It’s a universal truth:stick Noel Fielding in full makeup and dandy garb,watch the mischievous glint in his eyes sparkle at the goofy absurdity he’s about to wreak,and TV gold will be spun. Although the now 50-year-old’s been a constant on our screens since Razorlight was a thing – across panel shows galore and,more notably,as host ofThe Great British Bake Off – he hasn’t had a lead TV role since his cult comedy with Julian Barratt,The Mighty Boosh,ended its run in 2007.
Noel Fielding plays the legendary English highwayman Dick Turpin.Apple TV
For that reason alone,Apple TV’s new six-episode comedyThe Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin – starring Fielding as the infamous English highwayman – is a welcome proposition. That the show is essentially an excuse for Fielding to parade around in billowing pirate shirts,leather pants,silk cravats,sparkling capes and “magic mittens” is a beautiful bonus. Don’t expect the one-of-a-kind insanity of theBoosh,and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Created by Claire Downes,Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane,the series is a silly revamp of the Dick Turpin legend,the 18th century bandit who terrorised Yorkshire backwoods until he was hanged for horse theft in 1739. A folk hero in the ilk of Robin Hood in the UK,Turpin’s dashing exploits have been pop culture fodder since the days of silent film.
Set in England in 1735,Fielding’s Turpin gives a New Romantic bent to the macho legend lionised in lore. For starters,he’s a vegan,who takes to the life of banditry after abandoning his father’s ambitions for him in butchery. “I’ll just take these purple shoes and my sewing machine,” Turpin says as he flees home with his most prized possessions.
Noel Fielding (left) with his Essex Gang (Marc Wootton,Duayne Boachie,Ellie White) in The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.Apple TV+
Even after Turpin becomes the famed highwayman,his exploits spread across the land via popular pamphlets,he’s not your usual gunslinger. He knits balaclavas for his bumbling crew,the Essex Gang;he drinks herbal tea rather than rum;he eats hard Italian biscuits. He also refuses to fire guns,declaring himself a pacifist.
Amid the rampant silliness,Fielding’s a delight. Perennially upbeat and naive,he’s chuffed by his newfound notoriety. “I know who you are,you prick. I’ve seen you prancing around in your funny shirts,” a rival highwayman (played by Greg Davies – there are endless cameos from British comedy faves including Tamsin Greig,Diane Morgan,Fielding’s half-brother Michael,from theBooshand Rich Fulcher) confronts him. “Really,which one? The ruffle ruched frill?” Turpin cheerfully replies,unfazed.
As bare as it is,there’s a pinch of thematic heft – something about misunderstood outsiders finding chosen family beyond their reproaching bloodlines. The narrative drive comes from Turpin’s cat-and-mouse relationship with the corrupt lawman Thieftaker General Jonathan Wilde (played with extra mustard by Hugh Bonneville). “Tell the men to keep looking,” Wilde tells his aides of Turpin after another wily escape. “I won’t rest until I’ve got this Dick firmly in my grasp.” Yes,this is the kind of humour we’re working with here.
It’s only in episode four that the show approaches the giddy brilliance ofThe Mighty Boosh,when the gang are forced to deal with a sardonic witch named Reddlehag. There’s a whole bit where they have to avoid saying “Reddlehag” 27 times,lest they unleash the witch’s true fury. Well,you can guess exactly how it plays out – and it’s very enjoyable.
That the series – at just six half-hour episodes – wraps up just as it hits an absurdist gallop is both annoying and promising. There’s surely more on the cards,and hopefully an opportunity to let Fielding fully unfurl his freak flag further in the future.
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