List of recurring The Mighty Boosh characters

These are characters from the radio and TV series The Mighty Boosh.

Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in the list.

Major characters

Howard Moon

Howard TJ Moon (Julian Barratt) is an aspiring musician/actor/poet/novelist with frequent delusions of grandeur. 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 "generic-looking" and he often makes outrageous claims which he has trouble backing up (he claims, for instance, to have turned down a lucrative offer extended by Walt Disney himself to sort all of Disney's pens). He reacts to criticism violently. His favourite style of music is jazz-fusion, and he spends part of each day in a "jazz trance" and refers to himself as a "jazz maverick". He is in love with Mrs. Gideon and his attempts to impress her are often the launching point for his adventures with Vince in series one.

Howard believes that he has a dark, brooding, poetic side to his personality and has many artistic pretensions, although almost all of his artistic efforts come to nothing. He briefly came close to becoming a published author, although he ruined his chances when Mrs. Gideon criticized his writing and he flew into a blind rage and struck her before his potential publisher. He is a gifted musician, thanks to selling his soul to the Spirit of Jazz (see below), although he refuses to play instruments because the Spirit of Jazz "gets inside" him and makes him do embarrassing things.

Howard considers himself an intellectual, but while he is somewhat smarter than Vince, he is not nearly as intelligent as he thinks he is. (Vince notes that Howard is the UK's foremost cream poet, as all of his poems about Mrs. Gideon use cream similes.) Howard is always on the brink of starting a grand project, and believes that he will become famous somehow, someway. Whenever Howard is near to death, he pleads not to die, saying, "I've got so much to give." While Vince is always dressed very flashily, Howard tends to look unkempt and shabby. In the second series, we learn that Vince cuts Howard's hair while Howard is asleep. Howard doesn't believe in accessories. As he puts it, "There is a simple truth to me."

Howard apparently has a rather exotic background and some medical peculiarities. Howard once had a close friendship (some said too close) with a fox at the zoo named Jack Cooper. The other employees started rumors that Howard was a "fox bummer," and while Howard and Jack both persistently denied the rumors, there is the suggestion that something happened between them that they feel guilty about. In the Killeroo episode Fossil announces that Howard is a former male prostitute, and while this seems unlikely, Howard did not deny it. Howard has apparently always looked just like he does now, as a flashback to Vince and Howard's childhood school days showed that even then Howard was a full-grown man (with a moustache). Killeroo reveals that Howard has some hideous deformity on his torso, although we never see what it is. (We see him shirtless in several later episodes, and no deformity is visible.)

Howard can be aggressive (he often threatens to "come at" Vince, for instance) but when faced with an actual fight, he tends to fold quickly. He is generally a very angry and frustrated man, and while he berates Vince for having an excessively sunny outlook on life, he also relies on Vince for emotional support. Howard often treats Vince like an inferior, although the laconic Vince is generally more amused than offended by Howard's superior attitude. They tease each other constantly, but there is a deep bond between them and both have demonstrated repeatedly that they'll risk death to rescue each other from various ridiculously dangerous situations. When facing death, the two will often reminisce about very silly things - like that one time they ate soup.

Vince Noir

Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) is "king of the mods" and Howard's best friend. He has extraordinary gift to speak to animals; while this is treated as an unusual thing, in the world of the Mighty Boosh it often appears that everyone can understand animals (Howard can apparently understand Jack the fox, for example). Vince was raised in a forest by Bryan Ferry, although the forest-dwelling man we see in the episode The Hitcher seems to be an imposter. Vince's story of his childhood has many parallels with The Jungle Book, including a group of apes whose leader aspired to look human (although in Vince's version, the apes planned to steal Vince's face). Vince apparently spent at least part of his childhood in civilization, as a later flashback shows him attending school with Howard. Vince likes electro music, glam rock, punk, Gary Numan and The Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger is his hero. (In series one, he has an actual shrine to Jagger.) Vince hates jazz as much as Howard hates Gary Numan, and they're always trying to convince each other to give their music a chance. Vince regards Howard's ideal musical form, jazz-funk fusion, as the worst music possible, calling funk "jazz's deformed cousin."

It is a running gag that people think Vince is a girl and/or Howard's girlfriend/boyfriend, and Vince is indeed quite a dandy. He is almost always dressed in grand, showy style, he is in love with his hair, and when faced with the possibility of spending eternity in the Mirror World with no company but his own reflection, he thought it sounded really cool.

Howard tends to treat Vince as an inferior despite the fact Vince often ends up saving Howard or instructing him in such varied subjects as kangaroo boxing and networking the literary crowd. Vince has a perpetually zenlike quality about him, navigating through life with laidback ease. Vince is often the voice of reason when Howard is being particularly pretentious, although Vince can also be amazingly stupid on occasion. In the episode Bollo, we discover that he has never learned that people can go bald, and when he finds out, he is quite distressed. Vince has a tendency to take on different lifestyle choices, his interests including becoming a Mod, a Goth, and a Punk. He never carries any of these roles between episodes (except that of a narcissist).

Vince is quite popular with the ladies and flirts with ease, unlike the rather fumbly and desperate Howard. Of his ideal woman, Vince says, "I like thick girls who like bright colours and soft fabrics!" In season one, Vince teases Howard for being a "fox bummer," although a few episodes later Vince seems to be in a relationship with one of the zoo's pandas. Mrs. Gideon has a great affection for Vince, but perhaps out of respect for lovestruck Howard, Vince does not return her interest romantically.

Vince is rather talented artist, although he claims that Howard is too generic-looking to paint, and paints Howard with a pink balloon for a head. (Nonetheless, Mrs. Gideon claims it looks just like Howard.) Vince also writes very strange stories about Charlie, a glam rock monster made of pink bubblegum, and places them in packages of Weetabix at the supermarket. Vince claims that Charlie is real and enjoys watching Howard while he sleeps, and eventually we learn that Charlie is indeed a real creature. Vince has also been in several bands, including a disastrous glam rock/folk music combo with his friend Leroy.

