How d'you get to kill a 'roo?
Bob Fossil, by order of Dixon Bainbridge, recruits Howard to participate in his shady underground kangaroo boxing ring. Howard is reluctant, but agrees because he thinks it will impress Mrs. Gideon. Vince, concerned, tries to help him out and takes him to train with his Cockney uncle, a boxing expert. The actual battle looks hopeless until Vince has an epiphany inspired by a trippy dream, and thanks to Vince's interference Howard is able to triumph.The Mighty Boosh episode "Killeroo" contains these tropes:
- Boisterous Weakling: After a day of training and a successful fight against a child, Howard becomes very cocky, bragging about his abilities and trash-talking the other boxers at the club. However, he's still a terrible fighter, and gets his ass kicked by the kangaroo.
- The Boxing Episode: Obviously. Zookeeper and weakling Howard gets talked into a boxing match that serves as the episode's climax.
- Boxing Kangaroo: Bob Fossil's shady underground kangaroo boxing ring. The kangaroo kicks Howard's ass in the ring.
- Brick Joke: Earlier on in the episode, Howard gets in an unwise beef with a boxer with a surprisingly posh accent and 15 ft long arms. The boxer swears revenge against these slights, and he suddenly appears right at the end of the episode to punch Howard in the face.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The kangaroo relentlessly pummels Howard in their fight, while Howard can't land a single punch. He looks to be on the verge of getting knocked out or worse after a few rounds, worrying Vince so much that he decides to interfere.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: Virtually everyone, from Bob Fossil to the Cockney boxing instructor, thinks Howard has a snowball's chance in Hell against the kangaroo. Vince attempts to show Howard inspiring, reassuring videos about kangaroos, but can only find videos of kangaroos brutally killing people. Nevertheless, with Vince's interference Howard is able to eke out a technical victory against it.
- Fleeting Passionate Hobbies: In this episode, the hobby Howard is convinced he's good at is boxing.
- Groin Attack: Vince helps Howard win the fight by grabbing the kangaroo's rather large testicles, causing it to roar in pain and distracting it enough for Howard to get a punch in.
- Hollywood Dreamtime: Vince has a heavily "symbolic" dream the night before Howard's fight with the kangaroo, due to his worries about his friend. This dream takes place in a red desert setting and is populated by masked aboriginal dancers who sing a song and give cryptic hints about the key to winning.
- Training Montage: Despite a montage of Howard working out and training, he fails to become a competent boxer and gets curb-stomped in the kangaroo fight. In his defense, he only had a day. Lampshaded:Vince's Uncle: "There's only one way to get this boy ready for the fight."Vince: "Training Montage?"Vince's Uncle: "With music."
- Vision Quest: Parodied. Vince has to dig deep down inside himself and have a very trippy Australian dream in order to discover the truth of how to defeat the kangaroo — which is a balls joke.
- Visual Innuendo: Vince's dream has two suns closely spaced in the sky, and after he wakes up he keeps seeing testicle-shaped objects everywhere. For example, a lot of focus is given to Howard holding up two grapefruits close together. When Vince is trying to figure out a way to help Howard, he gets a flashback to all these ball innuendos, and he finally puts two and two together to grab the kangaroo by the balls.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: Subverted. Howard and Vince think an impressive showing in the fight will impress Mrs. Gideon, but she tells Vince she doesn't like fighting and prefers trumpets and bookmarks, the same thing Howard claimed women like earlier on to Vince's disapproval.
- Would Hurt a Child: Played for laughs. Vince and his uncle seek to set up a fight for Howard that he will be sure to win, and the only appropriate person they can find is a 10-year-old boy. Howard beats him up and wins the fight, and proceeds to gloat about his fighting prowess.
