The Mighty Boosh: Series Two (2006)

The Boosh changed location for the second series but remained just as weird and unique as before. The two leads, Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt), no longer work at the Zoo. Instead, they're shacked up in a North East London flat, which they share with the shaman Naboo the Enigma, and his familiar Bollo, the talking Ape, both of whom were also in Series One.

Despite their musical differences, Howard and Vince form a band. They somehow make their quest for recognition and stardom the catalyst for bizarre storylines involving singing, dancing, and failed romancing.

The show appears to have had a cash injection, enabling the guys to build more elaborate sets that facilitate ever more elaborate scripts. By the final episode all the stops are out and they are deep in the Boosh.

Both Noel and Julian play multiple parts, as does Rich Fulcher (who played Bob Fossil in S1); they're so damn good at it that at times I wasn't sure if it was or wasn't them beneath the make-up. The moronic Moon was a stroke of genius.

Only 6 episodes this time, approx 28 minutes each.

3 mangina lights out of 5

The Mighty Boosh: Series One (2005)

The Mighty Boosh is an alternative British comedy series that's just plain weird. I can't even think of an easy comparison to make this review go quicker. The show primarily revolves around two main characters, Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) and Vince Noir (Noel Fielding), both of whom are zookeepers at England's shittiest Zoo, The Zooniverse, a dilapidated, mostly empty, crappy little hovel.

Howard resembles the guy from your local supermarket who hovers in the bread aisle. He agonises over every decision, loves jazz funk and wants desperately to sleep with Mrs Gideon, the Reptile House lady. He has no chance.

Vince resembles a Dr Doolittle and Rod Stewart love child. He has perfect hair, a love of electro pop and a laid back attitude to life. The less he tries the more he succeeds. Mrs Gideon, the Reptile House lady, wants to sleep with him.

When not feeding animals or chilling in their homely hut, the pair stumble into ridiculous adventures that rarely make any rational sense.

There are recurring characters who help fuel the madness: the aforementioned Mrs Gideon; the resident shaman Naboo, who likes his hookah; the zoo manager, Bob Fossil, who's 51 cards short of a full deck; and the zoo owner, Dixon Bainbridge, with his upstaging moustache. Most of them play some part in the drama, even if it's just to take a kick in the balls.

There's no one definable element that makes Boosh entertaining. It's the mix of well-crafted characters, the clever insults, the off-the-wall events, the ridiculous conceits, and the dancing animals that separate it from the crowd.

8 episodes, approx 28 minutes each.

3½ human persons who buff and squirt out of 5