Big Town Baddies

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The **Big Town Baddies** are the main antagonists in the live-action TV show *Brum*. They are thieves and robbers who steal valuable items and/or money in the Big Town (real life location Birmingham). In their usually improvised efforts they often end up stealing other things too, including their own disguises and vehicles to facilitate their escape. The constant foil to the baddies is Brum, an intelligent little car who patrols the town on the lookout for problems.

They are portrayed by various actors throughout the show.

## Overview

Like all the characters within the show the baddies are mutes with the only spoken dialogue coming from the narrator. In the first 2 seasons, the narrator would provide dialogue for the baddies, even though this only made up for a few lines, while the narrator in seasons 3-5 would describe and comment on the actions of the characters. Furthermore, the emotions of the baddies are conveyed through their facial expressions and the background music playing when they’re on-screen. Although the motivations for their crimes are not often explored most of it revolves around illicit financial gain and/or the meagre desire to possess an item. However, some baddies steal items to enable a career choice as was the case with the female crooks from “Brum and the Stolen Necklace” and “Brum and the Mannequin” who stole a necklace and a designer dress respectively so they could become models.

Although the thieves who appear in the classic Brum series (the first 2 seasons of the show) are not referred to as “baddies” there are no significant differences between them or . Nonetheless because there is no significant difference between the crooks from the earlier seasons and from those in series 3 and onwards, the thieves in the earlier seasons will be included too. Furthermore, characters who appear as antagonists on Brum but are not described as “baddies” by the narrator like the Cake Gang will be included because the same theme music plays when they’re on-screen and they steal things to have for themselves just like the baddies do. However, antagonists like The Big Town Bullies, The Scrap Dealers, The Visiting Red Football Team and The Visiting Blue Basketball Team do not count because they do not actively steal anything with the intention of keeping it or making money. In the case of the first 2 they opportunistically take things without the intention of keeping it whereas the last 2 try to illegitimately claim sports trophies by cheating at contests. Furthermore, the theme music heard in the background whenever the baddies are on-screen does not play when these characters are on-screen.

Whilst they generally remain nameless and are either referred to as “baddies” by Brum or the narrator, some are named on-screen in the show like The Shadow and Pickpocket Polly. Others are named in the DVD extras or in book adaptations of the episodes they appear in. These include Nick and Rob, Bubble and Squeak and Penny Pincher.

## Personalities and traits

All Big Town Baddies are greedy and covetous individuals who will try to opportunistically steal the first thing that catches their eye. Across most of their appearances baddies are easily overcome with a green envy for a stash of cash, a valuable item or object they desire for themselves and their first instinct is to make a go for it, even though that could land them in prison, a place no baddie wants to be.

Despite their dim-witted antics, the baddies of the Big Town are quite despicable and are devoid of any real manners and only feign them if it helps them nick what they want. Throughout their appearances they demonstrate little care for the physical or emotional welfare of others and will put others at risk or even endanger Brum himself with their decisions just to get away with it. This includes what would be considered as endangerment of life in the real world and physical assault. They will even arrogantly tease Brum and their victims or will even outright abuse them when they’re being pursued or even after they’ve been caught. Some baddies also have no problem with committing offences that involve stealing from children. Crooks like The Rascally Big Town Robber, Penny Pincher, Big Bad and his 2nd girlfriend and The Shadow contemptibly do so with no problems at all. Coincidentally, in the episodes where these criminals commit these offences they get arrested at the end. Some baddies even show no concern for depriving disadvantaged citizens from their property like Big Bad and his accomplice in “Brum and the Pantomime Cow” or from charity as demonstrated by The Shadow in “Brum and the Gorilla Caper”.

Others are not beyond domineering or bossing around their own allies and friends as demonstrated by the Cake Gang who often manhandle one of their more incompetent gang members who is often at the rear. An earlier example is with the taller masked robber from series 1 who is always bossing his shorter fatter colleague around. However, even when one baddie is the leader and the other the follower it doesn’t mean that the leader demeans their partner. This is shown in “Bushes on the Run” where the male thief largely followed the directions of his female counterpart, but despite this he is treated like a relative equal in their relationship. In other partnerships/relationships there is an evident power struggle between the crooks as shown in “Brum and the Splash and Grab” where the two baddies are often seen trying to boss each other around. Additionally, some baddies will even turn against each other when they meet their comeuppance as shown in “Brum and the Splash and Grab” where the female villain gave her partner Big Bad a look of disgust after he honourably surrenders. This is also shown by Bubble and Squeak who blame each other when stuck in the mud after Brum retrieves the stolen safe.

