List of recurring The Mighty Boosh characters
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Recurring characters from the television series, the radio series, and the various stage shows are listed below. Most of the recurring characters are played by Barratt, Noel Fielding, Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher or Dave Brown.
Central cast
The Mighty Boosh centres on the adventures of Howard Moon and Vince Noir, aided by the other two members of the central cast, Naboo the Enigma and [|Bollo], who by series 3 they share a flat with. Bob Fossil 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 Julian Barratt. Howard is an aspiring musician, actor, poet, novelist and photographer. In the first series he works at the Zooniverse as a zookeeper, alongside Vince. In the second series, Howard and Vince have left the zoo and formed a band together. He is vain, despite being described as "generic-looking" and often makes outrageous claims which often turn out to be true. He is unlucky in love, and in series one is in love with reptile keeper, Mrs Gideon. In the series three episode "Party", it is revealed that he is a virgin. Later in the episode Vince and Howard share a kiss in order to save Vince's life, leading Howard to announce that he has now discovered his own homosexuality and is in love with Vince. Vince is horrified, but he becomes jealous moments later when Howard begins flirting with a girl.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 "Killeroo", Howard possesses an unseen disfigurement on his torso.
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 soup". This usually leads into a 'crimp': a short, completely random song and dance that quickly strays off-topic and often involves harmony.
Howard's exact age is uncertain. In the episode "Party" when Vince tells him that fifty is not 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 is 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, and spent much of his early life as an orphan, being raised in a forest by Bryan Ferry, and then proceeded to spend the latter part of his childhood in civilisation in England, where he befriended Howard Moon at primary school. He left secondary school in his mid-teens, after being convinced by Howard to work at a local zoo called the Zooniverse, despite mentioning at various points that he took a gap year, achieved at least two BTEC National Diplomas, and went to college. At the Zooniverse, he befriended Naboo the Enigma, Bollo the Ape, and Bob Fossil. He and Howard also went on several adventures whilst working at the Zooniverse, including visiting the Arctic tundra, Limbo, and going on a road trip. In the second series, he was living in a flat in Dalston with Howard, Naboo and Bollo, and playing in a band with Howard. In the third series, Vince and Howard were working in the Nabootique, a small second-hand shop owned by Naboo.
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 and somewhat childlike outlook on life. Vince is also shown to be vain and sometimes narcissistic, putting great pride in his appearance and his hair and sometimes neglecting his friend Howard in episodes of self-absorption. Vince usually conforms to specific subcultures which he considers vogue, such as mod, goth, punk, and New Rave,
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 outfit". When a doppelgänger calling himself Lance Dior arises, Vince's optimism crumbles and he becomes insecure.
It was implied in the third series that Vince had bisexual tendencies. Such tendencies are first noted in the episode "Journey to the Centre of the Punk" when his singular brain cell remarks to Howard that he "does swing both ways" but did not really feel "it" with him. Several such references are made in the episode "Party", especially when he kisses Howard passionately to avoid being beheaded by Dennis the head shaman.
Vince is a fan of electro music, The Rolling Stones, punk rock, and glam rock. Mick Jagger is Vince's hero. He is highly disdainful of jazz, going as far as to claim to be allergic to it. Vince has sung for various bands, including a glam-folk band, an electro band, his and Howard's own band, and a punk band. Vince is also a keen artist having gained a BTEC National Diploma in Art, as well as hair design; he also claims to be a novelist, writing novellas and publishing them independently.
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.
Vince also claims he is the "King of the Mods".
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, 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 freelance shaman from the alien planet Xooberon, and has the ability and knowledge of many spells; and is also a recreational drug user and a drug dealer. He is a member of the Board of Shaman, and like many members he is a heavy drinker and rides on a magic carpet.
In 1978, Naboo was mistakenly sent to Earth by the King of Xooberon to protect the amulet of the planet's Fountain of Youth. He became a drug dealer for Rudi and Spider at one point in the 1970s, and eventually went on to work as a kiosk vendor at the Zooniverse. While at the Zooniverse, he would help Howard and Vince out of situations they often found themselves in, typically their explanations being followed by his catchphrase, "I don't believe this!" Naboo left the Zooniverse to become a freelance shaman, moving into a flat in Dalston with Howard, Vince and Bollo, the last now being his familiar spirit. In the episode "Party" of series 3, it is revealed that Naboo has no genitals. By the 2006 stage show, he had opened a second hand shop called the Nabootique. In the episode "Fountain of Youth" Bollo reveals that Naboo is 406 years old.
Bollo
Bollo was originally portrayed by Dave Brown, and also portrayed in the first TV series by Peter Elliot. He first appeared in "Jazz", an episode of the 2001 radio series. He went on to appear in all three series of the TV show and the 2006 stage show.Bollo is an anthropomorphic gorilla who has been portrayed as inept yet immensely strong. He and Vince are very close, a stark contrast to his relationship with Howard. His catchphrase is "I've got a bad feeling about this...", a reference to Star Wars and said in every show since "The Call of the Yeti".
He also DJs at the London nightclub Fabric on Tuesdays.
He first appeared in "Jazz", an episode of a radio series, portrayed by Dave Brown. He next appeared in "Mutants", where he is stolen by Bainbridge to mutate. He then appeared in "Bollo", where he is gravely ill, escaping death when the Grim Reaper takes Howard instead of him. He briefly appears in "Electro", smashing up a guitar in the style of Jimi Hendrix. By the second series he has become Naboo's familiar spirit, and has appeared in every episode since.
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". He is often very childlike and emotional. 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!" 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. 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. Fossil was last seen on the TV show, in the episodes "Party" and "The Chokes".