Brum (TV series)

Brum
Created by Frank Beattie
Developed by Ragdoll Productions for BBC Television
Starring Brum
Narrated by Toyah Willcox (1991–1994)
Tom Wright (2001–2002)
Sarah Wichall (2001–2002)
Country of origin Australia
Original language(s) English
No. of series 5 + 3 revival
No. of episodes 66
Production
Executive producer(s) Tom Poole
Vic Finch
Running time 10-15 minutes
Production company(s) Ragdoll Productions
Distributor HiT Communications PLC (1990s)
DHX Media
Release
Original network BBC One
CBeebies
Picture format 4:3 (1991–1994)
16:9 (2001–2002)
Original release 26 September 1991 (1991-09-26) – 4 November 2002 (2002-11-04)
Chronology
Related shows Other Ragdoll Shows

Brum (/ˈbrʌm/) is a British children's television series about the adventures of a small, artificially intelligent, self-driven car.

Set in Birmingham, England and produced by Ragdoll Productions, Brum was first broadcast in 1991 and the last live action series was broadcast in 2002. It was initially directed, written and produced by Anne Wood and initially narrated by Toyah Willcox. The show was first aired on BBC One, and also aired in the United States on Discovery Family, in Australia on ABC in Australia, in Singapore on Kids Central, in South Africa on SABC2 (with an Afrikaans dub), in New Zealand on TV3, in Namibia on NBC, in Ireland on RTÉ and in the Emirates on Dubai 33. It also aired on the now defunct children's channel, KPC "Kids Pick Cartoons". A new CGI-animated series, aimed at young pre-school children, was produced in 2016.

Plot and setting

Brum is the story of a small replica car who ventures out into the "Big Town" when his owner isn't looking, and gets up to all manner of adventures. Each episode begins and ends in the same way, with Brum leaving the other cars in the motor museum when the owner's back is turned and heading out to explore the Big Town, before eventually returning to his place. Each series has had its own background music. From series 1-2 the introduction music was the same but in series 2 they used different instruments. From Series 3-5 the music became jazzy.

The car can express himself in various mechanical ways including opening and closing his doors and bonnet, "bobbing" his suspension, and flashing and swivelling. The actors in Brum do not speak – mime and off-screen narration help propel the story. It was therefore easy to prepare episodes for airing in other countries, and the series has been broadcast in many parts of the world and in many languages.

The stories are set in the city of Birmingham, England, since in addition to its onomatopoeic nature of a car engine revving, "Brum" (as a contraction of "Brummagem") is a common colloquial name for Birmingham. Although later series make no direct mention of Birmingham, calling it simply the "Big Town", many of the city's streets and landmarks can be seen in each episode.

The show was written by a range of writers. Anne Wood primarily wrote all the first series, while the second was written by Tom Poole, Dirk Campbell, Andrew Davenport and Morgan Hall. The last two series were written by the existing Ragdoll team.

The car itself – a half-scale replica of a late-1920s Austin 7 "Chummy" convertible – was designed and built by Rex Garrod. It is now housed at the Cotswold Motoring Museum in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, which is also where the opening and closing sequences of the programme were filmed.

Characters

  • Museum Owner (Mike Cavanagh): the owner of the car museum where Brum lives. He is the only human character who appears in every episode, and the only character who is apparently oblivious to Brum's adventures, despite finding items in the seats at the end of each episode. The actor, Mike Cavanagh, actually owned the Cotswold Motor Museum until 1999.
  • The Lollipop Lady (Shirley-Anne Bohm): a lady who helps people, and Brum, cross the road safely.
  • WPC Truncheon (Deborah Grant): the policewoman in the Big Town.
  • The Big Town Robber (Andrew Davenport): always up to mischief, the robber's antics include stealing the trophy for the big race. Brum is usually the one that foils his plans.
  • Mr and Mrs La-Di-Dah: a posh married couple who regularly featured in the second series.
  • Mr and Mrs Doolally: a friendly if slightly absent minded couple who regularly featured in the second series.
  • Vicky Spoon: a regular cast member of the second series, Vicky is Brum's special friend.
  • Micky Mender: a handyman, a regular cast member of the second series.
  • Granny Slippers (Linda Kerr Scott): she wears slippers wherever she goes.
  • Mr Brillo (Rob Thirtle): lives next door to Granny Slippers. His favourite picture is the Gnoma Lisa. He has loads of gnomes in his garden.
  • Scruffy: Brum's friend, a dog who loves burying things.
  • Big Town Mayor (John Woodford): the town manager.
  • Mrs Posh (Iona Kennedy / Carole Davies): a posh lady who lives in the town.
  • Traffic Policeman (Mark Powlett): a "knockabout" policeman, who owns a horse called Arrow.
  • The Mayoress: the mayor of Big Town
  • Gorgeous Gordon (Enoch White): a self-centred, full-of-himself hairdresser.
  • Bob & Job (Kevin McGreevy & Adam Schumacher): two comically clumsy men, who wear green dungarees and yellow T-shirts and help the town in a way of slapstick style from Laurel and Hardy.
  • The Celebrity (Johnnie Fiori): a celebrity who appeared in the episode 'Brum and the Airport Adventure'
  • Rob & Nick (Dan Carey and Jason Segade): a bumbling pair of thieves, also known as the Big Town baddies.
  • Policewoman (Lisa Allen)
  • Sally: a girl in Big Town who got her cake stolen by teenagers.