Generally baddies tend to become panicked, fearful, disgusted or angry when the police show up or when Brum busts or gains on them. The fact that they react in the way they do makes their yucky behaviour even worse.

## Tactics and abilities

The capabilities of the Big Town Baddies vary across individuals. Accordingly, this section only deals with the skills that are either universally shared or are common among them.

* **Strategy/cunning**: By nature the Big Town Baddies are usually dim-witted crooks who only display a limited amount of cunning. Generally the baddies rarely show premeditation in their crimes. Usually, instead of pre-preparation, the Big Town Baddies will see a lot of money or an item of high value and while green with envy will make an improvised effort to steal it. This typically involves them opportunistically taking their marks when no one’s looking. To do so they approach their targets from behind or disguise themselves to avoid detection. When on the run the baddies try to use the environment to hinder Brum’s pursuit or to lose him. They also use makeshift disguises on the run to throw Brum off the scent and try use vehicles to facilitate their getaways. Despite their tricks, the baddies generally lack proper commonsense and accordingly are prone to making silly decisions that either do nothing to stop Brum or outright contribute to their defeats. However, it is often implied within the show that without Brum’s intervention, the baddies would usually get away with their crimes.
* **Disguises**: Big Town Baddies have a remarkable ability to rapidly disguise themselves in order to either steal an item or to throw any pursuers off the scent, even if they have to ditch their own clothes. Throughout their appearances baddies have dressed up as cooks, kings, bushes, ballerinas, skiers, swimmers/lifeguards and as pantomime animals. Their skill at doing so often allows them to bypass the notice of their victims and even Brum himself on rare occasions. However, they frequently continue to wear their disguises even after their cover is blown or even if the disguise they’re wearing becomes inappropriate. An example of the latter is when Nick and Rob continued to wear their procured chef outfits despite everyone knowing that they were thieves. The latter is exemplified by The Shadow when he continued to dress as a king in public which made him stick out though he stupidly did not notice this. Sometimes baddies have understandable reasons for doing so. Examples include Penny Pincher and Big Bad and his 2nd girlfriend. When Pincher snatches a music box from a ballet class she bolts for the exit while still wearing the tutu she swapped for her own skirt. Given how she had no opportunity to retrieve her own skirt taking off the tutu would leave the shape of her bum exposed. A more extreme example comes from Big Bad and his 2nd girlfriend when they ditched most of their clothes (save for their underwear) for swimwear. Before these crooks could get their clothes back Brum and the swimming teams uncovered their crime forcing the pair to make their getaway whilst they were still dressed in swimming overalls. If they attempted to ditch them during the chase they would be almost naked.
* **Acting**: Baddies also have passable acting proficiencies at best, a skill which they use to help with their disguises. A frequent gag is them posing as mannequins after donning a makeshift costume. However, their performances in any role are often slightly hammy.
* **Stealth**: In accordance with their reliance on trickery, the Big Town Baddies often possess a high level of stealth and can remain unnoticed even in public places. This is often reinforced by their disguises.
* **Durability/endurance:** Big Town Baddies also possess great durability and are able to endure things that would either incapacitate or even kill ordinary people in the real world. They have tolerated great falls and have outright tanked explosions. Despite this, they aren’t immune to feeling pain as shown by Penny Pincher wincing when her hand is trodden on and Big Bad’s 2nd Girlfriend when she gets bonked in the head. Another instance is Squeak clutching his jaw after running head-on into Bubble’s back.
* **Speed**: Being criminals and thieves by trade, the Big Town Baddies are often fast on their feet and can often maintain a lead over the supercar Brum. Their ability to do so of course depends on the physical capability of the individual. Some baddies are exceptionally fast due to their noted athleticism like Big Bad and his 2nd girlfriend while others like The Rascally Robber are a somewhat slower.
* **Strength**: Male and female baddies also show a reasonable amount of physical strength. The most noteworthy feats include Big Bad shoving a row of skis into Brum and Penny Pincher lifting a heavy weight from a burly gymnast. However, unlike their durability their levels of strength aren’t superhuman.
* **Driving skill**: The baddies on the show have also been depicted driving an assortment of different vehicles, usually as a means of making their getaway. These have included scooters, horses, speedboats, golf buggies, street sweepers and bicycles. Their skill at driving varies as The Beady-Eyed Robber and Big Bad were perfectly able to pilot a scooter and a speedboat respectively but Penny Pincher and Big Bad’s 1st Girlfriend were clueless when it came to controlling a horse and a street sweeper respectively. When not able to drive or commandeer a vehicle themselves, they have resorted to boarding or stowing away on modes of transport like aeroplanes, taxis and buses.
* **Jailbreak**: Some Big Town Baddies are implied to be escape artists as they’ve reappeared even after having been arrested. Some examples include Bubble and Squeak, The Shadow and Nick and Rob. Unfortunately, no escapes have been depicted on the show and accordingly their tactics for doing so are unknown. However, other Big Town Baddies who’ve been arrested do not reappear afterwards. Examples include Big Bad and his girlfriends, The Beady-Eyed Robber and Pickpocket Polly.

