The Broons is a
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of cartoons that tells a story, often humorous, though adventures and soap opera-like dramas are also prevalent. They are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet.In the UK and the...
published in the weekly Scottish newspaper,
The Sunday PostThe Sunday Post is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland by DC Thomson, and characterised by a 'folksy' mix of news, sentimental stories and short features...
. It features the Brown (
Broon in
ScotsScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
) family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street, in (since the late 1990s) the fictional
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
town of Auchentogle or
AuchenshoogleAuchenshoogle is a fictional Scottish town, an amalgam of Dundee and Glasgow, used since the late 1990s as the setting of the comic strips Oor Wullie and The Broons in The Sunday Post....
(a possible variation of the
AuchenshuggleAuchenshuggle is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland.It is the easternmost part of the Braidfauld Ward of the City of Glasgow...
district of Glasgow. They are also shown as living on Glebe Street: - Glasgow's real Glebe Street has no residences and only a church, school playground and small area of parkland on it.
The Broons is a
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of cartoons that tells a story, often humorous, though adventures and soap opera-like dramas are also prevalent. They are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet.In the UK and the...
published in the weekly Scottish newspaper,
The Sunday PostThe Sunday Post is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland by DC Thomson, and characterised by a 'folksy' mix of news, sentimental stories and short features...
. It features the Brown (
Broon in
ScotsScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
) family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street, in (since the late 1990s) the fictional
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
town of Auchentogle or
AuchenshoogleAuchenshoogle is a fictional Scottish town, an amalgam of Dundee and Glasgow, used since the late 1990s as the setting of the comic strips Oor Wullie and The Broons in The Sunday Post....
(a possible variation of the
AuchenshuggleAuchenshuggle is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland.It is the easternmost part of the Braidfauld Ward of the City of Glasgow...
district of Glasgow. They are also shown as living on Glebe Street: - Glasgow's real Glebe Street has no residences and only a church, school playground and small area of parkland on it. Originally created and drawn by
Dudley D. WatkinsDudley Dexter Watkins was an English cartoonist and illustrator. He is best known for his characters Oor Wullie and The Broons; comic strips featuring them have appeared in Scottish newspaper The Sunday Post since 1936, along with annual compilations...
, the strip made its first appearance in the issue dated 8 March 1936.
Since its inception,
The Broons have had their own biennial, alternating each year with
Oor WullieOor Wullie is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper, The Sunday Post. It features a boy named William, known as Wullie . His trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he often uses as a seat...
. No annuals were published during 1943 and 1945 due to paper rationing in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Characters
The family members include:
- Paw Broon - the patriarch, a working man who occasionally tries to keep enough back for a bit of "baccy" (tobacco) and a bet on the horses. In a flashback to his youth, Paw was seen with his immediate family before he and Maw were married. His mother, Granmaw, was seen as well as his sister Daphne and brother Joseph. As Granpaw is a widower, and Aunt Daphne and Uncle Joseph are never seen, Paw has named two of his children after his siblings — his oldest daughter, Daphne, and his second son, Joe. With his comb-over hairstyle and walrus moustache, his appearance was supposedly based on A.C. "Archie" Brown, the chief editor of publisher D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
{Infobox_Company | company_name = D C Thomson & Co. Ltd. | company_logo = {Infobox_Company | company_name = D C Thomson & Co. Ltd. | company_logo = {Infobox_Company | company_name = D C Thomson & Co. Ltd. | company_logo = {Infobox_Company |...
at the time The Broons originated. Paw disapproves of most young behaviour.
- Maw Broon - the mother of eight. She has to run every aspect of the household and keep her husband, Paw, in line. Her first name was once used when her brother came to visit. He burst into No. 10 addressing her as "Maggie" and looking for money for his taxi fare. The name Maggie was confirmed in Maw Broon's Cookbook, published in 2007.
- Granpaw Broon - Paw's widowed father, lives in his own house and spends most of his time sitting on a park bench with his "cronies" (friends), or tending his allotment. He shares Paw's preoccupation with having an ample supply of tobacco. Granpaw was a slightly later addition, not appearing in the earliest strips. In some of these, the family had a picture of Granpaw on their wall, which could do certain actions, such as wagging its finger at the children. It was revealed in Maw Broon's Cookbook that his late wife was named Jeannie, a Scottish variation of "Jean" or "Jenny" that was once very popular. Granmaw was only seen once, in 1937, during a flashback of Maw and Paw's courting days.
