It has only been six weeks since we watched the first new episode of The Mighty Boosh for two years, and already it’s all over. Six episodes just isn’t enough! But it’s all we have, I’m afraid, so we must endure it. The last episode of the series, named ‘The Chokes’, saw Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt messing around with their own template – and normally that’s not a good start when it comes to my own personal enjoyment.

But this worked. I laughed out loud more than I have done all series, I think, and it was rammed full with plot, new characters, flashbacks and, whatever else, a scene from a Dutch arthouse movie…

A couple of storylines ran through this episode, which meant that Vince and Howard didn’t get much screen time together, but allowed for them both to play more characters, which is always a joy. Vince was MCing at The Velvet Onion’s “Electro Circus” (do you think Noel’s a Rolling Stones fan, maybe?) but was more excited about the prospect of becoming the new lead singer with The Black Tubes (aka The Horrors looking incredible and acting terrible). They have a ‘drainpipes’ policy, though, so Vince spends the day in an electric wheelchair trying to “wither down his legs” in order to squeeze into a tiny pair of skinny jeans. Noel doesn’t do physical clowning comedy very often, but this was hilarious.

Howard, on the other hand, was hoping to impress the renowned film director Jurgen Harbourmaster (also played by Julian) with an acting turn during the Electro Circus – but was suffering awfully from the chokes. Enter Montomgery Flange, played by Noel and easily one of the best new characters of the new series. An old English eccentric thesp in the style of Peter O’Toole, he put Howard through an acting crash-course – giving Julian the chance to show off his ridiculously brilliant face-acting skills! After having the chokes taken from him, Howard returned to the Nabootique An Actor, complete with cape and cigarette holder.

All of this was great, as it mixed old-style character based Boosh with the newer elements that Noel and Julian are clearly eager to incorporate – being more visually experimental, for instance (every time Jurgen turned up he was accompanied by an on-screen name banner, as if appearing in a documentary about his own work). The last ten minutes of the Electro Circus itself, however, were a bit of an anti-climax, especially considering that this is the series finale. Budget constraints, I feel, made themselves known here.

So, what about the series overall? Well, just as series two was worlds away from the ramshackle sets of the Zooniverse, series three is worlds away from the flat in Dalston – despite only being downstairs. It took me a while to thoroughly ‘get’ the second series, and I’ll need the same time again now. But there are so many positives to take. For a start, this was one hundred percent Howard’s series – he took a bashing in the first couple of episodes, but now we know that was only to make his rise to working with Jurgen Harbourmaster (albeit on an advert for flatulence medicine…) all the more impressive. Thanks to Vince’s inadvertently perfect kiss in Party, he’s more open and confident too.

The Power Of The Crimp was a joyful celebration of all that we love about the Boosh, Journey To The Centre Of The Punk was like a mini-blockbuster movie, hidden away on a digital channel in the depths of winter, and bringing back the little self-knowing looks to the camera was an inspired decision. There were misses too, of course: Eels seemed to be dark for dark’s sake, but at least it had a proper musical sequence, something sadly missing from much of the series.

Overall, the problems with this series stem from the fact that Noel and Julian are much more ready to change a winning formula than we fans are. What we must do (ok, what *I* must do), is trust them, go with the flow, and just enjoy the fruits of these two talented, unique and rather beautiful minds.

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
TV Review – The Mighty Boosh: The Strange Tale Of The Crack Fox
TV Review – The Mighty Boosh: Party
Why I Love… The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh… Why?