## Members

* The Two Masked Bank Robbers
* The Rascally Big Town Robber
* Bubble and Squeak
* Nick and Rob
* The Shadow
* Big Bad
* The Beady-Eyed Robber
* Big Bad's Assistant
* Cake Gang
* Big Bad's Assistant's Girlfriend
* Penny Pincher
* Big Bad's 1st Girlfriend
* Big Bad's 2nd Girlfriend
* Pickpocket Polly
* Magic Paul

## Episode Appearances

Season Two* “Brum and the Big Chase”
* “Brum and the Big Town Race/Rascally Robber”

Season Three* “Brum and the Airport”
* “Brum and the Pizzeria”
* “Brum and the King of Thieves”
* “Brum and the Balloons”
* “Brum and the Stolen Necklace”
* “Brum and the Theatrical Thieves/Pantomime Cow”
* “Brum and the Birthday Cake/Cake Gang”
* “Bushes on the Run”
* “Brum and Posh Dog/Kidnapped Dog”
* “Brum and the Music Box”
* “Brum and the Snow Thieves”

Season Four* “Brum and the Splash and Grab/River Race”
* “Brum and the Golden Loo”
* “Brum and the Golf Buggy”
* “Brum and the Mannequin/Shop Window Dummy”
* “Brum and the Bowling Alley”
* “Brum and the Gorilla Caper”
* “Brum and the Kidnapped Garden Gnome”

Season Five* “Brum and the Stopwatch Botch”
* “Brum and the Pickpocket”
* “Brum and the Heavy Safe”
* “Brum and the Paint Pandemonium”

## Trivia

* Out of the 25 episodes where the Big Town Baddies appear across the entire show, only 1 features a gang of culprits working together, 10 feature a crook acting alone, and 14 show thieves working in pairs.
	+ Out of the 14 episodes where baddies are partners, 10 show 2 males working together while the remaining 4 show a male and a female working together.
	+ Out of the 4 which feature a male and a female baddie, 3 show a romantic relationship while 1 shows a platonic partnership.
* Although Big Town Baddies often work in duos, female baddies have never been shown to have work in pairs.
* Out of the 25 episodes where the baddies appear, only 12 show them being arrested or detained for their crimes. This amounts to an arrest-rate of 48%.
	+ When those who have escaped and remained free after their last appearance are factored in, the incarceration rate goes down to 45% which means that by the end of the live action show of Brum less than half% of the Big Town Baddies are confirmed to be behind bars.
* Most of the baddies are either not named or are only partially named. Examples of the former include Big Bad and both of his girlfriends. Examples of the latter include Nick and Rob and Pickpocket Polly.
	+ The only baddie given a full name is Penny Pincher. However, Pincher’s full name is only revealed in the book adaption of the episode “Brum and the Music Box” by Sally Byford and is not specified within the credits of her live action appearances. There she is simply credited as “Baddie” in both of her episodes. Nonetheless, the blurb for “Brum and the Stopwatch Botch” on the DVD release “Stopwatch Botch and Other Stories” credits her as Penny Pincher.
	+ The same is true of Bubble and Squeak and Nick and Rob who are not given names within their episodes or the credits. However, they are named in the various books written for Brum.
* Ironically the more competent or notorious a Big Town Baddie is the less they appear on the show. Examples include The Shadow who appears in 2 episodes and Big Bad’s 2nd Girlfriend who only appears in one. Conversely, less competent baddies have more episodes like Bubble and Squeak who have 3 appearances, Big Bad who appears in 4 episodes and Nick and Rob who appear in 5 episodes.
* There was an online game based off Brum the TV show that allowed players to explore its universe with precision. This included interactive games based on the live action episodes. Unfortunately, it’s no longer available because Abode Flash is no longer supported. Known playable episodes with Big Town Baddies include “Brum and the Airport Adventure” and “Brum and the Snow Thieves” which can be viewed on YouTube.
* As explained in the trivia section of each individual article, Big Town Baddies tend to suffer defeats that are ironic and/or symbolic. This is consistent with the visual storytelling or the show.