In "Hitcher", Bob Fossil sends Vince and Howard to take Ivan the Hairy Russian Carpet Guy to Animal Prison after the bear breaks out of his cage in a slap bass-induced rage. On the course of the drive, Vince and Howard discourse about music and Vince's childhood growing up in the forest, but after an ill-advised shortcut, their patience wears thin and they part ways.
Alone in the forest at night, Howard picks up the Hitcher, a green-skinned "Cockney Nutjob" with a mysterious box. He manages to shake off the Hitcher, but curiosity gets the better of him and Howard finds himself trapped inside. Meanwhile, Vince reunites with his father figure Bryan Ferry, but leaves to go rescue Howard, also ending up trapped in the Hitcher's box, which turns out to be the Animal Prison they were searching for.
The Hitcher returns and menaces Vince and Howard. Naboo, Bob Fossil, and Bryan Ferry all try to rescue the Boosh, but fail. Just as the Hitcher is about to kill the duo, Ivan the Bear comes to their rescue, enraged by The Hitcher's slap bass.
This episode introduced The Hitcher, one of the series' most iconic villains.
The Mighty Boosh episode "Hitcher" contains these tropes:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In Animal Prison there's Nazi turtle, a KKK goose, and a horse with 37 parking tickets.
- Berserk Button: Ivan the Hairy Russian Carpet Guy HATES slap bass and attempts to destroy his cage and maul anyone nearby whenever he hears it.
- The Cavalry: Howard and Vince have been captured by The Hitcher. Can they be saved?
- Subverted: Naboo realizes Vince and Howard are in trouble, and he and Bob Fossil race over on a motorcycle to save them. Meanwhile, Vince blows his emergency horn, summoning Bryan Ferry to save him. They both appear at a nearby spot and crash into each other, preventing any of them from rescuing the duo.
- Later, Ivan the Bear bursts in, enraged by the Hitcher's slap bass, and fights him off.
- Chekhov's Gag: Ivan the Bear being enraged by slap bass is shows up as a joke a couple times, only for it to be crucial in the climax of the episode. Howard gets The Hitcher to play some slap bass, causing Ivan to burst in and try to maul The Hitcher.
- Gilligan Cut: Howard thinks to himself while driving, "Yeah right, like I'm going to pick you up." Cut to a shot of The Hitcher sitting next to him.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: The Hitcher is incredibly creepy and menacing, and ends up trapping Howard and Vince in his box and threatening to kill them.
- Reading Tea Leaves: Parodied. Naboo is having tea with Bob Fossil, when he suddenly declares that Vince and Howard are in trouble. When asked why, he states that he read it in the tea leaves. The tea leaves are arranged in the shape of letters spelling out "Howard and Vince are in Trouble". On the drive, they spell out directions for where to go.
- Short Cuts Make Long Delays: Vince suggests a shortcut on the map that will turn a 6 hour drive into a 20 minute one. It ends up taking them all day and leaving them lost in the forest. As it turns out Vince's "road" was just a strawberry bootlace stuck to the map.
- Toilet Humor: The Hitcher pisses lime green urine like a firehose, with a blast so strong it lifts him up into the air.
- Your Costume Needs Work: Naboo tells Bryan Ferry (played by Julian Baratt) that he looks nothing like Bryan Ferry. He splutters awkwardly in response.Naboo: "Have you ever seen Bryan Ferry?"
