Alas poor Mof, you just don’t know what you’re missing out on (read the diatribe here). I would pity him, if I didn’t believe that he actually derives more pleasure from hating the show than he would from enjoying it.

The thing is – I knew *exactly* what Mof’s problem would be with The Mighty Boosh and Boosh fans; because, actually, I think people get the Boosh wrong all the time too (but, you won’t be surprised to hear, I come up with a rather different conclusion). People go on about how “weird” it is and, as he says, are constantly describing it as “[some show] on acid.” But that’s their problem. Much as I enjoy all the strangeness, I hate people going on about that too; it entirely misses the point.

So here’s the point. What’s important is the show’s heart – and it’s there that you’ll find the magic. It’s not funky man-fish Old Gregg and his mangina, it’s not Mr. Susan, guardian of the Mirror World, and it’s not a talking gorilla (though Bollo is pretty damn cool). No, the show’s heart is, I’m afraid, a whole lot more mundane, and whole lot more beautiful.

It’s a traditional odd couple double-act. That’s all. Just two guys with nothing in common, who are consistently frustrated with each other, but who somehow rely on each other because they just don’t seem to function on their own. First there’s the day-glo electro nymph Vince Noir – all hair and accessories and red cowboy boots. He’s simple and an idiot (there’s a big difference) but he generally gets away with it because he can flash his pointy smile, wear a cool Bowie t-shirt and he talks the talk pretty well. And then there’s Howard Moon – the man, the myth, the maverick. He’s an idiot too, but he likes to think he’s a deep, under-appreciated hero and ploymath with a particular interest in jazz and (worse) jazz-funk. Like all good double-acts, they’re simultaneously entirely different, and two sides of the same self-deluded coin. It’s Pete and Dud, it’s Eric and Ernie – dammit it’s Bert and Ernie. And perhaps the reason this double-act works so well is because it’s so near the truth. Why do Noel Fielding, made of pure Hoxton, and Julian Barratt, “clearly from Leeds” get on so well? Goodness knows, but it sure is good for comedy. When these two just riff – say at the start of Electro or Charlie, or when they reach the desert island in The Nightmare of Milky Joe – something pretty special happens. If the whole show were just Noir/Fielding and Moon/Barratt sitting on a park bench bickering about Uncle Walt’s pens (one for the fans), I’d be a happy soul.

The “weirdness”, well that’s just extra – and when they get it right, it’s actually quite sublime. Taking The Nightmare of Milky Joe again, the way in which the coconut-headed friends Howard and Vince create slowly come to life is inspired, and it’s their most sophisticated and coherent bit of writing to date. As that was the last episode of the last series to be aired, things look promising.

I could go on and on quoting choice lines, saying what a Beastie Boys-esque masterpiece The Tundra Rap is, or praising the gonzo genius of Bob Fossil, but instead I’ll just let you watch, and suggest that if, like Mof, you’re a newbie watching with a fan who’s not laughing, they’re probably not that much of a fan either, because it still makes me laugh out loud every single time. [annawaits]

TV Review: The Mighty Boosh – Eels
TV Review: The Mighty Boosh – Journey To The Centre Of The Punk
TV Review: The Mighty Boosh – The Power Of The Crimp
The Mighty Boosh – Why?
The Mighty Boosh online
Review: Big Fat Quiz Of The Year (starring Noel Fielding)
Bollo auditions for the Cadbury’s ad