- Hen (Henry) Broon - the lanky, awkward son and firstborn child of Maw and Paw. About 30 years old, average and a guy who rarely gets the girl. He is often taken advantage of for his height; for example, being made to act as a clothes stand to keep the washing line up. Early Broons cartoons featured Hen wearing a zoot suit
A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders...
. Hen is aspirational, for example every couple of years or so he buys a car. Such purchases, however, always end in failure.
- Daphne Broon - The somewhat dowdy daughter who is always playing second fiddle to her beautiful sister Maggie on double dates. Every few years she has a stroke of luck when the double dates get mixed up and she gets Maggie's man. At least once a year Daphne tries to go on a diet but fails to lose any weight. She is often mocked by Hen and Joe about her diets, although their taunts are intentionally harmless. Daphne is a skilled dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-History of dressmaking:...
but has a penchant for flamboyant hats.
- Joe Broon - the epitome of the ordinary working man, usually noted for his strength and love of boxing. Joe is something of a ladies' man, and can sometimes be seen sharing a bitter rivalry with Hen over a beautiful woman, with Joe winning. Hen envies Joe's luck with the girls, and the twins see him as a role model
The term role model first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students. Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. The term has passed into general use to mean any...
.
- Maggie (Margaret) Broon - the beautiful, glamorous daughter with blonde hair. She has a steady stream of beaux and is bitterly envied by the plain Daphne. In the later editions, Maggie became a model
thumb|200px|Alesya Nazarova modeling a dress by [[bebe stores|bebe]]A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed for the purpose of displaying and promoting fashion clothing or other products and for advertising or promotional purposes or who poses for works of art.Modeling...
. Despite their rivalry, Daphne and Maggie share a close bond; Maggie even stands up for Daphne when she is taunted. In earlier times, was called Sadie.
- Horace Broon - a bookish schoolboy forever trying to learn poetry by rote amidst the chaos of a do-it-yourself chimney-sweeping mishap or other domestic turmoil. He likes to think of himself as an example to the twins, but recently seems to aspire to be like Joe (for example, purchasing muscle-building equipment).
- The Twins - Although one is called Eck (short for Alexander), they are always referred to collectively, with few exceptions having Granpaw calling them: "ae twin" and "the ither twin") - rambunctious youngsters usually adding to the chaos with a fistfight or a good game of cowboys and Indians.
- The Bairn - The youngest of the family at three or four years of age. She is basically a smaller version of Maw, getting in her share of indignant moral pronouncements and pointing out the foolishness of the male Broons. She and Granpaw are deeply close.
During the 1970s stories drawn by Tom Lavery, another character named Dave MacKay was regularly featured. Dave was Maggie's long-term boyfriend and was often implied to be her fiancé. His parents were upper-class, much to the chagrin of Paw and Maw. Maggie's character also changed during this time, becoming more posh (and, unlike the rest of the Broons, spoke English instead of
ScotsScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
). When Peter Davidson took over from Lavery, the character was dropped.
Storylines
The Broons is set in the fictional town of Auchentogle but is based on Glasgow and life there. Most of the humour derives from the timeless themes of the "generation gap," stretching the money as far as possible, and the constant struggle for each family member to live in a very small flat with the other nine Broons. In the end, the family always support one other, getting through life with a gentle good humour as they argue amongst themselves.
Another staple of the series is misunderstanding: inevitably the bairn or the twins mishear something Granpaw or another family member says, and the whole family act on it until the truth is revealed in the final panel. An example is where the Bairn overhears Maggie talking about her latest beau and reports to the rest of the family that she heard Maggie say he was half-French and half-Polish. When Maggie says she's bringing him to tea, Hen runs out to buy French wine and Horace swots up on his Polish dictionary. Finally, they meet the fellow, who greets the family in broad Scots. It turns out he's a French-polisher -
"polish"Polishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by rubbing it or using a chemical action, leaving a surface with minimal diffuse reflection and significant specular reflection When the surface is magnified thousands of times, it usually looks like mountains and valleys...
being pronounced the same as "Polish" in Scots.
When Maggie and Daphne ask where their clothes are and Granpaw tells them that "their sister has them," both think he means each other; Maggie and Daphne fight, when in fact the Bairn took them to dress up.
The Broons own a small cottage, called the But 'n Ben, somewhere in the Highlands where they enjoy weekends away. The younger Broons show some reluctance to go and the adult children dream of foreign holidays. The house is often flooded, full of sheep or (due to Paw) inaccessible because he's forgotten the key. Even so, they often find themselves having pleasant times once there.
Annuals
The annuals alternated years with
Oor WullieOor Wullie is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper, The Sunday Post. It features a boy named William, known as Wullie . His trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he often uses as a seat...