Vince and Howard generally tease each other quite a bit, although Vince recognizes that Howard's feelings are rather fragile and he often attempts to cheer Howard up. Vince is generally quite popular and seems to make friends easily, although he is closest to Howard and they have apparently been friends since childhood. In many episodes they have an argument that leads them to split up for a while, but they always reunite eventually.

Vince has a BTEC National in Hair Design.

Naboo the Enigma

Only appearing in the TV series, Naboo (Michael Fielding) is the psychic shaman who works at the zoo. He is wise, wordly and helpful whilst at the same time having the demanour of a stoned teenager. He seems to have a magical solution for almost any problem; when confronted with the sinister Spirit of Jazz, for instance, he had a Hoover vacuum at the ready and was able to (temporarily) imprison the Spirit of Jazz within it. He has also created a "miracle wax" capable of making anybody's hair beautiful, even the lord of Monkey Hell. Naboo comes from the planet Xooberon, and was sent to Earth to protect an amulet from theft by the King of Xooberon's enemies. (He was actually sent by mistake, as the king of Xooberon meant to send a warrior named Banoo.) He is a loyal friend to Howard and Vince, rescuing them from many of their self-inflicted situations. Naboo has several pet frogs and will squeeze or smoke them when they misbehave or annoy him. His abode is filled with magical books and talismans. Naboo has demonstrated powers as varying as dream visitation, tasseography, psychiatry, and teleportation or conjuration. In the second season episode Fountain of Youth, we learn that Naboo is actually hundreds of years old but stays young with a youth potion from his home planet. He sometimes smokes hookahs and listen to Tangerine Dream with his mate, Pete, who works in Dixons. When the zoo almost closes in season one, Naboo consider getting a job at Dixons, or becoming a "mighty hawk". When he is extremely cross, Naboo will "turn his back on you" (literally, he will slowly turn away, and then keep turning until he faces you again.) In the second season, Naboo travels around on a flying carpet.

Bollo

Bollo (Dave Brown) is an ape who, in the first series of the television show, lives in the zoo. He is wise and old; according to the radio series, he is 100 years old. However, his "real" age in series two is 40 (his "press" age being 29). He openly dislikes Howard Moon, although when Howard is in danger Bollo usually takes the situation seriously and will take part in the rescue efforts. Bollo thinks very highly of Vince. In the second series he is Naboo's familiar and does various tasks for him, although he is apparently not very good at the job and Naboo contemplates trading him for an upgrade. Bollo secretly wishes to fulfill his ambition of touring Europe as a drummer alongside Vince and – with slight reluctance – Howard, although Naboo refuses to allow it. Bollo grew up in the jungle with his best friend Chico, although eventually he cut off Chico's head and feet. Bollo appears to die at the end of the first season episode Bollo, but he returns a few episodes later in fine health. Bollo's "monkey strength" comes in handy on a number of occasions.

Bob Fossil

In the radio series Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher) is the ill-tempered and slightly odd 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, brash, American, chubby and possibly retarded. He is Howard and Vince's enemy, often trying to set them up for disaster, although on occasion he has expressed a (perhaps subconscious) attraction to both of them. On radio, Fossil liked Vince and hated Howard, on television he generally dislikes both of them (although he is sometimes friendly to Vince), and his radio persona is somewhat replaced by employer Bainbridge. Fossil has a desperate crush on Bainbridge, and declares that he is very interested in getting involved in Bainbridge's "shady operations." Bainbridge often pushes Fossil roughly aside or knees him in the groin, but Fossil claims this is something they do all the time and it's a way of showing affection. On at least one occasion, Fossil and Bainbridge apparently got drunk and drove around beating up midgets.

On the TV series Fossil is very, very stupid, doesn't know how to dial a phone, and calls a portable tape recorder his "talk box". He is often very childlike and emotional, and when confronted with something disturbing (such as a mysteriously floating cup, or a cage full of mutants) he will shriek horribly. Though Fossil is chief zoo keeper, he knows nothing about animals. He is unable to identify the animals he supposedly cares for at the zoo, even the relatively easy ones, such as the elephant (which he calls "the grey leg-face man"). According to the radio series, Fossil also had a traumatic childhood which involved his mother hiding in a bunker at breakfast while throwing eggs at him. In one first series episode he says into his "talk box", "Note to self: I hate whites." Fossil looks caucasian, although we don't know for certain that he is. (It is quite possible that his idiocy has caused him to be confused about his own ethnicity.) In the series, Fossil has his own theme song for the zoo: "Nicey nicey zoo zoo, for him and her and me and you!"

Though Fossil and the zoo were, without explanation, 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, although it is unclear if he actually has a wife or not.

Fossil does not like cricket, and communicates this through the medium of dance.

He was once played by Matthew Holness at the Hen and Chickens Theatre in North London.

Supporting characters of radio series

Graham

Played by comedian Lee Mack, he was the security guard at the zoo, armed with an electrical baton, who always fails to recognise Howard as a zoo employee (due to his generic looks). He appeared to be so unsuited to the job of security guard that he even failed to recognise a photo of himself that Howard pointed out was on his booth.

Colobus the Crab

A television character that Vince enjoys. In the second TV series his programme can be heard playing (in the background) at the end of the episode 'The Nightmare of Milky Joe'.

If Vince could meet anybody, it would be Colobus the Crab, because "he's brilliant."

Tony the Prawn

A pyschopathic prawn who lives in the zoo and scares Vince. His eyes are terrifying 'like black fists... punching into your subconcious'. He first appears in 'Tundra' as he is metioned as the one of their few remaining animals in the zoo. At the beginning of the episode 'Hitcher' Vince and Howard have to take Tony the Prawn to a zoo for animal offenders after Tony the Prawn kills all the other animals in the aquarium in two days.

Vince says that Tony the Prawn is the scariest thing he's ever seen during his time at the zoo.

Supporting characters of Series 1 (TV)

Dixon Bainbridge

Dixon Bainbridge (Matt Berry) is the owner of The Zooniverse and Howard Moon's nemesis in series one. Not appearing in the radio series, he largely takes over Bob Fossil's character from that series, although he is evil in a more deliberate and much less insane way than Fossil was on radio.

