Bromwell High

Infobox Television
show_name = Bromwell High


caption = Cast of Bromwell High
format = Animated series, sitcom
runtime = 22 minutes approx.
creator = Anil Gupta
Richard Osman
Richard Pinto
starring = Jo Wyatt
Nina Conti
Gina Yashere
Simon Greenall
Graeme Garden
Doon Mackichan
Stephen Mangan
Stephen Merchant
Tracy-Ann Oberman
country = UK
network = Channel 4/Teletoon
first_aired =February 1, 2005 (Teletoon) and August 19 2005 (Channel 4 - incomplete)
num_episodes = 13|

"Bromwell High" is an animated series about a British high school in South London. It first aired on Teletoon in Canada and Channel 4 in the UK (incomplete run). It is a co-production between Hat Trick Productions in the UK and DHX Media in Canada. According to the Website [http://www.toonhound.com/ Toonhound] , it was originally to be entitled "Streatham Hill", but was renamed "Bromwell High" in January 2005. Streatham Hill is a real London suburb, whilst Bromwell is fictional.

Subsequent international purchases have seen the show screened in the United States on BBC America, on The Box in the Netherlands, dubbed to Spanish on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in the Latin Americas, on ABC in Australia, on TVNZ's TV2 in New Zealand, and also dubbed in French for the Canadian Télétoon network.

It stars three trouble-making girls, Keisha, Latrina, and Natella as they wreak havoc on their impoverished school and its teachers.

The show was designed by David Whittle, who is also responsible for illustrating the popjustice icons series of books. The show represents a caricatured view of contemporary British society. For example, the majority of students at Bromwell High School are immigrant children from the Caribbean and Asia, and some of the male teachers are aging 'chavs'. Many of the characters on the show speak a very poor form of English, including the headmaster, Iqbal. Most of the teachers have an affinity for biscuits.

Because the show was intended for both British and Canadian audiences, the characters sometimes use Canadian terms which are different from those one would hear in Britain. This can sometimes confuse viewers, especially on the occasions when Bromwell is referred to as a "public school"; in Canada, this means a state school, open to non-fee paying students, but in the UK, the term refers to a fee-paying, private school. In fact, Bromwell would be correctly termed as a state school in Britain.

There are some other differences between the UK and Canadian versions of the show, notably that the UK version has a longer and slightly different version of the opening credits and theme, and the UK broadcasts were in the 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio, while the Canadian versions are cropped to a 4:3 picture.

The show is directed by Pete Bishop and was created by Anil Gupta, Richard Osman, Richard Pinto and Sharat Sardana (with Osman, Pinto and Sardana also contributing as writers to the show).

Characters

Main characters

* Natella Tendalkar Gavaskar SrivastavahWhen Natella was first born, her father sent her off to live with relatives in a tiny farming village 4,000 miles away. The poverty stricken village lay in a barren mountain region, ferociously disputed between India and Pakistan - each country claimed the other was responsible for the "stinking, hilly shithole".

It was hoped that the relatives could marry Natella to the most eligible man in the village and then she would be his problem (NB: traditionally, the "most eligible" man in the villages of this agricultural region is defined as aged 13-20 and having the most number of whole fingers remaining on each hand).

Natella asked if she could matriculate junior school before marrying and was banished from the village for possessing "ambitions unbecoming to a woman". She was sent back to London and joined Bromwell High.

Coming from a backwater village school in one of the poorer parts of a developing nation as she did, Natella is academically two to three years ahead of her Bromwell peers.

Natella is the youngest child in a family of twelve as well as the only girl. She is an errant Asian prodigy who uses her stunning intellect to manipulate pupils and staff alike. She is extremely articulate, ambitious and somewhat arrogant (but often rightfully so). She often tries to overcome depressing situations through reasoning, yet passionately abandons this when she finds out that the situation is either worse or better than originally thought. In any normal school Natella would be top of the class, but at Bromwell High - happy home of the underachiever - her cerebral prowess is considered nothing short of astonishing.

Natella's Bromwell High file number is 852. She is voiced by Jo Wyatt.