, another D. C. Thomson product. Books pre-1965 were not dated. After that they had a copyright date with annuals normally published in Autumn. The early editions of
The Broons annual are highly sought-after collectors' items, fetching in excess of four-figure sums at auction. A
facsimileA facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible using, normally, some form of photographic technique...
of the very first
Broons annual was released on 25 November 2006.
Watkins drew the strip from his
Broughty FerryBroughty Ferry is a suburb in the eastern side of the City of Dundee, situated on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
home until his death in 1969. For five years after Watkins' death, D.C. Thomson recycled old strips in the newspaper and annuals, fearing no adequate replacement could be found to match Watkins' unique style. In these repeated strips, some particularly
ScotsScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
words were replaced (e.g. 'ahint' became 'behind') and the pre-decimal coinage was updated. Peter Davidson is the current artist, succeeding Ken H. Harrison. This is Davidson's second stint as artist, the first being in the early 1980s.
BBC Radio ScotlandBBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
presenter
Tom MortonTom Morton is a Scottish writer, broadcaster, and musician. He lives and works in the Shetland Islands.Morton currently has a BBC Radio Scotland music show, broadcast each weekday afternoon...
is the current scriptwriter.
Television
The Broons were portrayed in the
BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
comedy sketch show
Naked VideoNaked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on national BBC2. It was a television version of the BBC Radio Scotland comedyNaked Radio, starring Gregor Fisher, Andy Gray, Elaine C...
. In the sketches,
Tony RoperTony Roper is a Scottish actor.His first major starring role was in Scotch and Wry. He wrote the classic comedy-drama The Steamie in 1988. He achieved even greater fame in Naked Video and in the spin off series Rab C Nesbitt, in which he played Rab's partner-in-trouble, Jamesie Cotter...
was cast as Paw,
Gregor FisherGregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Biography:Fisher was born in Glasgow, raised in Neilston and attended Barrhead High School. He is best known for his portrayal of his character Rab C Nesbitt in the sitcom of the same name...
played Maw,
Elaine C. SmithElaine C. Smith is a Scottish actress and comedienne. She was born in Baillieston in Glasgow, and she continues to live in the city.- Education :...
portrayed the Bairn and
Jonathan WatsonJonathan Watson is a Scottish comedian and impressionist best known for his comedy sketch show Only an Excuse?, which parodies people and events from the world of Scottish football. Watson also regularly appeared on Tam Cowan's Offside television programme on BBC One Scotland where he performed a...
appeared as Joe.
In December 2005, the BBC Scotland documentary
Happy Birthday Broons celebrated the family's 70th anniversary with celebrity guests including
Muriel GrayMuriel Gray is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.-Early career:A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, she worked as a professional illustrator and then as assistant head of design in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.-Broadcasting career:After playing in punk band, The Family...
,
Ford KiernanFord John Kiernan is a Scottish comedian. Along with his comedy partner, Greg Hemphill, he is best known in the United Kingdom for his appearances in Still Game and Chewin' The Fat.-Personal life:...
,
Sanjeev KohliSanjeev Singh Kohli is a Scottish Asian comedian, writer and actor. He is most famous for his role as Navid Harrid in the sitcom, Still Game.-Early life:...
,
Eddi ReaderEddi Reader MBE is a Scottish singer, known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three Brit Awards and has topped both the album and singles charts...
, Elaine C. Smith,
Ricky RossRicky Ross is a Scottish singer-songwriter, most famously for his work with the rock band Deacon Blue.-Biography:...
,
Tony RoperTony Roper was a NASCAR driver. He was born in Springfield, Missouri, to Dean Roper and Shirley Medley. Growing up his family was heavily involved in auto racing. Roper started racing in 1986. For the next six years Tony raced in IMCA Modifieds and late models on Midwest dirt and asphalt tracks...
,
Tam CowanTam Cowan is a Scottish football journalist, radio and television presenter. Educated at Braidhurst High School in Motherwell, he writes a twice weekly article in the Daily Record newspaper and was presenter of Scottish football comedy TV show Offside.He reviews Scottish restaurants in the Daily...
,
Grant MorrisonGrant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. He is best-known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings.-Early years:...
,
Frank QuitelyFrank Quitely is a Scottish comic book artist known for his work in books such as The Authority, New X-Men, WE3, All-Star Superman, and Batman and Robin.-Career:...
and was narrated by
Ewan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor, singer, and adventurer who has had success in mainstream, indie and art house films...
. The programme was made by Angel Eye Media and was later nominated for a Best Documentary BAFTA. It was later followed by
Happy Birthday Oor Wullie.
External links