He is a proud man with a deep, booming voice. He seems to succeed wherever Moon fails - be it exploring, writing or moustache growing (he uses his magnificent moustache to get him out of trouble - for example, by hiding a pistol in it.) While the press prints stories of his heroic adventures as an explorer, he is in reality a very sneaky, sinister fellow involved in various shady operations. He experimented on zoo employees to create human/animal mutant hybrids and he imprisoned the zoo's former owner, Tommy, in the Jungle Room for many years. For all his evil intent, he is also much more brave, resourceful and (superficially) charming than Howard, and when he's not off on some dangerous adventure he hangs around with high-society types around the world. He has contempt for Vince and Howard, but while Howard sensibly despises Bainbridge in return, Vince is sometimes awed by Bainbridge's tales of adventure.

Bainbridge's assistant is Bob Fossil, who has a crush on him, although Bainbridge has contempt for Fossil and often knees him in the groin. Fossil is always hoping to be part of Bainbridge's shady operations, although Bainbridge generally treats Fossil like his lackey. Fossil, while a generally sleazy person, isn't quite up to Bainbridge's standards of evil, and when confronted with the products of Bainbridge's mutant experiments, Fossil was horrified. In the episode Tundra, Bainbridge and Fossil perform an impassioned version of Total Eclipse of the Heart that has become something of a fan favorite.

While Bainbridge was a driving force in the first series, he was absent from the second without explanation. Bainbridge also makes a special guest apperance on the Live Tour DVD, delivering a package to Howard which contains Old Gregg.

In the pilot episode for the television series, Bainbridge was played by Richard Ayoade who couldn't continue in the role due to a contract with Channel 4. Also in the pilot episode, Bainbridge was not the owner of the zoo as depicted on Series 1, but a zoo keeper who was thrust to "Head Keeper" due to Fossil's admiration of him (because, as Fossil admits to Naboo, he is homosexual)

Mrs. Gideon

Mrs. Gideon (Victoria Wicks) is Howard's love interest. On radio she was mentioned briefly as a woman in Howard's jazz band who had broken his heart after falling for the "rustic wisdom" of Rudi Manciego. Rudi joined the band and muscled out Howard, leaving him broken-hearted and unable to get another jazz gig.

On TV, when she worked at the zoo, she was head of Reptiles, and she always forgot who Howard was, but was interested in Vince, to Howard's disgust and envy.

She isn't interested in boxing, but likes trumpets and bookmarks (both things that Howard conjectured women would like).

Joey Moose

Joey Moose (Brown) is the Australian zoo keeper at the zoo, and sponsors the kangaroo that Howard fights. He is seen briefly at the beginning of Mutants before being knocked out by Dixon Bainbridge. He is seen later on in the episode hideously mutated. He is released from his cage along with the other mutants, and participates in the mutant song before leaving the zoo.

In the Radio series of the Mighty Boosh Joey Moose Plays an important part in the 'Mutants' Themed episode in which he gets bitten by 'a moth with the legs of a hawk' causing his head to swell up to the size, as Vince puts it, of a dustbin lid. Later he turns up as Vince and Howard attempt to infiltrate Bob Fossil's secret research facility on Wolf Mountain, later being savaged by a dog, falling onto 'an old gimmer' called the colonel and being harassed by a pack of mutants.

He is also seen to have a love for tomatoes.

Vince's Uncle

Vince's uncle (Fulcher) owns a boxing gym with a number of strange clients. He attempts to train Howard with music and a training montage, but comments that he is hopeless. He suggests Howard beat a weaker opponent to get his confidence up. It works, but he warns Vince that Howard is going to die. He also yearns for a pocket cup, which Bob Fossil happened to invent.

It is revealed near to the end of the episode that the boxing trainer was not Vince's real uncle. Instead Vince's uncle is a French Duke.

Jimmy the Reach

Jimmy the Reach (played by Olly Ralfe) is a member of Vince's uncle's gym with extraordinarily long hard arms. He "always gets his man". Howard Moon made the mistake of insulting him, only to be punched at the end of the 'Killeroo' episode.

The Grim Reaper

When Fossil talks Howard into wearing a gorilla suit and impersonating an ailing Bollo, the Grim Reaper comes to Bollo's cage seeking Bollo and takes Howard by mistake. He ends up taking Howard to Monkey Hell anyway, but the Grim Reaper is not without compassion and allows Howard a chance to briefly return to Earth for a haunting. There are actually many Grim Reapers, and when they gather up the souls of the dead they transport them through space in taxicabs to limbo, where the Grim Reapers play pool and darts in a lounge. All of the Grim Reapers appear to be cockney, and all seem to have wives named Pauline.

The Ape of Death

The Ape of Death (Fulcher) is the guardian of the gates to Monkey Hell. He has trouble with his hair (if he washes it, it's too dry, if he doesn't wash it, it's too greasy) until Vince gives him the benefit of his styling skills using Naboo's Miracle Wax. Afterwards, the Ape of Death feels "confident and super sexy", even going so far as to sing a song in celebration with his minions Davy and Nemo.

Davey And Nemo

The Ape of Death's companions/servants. They both play electric guitar and forget to tell their master about products for his hair.

Jack Cooper

A Scottish fox at the zooniverse and an 'acquaintance' of Howard Moon, although it is rumoured that their formerly close relationship eventually got "a little too close". Howard is mocked by the other zoo keepers for "bumming that fox". Both of them persistently deny the rumors, but when Howard finds himself in Monkey Hell, he is told that he has been judged harshly for bumming a fox. Even then Howard denies it, but the ruler of Monkey Hell insists that "where there's smoke, there's fire." While Howard tries to stay polite with Jack despite the unfortunate rumors, Jack wants nothing to do with Howard and generally sits in his cage looking grumpy.

Mr. Susan

Mr. Susan (Barratt) is the keeper of the Mirror World which contains over 17 mirrors (Vince points out that this is more of a mirror room) that lead to various dimensions. Though in the stage show, his face was covered in strawberries, in the television series he is a large creature made entirely of rags with a pair of spectacular "mirror balls". He has has a spray to clean the mirrors, and his mirror balls. He is a rather sinister creature, more than a little mad and always dancing around, singing strange little rhymes ("My name is Mr. Susan... and now it's time for you to do the choosin'!") and spraying everything, especially his mirror balls, with his spray bottle. All that time in isolation has made him more than a little fixated on his mirror balls. (Look at them shine! Look at them shine! Look at them shine!") He claims he used to be vain, and this fatal flaw led to him being stuck in the mirror world. He seems eager to share his no-doubt fascinating story with Vince, but Vince isn't interested. The only way for Mr. Susan to escape the mirror world is for one of the visitors to choose the wrong mirror for their desired purpose, in which case they will replace him for all eternity.

