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Mongrelled

17 May

© BBC

The Velvet Onion can confirm that the proposed dvd and blu-ray release of Mongrels Series 2 has been scrapped.

The cult puppet sitcom from the mind of Adam Miller, and featuring a bevy of TVO regulars, was given a big budget revamp for its return last Autumn, but the show was cancelled alongside almost every other show on the BBC3 roster by new controller Zai Bennett in January.

A dvd release was given a placeholder spot on Amazon during the run of Series 2, yet failed to materialise.  Six months after the show finished airing, we asked the bods at @bbccomedy on Twitter what was happening, and they confirmed: “There’s currently no plans to bring Mongrels 2 out on DVD, but it is available on download – for example on iTunes.”

© BBC

Ah yes, iTunes. The series has been available on there quietly for some time, bafflingly in standard definition only, despite broadcasting in hi-def and the first series being made available in the format.

At £1.89 per episode, and £15.99 for the entire run plus the behind-the-scenes mockumentary, it’s a costly alternative to a physical release, in a vastly inferior format, and in only one region – blocking out international viewers of which the show has legion – but alas it seems for Mongrels fans, it’s the best we’re going to get.

Of course, the situation may change – as long forgotten shows from yesteryear leak out onto disc on a regular basis.  If BBC Worldwide realise the commercial value of a real release, we’re sure it will happen.  The fan-campaign starts here… and we’re sure somewhere out there at least one of you is drafting your petition right now.

In the meantime, you can download Series Two here - and see a classic clip from the second series below.

Paddington Coming Soon?

10 May

© Paddington & Co. Ltd.

It usually takes a slow news day for the media to start digging up stories announced a long time ago, but sometimes, it’s because said story has stepped up a gear.

The planned live-action/cgi remake of Paddington Bear – which was attached to TVO’s very own Paul King back in April 2010 - has cropped up today on popular media website DigitalSpy, with quotes attributed to its producer, David Heyman.

The man behind the Harry Potter films is said to have described the film as “a modern take” on the character, stating: “Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, treasured for his optimism, his sense of fair play, and his perfect manners – and of course for his unintentional talent for comic chaos.  Michael Bond’s books offer such wit and wonder, and I am so delighted at this chance to bring Paddington to the big screen.”

When the film was first attached to Paul, he told the Herald Sun: “It’s not like I’ll be going, ‘OK, he’s gonna be a hip hop bear, he’s gonna get into street fights, he’s gonna pack a knife’. There’s none of that business. He likes marmalade sandwiches and pottering in the garden and has a green front door. I’ll be a traditionalist.”

Those of who you have watched King’s stunning theatrical debut Bunny And The Bull will no doubt remember the Paddington vibe of some of its early scenes, so we remain incredibly hopeful that he is able to do this classic character justice.  More news as it peels…

The Milky Boosh

23 Feb

Two key members of the Booshniverse have just re-united for a new TV outing. Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, we’re talking about Boosh director Paul King and Julian Barratt – in an advert for milk.

King has directed the 30-second spot for Lactofree lactose-free milk, which features hedgehogs in a supermarket (apparently all hedgehogs are lactose-intolerant so they represent perfect brand spokespeople). The voice-over on the ad comes courtesy of Mr Barratt.

What’s more, you can watch it here. As Julian says, “Say yes to hot buttery crumpets!”

The Man Who Brings Noel’s Dreams to Life

23 Jan

© Unknown

As we count down the days until Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy hits the telly waves we thought it was about time one of the more reticent stars of the show was introduced to the spotlight. Nigel Coan is the director and animator behind the series, and is therefore responsible for the unenviable task of bringing the dream world inside Noel Fielding’s head onto the small screen.  Ahead of our exclusive interview with the director later this week, for those of you who don’t know much about him, please permit us to fill in the gaps:

Trained in graphic design, Coan was on the same art course at Buckingham University as Noel Fielding and Dave Brown, and shared a student house with them. Since then he’s enjoyed a successful career as an animator, and is probably best known amongst Boosh fans for creating the endearing character of the Moon out of little more than a can of shaving foam (and a willing victim).