* Keisha Marie ChristieBy the time Keisha was eight, she had been excluded from every school in south London. When no more schools would accept her, she was enrolled in a canine obedience class where she spent six months before being excluded for "disruptive behaviour" and "biting". At this time, Bromwell High was about to be closed down due to inadequate teaching standards and exam results (research by government inspectors had revealed that attendees of Bromwell High were, on average, leaving school with fewer qualifications than truants). A deal was stuck whereby Bromwell accepted Keisha, the government allowed the school to remain open, and no one cared about the other students whose futures would doubtless be flushed down the can with her own.

Keisha has a strong voice and big personality, with a tendency to shoot first and ask irrelevant questions later. She suffers from attention-deficit disorder and likes anti-establishment activity and physical violence; often assaulting people with little or no justification. She comes from a broken home, and blames society for treating her badly because she is black.

Keisha's Bromwell High file number is 369. She is voiced by British stand-up comedian Gina Yashere (from "The Lenny Henry Show").

* LatrinaLatrina takes her name from the fact that her mother gave birth without noticing into the toilet, thinking she had simply passed a very fibrous stool, and only becoming suspicious when after two hours it still hadn't stopped crying. Latrina's parents do not reside together. Her father separated from her mother soon after he had ejaculated. Latrina's mother was unable to cope with the responsibilities and pressures of raising a child on her own so Latrina was put into the care of a widescreen television, in front of which she sat for the first six years of her life. She joined Bromwell High when she became curious about where all the other kids from the estate were going every morning.

Latrina is poor white trash blessed with blonde bombshell good looks. Academically, she is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier but Latrina doesn't worry about grades. She is promiscuous and unsophisticated, but she acts with good intentions. She dismisses many things, such as "tolerance", "wheel chair access" and "not having babies", as "for gays".

Latrina's Bromwell High file number is 357. She is voiced by the ventriloquist/comedian Nina Conti, winner of the BBC New Comedy Awards 2002.

upporting characters

* Iqbal bin Ibrahim Maurice KandallahIqbal arrived in England with nothing but the shirt he wore on his back, a faded five pound note in his pocket, and a Bedford van's exhaust chamber full of state of the art hydroponic equipment and marijuana seeds with the potential street value, when cultivated, of £80,000 (equal to £81,000 today). With these simple tools, he built an empire that today covers many thousand square feet.

Although he had no formal academic qualifications (he does not believe in science, which he calls "hocus-pocus"), Iqbal rose quickly through the ranks to become Headmaster on the night he won Bromwell High in a poker game.

Since he began his tenure, Bromwell High has consistently succeeded in avoiding closure - testament, surely to the quality of leadership he had provided.

Gregarious and larger than life, Iqbal is not a conventional Headmaster by any stretch. His language is colourful though his understanding of basic grammar is non-existent. He tries to make money any way he can, which often involves illegal and unethical practices. He holds very long meetings and assemblies that are often filled with irrelevant and/or ridiculous anecdotes or performances (known unofficially as "Item 53", due to the fact that in each episode the bizarre story/act is promptly followed by Iqbal saying, "Next on our list, item 54..."). He can be manipulative and cocky but beneath the rough exterior lurks a conscience and occasionally Iqbal surprises everyone with (rare) moments of humanity and pastoral excellence.

Iqbal's Bromwell High file number is 1. He is voiced by Simon Greenall (of "I'm Alan Partridge" fame).

* Roger BibbyRoger Bibby read geography at Oxford University, where he won a Greco-Roman wrestling scholarship and had to pick an "academic" subject to graduate in.

In his first year, Mr. Bibby came under the spell of an emeritus professor, whose study Mr. Bibby accidentally wandered into one night thinking it was his own bed. It turned out that it was his own bed and that the "professor" was quite seriously mental. A friendship began that night, which eventually resulted in Mr. Bibby turning into a geography teacher.

Mr. Bibby is the Deputy Head of Bromwell High and the Geography teacher. He is extremely articulate, knowledgeable and has a very professional bearing. However, he is very stern and insensitive, and sometimes evil just for the sake of being evil (he has been known to be friendly with demons, and has links with the slave trade in Angola). He is extremely manipulative, and therefore able to commit unethical acts with the consent of the Headmaster.