The Black Frost

An "icy bastard" featured in The Tundra. The Black Frost (Brown) is the protector of the egg of Mantumbi (a sapphire the size of a school boy's head). He is so terrible that he is capable of freezing a man's last words as they come from his mouth. However, in the episode he is knocked out by a polar bear that Vince befriended earlier on in the episode. He is the protector of the Parka People, who refer to him as "Loogaroo". He is a humanoid creature with skin that is midnight black, he has branchlike fingers and hair and a long, pointy nose. He has a high-pitched giggle, but it is unknown if he can speak. He arrives accompanied by blasting Drum and Bass music (he has a stereo that plays it) and he is a rather odd dresser, wearing nothing but flashy cowboy boots (which Vince eventually steals) and plastic-looking bikini briefs with a hole in the front that shoots out his freezing "breath". While the polar bear does knock him out, he presumably survived. In the pilot episode of the Mighty Boosh (which follows a very similar storyline to The Tundra), The Black Frost is destroyed when Vince's phone rings, playing a high-frequency monophonic version of Gary Numan's "Cars" that causes him to explode.

The Polar Bear

Becomes close friends with Vince in "Tundra", much to the surprise of Howard who thinks he has been eaten by him. After a day of fun, the bear asks Vince to "Hold me" to which Vince obliges. Having saved Vince and Howard from the Black Frost, he is seen staring at the stars all alone humming Gary Numan's 'Are 'Friends' Electric?'.

Leroy

Leroy (Olly Ralfe) is Vince's friend and is often mentioned but is only seen once, in a flashback to their ill-fated attempt to combine Glam Rock with Folk music. He also helped Howard rewrite Tundra, much to Vince's chagrin. He apparently works at an ice rink, where he sells slush puppies.

Tommy Nookah

Tommy (Fultcher) was the diminutive original owner of the zoo and mentor to Howard. He was missing for ten years, presumed eaten by ocelots. Howard absolutely idolizes him, refusing to believing Tommy is dead, leading Vince to suggest that Howard has a crush on Tommy. In reality, Dixon Bainbridge had locked Tommy in the Jungle Room where he survived living off nothing but cheese. (It is unknown how he was able to find so much cheese in the Jungle Room, but the Jungle Room is, after all, a very strange place.) Ten years of eating nothing but cheese caused Tommy's flesh to turn into cheese and an enormous fatty deposit developed on his head. Despite his grim condition Tommy is quite cheerful (and insane), happily telling Howard, "You are what you eat... and I am freaking cheese!" Tommy admits that he has become hideous, but believes that when he dances, his inner beauty shines. Tommy is a rocker, a firm hater of mods (much to the chagrin of Vince who, in this episode, claims to be the king of the mods). In a last attempt to save the zoo, Howard is forced to grate Tommy and then offers Dixon Bainbridge Tommy's cheesy remains. Tommy's philosophical qualities thus briefly infect Bainbridge, and he is too busy pondering the nature of reality to go through with the sale. Tommy was originally played by Richard Ayoade in the radio series.

Fire

Fire is actually a man in a fire suit who appears when Tommy tells everyone to gather round. He is a very minor character, but his brief, baffling appearance has made him something of a fan favorite. Fire is very similar to Naan Bread, who appears in the episode 'The Legend Of Old Gregg' in the second series. In some stage shows out of improvisation the fire replies "My name is James Smith and I'm just dressed up like this because I have issues with attention", however this has not been adopted as a regular theme.

Rudy Van DiSarnio

By the time of the first series Rudy Van DiSarnio (Barratt or Flucher) lives in the Jungle Room, although we learn in the second series that he was once half of The Bongo Brothers, a successful jazz-funk fusion group, with Spider Dijon. In the Jungle Room he poses a series of bizarre tests and attempts to guide lost people using his wisdom, though in reality he is of little use. He has a large afro, inside which is the door of Kukundoo from which a mystery hand may offer different instruments. He sits atop his small section of Woodstock. He has protruding upper teeth which affect his speech.

He has many aliases, which he reveals ad nauseum. The names he mentions include: Shatula: Bringer Of Corn, Mickey Nine: The Dream Weaver, Photo Shop, Trinew: The Boiler, Marjory Keak, Captain Margaret, RRRRRrrrubbidy Bubbidy, and of course Rudy Van DiSarnio: Jazz Fusion Guitarist.

Rudy reappears in series 2 as a High Priest of the Order of Psychedelic Monks and member of The Bongo Brothers along with his partner, Spider. This episode is a flashback to when Spider and Rudy were searching for the "new sound" in the desert, with Vince and Howard's story in the present serving as a framing device. Rudy's wife left him after she found him in bed with his guitar (he had his balls inside it and strummed himself to ecstacy). Since then Rudy has no place for women, and intercourse usually lasts only 90-120 seconds. Strangely, in the series two episode Rudy was shown as a full-sized man, but in series one he appeared to be some sort of dwarf and he was (literally) rather two-dimensional, growing out of his traveling "Woodstock" backdrop. The issue is never directly addressed, but it seems logical to conclude that the change in Rudy's appearance is probably related to the arcane, mystical pursuits that also put a door in his head.

Rudy also appeared in the 2006 Live Tour, in which he fought a duel with the Hitcher. In the Live Tour, Vince also comments on the large number of tests that Rudy sets, and Rudy responds that many people think this, and that in school his friends gave him the nickname "Testy" because of this. He was first played by Rich Flucher in the early live shows and radio show (he was a judge in the battle of the bands Howard and Vince were in).

Pete

Naboo's friend who works in Dixons, they generally sit around together getting stoned and listening to Tangerine Dream. Pete is the core of the 'Dixons' joke theme seen in several episodes.

