HOME IS WHERE YOU HANG YOUR HORNS

Once upon a time (well, maybe it was last year) in the land of Oz (a place that looks a lot like Beverly Hills, California), reigning Prince of Darkness and heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, his wife and sovereign ruler, Sharon, and teenage heirs to the throne gave MTV camera crews the keys to the kingdom for documenting the Osbourne way of life.

The result? The Osbournes. The history-making, Emmy-winning, media-frenzied, televison-family-concept-redefining reality series that America can't get enough of. The Osbournes are all can't-even-walk-down-the-street-anymore-to-grab-a-bite-to-eat famous.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish they lived next door to you (unless you've got the music cranked at 4:00 A.M.). So spend a little time in

Officially Osbourne is narrated by Aimee Osbourne and features exclusive soundbites from the show.

"Officially Osbourne" is an episode guide (first season) interspersed with biographies, interviews, and information. Each of the bios includes favorite music, birth date, video games, personal philosophies, what their family members say about them, and then an interview. Each episode has a basic summary (about two or three paragraphs) and a slew of pictures. Also there are best lines ("Bubbles? Oh come on, Sharon! I'm the Prince of #$&*in' Darkness!"), and highlights (a fire in the kitchen -- "the first one in the new house").

There are chapters on other topics too: On Melinda Verga, a lower-key employee, on home decor (black, antiques, and crucifixes), the different rooms in the house, and on the pets (dogs and cats, most memorably Lola). One chapter is devoted to Ozzy and Sharon's parenting methods, and what their kids think of those methods. And most tantalizing of all is the chapter where they talk about what never made it onto your TV screen...

This book captures some of the spirit that infuses the Osbourne TV show. The coverage and interviews with Ozzy, smart wife Sharon and kids Jack and Kelly (Aimee declined to be in the show). Their attitudes are refreshingly honest and open -- in a celebrity subculture where people say prescripted, inoffensive lines, the Osbournes will tell the world what they do and don't like (Kelly hates pop singers, for example).

The pages are likably colorful, not just black text on white paper. The pictures are a slightly more mixed bag -- there are a lot of them on almost every page in the book, of everyone: The house, the furnishings, the dogs... unfortunately, many are too small to look at easily, and some are blurred. Many are quite good, clear and well-lit.

"We're not the #$&*ing Partridge Family" -- Sharon said it best. And "Officially Osbourne" takes some of the best elements from the TV show and commits them to paper. Definitely recommended for people who watch the show.


Excellent guide to the Osbournes   March 28, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Officially Osbourne is an excellent guide to the Osbournes. It shares details of the episodes, profiles of the family members, untold stories, interviews, parents' advice from Sharon and Ozzy, and more. The pictures in this book are mostly animated, and while regular photos would have been great, it does add a more fun approach to the book. This is a must have for fans. You'll learn so much more about the Osbournes.