Like the Headmaster, he is insatiably greedy and tries to make money through unethical practices. However, unlike the Headmaster, he is far more calculated when he implements his plans.

Mr. Bibby's Bromwell High file number is 159. He is voiced by Graeme Garden (of "The Goodies" fame).

* Martin JacksonMartin read mathematics at Cambridge (though never graduated). He was physically and sexually abused by his tutor, the head of the mathematics department, the rest of the mathematics department, the rowing club, the varsity football and rugby teams and the Christian society.

He spent three years as a research project for the School of Medicine -- his blood pressure was found to be high enough to clean car wheels. He did not die however, but instead whined continuously. Research on Martin led to the development of Prozac.

In spite of the fact that he was, and still is, the only mathematics teacher in the school, it took Martin five years to gain promotion to Head of Mathematics Department. His teaching has been described by Ofsted as 'cocking shite'.

Martin must always be watched. He has the kind of nervous disposition exhibited by people who take high velocity rifles up clock towers in order to pick off passers-by. He is a spineless and ineffectual teacher who hates children, his job and himself. In his late thirties, he is cripplingly middle-class and hides it by living in a Victorian terraced house in the shadow of a council estate in south-east London. He is the bane of Carol's life.

When he teaches, he does not discipline his students when they act contemptuously. He is also extremely neurotic, and panics at the thought of anything going wrong for him. He does not have a proper teaching qualification; he only has a certificate in plumbing technology. He often cheats on his wife, Carol Jackson, although he claims that "using a prostitute is not cheating."

When Martin messes up or does something wrong he often hits himself on the head and says "fuck" even when students are present.

Iqbal's nickname for him is "Mongo" (a variant of "mong", an offensive term implying mental retardation, derived from the original name given to Down's syndrome).

He was born Martin Shitely, but took his wife's surname after marriage.

Martin's Bromwell High file number is 657. He is also voiced by Simon Greenall.

* Carol JacksonCarol graduated from "Hedgehog College, University of the Lake District", then attended teacher training college at the "Above Burger King School of Teaching", Oxford Street, London.

She then spent five years at the Amnesty International London office, waiting outside the main entrance. No one let her in but she did receive free psychiatric help and eventually accepted that she didn't work for Amnesty International and was in fact a nut.

She later met and married Martin Shitely, who took her name.

Carol is now an English teacher at Bromwell. She is in her 30s, wears organic clothes and reads the Guardian. Carol understands people of all races and creeds -- except her husband, Martin. She is discontent with the lack of intimacy and romance in her marriage, and, probably as a result of that, competes with Melanie Dickson for the affection of handsome men. When Martin does something stupid or wrong she usually replies, "Oh, Martin, you idiot".

Carol's Bromwell High file number is 287. She is voiced by Doon Mackichan (from "Smack the Pony").

* Melanie DicksonMiss Dickson graduated from the "University of Pudwacker Salt Flats" with a First Class Honours degree in Chemical Biology.

She immediately gained bar work in London and very quickly rose up the ranks to become Bar Manager of "Alcoholiday", an Aboriginal themed bar in London's Leicester Square.

She moved to Bromwell High thinking it was another themed bar, but within a year she realised that she was Head of Sciences at an inner city school.

Originally from Australia, Miss Dickson now teaches all the subjects at Bromwell that nobody else wants to (History/Science/Music/Etc.), and does so very poorly. She often does not care about the subjects she teaches and chain smokes, sometimes even during class. She competes with Carol Jackson for the affections of handsome men, mainly because she has an insatiable libido (though it may be worth noting that her psychometric tests revealed she has chronic low self-worth and will likely sleep with anything that communicates to her the statement: "Your hair looks nice").

Miss Dickson's Bromwell High file number is 349. Her voice is provided by Tracy-Ann Oberman.

* Mr. PhillipsMr. Phillips grew up in the quiet, crack-addled village of Chomping Frenum, on England's west coast. He went missing at age 10, after chasing a worm into the forest. He strayed into an army firing range and was hit by three medium-sized surface-to-air missiles. Fortunately they passed straight through his skull, though he did lose 80 percent of his brain matter.