Charlie

Charlie is the subject of a book drawn by Vince in crayon. Vince maintains that Charlie is in fact real. Charlie has two singing henchmen and enjoys Alice Cooper. He has been known to eat humans. He is the subject of episode 6 (Series 1).

Charlie seems to have the ability to hypnotize people with a bright pink light and hypnotic music, forcing them to dance, though his victims appear to be terrified even while they do this. He can also entangle his victims in strands of pink bubblegum.

Vince leaves Charlie's story in packets of Weetabix. The story is as follows:

The Charlie Story

Charlie is genius, right; he's made from a million pieces of old bubble gum, ha, imagine that! In the summer of 1976, on his way home from an Alice Cooper concert, Charlie started to melt onto the pavement; It was too hot in LA, and he melted like a pink bitch, Ha ha ha ha ha! Luckily though, there was Eric Phillips, a local crocodile who dabbled in black magic. He took pity on Charlie and scraped him off the floor with a pair of fish slices. He poured him into an antique soup ladle and boarded his magic carpet, ha ha! Destination Alaska! Eric Phillips decided to refreeze Charlie, but in his cold-blooded reptilian haste, he refroze him into to the shape of a hoover - "I wasn't thinking." Charlie wasn't fazed though, he just zoomed about the place sucking up Inuits "ha ha … oh." The Inuits didn't mind, they loved it in Charlie's pink tight warm belly pouch, and they refused to come out. Charlie said "I'm cool with that," and set fire to a posh hammer to make it official. "I appear to be on fire." The downside was that the Inuits suffocated immediately. It was air-tight in there. Charlie panicked and fired the tiny Inuit bullets into Eric's crocodile peepers. "After all I did for you … oooh." The green shape was frozen. After a quick drink Charlie stole Eric Phillips magic carpet and left for Seattle. Charlie was racked with guilt, he'd killed 50 Inuits, no-one needs that. He decided to spend the rest of his life putting small hairstyles onto boots, monkey nuts, trumpets and spanners.

Hamilton Cork/Simon McFarnaby

Hamilton Cork aka 'Corkie' (played by fictional actor Simon McFarnaby, both played by comedian Simon Farnaby) is a publisher whose whole philosophy is that he can tell within one sentence of reading a book whether or not he wants to publish it. His nickname, as his good friend Dixon Bainbridge notes, is "One Sentence Cork". He and Bainbridge first met at a wedding in Krakatoa in 1962 where the bride was hung ("it was almost as though she didn't want to die!").

It appears that McFarnaby's head is made out of a conker, and Vince suggests that Simon McFarnaby dip his head in vinegar for his "big thing" coming up in the autumn.

At the end of the episode 'Charlie', Howard is dismayed by Cork's/McFarnaby's snubs and states "What do you think you're playing at, you conker-headed berk". Without a moment's hesitation Cork floors Moon with a powerful headbutt and states "Don't mess with me, 29er" before striding off the set.

The Spirit of Jazz

The Spirit of Jazz (Noel Fielding) is an evil force to whom Howard sold his soul for the ability to be a multi instrumentalist. He claims to have been behind all the jazz greats, including Miles Davis and Steve Davis (though Steve Davis was actually an accident). The price of selling your soul to the Spirit of Jazz is that every time you pick up an instrument he is "there, inside ya, wearing you like a glove" and he "creeps inside ya like a warm kitten." (Howard rightly points out that this endless talk about getting inside people is a little "weird", but the Spirit of Jazz doesn't seem to catch his meaning.) In the TV series he has a pitch-black face with white markings of a rather African design (it is unclear if this is face paint or his actual skin), red eyes and long, dredlocked hair. He wears a white tuxedo and tophat. The hat is on fire when he first appears; Howard mistakes this for part of his "look," but it turns out his hat really is on fire and he's quite upset that Howard didn't mention it. The Spirit of Jazz has a strong New Orleans accent and sometimes refers to himself as "Uncle Mario".

Naboo briefly manages to somehow imprison the Spirit of Jazz inside a Hoover vacuum, but the Spirit of Jazz soon figures out how to make the vacuum travel around and uses its hose to get back inside Howard (through his behind) while he is in the middle of performing a concert with Vince's new electro band, Kraftwerk Orange. The concert ends in a shambles, as Howard's clothing magically rips off and he performs a loud, blistering jazz solo in nothing but his underwear. Furious, the Kraftwerk Orange girls then proceed to "stab everybody up".

In the radio series, the Spirit of Jazz isn't quite so sinister and never buys Howard's soul. Instead he urges Howard to take his chance to be part of Vince's band and become 'the one'. However, it later transpires that the Spirit of Jazz was incorrect and that Howard is not 'the one'. In fact, he's about as far away as being the one as it's possible to be. He's not even in the top ten.

Electro Girls

The Electro Girls, Neon and Ultra, (played by Dee Plume and Sue Denim, the real-life members of the band Robots In Disguise) are in the electro band Kraftwerk Orange for which Vince briefly performed as frontman and Howard even more briefly played keyboards. When Howard, possessed by the Spirit of Jazz, disrupts the performance the Girls "stab everyone up" and the gig ends in disaster.

Plume and Denim can be seen again in series 2 as the Goth Girls Ebola and Anthrax in Nanageddon. Dee can also be seen once again in 'The Legend Of Old Gregg' as the lady covered in shells!

Johnny Two Hats

Johnny Two Hats (Dan Clark) is so named because he wears two hats. He is a founding member of the band "Kraftwerk Orange", which he leaves after an argument with Vince. He is seen at the Kraftwerk Orange gig anyway as a spectator, wearing five hats.

