Interaction Theory Blog Post #5

One of my favorite TV shows is a British comedy called The Mighty Boosh. This show is about two zookeepers, Vince and Howard. In later seasons, Vince and Howard abandon their jobs at the zoo and move to a hip neighborhood in London to pursue a musical career. However, all of the first season is about the zoo. In one of my favorite episodes, Vince and Howard are attempting to thwart Dixon Bainbridge, an explorer whom they despise. The explorer once set out to find the Egg of Mantumbi in the Arctic Tundra and Vince and Howard believe that if they can find the Egg, they can thwart Baindbridge's attempts at being a successful explorer.

Generally the narrative arc of each episode of the Mighty Boosh involves Howard and Vince getting into a scrape. One or several musical performances are inevitable and sometimes the musical performance articulates the solution. In the case of this particular episode, Howard, who is the more straight laced, nerdy, self-deprecating half of the duo is warning Vince, the flamboyant, attractive scenester about the dangers of the Arctic. Howard does this by performing an “Artic Rap”, which I’ve included in this post.

Vince and Howard become separated in the Arctic at one point, but they find each other again in the cave where the Egg is located. Unfortunately, Bainbridge has also found the cave and Howard and Vince find themselves in the inevitable scrape. However, a change of events always occurs to diffuse the situation and Howard and Vince live to see another day and inevitably, get into another scrape. 

The Mighty Boosh is ridiculous. The story lines are always fantastical and filled with strange and quirky characters.  For example, in one episode Vince and Howard seek out advice from a man whose head is made of cheese. In another episode, “Mod Foxes”, foxes dressed like Mod Hipsters, help Vince and Howard out of a forest they have gotten lost in. The solutions are always silly and the story lines generally revolve around the musical performances. But the show is incredibly enjoyable, sometimes a bit dark, but I think people are willing to follow Vince and Howard on their journeys because they are so ridiculous and strange. The viewer wants to know what crazy scrape Vince and Howard are getting into or what strange character they’ll meet next. The Vince and Howard duo is endearing and their chemistry draws people into watching more. Television is a tool for escapism and escaping into Vince and Howard’s strange world is really fun.