© BBC

Coan has been collaborating with his partner (and the inspiration for the voice of the Moon), Ivana Zorn, since 2000. After initial forays into animated work for corporate clients, the charm of their work trickled through to the television and music industries. In addition to animating the Moon on the Boosh, Coan and Zorn are also responsible for many of the animated sequences in the show, including the back stories for Charlie Bubblegum and the Crack Fox, amongst others. Their approach seems to sit well with the distinctive style of Noel’s character illustrations. They have also collaborated with Dave Brown to create the joyfully intricate menu screens on both the Future Sailors’ and the Series 3 DVDs.
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Comedy Lessons From The Booshniverse

16 Jan

© LoCo

If  you’ve ever wanted to learn about comedy and film, the artists and acts we follow on TVO is a pretty good place to start!

LoCo is hosting Kickstart Your Comedy Career, a series of talks taking place on 26th and 27th January 2012 at BFI  Southbank in London. The two-day course is aimed at new and emerging comedy film-makers: you’re recommended to have made at least one short film and /or sitcom pilot in order to attend (please note that the course is not suitable for those solely interested in live comedy and stand-up, and it’s not aimed at fans of the artists appearing). Numbers are strictly limited to 50, so that everyone will have a chance to speak to the panellists and make important personal contacts.

Amongst a host of fantastic speakers TVO favourites Paul King, Alice Lowe and Oly Ralfe will be appearing. Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, Kill List) will also be one of the speakers at the event.

For more information about the talks and to purchase tickets (£100 for two days) visit LoCo’s website here. For anyone interested in a career in comedy and film, this is a great way to accelerate the learning process and make some useful contacts.

British Comedy Awards Winners

17 Dec

© BBC

Last night saw the awards ceremony for the 2012 British Comedy Awards, hosted by Jonathan Ross.  A few Booshniverse-relevant artists went home with trophies; here’s our run-down of the winners:

Stewart Lee, famous for directing The Boosh’s first Edinburgh outing, won two awards: Best Male Comic and Best Comedy Entertainment Programme, for Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle. Horrible Histories, which features Simon Farnaby and Alice Lowe, picked up yet another gong – for Best Sketch Show. In doing so, it beat the Paul King-directed Come Fly With Me and This Is Jinsey, also featuring Alice Lowe and Colin Hoult.

One of the highlights of the evening has to be Armando Iannucci’s Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award! As a key contributor to On The Hour, The Day Today and numerous Alan Partridge outings (amongst many others!), he’s helped pave the way for great modern comedy along with a host of Booshniverse greats such as Chris Morris and Steve Coogan.

For the full list of nominees and winners visit The British Comedy Guide website. Congratulations to all the winners this year!

A Velvet Weekend

28 Oct

© Warp X / Optimum Films

What with Halloween being on the most awkward day of the week, we at TVO have been wondering what to do with ourselves this coming spooky weekend and have found there to be a plethora of Booshdom goodies on throughout.

Of course, in true Boosh form, this schedule is more suitable for our vampire/insomniac readers but here is our TV Guide of all that’s in store this coming Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight you can find the lovely Paul King‘s Bunny & The Bull being repeated tonight at 00.10 (a good way to gear you up for Ed Hogg’s performance in Anonymous). We’re sure Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt feel more than comfortable in this air-time slot.
If you still haven’t seen this film, it is well worth staying up for and you can read our review of it right here. If this is too far past your bedtime then you can of course grab it in our shop.

On Sunday and Monday mornings, BBC3 is having a Mongrels marathon from 01.50 until 03.50! Remember to set that coffee machine early for some gloriously  rude, potty-mouthed fun! The entire first series will be aired and then the first episode will be repeated again in a loop at 03.50. We can’t say why, but we can’t complain.

© Channel 4

In true Halloween form it wouldn’t be the perfect October weekend without Dead Set – Charlie Brooker’s (writer of Nathan Barley) reality tv zombie-spoof. Also Starring Kevin Eldon and with as much blood and killings as you could wish for. This starts at 23.40 on E4, Sunday night.

Lastly, this wouldn’t be our kind of TV Guide if we didn’t have to give you a good old ultimatum. Over on More 4 they are offering you a Graham Lineham package where from 23.40 you can see Father Ted, IT Crowd, then Black Books back-to-back.