On his way to an interview for a post at Bromwell High, Mr. Philips was caught in the crossfire of a gang war shoot-out. He lost 80 percent of his remaining brain matter.

Mr. Philips is Bromwell High's Physical Education teacher. He is often unaware of his surroundings or current situation, and is therefore utterly ineffective as a teacher. Iqbal refers to him as "the stupid one".

Mr. Phillips' Bromwell High file number is 999. He is voiced by Stephen Merchant.

* Gavin BealeGavin was born in a crossfire hurricane. His mother was a tailor and his father was a gambling man. These circumstances made him turn to Christianity, which he hoped would provide some stability in his life.

He studied Theology at Durham University where he obtained a trombone scholarship.

He was ready to enter the churchdn by 1990, in a poor, East London parish where he felt he could help ease the suffering and assist the poverty stricken. He decided to defer a year and backpack around Thailand instead.

He claims to have written the novel "The Beach", the manuscript of which he says he left in a Bangkok dance bar, possibly in a Bangkok dancer. No one believes him because he has absolutely no proof and is generally considered to be "a lying twat".

Returning to the poverty stricken parish in the East End he was struck by how disgusting it was so he got a job teaching.

Gavin is now the Religious Education teacher at Bromwell High (he considered being a journalist for NME but became a Christian Fundamentalist without having to change his taste in acoustic based rock). He acts casual in an effort to connect with his pupils, but this is a thinly veiled attempt to convert his students to Christianity. He consistently offends followers of all other faiths.

Gavin's Bromwell High file number is 742. He is voiced by Stephen Mangan.

* Ms. Jenny GosbyMs. Gosby graduated from Oxford Mobile University in 1986. There are no records of her before this. There are, however, records for a Mr. Bruce Gosby, who seems to have vanished during his gap year before attending university.

Bruce was an accomplished rower who took first place in both coxless events. He enjoyed being coxless, as if he were waiting all his life to be without cox.

After teacher training, "Ms." Gosby taught sciences to inmates of Lezzborough Prison, Little Beanflick, Dykeshire. She was dismissed after her involvement in a rooftop protest.

Convicted of inciting a riot, Ms. Gosby was tagged by the police and considered dangerous and psychologically unstable.

She has since been appointed to Head of Biology at Bromwell High, and is also the lunchlady.

It has been hinted by other characters that she may be a transsexual.

Ms. Gosby's Bromwell High file number is 123.

Minor characters

* DavisConsidered "cool" and attractive by many of the girls within Bromwell High. Although he is depicted as being intelligent, he is usually rebellious within school, and rude to teachers and prefects alike. During the episode "1x06: Valentines's Day", the girls within Bromwell High witnessed him placing a valentine's card into Keisha's and Natella's box. It remains the episode's plot to see who the card is meant for. Although Davis and Aisha have many similarities, Davis has never mentioned that he likes Aisha. His "cool" status comes from his contempt for teachers and his skills in speaking. He is also apparently quite attractive.

** JamalDavis' best friend, although he is considerably less popular with the girls of Bromwell High. He is also considerably less intelligent, but less rebellious in school. Latrina has mentioned that she did make out with Jamal.

* T'ShawnT'Shawn is incredibly short, and has a high pitched voice. He is also depicted constantly wearing an orange jacket, regardless of location, weather, and temperature. It is apparently these three qualities which makes him horribly unpopular with the children of Bromwell High. It has been established he has feelings of affection for Keisha, although she strongly dislikes him. T'Shawn's catch phrase is, "Oh, baby!"

* AishaSimilar to Jamal and Davis, Belisha and Aisha are best friends. She is large, strong, and constantly has an angry expression. For this, Aisha is feared by many of the students of Bromwell High, albeit mostly for her scary appearance. Because of this, most of her bullying comes from intimidation, and not actual physical violence. Aisha strongly dislikes Natella and all of her noble causes.

** BelishaBelisha is loud and brash. Unlike her best friend Aisha, though, she does not bully students exclusively through intimidation. She is quite willing (even happy, it seems) to physically harm students and damage property. Although she is relatively slim, and only slightly tall, she is feared by all the girls, should Belisha ever decide to attack them, for she is very violent, and more than willing to fight (it can only be assumed that she is quite experienced in a fight, in order to make up for her small figure). She is rarely seen manipulating miss Dickson in order to leave school.

