Bollo (television episode)

Bollo

Directed by  Paul King Written by    Julian Barratt                        Noel Fielding Air Date         May 25, 2004

Series One Episodes: Killeroo Mutants Bollo Tundra Jungle Charlie Electro Hitcher All episodes: 1 • 2 • 3

Bollo is the third episode of Series One, originally broadcast on 25 May, 2004, on BBC Three. The episode was preceded by Mutants and followed by Tundra.

Synopsis

Bollo, the oldest gorilla in the Zooniverse is gravely ill. However, the old lady who sponsors Bollo is coming to visit the zoo. Realising that a sick gorilla could cost him a lot of money, Bob Fossil persuades Howard to dress in an ape suit and replace Bollo for the old lady's visit.

Everything goes to plan until Phil the Reaper (played by Noel Fielding) arrives and mistakenly takes Howard to Monkey Hell, instead of Bollo, who promptly recovers. On the way to Hell, Howard points out the Phil's mistake. Although he can't return Howard to the world of the living, he does allow Howard a haunting. Howard returns to haunt Vince, and tells him about the mix up. In a throw-away comment, he also mentions that, in the natural cycle, a person loses their hair before death.

Distressed, more about his hair than about Howard's predicament, Vince goes to see Naboo, who gives him a pot of Naboo's Miracle Wax to stop his hair falling out. Naboo also show's Vince the way to Limbo, through his mirror. Arriving in the Mirror World, Vince meets Mr Susan, who tells him that one of the Mirror World's mirrors will take him to Limbo. Vince guesses right, and reaches Limbo, where he asks the Phil the Reaper to take him to Monkey Hell and rescue Howard.

Meanwhile, Howard has been imprisoned in Monkey Hell by the Ape of Death. Vince arrives to save the day but is immediately imprisoned too. However, he points out the Ape of Death's terrible hair, which apparently is quite a problem for the Ape. In return for fixing his hair with Naboo's Miracle Wax, the Ape sets Howard and Vince free, to return to the Zooniverse, alive. Back in the zoo, the natural balance is restored and Bollo dies.

Songs featured

• "The Sun is Shining" - a short, happy song sung by Vince and Bollo after the gorilla recovers.
• "Ape of Death" – sung by the Ape of Death and most of the cast after Vince fixes his hair with Naboo's Miracle Wax.

Minor characters featured

Phil the Reaper

Phil the Reaper is the cockney taxi driver of death. There are actually many Grim Reapers, and when they gather up the souls of the dead they transport them through space in death taxis to Hell. The Grim Reapers work for Death Cabs (The Ride of Your Life tel. 01632 960 007). In their head office they have pool and darts, as well as the Mirror of Life. All of the Grim Reapers have wives named Pauline, all of whom are dead.

The Ape of Death

The Ape of Death (played by Rich Fulcher) is the guardian of the gates to Monkey Hell and has two mandrill minions, Davey and Nemo. He also has trouble with his hair. If he washes it, it becomes too dry. If he leaves it, it becomes too greasy. When Vince styles it with Naboo's Miracle Wax, he feels "confident and super sexy", and sings a celebratory song with the episode cast.

Jack Cooper

Jack is a grumpy Glaswegian fox at the Zooniverse, voiced by The Mighty Boosh's on-line editor, Andrew Mitchell. Howard says he and Jack were "a little too close", the rumours say Howard was bumming him. Both of them persistently deny this, but Howard is actually sent to Hell because he "bummed that fox". Jack wants nothing to do with Howard any more. Howard just wants to stay friends.

Mr Susan

Mr Susan is the proud keeper of the Mirror World, which contains over 17 mirrors (maybe it's more of a Mirror Room). In the early stage show, his face was covered in strawberries, but in Bollo he is a large creature made entirely of rags with a spectacular pair of "mirror balls". He has a spray to clean the mirrors, and his mirror balls. He says he used to be vain, and it was this fatal flaw that left him trapped in the mirror world: Vince doesn't care. If Vince chooses the wrong mirror, he'll replace Mr Susan in the Mirror World (mirror room in his case). That's fine by Vince.

Others

• Pete - Naboo's hookah smoking friend, dressed like a shaman, but works at Dixons.
• The Old Lady - The old lady sponsors Bollo at the zoo. Howard throws his own crap at her, but luckily, she had already written the cheque.

Trivia

• Pete, who works at Dixons, is played by Peter Kyriacou, who actually did work in Dixons at one point.
• Howard's coffin has "VIP" instead of "RIP" written on the front.
• The episode was originally going to feature "The Soup Song", a crimp performed by Vince and Howard while hanging on chains in Monkey Hell. It was cut for time reasons. It later appeared in Fountain of Youth.

External links

• "Bollo" at the Internet Movie Database