It’s a tricky choice but whichever decision you choose to make you can always find any of these in our Amazon shop and all of Lineham’s shows are available to watch on 4OD whenever you want.

Then, on Halloween night Never Mind The Buzzcocks returns! We’re overly excited by this episode especially as Paul Foot is making his glorious return to the show! This starts at 10pm Monday evening and as usual, we will be chattering away to all of you lovely lot for our TVO Tweet View (#NMTB) which will be kicking off as soon as the show starts so do follow us and join in the fun!

Take a look at a clip below and if you have plans, naturally, you can catch up with this episode for 7 days after it airs on BBC iPlayer.

Enjoy the weekend with our Oniony Guide and let us know what your plans are!

Warp Speed

9 Oct

© Warp Films

Warp Films will be familiar to fans of the Booshdom (and its cousins). The film production company was behind Richard Ayoade‘s Submarine, Chris Morris‘s Four Lions, Paul King‘s Bunny & TheBull, and the mysteriously still-unreleased Spit on Your Rave featuring Noel Fielding. Warp was also responsible for the recent release, Kill List, a critically-acclaimed horror featuring Gareth Tunley, with Alice Lowe and Steve Oram in cameos.  So their Booshniverse pedigree is second-to-none.

The film company is the subject of a new article on the BBC’s Entertainment site, which calls them “a major force in British film with a vision for innovative, uncompromising films.” The piece includes an interview with Warp’s founder, Mark Herbert, and an overview of the company’s history – from its humble beginnings as an offshoot of Sheffield music label Warp Records to the creative powerhouse they are today.

As Herbert says, “I always look back to the original mission statement, which was to make bold and innovative films, and to work with artists over a number of years, not just on one project. And I think we’ve kept very true to that.”

Read the article in full here and prepare to marvel at the calibre of Warp’s filmic output.

© Warp

Paul King Never Grows Up

16 May

© Optimum Releasing

The BBC have just announced what’s in the pipeline for BBC Films at Cannes and a familiar name has cropped up amongst this list. Paul King is said to be working on the sequel to the oh-so famous Peter Pan story entitled, Scarlet.

The original novel written by Geraldine McCaughrean, is going to be taken on by our loveable auteur King, who will be bringing his own spin to the story of Peter Pan having to call upon old chums when Neverland becomes in danger.

The Bunny & The Bull creator will be working towards the coming Cannes Film Festival and to find out more about BBC’s future plans at Cannes, you can have a look right here.

The Velvet Onion are on the edge on their seats to find out more about this and we would like to wish Paul the best of luck on this exciting project!

BBC Booshniverse USA!

12 May

© Little Britain Productions / BBC Productions

A string of TVO related shows are coming to BBC America over the next 12 months.

First up, comes the recent smash hit Come Fly With Me - the brainchild of Little Britain stars Matt Lucas & David Walliams, which is directed by our very own Paul King.  Also featuring a cameo from Alice Lowe, the show will premiere Stateside on June 18th.

As part of a new deal reported on Variety earlier this month, other shows with Booshniverse links will be airing in coming months.  August will see the premiere of Friday Night Dinner - written by Jackal collaborator Robert Popper, and featuring a rare guest appearance from Matthew Holness.

October sees new episodes of That Mitchell And Webb Look coming to the channel, which of course, heavily features James Bachman alongside Barunka O’Shaughnessy whilst January brings Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show - a sketch show from the popular comedienne who voices Carly the pigeon in Mongrels, and which also features appearances from Alice Lowe and Barunka O’Shaughnessy.

If you can’t wait till then, these various shows are available to buy in The Velvet Onion Amazon Store right now, which will ship internationally.

Bunny And The American Bull

29 Apr
© Warp X / Optimum Films

Great news for all our Stateside peelers! Bunny and The Bull has finally been released on DVD in the US.

Bunny and The Bull is a film about Steven Turnbull, a man with OCD who hasn’t ventured outside his house ever since he returned home from a European road trip with his best friend Bunny. The film is a visual delight and tells the story by looking back at what caused him to become a hermit.