The Hitcher

The Hitcher (Noel Fielding), whose real name is Babu Yagu[1], is a Cockney man-witch with green skin and a top hat; he has a giant Polo for an eye and is pure evil. He is often accompanied by The Piper Twins (Fultcher and Brown), Jim and Jackie Piper, who also have Polo eyes. He is proprietor of the Zoo for Animal Offenders which features the Nazi turtle ("a fresh-water fascist for all the family"), the Ku Klux goose and Trevor Robinson, a shire horse with over 37 unpaid parking tickets.[2] The Hitcher has an enormous thumb, and tells Howard that he was born with a pathetically small thumb, but he sought out a shaman hornet who stung his thumb until it became huge. In return, the Hitcher squashed the shaman hornet. The Hitcher travels with a Polo-covered box that contains a nightmare world inside, including the Zoo for Animal Offenders. He plans to chop up Howard and Vince and feed them to his animals. He is a proponent of jazz fusion (although he also raps), and has a slap-bass guitar style that Howard finds most impressive. Bryan Ferry (see below) tells Vince that some believe the Hitcher is the Devil himself, and some believe he is just a strange man in green makeup. Ferry apparently believes the former. Despite his magical attributes, the Hitcher suffers from a bad back. In the first series, he was beaten when Howard tricked him into playing jazz fusion, sending the bear they were transporting berserk, leading him to the zoo and attack the Hitcher. When the attack was finished, all that was left was the Hitcher's clothes (though as it transpired, he was just to the left, having leapt out, before making his exit)

The Hitcher reappears in series two episode Fountain Of Youth, where he plans to utilize the fountain's magical qualities to restore himself to his, "Former glory... And beauty, mind", after which he planned to 'Rule the universe', 'with an army of green bitches destroying everything in their cockney wake!'. It is uncertain how he intends to achieve this simply with his restored youth. His scheme goes awry when, while showering in the fountain (which has been done up Ikea-style), Naboo flushes the adjoining toilet, causing him to melt and possibly die. In this episode we learn that the Hitcher can change his appearance, as he disguises himself as an attractive woman in order to con Howard.

A coconut version of The Hitcher appears briefly as the owner of a nightmarish fairground game, in the series two episode The Nightmare of Milky Joe. This is arguably not a real reappearance of the Hitcher, however, as it is later revealed that Vince and Howard had eaten a lot of rancid coconuts and gone "coco loco", and they were hallucinating.

The Hitcher also appeared in the 2006 Live Tour, although time constraints meant that Noel appeared without the usual green makeup he wears for the role, and wore a simplified version of the usual costume, where he claimed the show was to be called, "The Mighty Stump-Fuckers".

He also appeared at a Razorlight concert. In return, Razorlight agreed to play a small cameo role in the episode "The Priest and the Beast".

Marcus Hoffman

(Simon Farnaby) Mistaken for the head of Pieface records by Vince, because his head is in fact a pie, and reveals the fact that he designs speedboats. He also invites Vince to the pub where, on weekends, he and his mates listen to some reggae. Vince turns down this offer with the exclamation "get lost, creepy crust" and leaves.

Bryan Ferry

Has a cameo role in the episode 'Hitcher' (but it is obviously Barrett covered in fake tan and a strap on chin). Ferry apparently raised Vince in the forest, although there is some suggestion that this strange fellow is only a Ferry impersonator. (Naboo points out that the "Ferry" seen here looks more like Terry Wogan.)

The Parka People

The Parka People are featured in Tundra. They are a strange race of diminutive people who wear parkas that obscure their faces. While Howard is suffering in the snow, convinced Vince is dead, a parka person appears and commands Howard to "look deep into the parka." He claims there are many things within his parka, things Howard has never dreamed of, such as rubies. When Howard says that he has, in fact, dreamed of rubies, the parka person then says his parka contains "lesbian ham". When Howard finally looks deep into the parka, he sees the Egg of Mantubi he and Vince were seeking. Howard returns to the icy lair of the parka people, where he joins them for dinner. He eats one of their vomit, mistaking it for a dish they are offering. Then the parka ruler sentences him to be sacrificed, as they know Howard plans to steal the Egg of Mantumbi, and it is their duty to guard it. While they are summoning the Black Frost, Vince arrives. They grab the Egg, but the alarm goes off, and the Parka People tie them up and then are not seen again. They are not seen again, but we can only assume they survived.

Supporting characters of Series 2 (TV)

The Moon

See main article The Moon

The Moon was originally used in Noel Fielding's one man show at the Edinburgh Festival. He appears in series two twice per episode and says a variety of bizarre things. He has a dreamy voice with a thick, European accent of indeterminate origin, and talks mainly about himself, the stars and other planets, as well as strange and often borderline incoherent things, for example, licking the Sun's back "all on his yellow suit" without the Sun knowing, or the time he saw a man with a tube, and the man made the moon big inside the tube (a telescope). He has a variety of little poems and songs, with perhaps his best-known poem being the one about various astronauts walking on his face and looking at all the stuff that the moon has to offer. To judge by the conclusion of the second season episode Nanageddon, the moon is apparently a fan of The Cure (he sings Love Cats over the closing credits). The Moon always appears to be simplemindledly cheerful, and he is described by Tony Harrison as "an alabaster retard".

Kodiak Jack

Kodiak Jack (Fulcher) is a strange mountain man who owns the log cabin that Howard And Vince rent in Call of the Yeti. He sports an impressive array of injuries incurred by hunting the various animals in the forest in which he lives.

He firmly believes that Vince is a woman, a misconception shared by many minor Boosh characters (one of the recurring jokes of the show), and even fell in love with him. Jack is eventually raped by very horny Yetis, although he actually seemed to enjoy this.

The Yeti

In the world of The Mighty Boosh, the Yeti are a race of tall, shaggy creatures with skull-like faces. They live in the woods, hibernating for 25 years and then reviving to find a man to mate with. They seduce their victims with a siren song of mellow hippie music, leading their vicitm to believe that "we are your family" and "everything you need within lies." This musical spell is so potent that it affects apes (like Bollo) and even overcomes Naboo's "fortress"-like mind. In the end, our heroes escape and the Yeti end up raping Kodiak Jack.

The Bongo Brothers

The Bongo brothers are Rudi Van Disarzio (Barratt) and Spider Dijon (Noel Fielding).

When Rudi Van Disarzio returns in series two, we learn much more about him. He is an over-serious jazz fusion guitarist (in the vein of Carlos Santana, whom he reluctantly admits to have stolen music from). Spider Dijon, however, only wants to sleep with women and drink tequila, much to Rudy's distress. He is also being poached by Santana.