* KylieKylie is viewed as unpopular with the students of Bromwell and is picked on by Keisha, Aisha, Belisha, and many of the teachers.

Episode guide

Canadian (Teletoon) transmission order

:1x01: Tolerance:"First Aired: 1 February 2005":Our three girls prepare a presentation on the theme of tolerance, a subject which highlights the multi-cultural diversity within Bromwell High, but which Latrina dismisses out of hand as being "for gays". Keisha and Natella become arch rivals in a bid to win a prize which seemingly doesn't exist.

:1x02: Police Story:"First Aired: 8 February 2005":When a prevalent mobile phone thief continues to evade the local police, Inspector Lehman decides to pay Bromwell High a visit. Lehman advises maverick Headmaster Iqbal that he will be leaving PC Carter at the school in a bid to catch the thief, and threatens that if Iqbal does not comply with the police, they will clamp down on his illegal animal trade.

:1x03: Keisha's In Love:"First Aired: 15 February 2005":Bromwell High has a new pupil - blonde-haired blue-eyed Spencer. Keisha starts to experience strange warm and tingly feelings every time she sees Spencer, causing her to shower him not with affection, but with punches. Meanwhile, the Head of Year Eight position becomes vacant, resulting in a hard-fought battle between Miss Dickson ("the slutty one") and Mr Philips ("the stupid one"), both of whom set out to impress Iqbal with their teaching prowess...

:1x04: No More Teachers:"First Aired: 22 February 2005":After a sensational performance at the school music evening, Mr Anderson, the English teacher, is offered a career as a pop star, leaving the rest of the teachers to ponder their own pathetic and unrewarding careers in the classroom. Depressed and dreaming of pastures new, they resign with immediate effect on their own very personal routes to fame and fortune, and Iqbal is faced with the problem of replacing an entire staff.

:1x05: Fire Drill:"First Aired: 1 March 2005":Keisha's fascination with pyromania has spiralled out of control and she is unable to stop herself setting fire to things, including the school premises. Iqbal's real problems start, however, when one of Keisha's fires inadvertently highlights the fact that Bromwell High has no wheelchair access.

:1x06: Valentine's Day:"First Aired: 8 March 2005":It's Valentine's Day at Bromwell High but Natella has persuaded our laydeez to give it a miss this year on the basis that it is a meaningless market event created by greeting card companies to boost sales figures. Keisha and Latrina are none too pleased with Natella when Miss Dickson decides to banish all pupils without cards to "ugly class", but things start to look up for the girls as Davis - the coolest boy in the school - is seen putting a Valentine's card in Keisha and Natella's box. Who is it meant for?

:1x07: Goodbye Mr. Crisps:"First Aired: 15 March 2005":Iqbal and Mr Bibby need to raise money quickly to solve Bromwell High's latest financial crisis, so when Natella introduces Iqbal to her new friend, posh Katie, who she met at the National Science Competition, Iqbal is ecstatic - and amazed - to learn just how much some children's parents are willing to pay for a decent education.

:1x08: Baby Boom:"First Aired: 22 March 2005":Latrina's mum has just given birth to yet another baby, which Latrina accidentally brings into school in her bag. In a ploy to get rid of the baby in a spot that she has not previously used, Latrina swaps the infant with the sex education teacher's doll. Will the teacher even notice?

:1x09: Sack Race:"First Aired: 29 March 2005":When P.E. teacher Mr Philips gives Latrina a grubby old vest that she believes belonged to Bromwell High's famous sporting alumnus Leroy Thomas, she immediately displays an astonishing, and not unsurprising, athletic prowess.

:1x10: Prefect:"First Aired: 5 April 2005":Keisha's behavioural problems have reached epic proportions and it is time for Iqbal and Mr Bibby to take drastic measures. To Natella's extreme anguish, they appoint Keisha as a school prefect. Keisha's mission is to reduce crime levels in the school, which she manages through a carefully orchestrated campaign of violence and threatening behaviour.