The main characters are played by Edward Hogg, Simon Farnaby and Veronica Echegui but Paul King’s film is chock-full of Boosh connected people, including Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher and Richard Ayoade.

While UKers have been enjoying Paul King‘s directorial big screen début on DVD since 29 March 2010, America has been neglected… until now.

April 26th marked the day of the American DVD release. You can purchase your Region 1 copy at Amazon.com for $17.99.

Not American but don’t own Bunny and The Bull yet? Don’t worry, you can easily remedy that by going to The Velvet Onion Amazon store where you can find it on both dvd and blu-ray.

It comes highly recommended – this is a film you’ll want to have in your personal collection!

Booshdom BAFTA Battle

26 Apr

© BAFTA

The nominees for this years Television BAFTA’s have been announced and of course, the ceremony has its sprinkling of Booshdom.

Firstly, Katherine Parkinson has been nominated for Best Comedy Performance for her role as the hilariously high-strung Jen Barber in The IT Crowd. She is up against some stiff competition – with the likes of Dawn French, Miranda Hart and Jo Brand – but let’s all keep our fingers crossed for the fiery redhead!

Another familiar name to TVO amongst the list of hopefuls is Come Fly With Me! With this being Paul King’s first television directing job since the Boosh, we can wish our King-a-ling, along with Lucas and Walliams, the best of luck. They’re up against Catherine Tate’s Little Cracker (regular peelers will recall that Little Crackers was a series of a short Christmas films made by Sky, of which two were created by Julian Barratt and Julia Davis), Facejacker, and Harry and Paul. Of course, these latter two have Booshdom links too!

Also spotted in the line up is Steve Coogan for his performance in The Trip, along with the show itself, which is up for Best Situation Comedy.

The Velvet Onion wishes all of these fabulous comedic talents the best of luck, and keep peeling for the results right after the ceremony on Sunday 22nd May! The full list of nominee’s can be seen right here.

Sod Cancer… Own Film Props!

21 Apr

© Sod Cancer

Do you want a piece of genuine Bunny and the Bull memorabilia?

Would you like to help a good cause at the same time?

Yes?  Then you’re in luck.  Sod Cancer is auctioning props and memorabilia from film and television to raise money for The Everyman Male Cancer Campaign.

On offer is a model of a Swiss hotel featured in Bunny and the Bull. This is the actual prop used in the filming of Paul King‘s masterpiece, and is a truly one of a kind offer that is worth every penny it goes for!

And it’s not the only Booshdom related piece of offer.  There’s also a real prop rocket launcher from a memorable sequence in  Chris Morris’s Four Lions up for grabs, as well as loads more items signed or donated by well known people including Nathan Barley co-writer Charlie Brooker, along with the likes of Harry Hill, Miranda Hart, Robert Webb, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan! Check them out here.

Oly Ralfe Overload!

15 Mar

The Continental in Preston, Lancashire will be holding a series of Boosh and Oly Ralfe-related events on Saturday 9th April.

© Ralfe Band

 The evening kicks off at 6.30pm with a screening of the Oly Ralfe-directed Boosh tour documentary Journey of the Childmen.  This will be followed at 8.30pm with a Q&A with Oly, when you can put your questions about the film and his music to him.  Then at 9pm The Ralfe Band will perform live,  and you’ll be able to enjoy  ”high-spirited multi-instrumental mentalism of the highest order” (according to the event website!). 

The evening takes place in The Continental Arts Space, with £6 tickets available from The Continental’s bar (01772 499425), Preston Tourist Information (01772 253731) or online from seetickets.  For more information, take a look at this page from the venue’s website (about half-way down).

If that wasn’t enough, the venue will be screening two Ralfe-related films in the run-up to the evening: The Ballad of A.J. Weberman (co-directed by Oly Ralfe) on Wednesday 30th March, and Bunny and the Bull (soundtrack by the Ralfe Band) on Wednesday 6th April.  What’s more you can get £1 off entry to these if you buy a ticket to the main evening on 6th April.  Is there no end to the wonderfulness??

TV Bunny

8 Mar

© Warp X / Optimum Films

Bunny And The Bull is to receive its free-to-air television premiere next week.

