| The Basil Brush Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | Ged Allen Danny Robins |
| Directed by | David McKay |
| Starring | Cast |
| Voices of | Don Austen Basil Soper Michael Winsor Wink Taylor |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 78 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | RDF Media |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBBC (2002-2007) BBC One (2007) |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | 4 October 2002 – 21 December 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Basil Brush Show |
| Followed by | Basil's Swap Shop |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
The Basil Brush Show was a 2002 remake of the 1960s comedy show starring Basil Brush, a glove puppet fox. It ran for six series between 2002 and 2007.
Contents |
The programme is a remake of the old series and is set in the present. Stephen, a new comic foil for Basil played by Christopher Pizzey, was introduced for the first four seasons. Georgina Leonidas, Michael Hayes, Laura Evans, and Ajay Chhabra also appeared on the show. The character Lucy (Madeline Castrey) was introduced later in the show as Anil's niece. No cast member is directly credited as playing Basil, although Michael Windsor is credited as Basil's fitness instructor or his personal assistant. After the fourth season, Stephen was replaced by Liam, played by Michael Byers
Basil and Stephen live in an apartment owned by Stephen. Stephen is an unemployed actor, and the cast often make jokes about this. Other characters include Dave, a young entrepreneur, and Anil, who owns a café. A recurring feature of the series involves Basil and the cast breaking the fourth wall.
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | Season Premiere | Season Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 2002 | 4 October 2002 | 27 December 2002 | |
| 2 | 13 | 2003–2004 | 21 November 2003 | 13 February 2004 | |
| 3 | 13 | 2004 | 3 September 2004 | 23 December 2004 | |
| 4 | 13 | 2005 | 2 September 2005 | 21 December 2005 | |
| 5 | 13 | 2006 | 15 September 2006 | 7 December 2006 | |
| 6 | 13 | 2007 | 7 September 2007 | 21 December 2007 | |
This show began in 2008. Basil's Swap Shop airs on Saturday mornings from 9:00am on CBBC on BBC Two. Game Show is a cut-down version of Swap Shop featuring the game show and other entertainment segments.
In 1994, a series called "Basil Brush's Cartoon Story Book" was released, featuring Basil in his country home, (A hollow oak tree), with his two goldfish Archie and Eric he would tell tales from his story book that would appear as animations, four volumes were released, and later re-released in many variations until the early 2000s.
Five DVDs have been released containing random episodes and special features, the first to be released was called "BOOM BOOM! The Best of the Original Basil Brush Show", as the title suggests this DVD contains sketches and scenes from the old series and a photo gallery and downloadable Basil Brush laughs are featured as bonus material.
When the series re-launched in 2002, "Basil Brush: Unleashed" was released on Video and DVD, both versions contained the episodes: The Date, Mouse and Fake's Progress. Both releases also included out-takes, specially recorded jokes and a sneak preview of Basil's debut single.
The next DVD was "Basil Brush: Sport Spectacular", containing 3 sport themed episodes, Sports Spectacular, Revenge of the Mummy and Basil's Millions, the special features on this DVD were: Outtakes, Photo Pin-board, Basil's penalty kick game and an exclusive interview with Basil.
Next was "Basil Brush: Crazy Christmas", featuring the Christmas-themed episodes: Santa Brush, There's No Business Like Snow Business, Basil's Angels 2: Fox on the Run, Basil Hood, The Da Basil Code and Christmas Dinners, no special features were included on this DVD.
The latest DVD release (as of 19 October 2010), was "Basil Brush: Extravaganza!" containing 6 episodes and no special features.