:1x11: Natella Takes Charge:"First Aired: 12 April 2005":When the girls innocently play around with a bomb that has been left in the playground, it unsurprisingly ends with a scene of chaos and destruction. In order to fund the necessary renovations, Iqbal and Mr Bibby arrange for Albanian Chicken Nuggets to sponsor Bromwell High, resulting in a drastic change to the school curriculum...

:1x12: Drama Queen:"First Aired: 19 April 2005":Martin and Carol Jackson's marriage is in tatters, and Carol decides to put her energy into organising a school play to exorcise her woes. Latrina is given the star role but encounters an extreme bout of stage fright. Meanwhile, Iqbal and Bibby have managed to secure funding from various banks and need to decide how to invest it. A hard-fought battle between the teachers ensues, each one bidding to secure desperately needed cash for their departments.

:1x13: Sweets:"First Aired: 26 April 2005":When the girls find themselves in possession of a truck-load of black market sweets, they quickly discover that the sweets are - quite literally - mind-blowing. With an education article being written about "Heads and their Deputies", this is Iqbal and Bibby's chance to shine. But will the journalist be distracted by the newly formed sweets racket in the playground, and by the recent spate of exploding pupils?

UK (Channel 4) transmission order

:1x01: Baby Boom (19 August 2005):1x02: Prefect (26 August 2005):1x03: Sweets (2 September 2005):1x04: Sack Race (9 September 2005):1x05: Keisha's In Love (16 September 2005):1x06: No More Teachers (23 September 2005)

Other seven episodes not screened.

DVD releases

In December 2005 a DVD release in Australia featured the first five episodes out of sequence, i.e.: "Tolerance", "Keisha's in Love", "Police Story", "No More Teachers" and - billed as a "bonus" - "Fire Drill". The DVD received an 'M15+' censor rating, and of the five episodes on it, only "Keisha's in Love" and "No More Teachers" were screened in the UK. No further episodes were released in Australia.

A UK DVD release was originally planned for early 2006 - in connection with which a 15m 23s "Making of Bromwell High" short was certified by the British Board of Film Classification as a '15' on 31 January 2006 - but was subsequently cancelled. The thirteen episodes were certified as '15' on 30 August 2006, apart from "Keisha's in Love", which was classified as a '12', for the release of the complete series as a two-disc set on 2 October 2006. This release contains all 13 episodes (seven of which have never aired in the UK), and extras include the previously-prepared "Making of Bromwell High" short, deleted scenes and outtakes, commentary on the episode "Sweets" and the original animatic storyboard for "Baby Boom".

Quotes

*Iqbal: These kids are like my children. Except I'm not banned from going within a mile of their houses.

*Iqbal: Ah, Mr. Bibb. I've seen the future, and it is porn, sharks, and Nazis.
Mr. Bibby: Hmm, that rather plays to my strengths...

*Keisha: I got pills to control my violence. I'll just take them for once.

*Mr Bibby: Illegal? Kidnapping? Are you sure? This is political correctness gone mad.

*Mr Bibby: ...Well, having experience with corporate manslaughter...

*Mrs. Jackson("after stating that she breezed her psychological exam"): Cock Cock, TEABAG!!

*Gavin: Are your trousers on fire Mr. Phillips?
Mr. Phillips: Oh no, these aren't my trousers I found them in lost property.

Titles In other languages

* Portuguese: (Brazilian Portuguese) Colégio Bromwell
* French: (French Canadian) Polyvalente Baptiste-Huard (Baptiste Huard High School)
* Spanish: (Latin American) Secundaria Bromwell
* Russian: Shkola Bromvillya (Школа Бромвилля, Bromwell School)

External links

* [http://www.teletoon.com/teletoon3/teletoon.php?language=En&brand=detour&init=php&func=php|templates/show.php|/tv/bromwellHigh/bromwellHigh_en.xml Bromwell High Website from Teletoon]
* [http://www.hattrick.co.uk/shows.php?id=402&style1=show&catid=79&check1=79&menu=3&shid=19 Bromwell High Website from Hat Trick Productions]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bromwellhigh/ Bromwell High Website from ABC TV (Australia)]