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The Show:
After more than a two-year absence from the small screen,
The Might Boosh returned in 2007 for their third season (and so far
their last,
though another set of shows is rumored to be in the works for 2010)
which the
good folks at BBC Video have just released here in region one. Unfortunately this set of shows is a step
down in quality from the earlier seasons, with writers/creators Julian
Barratt
and Noel Fielding falling into some sitcom pitfalls and losing some of
the
magic that they once had. The show is
still funny, and there are still moments of brilliance, but it doesn't
compare
with the first two seasons.
As they did with season two, the setting changes with season
three. In this season Howard Moon
(depressed
aged emo guy and jazz enthusiast) and Vince Noir (nearly famous
sunshine boy) are
working in a knick-knack shop owned by their friend Naboo the Enigma, a
mystic,
and his familiar Bollo, an ape. Working
at the Nabootique is a little dull at times, but things mange to happen
to the
hapless pair. While the plots are
slightly less surreal than earlier shows, the boys still find
themselves in the
middle of bizarre and comic situations.
In this season the stories are a bit more standard.
Which, coming from where The Boosh started
means they are still far out weird, just not as
avant-garde as they once were. There are
still some strange and comic events, like The Crack Fox, a sewer-living
Fox who
is addicted to cocaine, and Sammy the Crab, an unstable actor. But they seem to go for more typical plots
this time around. When Vince bites a
jazz record at the behest of his punk friends he gets infected with a
Jazz cell
that causes him to scat. The resolution
is a parody of Fantastic Voyage where
Howard is shrunk down to microscopic size and injected into Vince to
destroy
the cell. The thing is, the parody isn't
that funny, and while the Jazz cell is a neat idea, it isn't utilized
as much
as it should have been.
They also bring back a lot of characters from the earlier
two seasons, too many in fact. Dennis
the Head Shaman is in two episodes, and The Hitcher makes another
appearance
too. The problem with these reappearances is that it's taking the place
of
creativity. It's almost like they're
saying "hey! Remember how funny it was
the first time you saw this guy!"
The characters of Vince and Howard have changed too.
In the first season they were a lot like
Laurel and Hardy: a dumb guy and a
dumber guy. They were two slacker with
Howard thinking he was more intelligent than Vince. Now
Howard is a guy who spends a lot of time
moping around and Vince is a smart, popular guy. Vince
is a much better salesman than Howard
and is able to spot trends and cash in on them.
Howard is just a dolt. A humorous
dolt, but he comes across more like the comic relief in a standard
sitcom in
this series more than the star.
That's not to say that this season is bad. It's
actually quite funny. The problem is that
it doesn't live up to the
standard that the earlier show sets.
They are starting to play it safe a bit.
The episode where someone is copying Vince's look is a good
example. Lance Dior is
dressing and acting just like Vince and is
doing it better than Noir. Dior is on
the cover of fashion magazines and is the talk of the town. When Lance teams up with a tall, older guy
with poor fashion sense named Harold Boom, starts a band called The
Fighting
Zeus, and even take their weekly slot at a local club, The Velvet
Onion, Vince
and Howard get made. While the concept
is funny, and there are some great moments including the retro-band
performance, it unfolds like any sitcom would.
The Boosh perform against Zeus and loose, and then when
everything looks
hopeless they come up with a new idea! I
have to admit I laughed through the show, but I was also a little
disappointed
that it was so standard in the execution.
The DVD:
Audio:
The show comes with a stereo soundtrack that suits it
well. There is some directionality and
the dialog is clear. Sometimes the
British accents can be a bit hard to understand, but that's mainly for
the
supporting characters who are adopting silly voices.
In any case that happens only infrequently.
Video:
The 1.78:1 widescreen anamorphic picture looks good,
especially for a British show that often look a little bit worse for
wear by
the time the get here across the pond.
The colors are bright and the lines are tight.
There aren't any digital defects worth noting
either. This is a nice solid looking
show.
Extras:
This season set, like the last one, has a good amount of
bonus material. First off there are
commentary tracks by the creators and stars of the show, Julian Barratt
and Noel
Fielding. Like the earlier season's
tracks, these commentaries are a mixed bag.
The guys have a party atmosphere going, joking about and having
a great
time, but it doesn't really make for an entertaining commentary track. There are sections that are pretty funny but
those are sprinkled with in-jokes that I didn't get and lines that fall
flat.
The rest of the goodies include a making-of featurette that
is similar to the ones accompanying seasons one and two that runs
27-minutes in
length and talks to the creators and crew.
Boosh Publicity is a 29-minute look at what Barratt and Fielding
go
through to publicize the show... following
them to radio shows interviews, public appearances, etc.
The rest of the disc is taken up with deleted
scienes, outtakes, the Boosh Music reel, and some promos.
Final Thoughts:
Though it might not sound like it
from the body of my review, I enjoyed this third season of The Might
Boosh. I just didn't like it as
much as
the first two seasons. Some of the magic
has left the series and it feels like the creators are having more
trouble
coming up with plots and stories. In any
case, it's still a disc worth checking out.
Funny, surreal, and absurd. Recommended.
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Buy: