Veridian might be freezing its employees and weaponizing pumpkins, its actions aren't really all that alien to today's office drones, especially in our current economic climate. If today's floundering companies could cryogenically freeze their employees rather than pay them for vacation time, don't you think they would? Better Off Ted offers a gimlet eyed look at life in today's offices and labs, mining the absurd situations for humor just as NBC's The Office found comedy in the very mundanity of its character's 9-to-5 existence.

And then there's Starz's Party Down, from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, John Enbom, Paul Rudd, and Dan Etheridge, which is virtually a Veronica Mars mini-reunion each week. The series stars Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Lizzy Caplan, and Martin Starr as the members of a Los Angeles catering team all of whom aspire to be something very different than uniformed servers and bartenders.

Each hilarious episode finds the gang catering a different event for a different clientele, a format that works extremely well here. While the scenery changes each week, the characters have a chance to interact with one another and their relationships change and grow over the course of the season. Much like The Office, there's much humor to be mined in the very drudgery of their jobs and their fantasies of escaping their indentured servitude. Unlike The Office, Party Down has a biting dark side and, given that this is premium cable, features enough foul language and nudity to sate all but the most depraved viewers.

While their characters might be depressed, self-medicating, delusional losers, the crew at Party Down Catering is a hoot to watch as they find themselves often at odds with each other, the guests, and the world in general. This could be a slight comedy but the often scathing wit and merciless way that the writers thrust their characters into awkward and horrifying situations make this trainwreck comedy of the highest order. While each episode might end with them packing their bottles and chafing dishes away for the next event, one can't help but get sucked into their wonky world.

And, at the end of the day, that's what each of these three vastly different comedies have in common: the ability to transport the viewer into a reality that's not our own. One achieves this via a combination of the mystical, musical, and sartorial; another through the absurd behavior of the workers in a glass-and-steel structure; and the last by showing us what happens when a bunch of dreamers gets stuck in the muck of failure.

As for me, I just can't look away. And neither should you.

The Mighty Boosh can be found on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim at 1 am ET/PT on Mondays. Better Off Ted airs Wednesday evenings at 8:30 pm ET/PT on ABC. Party Down airs Fridays at 10:30 pm ET/PT on Starz.

Channel Surfing: IFC Stakes Claim to "Anita Blake," Bryan Fuller Talks "Heroes" Return, "Life on Mars" Series Finale, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. I promise no April Fool's Day jokes here, just real TV-related headlines this morning.

IFC and Lionsgate Television are developing telepic Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, based on Hamilton's best-selling Anita Blake novels about the female vampire hunter who also works as a police consultant on supernatural crimes. The movie, which will be produced by Lionsgate and After Dark Films, was written/executive produced by Glen Morgan (The X-Files) and will be shot this summer. (Variety)

SCI FI Wire has an exclusive interview with Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller about his return to NBC's Heroes, what went wrong with the series, and how he intends to fix it. "After I finished watching [the "Villains" episodes the producers sent over], I wasn't sure I could do this," said Fuller. "I didn't recognize the show anymore. It had become something else entirely. My favorite characters had become my least favorite, and there was a second I thought I had to get out of this. Then I started reading the 'Fugitives' scripts, and I thought it was picking up again. There were some stumbles along the way, where it started to get muddy, but I was more inspired." (SCI FI Wire)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to Life on Mars executive producers Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg about the series finale of the US adaptation of the British series, which wraps its run tonight on ABC. "There is a very clear and definitive answer as to what his journey has been about and how all the pieces over the past 17 hours play into that journey," said Appelbaum about the resolution to Sam Tyler's story. "At the same time, we hope, like all great finales, it still leaves things open to interpretation. But if there's one thing we feel pretty good about it's that in the afterlife of Life on Mars on DVD or wherever, it will exist as a cohesive, complete thought that will all make sense." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert: Kevin Rahm (Desperate Housewives) and Jeff Davis will star in ABC comedy pilot presentation This Little Piggy; Dash Mihok (Punisher: War Zone) has joined the cast of CBS comedy pilot The Fish Tank; Rob Huebel (Human Giant) and Julio Oscar Mechoso (Cane) will star in FOX comedy pilot The Station, directed by Ben Stiller; and Alison Brie (Mad Men) has joined the cast of NBC comedy pilot Community. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX has found their replacement for the axed MADtv. The network is launching an untitled latenight series starring Wanda Sykes in the 11 pm timeslot on Saturday evenings. Series, which will largely resemble the format of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, will launch either this fall or January 2010. Meanwhile, Spike Feresten's latenight FOX talkshow is said to be on the bubble. (Broadcasting & Cable)

AMC is developing reality docuseries True West, that will "follow a group of modern cowboys as they pursue a trade that's quickly vanishing." Project, executive produced by Brett Morgen, is still in its early stages. "We had been putting the word out very quietly but sort of consciously that we were looking at unscripted series, with the mandate being that we were looking for an unscripted series that plays like a drama series," said SVP of original programming Joel Stillerman. "We're not looking to do a competition show or one that's heavily formatted." (Variety)

BBC Worldwide has offered episodes of cult British comedy The Mighty Boosh on iTunes. Episodes from the series' third season will be available at the iTunes store for $1.99 each after they air on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim every Sunday night. The first episode is currently being offered at the reduced price of $.99, so act now! (via press release)

Discovery has renewed five unscripted series including American Loggers, Destroyed in Seconds, How Stuff Works, Time Warp, and Treasure Quest, each of which has been picked up for a seconf season. (Variety)

FOX's The Simpsons are being memorialized on a 44-cent first-class stamp designed by series creator Matt Groening, which celebrates the animated series' twentieth anniversary. The stamp, which features the Simpson clan, will be unveiled on April 9th. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fine Living has ordered a second season of 26 episodes of Whatever, Martha!, the unscripted series that showcases Alexis Stewart and friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt commenting on old episodes of Martha Stewart Living. (Variety)

SAG and AFTRA have jointly reached a tentative new three-year commercials contract, which is subject to the approval of the SAG/AFTRA Joint National Board and sees an increase of more then $36 million in wage hikes and other payments. AFTRA national president Roberta Reardon called the new contract "a major victory for our unions -- and a victory for organized labor as a whole." (Hollywood Reporter)

USA Today's Gary Levin looks at the belt-tightening going on at the networks and how rough economic times are forcing the networks to get smarter with their money during development season. Still, there are a few big-budget pilots on the horizon (like ABC's $7 million Flash Forward) even as the nets look to trim costs by shooting in less expensive locales (hello, Atlanta!), using digital video rather than 35 mm film, and going back to multi-camera on more comedies rather than go for the more expensive single-camera style. (USA Today)

Heroes creator/executive producer Tim Kring has signed a deal to create interactive entertainment applications for Nokia's Ovi Store, launching this summer. (Variety)

BBC One has confirmed that heisty dramedy The Invisibles will not be returning for a second season. The series, which starred Anthony Stewart Head and Warren Clark, did not find an audience when it aired last summer. "In spite of a great cast and production team, The Invisibles didn't find its audience," said a BBC spokesperson. "We remain very proud of it but it won't be returning." (The Daily Mirror)

Nikki Reed has been named VP of current and development for Universal Cable Prods., where she will be tasked with developing scripted series for non-NBC Universal-owned cable networks. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.