h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Several books based on the Goodies were published in the 70's, if I recall correctly. While concerned with the three characters of Tim, Graeme and Bill, the books did use all new material, written specially. The books I was lucky enough to possess ( but do so no longer - sob, sob ) were-

1)The Goodies File - I don't remember much about the basic premise of this one, except that it was supposed to have been a file of damning material put together by their cleaning lady, Mrs. Edna Tole, in a sort of tabloid expose.Among the treats inside was the Goodies musical 'Superpope '

2) The Goodies Book of Criminal Records. - Ah yes - this one was the star turn Christmas present of about 1974. This was based on the libel action which the Goodies brought against Edna Tole for the first book. The bulk of the material was evidence presented by the Goodies to prove that they were not whatever claims had been made in the first book. Treats inside included "So you think you're a looney ?" - "Old Maid Only " - "The Tim Brooke Taylor Song Book " and many more.

3) The Making of the Goodies' Disaster Movie. - This was something quite different from the first two books. The material all has the same theme - the Goodies' attempt to make a blockbuster movie - "All Quiet on the Weston Front " Some of it was extremely funny,eg. the section containing the Walt Disney organisation's reply to the Goodies, and also the cast list of White Christmas ( Emma Dreaming, Arthur White , Chris Muss etc. ).

I don't know if any more books were published or not. All three books mentioned above were exceptionally well produced, in large hardback format. As mentioned , all of the material was especially written for the books by Graeme and Bill- unlike the more well known Monty Python books which used quite a lot of material from the shows themselves, as I recall. As a result the books were a delight, and thoroughly enjoyed by fans of the show who were lucky enough to read them.

I own a rather dog eared copy of "The Goodies Book of Criminal Records"...I managed to find it in my local second hand book store. Its great! I also have one of the original albums, The World Of The Goodies.

I recall the Goodies were a long-running cartoon series in a children's comic in the middle seventies - "Whizzer and Chips" or possibly the Sparky or "Cor!"

Must be out on the internet somewhere...