Bill and Mary

A Brief History of Crossing the Themes: Part 1 The Adventures of Bill and Mary/6000 Ideas

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In the run-up to the latest installment of the LEGO DREAMZZz animated series dropping on September 6 2024, I thought we might start a small survey of other ways that books, comics and other media have been used to encourage builders to ‘Cross the Themes’

The Storytelling behind LEGO DREAMZZz provides an interesting mechanic that allows fantasy creations to exist in the otherwise mundane world of LEGO City. Many of the sets in the theme exploit this excuse to mash up fantastical ideas with the mundane. The choices provided for each model also make it a little easier for kids to come up with a different final toy in the set.

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The Aged Fate of 6000 Ideas Book’s Bill and Mary: Conclusion, Speculation and Outrageous Fan Theories

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In which we try to tie up the loose ends, identify our heroes, and after one thing leads another, discover something we never set out to.

For almost a year, now, I have been exploring the potential for ongoing adventures of Mary and Bill – these minifigures first appeared in the 6000 Ideas Book, published in time for Christmas 1979. We started off looking at the 6000 Ideas Book itself, covering the story set in the town, and then the weird space bit, along with the Castle bit.

I asked a Big Question: Could Mary and Bill still be found in the world of LEGO City today? For characters to survive nearly 40 years, we would need to be confident that we see story telling occurring within the in-house themes, that characters see development over the course of years, and that they have the potential to cross themes, as Bill and Mary did in the book, and indeed would need to to move from Book characters to LEGO City.

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After 6000 Ideas: The Legacy of Bill and Mary 1981-1990

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In which we attempt to follow the trail of Mary and Bill, after events of the 6000 Ideas book. We look through subsequent Ideas books and move to the Adventures of Captain Indigo, featured in Bricks n Pieces magazine in the 1980s…

Let me tell you a story. It has been a little while since we have visited the world of the 6000 Ideas Book, but I have not forgotten where we are heading. So, here is a recap:

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Nostalgic Anniversaries Converge with LEGO Tower 1.4

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Last week saw the arrival of the latest incremental update for LEGO Tower – version 1.4 – the casual game produced by Nimblebit in association with LEGO Games. For regular readers of this blog, it will come as no surprise that I was extremely excited by the content released. As well as some bug fixes, interface tweaks, new roof toppers and new floors to build, this update provided some new parts for players to collect and dress the residents of their towers. Full of nostalgia, these new elements include torsos from the 6000 Ideas Book, as well as Pirate figures (with the theme celebrating 30 years this year), adding to a collection of pirate hats added in V1.3 a couple of weeks ago.

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In search of Bill and Mary II:

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Evidence for character development within and between LEGO Themes.

In which I go in search of changes that occur to characters within LEGO themes, and in search of characters moving between themes – as we continue to look out for evidence that the central characters in the 6000 Ideas Book: Bill and Mary to some, Indigo and Polkadot to others, can be seen to continue their life in LEGO City today.

The LEGO Ideas Book 6000 was released in time for Christmas, 1979. As such, I am celebrating its 40th birthday throughout the year. I have been particularly curious to see whether the main characters of this delightful childhood memory could possibly exist in LEGO City today. I would expect to find them much older than they were 40 years ago, to say nothing of a possible variation in how they dressed. However, LEGO City is not quite the same as LEGO Town. SO: I have been looking for evidence of specific characters appearing over multiple years within a theme, or potentially changing themes. If a character has been around for years, I have been looking for evidence of development – physical, or chronological. Do they look older? Have they changed in any way – sporting evidence of long term injury and so forth.

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The Search For Bill and Mary I

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Long Term Character Development in LEGO Town and City.

In which we begin our ongoing search for Bill and Mary, by looking through LEGO Town and LEGO City for evidence of long form story telling, beyond the confines of a single set. If we can find it, then we are one step closer to demonstrating whether or not the protagonists of the 6000 Ideas Book could still exist in LEGO City today…

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6000 Ideas: The Adventure Continues.

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In which we continue the story of the 6000 Ideas Book, take in ‘the weird space bit’ and the ‘not nearly weird enough castle bit.’ As our protagonists head off into the sunset, we ask the question ‘Where are they now?’ And set the parameters for our quest…

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6000 Ideas Book: Now the story really starts.

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LET ME tell you a story. Years ago, before LEGO® Life, before the internet, and before instructions required us to place only 2-4 elements per step, it was common to find inspirational ideas for further constructions on the back of the box that you bought your LEGO sets in. No Instructions. No parts list. Just a single picture. Sometime several. Town, Castle, Space: all themes from ‘back in the day’ featured these alternate builds. And they provided inspiration to further develop our play ideas.

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