Episodes

Series 1 (1991)

  • Brum to The Rescue – 26 September 1991
  • Brum and The Kite – 3 October 1991
  • Brum and The Scrapyard – 10 October 1991
  • Brum At The Opera – 17 October 1991
  • Brum and The Mower – 24 October 1991
  • Brum Goes To The Seaside – 31 October 1991
  • Brum and The Little Girl Lost – 7 November 1991
  • Brum's Wheels – 14 November 1991
  • Brum and The Stilts – 21 November 1991
  • Brum and The Removal Van – 28 November 1991
  • Brum and The Robbers – 5 December 1991
  • Brum and The Runaway Pram – 12 December 1991
  • Brum and The Safari Park – 19 December 1991

Series 2 (1994)

  • Brum and the Helicopter – 6 October 1994
  • Brum and the Big Crane – 13 October 1994
  • Brum is an Ice Skating Star - 20 October 1994
  • Brum and the Big Chase – 27 October 1994
  • Brum and the Wedding – 3 November 1994
  • Brum and the Big Town Race – 10 November 1994
  • Brum Goes Shopping – 17 November 1994
  • Brum and the Very Windy Day – 24 November 1994
  • Brum and the Surprise Party – 1 December 1994
  • Brum and the Naughty Kitten – 8 December 1994
  • Brum and the Little Drummer Boy – 15 December 1994
  • Brum and the Flood – 22 December 1994
  • Brum Goes House Painting – 29 December 1994

Series 3 (2001)

  • Brum and the Airport Adventure – 3 September 2001
  • Brum and the Naughty Dog – 10 September 2001
  • Brum and the Pizzeria – 17 September 2001
  • Brum and the Gymnast – 24 September 2001
  • Brum and the King of Thieves – 1 October 2001
  • Brum and the Skateboarding Bride – 8 October 2001
  • Brum – Chasing Balloons – 15 October 2001
  • Brum and the Stolen Necklace – 22 October 2001
  • Brum and the Pantomime Cow – 29 October 2001
  • Brum and the Runaway Train – 5 November 2001
  • Brum and the Birthday Cake – 12 November 2001
  • Brum and the Mobile Phone – 19 November 2001
  • Brum – Bushes on the Run – 26 November 2001
  • Brum and the Diamond Dog – 3 December 2001
  • Brum and the Runaway Statue – 10 December 2001
  • Brum and the Music Box – 17 December 2001
  • Brum and the Snow Thieves – 27 December 2001

Series 4 (2002)

  • Brum and the Kitten Rescue – 8 April 2002
  • Brum and The Splash and Grab – 15 April 2002
  • Brum and the Golden Loo – 22 April 2002
  • Brum and the Golf Buggy – 29 April 2002
  • Brum the Soccer Hero – 6 May 2002
  • Brum and the Rampant Robot – 13 May 2002
  • Brum and the Shop Window Dummy – 20 May 2002
  • Brum and the Bowling Alley – 27 May 2002
  • Brum the Basketball Star – 3 June 2002
  • Brum and the Gorilla Caper – 10 June 2002
  • Brum and the Runaway Sofa – 17 June 2002
  • Brum and the Kidnapped Garden Gnome – 24 June 2002
  • Brum and the Runaway Ball – 1 July 2002

Series 5 (2002)

  • Brum and the Stunt Bike Rescue – 2 September 2002
  • Brum and the Stopwatch Botch – 9 September 2002
  • Brum and the Cream Balloon – 16 September 2002
  • Brum and the Pickpocket – 23 September 2002
  • Brum and the Daring Gnome Rescue – 30 September 2002
  • Brum and the Mischievous Mouse – 7 October 2002
  • Brum and the Bank Robbers – 14 October 2002
  • Brum and The Runaway Rickshaw – 21 October 2002
  • Brum and the Paint Pandemonium – 28 October 2002
  • Brum and the Crazy Chair Chase – 4 November 2002

DHX Media revivals

February 2016 saw the release of a rebooted Brum, made by the current owners of the franchise DHX Media. The show now takes place in a white world instead of the Big Town and features new friends for Brum. The first episode, "Brum's Car Wash Adventure", premiered on 4 March 2016 via the official Brum YouTube channel.[1] A total of 25 CGI episodes were produced, with a second series currently airing.

Another series, this time animated using Toon Boom Harmony Animation called "Brum & Friends" premiered on the channel in September 2017.

Kiddie ride

A coin operated kiddie ride of Brum was made by Amutec Ltd. 3 versions were made in the years 1997, 2001 and 2002.

References

  1. ↑ Brum & Friends - WildBrain (4 March 2016). "★ Brum ★ Brum's Car Wash Adventure - FULL EPISODE 1 HD - KIDS SHOW FULL EPISODE". Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via YouTube.
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