The Basil Brush Show (2002 TV series)

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The Basil Brush Show
Genre Comedy
Written by Ged Allen
Danny Robins
Directed by David McKay
Starring Georgina Leonidas
Michael Hayes
Ajay Chabra
Don Austen
Country of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
Production
Running time 30 mins.
Production
company(s)		 RDF Media
Broadcast
Original channel CBBC (2002-2007)
BBC One (2007-present)
Original run January 1, 2002 – present
Chronology
Related shows The Basil Brush Show
External links
Official website
Production website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary


The Basil Brush Show is a 2002-present remake of the 1960s-1980s comedy show starring Basil Brush, the famous glove puppet fox.

A new comic foil was introduced for the first 4 seasons called Mr Stephen who was played by Christopher Pizzey. Georgina Leonidas, Michael Hayes and Ajay Chabra also appear on the show. No-one is directly credited as playing Basil on this show, although Michael Windsor is credited as either Basil's fitness instructor, or his personal assistant.

The show came back in 2002 as a remake to the old series and is set in the present. Characters in the series include Stephen, Molly, Dave, Anil and Basil. Stephen is an actor, and the cast make jokes about him all the time. Dave is a young entrepreneur who makes business deals.

Anil owns a cafe where he makes disgusting and vile food that poisons people.

In the series, Basil and the cast always seem to be breaking the fourth wall. They do this by making fun of the writers and crew amongst other things.

Basil and Stephen live in a flat owned by Stephen. At the end of most episodes from series 1-4, it would end with Stephen and Basil in their room going to bed and talking about the show. Sometimes Stephen would be in a bad mood at Basil because of his day. The show doesn't always end with them in their room. The scene at the end when they are in their room isn't shown in the fifth series when Liam joins and Stephen leaves. The show normally ends with Liam and Basil sitting at the table having what seems to be hot chocolate. This would be something they have before they go to bed.

The show has recently finished its sixth series and will not be going again due to the high amount of money needed for the production. Instead, CBBC and the production company The Foundation are concentrating on Basil's Swap Shop which requires less money.

Contents

[edit] Major characters

[edit] Stephen

Stephen is the uncle to Dave and Molly, and is left in charge of them when their parents go on a round-the-world tour. It is never mentioned how he was chosen to be their guardian, or what his exact relationship with the children is. He is often the main subject of Basil or another character's jokes, much to his annoyance.

In the fifth series, Mr Stephen left the show (it is as yet unknown whether or not he will return later on, but it appears that he will not, as he has "officially left the show":

"Now, time for some Breaking Brush News! Thought I should bring you up to speed on developments in the new series of The Basil Brush Show, and I have to make a sad announcement: my faithful sidekick Stephen ... is no longer with us. No, not like that, he's still very much alive, but Stephen has officially left the show."

He was revealed in the first episode to have been employed by "Hollywood", which turned out to in fact be a mobile snack bar named "Hollywood". This is a reference to his eagerness to be recognised as a brilliant actor in the first four series and be accepted into Hollywood, an endeavour that almost invariably flopped. He also tries (and fails) to impress beautiful women, going so far as to be turned into an Elvis Presley like character by a travelling witch. He was played by Christopher Pizzey.

[edit] Dave

Dave is another of the new characters that feature in the comeback. He is regularly shown to have a flair for business, and has, throughout the course of the series, set up a media empire which was later destroyed by Basil and Stephen, imported stolen goods and even started his own TV show, Big Bother (a play on the actual television programme Big Brother.) He is usally addressed as a 14 year old multi-billionaire entrepreneur. (2002-present) He is portrayed by Michael Hayes.

[edit] Molly

Molly is Dave's older sister and Stephen's niece. She is portrayed as the sensible character, trying to reason with the characters whenever they make a bad decision and can sometimes be very violent. Molly is one of the most popular characters on the show. She is very clever and very witty. In Series 5, Molly appears in only a few episodes, with Lucy partially replacing her character-type. (2002-Present) She is portrayed by Georgina Leonidas, who guest starred on Holby City on the 20th of March 2007. Her disappearance in Series 6 is referenced when it's mentioned that Molly is out getting milk, Madison then turns to the camera and says "I know, it's taking forever!" She has only been seen in the series opener of series 6. Molly never seems to make much appearances in the show as she used to. At the end of series 6 in the christmas episode, she returns at the last few minutes. The reason being that there was a milk shortage and had to go to Mongolia to get some. A logical explanation for this is that filming for the sixth Harry Potter had started and she was cast as the role of Katie Bell.

[edit] Anil

Appearing in every season of the comeback so far, Anil is the owner of Basil's local hangout, Anil's Cafe. Like Mr Stephen, he is shown to have a less than average intelligence, and a running joke through the series is the terrible quality of his food. He is played by Ajay Chabra (2002-Present) who, coincidentally, guest starred on Holby City alongside Leonidas on the 20th of March 2007. He also guest starred in the charity special of Casualty.

