The Complete Trailer Park Boys: How to Enjoy the Trailer Park Boys When the Cable is Out [Paperback]

Matthew Sibiga is a book-trade professional, a Trailer Park Boys fanatic and has played guitar in several bands, most notably Eleven, a tribute to Spinal Tap. He once scored a hat-trick in a hockey game with an actual audience – about which he reminds his wife and daughters in Waterdown, Ontario, nightly.

Don Wininger has a twenty-year history in graphic design, advertising and writing. He lives in St.Catharines, where he, along with his wife and children, has always enjoyed homemade macaroni and cheese. Following the public’s lukewarm reception of Eleven, in which Don joined Matthew as a Viking-helmeted keyboardist, he finds himself lost in multiple layers of parody. He’s hoping that this hard-hitting exposé of trailer-park life will fix that.

Introduction

We have to be honest. We asked two Governors General -one past and one present-to write the introduction to The Complete Trailer Park Boys, thinking it would be an honour to introduce the most important cultural document produced this year in Canada. To our dismay, the first symbolic head of state we approached — MichaëlIe Jean, Canada's new (and kind of hot) Governor General — told us to "frig off." Well, that's not really true. (And while we're being so truthful, we didn't really speak to Madame Jean — the reply was conveyed via a short email from a temp allegedly working in Her Excellency's office.)

Dejected but not defeated, we contacted the office of previous Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, and before we could even tell the assistant who answered the phone that Madame Clarkson wasn't really our first choice to write the introduction-but would she do it anyway?-the obnoxious lackey also told us to "frig off!" (Again, while we're being honest, Adrienne Clarkson only came to mind because she was the only other Governor General we could think of, and we really wanted to get some sort of Governor General to write this damned introduction.) Fresh out of options, we were feeling as unloved as Cory and Trevor during a heist. However, we still needed some sort of "intelligent" name to lend intellectual heft to this book.

We consulted Captain Morgan for inspiration and wouldn't you know it, we actually thought of an author. Remember Franklin W. Dixon, the guy who wrote all the Hardy Boys books? He's a writer and he's reputed to be Canadian ... but he's also reputed to be dead. Fortunately we arrived at a more workable solution before getting totally desperate and hitting the Jiffy Wine. Why not us? We wrote the book, so would we consider writing the introduction? I asked Don and he agreed at once to my request.
—Matthew Sibiga


About three years ago I was channel surfing and came across a man with overly stylish hair wearing track pants and a checked shirt. He was wrestling a shirtless man with a large stomach and tight white trousers. They were kicking up plenty of dust and firing expletives at each other while being filmed by a hand-held camera. It appeared to be a spoof on the popular show Cops. A few months later I was flipping channels again when I caught the opening theme song of this same show. The lilting piano and sepia scenes of children at play transported me back to a gentler time, reminiscent of Mayberry, Andy Taylor and Aunt Bea. The serenity was soon broken, however, not by the soft spoken Sherrif Taylor, but by a pee-stained park supervisor named Mr. Lahey and that shirtless guy, this time dressed as a bumblebee, who announces to the park that he and Mr. Lahey are gay. Not sure that Barney Fife had the same relationship with his boss, but I was hooked.

Just like the folksy, lovable characters of early-sixties television, the residents of Sunnyvale were just looking to get by in their own small world, with the help of a little booze, dope, petty crime and mastery of four-letter words. Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and the gang might be rough on each other, and the occasional musical celebrity, but their chaos has way more bark than bite. Friendship truly matters to them, along with finding pleasures in simple things like pepperoni and pickled eggs. Surely, the show's messages ring true, not just in Sunnyvale or Mayberry, but in any community that likes to BBQ and throw the occasional bottle.

Shortly after a randomly selected publisher agreed to do our Trailer Park Boys book, Matt and I flew to Halifax to meet Barrie Dunn and Michael Volpe — two of the show's three producers — Karen Wentzell completes the trio. We talked about favourite scenes and why the show has become so popular across Canada. Our hope was that our creative efforts would reflect theirs, along with the tremendous talents of director Mike Clattenburg. We met Mike on the set the next day and he cast us as Sunnyvale police extras in that day's shoot. It was quite a thrill, even if we didn't have speaking parts, just eating parts (doughnuts). Several times during filming I saw Mike try unsuccessfully to contain his laughter. It was a pleasant reminder how free of pretense Trailer Park Boys is and how genuine its humour remains. It's a well-written, hilarious show with terrific actors, producers and director who really enjoy themselves. It's very Canadian that way, and I think the boys have woven themselves a permanent place in our country's cultural fabric.

If you enjoy this book, even in small measure, as much as you have enjoyed Trailer Park Boys' first six seasons, well we think that's fucking decent! For those whose book learnin' could be gooder, we've included lots of photos.
—Don Wininger