For those of you who read my ramblings about television, you know how much I adore The Mighty Boosh, the British comedy series created by comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Last fall I wrote extensively about all three series of The Mighty Boosh receiving DVD releases. The BBC has now released a beautiful deluxe special edition DVD box set that collects those same three DVD releases (6 DVD’s total) along with a 7th DVD of all new bonus material.
I won’t go into details about the DVD’s with the three series on them because nothing has changed. Series 2 finds the Boosh at the top of their game. Still, watching all three series back to back, as you can with this collection, you get to watch a comedy team evolve from using skits they created on stage to coming up with newer and progressively more surreal material. The packaging of this collection is adorned with Fielding’s colorful artwork and it is housed in a lovely collector’s box.
The 7th disc is not some mere throwaway tacked on to help sell more DVD’s. Instead, the disc of new material has been creatively organized to take you on a journey inside the mind of Barratt and Fielding. Most notable of the special features is ”A Journey Through Time and Space,” an interesting and loving account of how the two men came together to form their group. The documentary goes into depth on how Fielding and Barratt evolved their show from performing in clubs, to the radio, to television, and then to large theaters stages. Their story is like that of a rock band, rising to success. Indeed, in their homeland of England, the Boosh are treated like rock stars by their fans. What I found most enjoyable about this documentary is the true affection Fielding and Barratt have for each other, as well as the other members of their troupe, which include Rich Fulcher, Michael Fielding and Dave Brown. The five men, like a great band, seem like a real family both on stage and off. They come across as endearing people (albeit, crude and strange, but still nice) and this made me like The Mighty Boosh even more.
Other features on the bonus DVD are behind the scenes of a live night, footage from the Royal Television Society Awards, outtakes and deleted scenes from the pilot, pre-recorded live night links, a crimping collection and zoo-keeper sketches that Barratt and Fielding wrote and performed for the sketch comedy series, Unnatural Acts. If you have not checked out The Mighty Boosh, I would recommend renting one of the season collections before shelling out money for this wonderful box set. However, if you have been a longtime fan and are itching to have every episode to own, then this is the way to go.
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