[edit] Lucy

Lucy is Anil's niece and currently lives in Basil's flat. Lucy was Anil's "slave" but was "rescued" by Madison. In the sixth series, Lucy is played by Madeline Castrey. (2006-Present)

[edit] The Voice Over Man

The Voice Over Man is an unseen character who often voices over at times when he annoys the gang but occasionally he undoes some mistakes that Basil and his friends make. He hasn't been "seen" since Series 4.He is credited as Basil Soper. (2002-Present)

[edit] Cousin Mortimer

In the first series finale, he arrived and pretended to be kind and helpful to the local people but secretly he was stealing things and getting Basil into trouble. In the second series, he was released from prison and he was still causing havoc. His catchphrase is "Bang! Bang!", followed by the sound of two projectile ricochets.

In the third series he and Basil had to get along for 24 hours without fighting and arguing but it didn't seem to work. He also appeared at Basil's wedding when he was marrying evil Kelly Foxwell but in the end, Kelly liked Mortimer more than Basil. He returned in the Christmas special. He appeared in the fourth series in prison when he did something wrong that was unknown.

He appeared in the 2005 and 2006 Christmas specials. His full name is Mortimer Trouble Brush (2002-Present)

[edit] Madison

An American who was introduced as 'Madison Square-Gardens', a fashion student living in the flat upstairs. Her initial designs were thrown out by Basil, having mistaken them for rubbish. Madison is Stephen's third love interest in the Basil Brush Show. She pronounces Basil's name in the southern US way, as Bay-zill. (2004-Present)

[edit] Liam

Liam is a distant cousin of Stephen's and is Basil's new sidekick. He took the place of Stephen in the latest series of the show. (2006-Present)

[edit] Minor characters

[edit] Bingo Brush

Basil's playful and hyperactive nephew fox cub. Often says "Bing bing!". (2003-Present). He is voiced by Don Austen, (also voices Cousin Mortimer).

[edit] Bungo Brush

Only seen once, Bungo is Bingo's twin brother. Described by Basil as "like Bingo, but much, much worse..." (2003)

[edit] Ella and Amanda

Ella is Stephen's second love interest and she only appears in the second series. She is also good friends with Molly. (2003)

Amanda is Stephen's first love interest. In the first episode she had a date with Stephen in Anil's cafe. At the end of the series Amanda betrayed the gang by working for Cousin Mortimer and was never seen again. (2002)

[edit] India

India Beau is the pop-singing waitress at Anil's, played by India de Beaufort, credited as India Beau[1]. She is a very good singer and is the second most popular on the show. In Series 6, it is said that India is on a slow-boat to China. (2003-2005)

[edit] Mr Rossiter

Mr Rossiter is Basil's landlord and often demands for rent. In one episode he shut Basil and Steven in the bathroom but Basil and Stephen escaped through the air conditioning system via a "handely placed grill" on the ceiling. In another episode, when the gang became a huge success by making their flat into "The Worst Hotel in the World" but the bussiness went broke the next day when he appeared in a devil's costume and charged them an extra 100ƒ for every customer in the flat. Also in one of the others, the boys attacked him, thinking he was a thief. He returns in the twelfth episode of Series 6.(2003-present)

[edit] Roxy

Roxy is Basil's new girlfriend, but unlike the other foxes in the show (Bingo & Mortimer) she's an Arctic fox. She has so far only been seen in four episodes, including the 2006 Christmas Special. (2006-Present) she pronounces Basil's name as Ba-Zeal

[edit] Billy Jo

Billy is Dave's girlfriend,she only appears in one episode in 2006.She claims to be a millionaress but in fact she lives on a skunk farm.In the episode after Liam says to Dave, "Well Billy Jo was nice." She was portrayed by Sydney White.

[edit] Places

  • Stephen's Flat (2002-Present): This is the place where the gang live, and spend most of their time at. It is made up of a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms. The bathroom is seen in many occasions, and Basil & Stephen's bedroom is seen at the end of every episode from Series 1-4. Molly's room is only seen in one episode in Series Two, and Dave's room is only seen in an episode from Series 4.
  • Anil's Café (2002-Present): The gang spend most of their time here, although it apparently serves bad food (the reason for this is given by Basil, when asked by Anil once, as "it's the only other set we've got,"to which Anil responds"good point"). This is the place where the group meet Amanda (1.1), India (Series 2), and Lucy (5.1). We also see Anil's Kitchen in one episode from Series 2. It is later refurbished in Series 3. In Series 6, it is seen again.
  • Ella's Flat (2003): Only featured in Ella's first episode, this is the place where Stephen and Basil end up after falling through an air vent.
  • Madison's Flat (2004-Present): This is the place where Madison lives. It is exceptionally smaller than both Ella's and Stephen's flat.

[edit] References

  1. ^ India de Beaufort at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] See also

[edit] External links