Like it or hate it it’s hard to ignore the unstoppable crazy-train that is The Mighty Boosh. I, for one, like it; it’s certainly unique in its surrealist settings and weird characters but it also has some genuinely funny jokes and one-liners. Both Julian Barrett and Noel Fielding work well with each other; rubbing each other’s characters up the wrong way (innuendo alert!). Their alter egos Vince Noir and Howard Moon come across as both likeable and sometimes relatable which makes for an enjoyable half hour show. That and the songs aren’t too bad.

But what’s beginning to dwell on me lately is this over-fascination with the programme. For some it’s not merely a 30-minutes BBC comedy show that focuses on bizarre situations intermingled with equally bizarre characters in an incongruous-laden laugh-a-thon interspersed with the odd nob gag. For them it’s become an obsession; almost a reason to live like they’ve been told that each time they watch it their bank account increases ten fold and their sexual attitude becomes animalistic. In short: it’s the fucking second coming!

And I say all this in a complete non-bias way as my girlfriend is one of said people who believe The Mighty Boosh IS the greatest show on earth. She’s a fuck-hard fan (in that she would FUCK HARD the entire cast) and, you know, I don’t begrudge her it at all.

It does, however, beg the question as to why it has become so widely popular in such a short time period with overly dressed, androgynous emos with little to no charisma who hang around with likewise people who seem to desire wearing witch’s socks -

- sidenote: Yes, it has been a while since I last posted but let’s not dwindle on that right now, as it stands I’ve had this in my head for a couple of days and I don’t want to delay it any longer by having to explain my absence to the few of you that do read this blog. Suffice it to say the words “alcohol” and “I totally drunk shit loads of the stuff” should fill you in on the details…

Now…back to the post -

I’ve been trying to work out what it is about The Mighty Boosh fanbase obsession that has begun to irk me so as of late. Like I said, it’s a good show. However, I fear it’s in danger of becoming a satire of itself and that the jokes may run on such that they will become spread thin or that only regular viewers will understand them like some sort of inside joke.

But as I said it seems to me that there is also a stigma attached to the show in the guise of the fangirl – boy – person. Nothing wrong with being a fanthingy, I, for one, am an Elder Scrolls fanboy and I stand proud and true with my thrusting erection. But whilst watching the live DVD of Boosh’s first tour, there seemed to be this never ending string of scene kids that seem to shout and scream at the mere mention of ‘hairspray’ or ‘corduroy’. Scene kids seem to really REALLY love The Mighty Boosh and I was trying to work out why. And I think it’s because it’s quite a “random” programme and as such I’ve found that many emo and scene kids often proclaim themselves to be of a “random” nature in order to drum up a desperate attempt to be unique and individualistic when in actual fact the whole randomness has become such that it’s turned completely on its head and is now “popular” and “conformist”. Never-the-less they seem to feel that Vince and Howard’s wacky antics fit neatly into their own clique and lifestyle. So as such they feel they can stand together quoting from The Mighty Boosh and intersperse it with little outbursts of non sequiturs as though the two are interchangeable and they will be funny and charismatic.

Another thing that seems to go over my head is the sheer velocity at which the programme has become popular. It’s done well for itself; starting off as a cheaply produced stage show at the Edinburgh festival and going on to tour the country to sell-out venues and flogging t-shirts on the side. But I’m not sure I would be able to keep up with the pace at which the show has escalated over the past couple of years. Nay, a few months even. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that people are acknowledging the greatness of The Mighty Boosh, but I’ve seen what happens to pop culture that sky rockets to mainstream media quicker than a ferret with a bum full of dynamite (I’m also a Red Dwarf fanboy). It happened to the whole metal/rock franchise when MTV started pumping out Linkin Park / Limp Bizkit / Papa Roach etc. videos. Now nobody (except the original fans) gives a shit and the whole marketing well for that particular franchise has run dry.

It won’t be long before a stream of Mighty Boosh knock-offs comes along and tainting the uniqueness of the show. Kind of like having a big pool to yourself only to have a horde of your distant (and less attractive) relatives dive in after you and just piss everywhere.

Hopefully this won’t happen. Hopefully the programme will continue to outdo itself or make its stance as a one off such that no one dare follow in its footsteps, if not may it die gracefully leaving a lasting impression on all of us who enjoy it (except you emo fuckers!).