The 2009 film directed by Paul King tells the story of obsessive compulsive Steven Turnbull, who has not left the house since returning from a disastrous road trip with his friend Bunny the previous year.  Through a series of personal belongings and collections, Steven relives his misadventures and has to come to terms with his lot in life.

Starring Edward Hogg, Simon Farnaby and Veronica Echegui, King’s directorial film debut is scored by The Ralfe Band and features cameo appearances by Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Richard Ayoade and Rich Fulcher!  Whilst, as our review showcased, it is not to be missed by Boosh fans, it’s fair to say that even unbiased film fanatics ranted and raved about the film upon its release, and it is set to be a cult favourite for years to come.

If you haven’t bought it on dvd or blu-ray yet from The Velvet Onion Amazon Store – and why not? – then you can catch it on Film4 next Thursday, 17th March at 9pm.  The film may be repeated several times after this, so check your listings!

Editors note: thanks to Emma Smith for bringing this one to our attention!

King Of The Aunts

17 Feb

© Penguin Books

Paul King, director of The Mighty Boosh, Bunny & The Bull, and more recently Come Fly With me is lined up to direct a new project, an adaptation of Eva Ibbotson’s children’s adventure story, Island of The Aunts.

The book opens with the infamous line, “Kidnapping children is not a good idea. All the same, sometimes it has to be done.”  The tale follows three aunts who make it their mission to spirit unhappy and unloved children away from their neglectful parents and take them to a magical island where they’ll find happiness.  Sounds like a lost episode of the Boosh!

In addition to this, King is also due to direct the second series of Come Fly With Me, and is rumoured to be writing the script for the Paddington Bear movie, which is being produced by David Heyman of Harry Potter fame.  Here’s hoping he has a few spare minutes to squeeze in a Boosh movie too!

Paper People

16 Feb

© Sally Grosart

Back in December, we pointed you towards paper models of Rich Fulcher which you could print off and make yourself.

Their creator, Sally Grosart, got in touch with us a couple of weeks ago to point us towards the rest of her collection, which includes a number of faces from the Booshniverse as well as various other characters from television and film.

Alongside Bob Fossil and Eleanor the Tour Whore, you can get your own versions of Vince Noir and Howard Moon from The Mighty Boosh, and Steven Turnbull & Bunny from Bunny And The Bull.  There are even models of Richard Ayoade and characters from his debut film Submarine already! With Sally’s blog also featuring pics of Naboo The Enigma and Dan Clark models, hopefully we’ve not seen the last of her Booshniverse creations!

Keep your eye on her progress via her website and blog, and download a few of your own via Flickr.

Come Fly On The Wall

9 Feb
© BBC

The documentary about the making of Come Fly With Me, starring David Walliams and Matt Lucas, is on BBC3 tonight at 9.30pm, or if you miss it, on iplayer for 7 days.

A second series, directed by Mighty Boosh director Paul King has been commissioned. Paul also features in the documentary.

Come Fly Again

30 Jan

© BBC

A second series of Come Fly With Me, directed by Mighty Boosh director Paul King has been commissioned.

According to the Sun (so it must be true!), the second series, also written by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, will air as early as later this year.  It’s not clear whether King will be directing the new series, but if he is we can only hope he leaves himself enough time to direct the long-awaited Mighty Boosh feature film!

Come Buy With Me!

27 Jan

© BBC / 2|Entertain

The first series of Come Fly With Me is now available for pre-order via The Velvet Onion Amazon Store.

The brainchild of Little Britain creators (and friends of the Boosh) Matt Lucas & David Walliams, the show is directed by Boosh and Bunny And The Bull helmer Paul King.  The first episode also featured a cameo appearance from our very own Alice Lowe.

Despite courting controversy in its early episodes due to its alleged racism (thanks to Lucas & Walliams treasure chest of characters including several black and asian creations, played by themselves), the show has been a smash hit with viewers, and continues to perform well week in, week out for BBC1.

Released on March 7th, there is currently no news as to extra content, but naturally we at TVO are hoping our favourite director turns up somewhere.  The dvd’s pre-order price is just £12.93, so grab it while you can for a guaranteed price right here.

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