Spider is so called for his eight penises and he admits to have had an affair with Rudi's wife. However, he claims in his defence she was neglected due to Rudi's love for his guitar. He is resentful of the fact that Rudi made them stay behind at Woodstock which resulted in them having to do six weeks of hoovering with Carlos Santana. Spider longs to have a door in his head like Rudi, and at the end of the episode he is granted one. Rudi and Spider have a stormy but close friendship in this flashback episode, however their relationship seems to have soured later, as Rudi is living alone in the Zooniverse's Jungle Room by the time of the first series.

Monkey

or "the woolen bullet" is the outsider woman of the village in the episode 'The Priest and the Beast'. She's strange, she has visions, she drinks her own urine and she smells of peanuts, and we eventually learn that she deliberately makes herself unappetizing so that the creature called Betamax won't ravage her. Rudi Van Disarzio's look reminds her of her cross-eyed dead father, and her look reminds Rudi Van Disarzio of the pig he used to have when he was younger. Far from being insulted, Monkey is delighted by the comparison, since she has a secret passion for her pet pig and longs to marry him and ride him around the village square. Rudi and Monkey share a strange understanding, and she asks Rudi that "the next time you see that pig, or eat a peanut sandwich...think of me"

Betamax Bandit

Betamax is a feared obsolete format who takes rule of a small run-down desert village in the episode 'The Priest and the Beast'. It was believed his anger originated from his becoming obsolete to VHS, until he reveals his rage is in reality because Spider made love to his wife. He vents his fury by killing any men he finds in the village.

He seems to be a formidable opponent in combat, able to reel in his enemies with strands of Betamax tape. He appears to be vulnerable to Fusion guitars licks, however, since this is Rudy's chosen form of attack when he encounters Betamax.

Betamax is defeated when Spider rewinds him back into his original cassette form. He is then taped over with the snooker.

Nanatoo

Appears in series two, episode three entitled “Nanageddon.” A seemingly sweet old woman who is, in fact, the most evil demon known to the Shamen; she has a five star rating in Spotlight for Demons. She kills a lad with the edge of a bus pass and Saboo with a combination of her 'Speed Knitting' and 'Needles of Death' techniques. She could wrap you up, then throw her needles at you, then - Uh oh! - you're dead. It is possible to get rid of Nanatoo with the mystical incantation, "Nana Nana go away, come again another day!".

Kirk

Kirk is a member of the Board of Shamen convened to discipline Naboo for losing the Book of Black Magic. Although Kirk was aged six when filmed, he is in fact a violent and sexually deranged being from the fourth dimension. By his own admission, Kirk is "an erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind."

Kirk is played by Noel Fielding's nephew.

Tony Harrison

Tony Harrison (Noel Fielding) is a member of the Board of Shamen. His body consists of a pink head with six tiny legs sticking out of its base. Saboo has described him as looking "like a ball". Despite his lack of a torso or limbs, he allegedly has a gift for strategy, "I'm a unique thinker". This ability, however, seems non-apparent as he requires someone to write down his ideas. Frequently Tony shouts, "this is an outrage!" at any suggestion. References to "Mrs Harrison" imply that he is married. He suffers from motion sickness and cannot travel very well on most vehicles, but claims to be good on horses. Although his own motive abilities are limited, should he need to be transported, he comes fully equipped with a Papoose. In his words, he 'slots in the back like a peanut'. He also comes with a wheel, that clicks into his chin "like a skate". In Nanageddon he is knocked off a flying carpet by Saboo and spends the rest of the episode falling to Earth. It is unknown whether he survived.

Tony Harrison is also the name of a 20th century English Poet.

Saboo

Saboo (Richard Ayoade) is a member of the Board of Shamen. Saboo talks obsessively about "the crunch" (as in, "What are you going to do when it comes to the crunch?"). He is sent (with Tony Harrison) by the leader of the Board of Shamen to retrieve the Book of Black Magic from Nanatoo. He considers Harrison useless ("you know nothing of the crunch"), and eventually he knocks Harrison off their flying carpet at a high altitude. After dealing out Howard's "first taste of crunch" by slapping him with a handbag, he is seemingly killed by Nanatoo, exclaiming "crunch time!".

The King

The King (Nicholas Burns) rules over the planet Xooberon, and accidentally entrusts Naboo with a sacred amulet that operates the Fountain Of Youth. The true hero, a warrior named Banoo, arrives only seconds later to find Naboo and the amulet have gone to planet earth. He has a penchant for folk music and vegan food, and has fantastic hair. He always introduces himself by taking off his outermost robe and announcing, 'It is I... the King!'

Sandstorm

Sandstorm (Barratt) is a fidgety, impatient humanoid creature made entirely out of sandpaper with an electric sander on each hand. He wreaks havoc upon the planet Xooberon, though it emerges that this is only because he is frustrated as his coarse, rough hands mean he cannot love another or even masturbate. Vince solves his problem by giving him his gloves, after which Sandstorm immediately and furiously begins making up for a lot of lost time (He apparently considers furniture catalogues pornography). Sandstorm is so grateful for Vince's kindness he pledges to help Vince out whenever needed, and later on Vince calls for Sandstorm's protection against one of the Hitcher's minions, the aptly named Evil Tree (Fulcher). Sandstorm's high-pitched voice and fidgety manner are rather similar to Mr. Susan, also played by Barratt.

Banoo

(Ramon Tikaram) Banoo is a warrior who is willing to do anything for his King. Banoo comes from the planet Xooberon and he always seems to appear at the wrong time. Banoo appears twice in the episode (at the start and the end). He was originally supposed to go to planet earth but the king got Naboo and Banoo's names mixed up. On his last appearance the King asks him if he has "ever ventured into buying a watch." Banoo asks what the time is, the King tells him it's four o'clock, and Banoo replies that he "needs to pick up the kids."

The Xooberon Tribe

This unnamed tribe is led by a short, big-headed, belligerent fellow (Fulcher yet again) and when Vince shows up with the amulet, they proclaim him "the chosen one" and spend their nights singing his praises. (Howard is not so lucky, and becomes Vince's slave.) All the tribespeople have blue skin. The tribe leader falls in love with Vince, and when he thinks he has offended Vince, he cuts off his own hand. Nonetheless, after Howard steals the amulet and it falls into the clutches of the Hitcher, the tribe turns on our heroes and leaves them to die a horrible death in the desert sun.

