Everybody Needs Good Reading Material

Some of you may recall the commercials that were running on Network Ten about two months ago. They were mostly running before, during and after episodes of Neighbours, and they were promoting a special collector's book to the classic Australian soapie (in conjunction with the Herald Sun).

Well, needless to say, I ordered myself a copy, and it arrived around three weeks later. Here's a picture of it:




Now, I was a little concerned that the money I was paying for it ($24.95 including postage and handling) was going to be wasted, especially as I was buying it sight-unseen. I had no idea of the quality, the number of pages, the level of interesting material it covered, the depth of any 'exclusive' content, the size of the book, or anything like that. So I knew I was potentially risking my money on what might turn out to be a complete rip-off.

But I bought it anyway. (I considered it 'research' for my blog.)

Thankfully, when it arrived I was immediately impressed by its size, quality and number of pages. It's the size of an A4 sheet of paper, has glossy pages filled with many colour photos and detailed information covering the entire history of the show, and is over 220 pages in length.

I greatly enjoyed reading about the major storylines we've witnessed over the years, the many and varied characters that have featured on Ramsay Street (each and every lead character in the show's twenty year history is listed - including an 'honorable mention' being given to Bouncer!), and even some articles on behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, from scouting shootling locations, to interviews with cast members, to following a scene "from script to screen". The book even contains a complete A to Z run-down of all things Neighbours, and I particularly enjoyed the article that detailed the careers of the show's more successful alumni.

Probably my greatest (and indeed, only) issue with the book is its timing. It appears that this has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while, because although it was being sold to the public in June 2006, the events depicted in the book end abruptly with the 20th anniversary episode of the show, which aired roughly twelve months previously in mid-2005.

As such, there is no mention of the plane bombing, no reference to Robert or Cameron Robinson, no reference to Harold trying to strangle Paul, no mention of the ensuing fallout between the two men that eventually involved the lost of the General Store, and so on. That's not so bad (but it gets confusing at times as you read some of the articles and have to keep reminding yourself that the articles' writers didn't know then what we know now), but the references to current cast members is even more off-putting.

The following characters are referred to as 'current': Sindi Watts, Stuart Parker, Connor O'Neill, David Bishop, Liljana Bishop, Serena Bishop and Summer Hoyland. Even more confusingly, there is obviously no reference to the following characters: Ned Parker, Kim Timmins, Alex Kinski, Katya Kinski, Rachel Kinski, Zeke Kinski, Lucinda "Elle" Robinson, Robert Robinson, Cameron Robinson, and Charlie Hoyland (Steph & Max's baby).

In fact, Steph is not yet pregnant (instead, in one 'current' photo of the 20th anniversary episode we see new mum Kayla holding baby Ashley, who was going to be adopted out to Max & Steph until Boyd talked her out of it*), and Susan Kinski/Kennedy was still being referred to by her maiden name, Susan Smith.

* Interesting fact: Not many people realise that the 2005 guest role of Anthony Johnson (Kayla's boyfriend and baby Ashley's father -- who all eventually decided to live as a family together instead of giving Ashley up to the Hoylands) -- was portrayed by actor Adam Hunter. About eight months later he would return in the dual role of Cameron and Robert Robinson. No one in the street seemed to notice the incredible likeness between the twins and Anthony Johnson, so I guess claiming that Anthony is really the third triplet and that it's actually Elle who's the imposter would not go down too well!

True, the book is subtitled '20 Years of Ramsay Street', which would imply that it doesn't cover 2006 events, which is the show's 21st year. But it was still a little odd to be selling the book on TV as if it was a new release. Clearly it's at least six months old (but I'd say considerably older). But none of this is really a complaint.

A quick search online reveals that the book is also on sale on the official Neighbours website, if you're interested (the price is comparable), and it has probably been listed there since it actually was 'current' and new. So more fool me. But I'm not really too bothered by all this, because as an interesting read, this book is fantastic.

Now I want the 20th anniversary board game, the stamps, the 'Defining Moments' DVD and the CD (which features a little-known and impossible-to-find track by actor Stefan Dennis, better known as Paul Robinson, who jumped on the bandwagon shortly after Kylie and Jason's success on the charts ... and apparently it was a massive flop and a source of amusement now even to Dennis himself). Thankfully, my birthday is coming up soon ...

I still maintain that it was well-worth the money for any Neighbours fan (especially someone who's not too up-to-speed on some of the 'history' of the show that the characters constantly refer to in passing), and I quite enjoyed reading all the articles on the making of the show. Plus, the hairstyles and fashions being exhibited from the eighties and nineties are sometimes hilarious.

I've had a lot of fun sifting through the articles and 'boning up' on my Neighbours trivia. Knowing all that extra stuff about the show won't serve any purpose to me in the real world, but it makes me happy.

And isn't that what life's all about? Making me happy?

Yes it is.


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