Old Gregg

Main article Old Gregg

Old Gregg (Noel Fielding) is a strange, murderous, hermaphroditic merman-creature that lives at the bottom of Black Lake. On a full moon he kidnaps any fishermen that sails in his waters. Some say he's half-man half-fish, others say it's more of a 70/30 split, but, as Lucien (Barratt), a local fisherman, says, "Whatever the percentage, he's one fishy bastard". Old Gregg has seaweed hair and webbed fingers, he wears a silver jacket and a tutu, and has an accent that seems to suggest he originates from the American South. He lives in an undersea cave and has, as he puts it, "all things that are good". He is the keeper of The Funk (see below) and has a "mangina." The bright light which emerges from Old Gregg's mangina has a hypnotic effect on its victims. He takes them to his underwater lair ('Gregg's Place') to marry, or kill, them. Only one man has ever returned from Old Gregg's lair (though technically four in total, plus one ape, since Vince, Howard, et al escaped at the end of the episode; this might just be taking it a tad too seriously), and he was so terrified that today he shrieks whenever he is spoken to. Howard et al don't shriek, so this might be an isolated problem.

Once Howard is taken to Old Gregg's lair, he discovers that Old Gregg is a pathetic creature, desperate for love. Old Gregg paints watercolours and has a fetish for Baileys, so he constantly offers Baileys whenever he is not painting watercolours of himself, Howard or Baileys. He is very persistent, repetitive and mad, and wishes he could perform in a catchy 80's funk duet with Howard called The Family Funk. At the end of the episode he persuades Howard to marry him, and while Howard escapes before the marriage can take place, the show ends with our heroes driving back to town and Old Gregg perched atop their van, wearing a wedding dress. What happens when they return to London or how Howard deals with Old Gregg is never made clear. Old Gregg's catchphrase is to wail "I'm Old Gregg!".

Old Gregg also appears in the live show and sings his "Love Games" song to Howard which turns into a rave at the end of the song.

The Funk

The Funk is a small, medicine ball-sized, purple alien who lives in a box in Old Gregg's underwater home. The Funk is made up entirely of teets which can be milked and produce a funk-shake, and drinking this apparently grants a person extreme funkiness. When the Funk first came to Earth it fell into the possession of Bootsy Collins, who used it to become a funk star but mistreated the Funk terribly. Eventually the Funk ended up under the sea, where it was found by Old Gregg and taken to Gregg's lair.

Interestingly, when Howard opens the Funk's box, the sad-looking creature seems to recognize him, calling his name in a high, whispy voice. It is unknown if Old Gregg spoke of Howard to the creature, if it was able to overhear their conversations outside the box, or if it somehow recognized Howard due to his obsessive love of jazz-funk fusion music. Howard steals the box at the end of the episode, and while it is implied that Old Gregg catches him later, we are never shown what becomes of the Funk.

In some early stage shows a character called Jono The Jono would come on from underneath the stage and drink The Funk's funky milk, but this was not adopted as a regular theme mostly because of a lack of trapdoors at every theatre or gig.

Phillip the Kitten

File:BooshCats.jpg

Phillip

Phillip is actually more of a concept than a character. When Howard Moon goes to Naboo for some sage advice on how to handle his outbursts of rage, the shaman gives him a picture postcard with two kittens on it, saying "This is two kittens in a barrel, look at them in there, having a whale of a time. You see the one on the left? He's called Phillip. Now when you look into Phillip's eyes your anger will recede like an ocean...."

Milky Joe

File:Milkyjoe.jpg

Milky Joe

Howard creates Milky Joe (in previous productions, Milky Jono) -- a coconut on a stick -- whilst stranded on a desert island, to avoid boredom (a parodic reference to Tom Hanks' film Castaway which involves the making of an imaginary friend from a volleyball). As time progresses he becomes more realistic, until eventually he takes on a life of his own.

Milky Joe is French and has intellectual discussions with Howard and delivers lectures on geology - as well as frequently talking about Jean Paul Satre. In an attempt to equal Vince's coconut girlfriend Ruby, he dressed MJ as a girl, named Gemima. When this ploy fails, Howard says to Joe, "Well that was a great idea- I thought you were supposed to be an intellectual." Howard eventually tires of Milky Joe's conversation, declaring "the man's an arse". Later Milky Joe testifies against Howard and Vince in a coconut court, after the murder of Howard’s abusive coconut lover, Precious Lilywhite (a reference to Albert Camus' l'Etranger, which Howard discussed with Milky Joe earlier (Howard argues for Camus' superiority over Sartre)). Vince's response to this is to call him a "garlic twit". He finally appears on the 'Pie-Face Showcase' with his band, 'The Coconuts' who are introduced by Bob Fossil. Milky Joe's band steals Howard's "Isolation" song, and they apparently have a big hit with it.

Ruby and Precious

File:RubyMightyBoosh.jpg

Ruby

File:PreciousLilywhite.jpg

Precious

Ruby and Precious Lilywhite are also coconuts on sticks whom Howard and Vince fall in love with. Both are created by Vince as a response to Howard's invention of Milky Joe. Ruby becomes Vince's girlfriend, and Precious Howard's. Precious, however, becomes overbearing and violent, ordering Howard to stay inside and put up shelves. Howard soon kills her by accident, but is still charged with murder.

Naan Bread

Appearing only in 'The Legend of Old Gregg,' a man seemingly composed entirely of garlic naan bread, who comes free with the curry that Howard and Vince purchase in the King Prawn's Head. His appearance parallels the first series joke concerning Fire.

Breakfast Bob

A desert island-dwelling man who wears exactly the same clothes as Vince and has the same hairstyle, but whose face is composed of sausages and eggs. When Vince and Howard are starving, Vince suggests eating Breakfast Bob, but Breakfast Bob panics and runs away before they can catch him. Breakfast Bob's voice was provided by Noel Fielding, using a variation on his Moon voice.

Archaeology Boy

Played by Fulcher in one of the live shows and can be seen delivering the global explorer in the second series.