Sim Street - Sim Media's first
ever Sims 2 drama show. The show hit computer screens back in April 2005 when it
debuted with a 6 episode opening series. Proving popular, the show returned the
same year for an extended 10 episode series running from October to December.
Following the series 2 finale the show went on hiatus with no definite return
date set. Throughout the summer of 2006 production was re-started and series 3
launched in August 2006. The 14 episode long third series was the most popular
to date with the Kerry-Dave-Kate storyline being one of its most memorable ever.
Series 4 launched in March 2007 and despite many delays between episodes it was
as, if not more, popular than previous series. With a fifth series set to start on
Wednesday 5th March we're here to look back over Sim Street's history. From the
Smith family secret to the infamous hostage episode, we've got it all covered...
The Walls The most recent addition to Sim Street is the Walls family. Ben Walls, a
single 34
year old accountant and his 64 year old mother lived in Riverside all
their lives until 2006 when they decided to move to New York. In March 2007, Ben
met what was to become the love of his life - a Riverside resident on holiday in
New York. Much to his mother's displeasure, Ben fell in love and decided to move
back home. His mother reluctantly agreed and somehow managed to see a silver
lining - back home she could search again for her missing son Robert who had
disappeared in December 2005.
Over the course of the series we slowly got to know Jackie and Ben.
Raymond - Ben's father and Jackie's husband - was killed by Ben accidentally in
a car crash during a driving lesson. Unknown to Ben, this unfortunate moment had
caused Jackie to turn against her own blood. Jackie saw Ben's accident as a
reason for him never to find true love. Since Ben had killed her true love, she
saw it only fitting that she killed every one of his. Jackie successfully
managed to drive away and knock off 4 of Ben's girlfriends but Lou, Ben's new
girlfriend, was proving her hardest conquest yet. In a moment of desperation,
Jackie saw a possible way to commit Ben to a lifetime of sadness.
Jackie's son
Robert had been having an affair with Lisa Roberts prior to his disappearance -
Jackie told Ben this information and used it against him to try to get him to
kill Lisa. It was a set up. Jackie knew who the real killer of her son Robert
was - and it wasn't Lisa. During Jackie's quest to get rid of all of Ben's
lovers, she discovered Robert was having an affair with one of Ben's
girlfriends. When Jackie received a phone call from Robert late one night in
December calling for help, she naturally rushed his side. However, Jackie found
Robert paralysed after being pushed, by Lisa Roberts, from a balcony. Using his
infidelity as a reason, Jackie killed him.
As the series drew to a close we saw Jackie put her final plan into action - she
would finish her job as serial killer with a triple murder - Lisa, Ben and his
girlfriend Lou. It was a semi-successful plan - Jackie successfully drugged and
knocked out both Lou and Lisa whilst pushing Ben to what
she believed was his death. Jackie's downfall however was a ghost from the past
- one of Ben's past girlfriends she had failed to kill (but managed to scare
away) returned, pointed a gun at Jackie and shot her dead. In the end, Lisa and
Ben escaped with minor cuts and bruises, Lou was completely safe and Jackie
ended up where she belonged - six feet under.
Lou Parker Introduced as a supporting character in series 3 and brought in as a full
time resident in series 4 is Lou Parker. Lou, despite just featuring in just one and
a half series of Sim Street, has remained in Riverside all her life. We first
met Lou in a flashback to 1995. A the age of 18, Lou was starting a 2 year
prison sentence for an act of violence - smashing a glass bottle over the head
of a pub landlady (Lauren Hill). Lou continued to appear throughout series 3 as
a friend of Kate's.
Lou made her first appearance as a main character in episode 1 of series 4. On
holiday in New York Lou met Ben Walls and the pair quickly fell in love. Despite
many hiccups as described above, Ben and Lou's
relationship has survived. During series 4 Ben proposed to Lou and much to his
delight she accepted.
Now, looking ahead to series 5, Ben and Lou are finally getting closer to that
'happily ever after' scenario. They're planning their wedding, discussing the
possibility of having kids and generally looking on the bright side of life.
Kate Thomas Kate Thomas. Everybody's favourite Sim Street bad girl. In series 3 Kate was
introduced as one of the new main characters - and also as Dave Land's secret
lover. We soon discovered that Kerry (Dave's fiancé) and Kate had much more in
common than just Dave - they used to be best friends. Through a dedicated flashback
episode we saw what happened when Kerry met Kate. Kate, at the age of just 18,
was a prostitute and drug dealer and led Kerry astray into the world of drugs,
sex and alcohol. Kate committed her first major crime at the age of 18 when she
killed a client of Kerry's in self defence. Soon after, Kerry and Kate parted
ways and weren't to meet until over 10 years later. During their time apart Kate
murdered once more but this time was caught and served 8 years in jail. Upon
leaving, Kate started a new life and managed to get a new job and new flat. Her
first mistake however was falling for Dave Land. Kate fell in love - however the
feelings weren't mutual.
Kate was soon returning to her
evil, manipulative ways - she blackmailed Dave, confronted Kerry several times
and it all culminated in a three way confrontation between Kerry, Kate and Dave
when the truth came out and a gun was involved. As Dave talked Kate out of
shooting anyone, Kerry attacked her making sure she dropped the gun. With
insults flying in every direction Kerry was left standing with a gun and a
desire
to shoot. Should she shoot her cheating fiancé, Dave? His secret lover and her
biggest enemy, Kate? Or should she put herself out of her misery? In a few slit
seconds, Kerry pointed the gun at Kate, shot, missed and instead shot her best
friend Lauren as she rushed into the pub trying to warn Kerry and Dave that Kate
owns a gun. Seconds later Kerry pointed the gun at Kate and shot her in the
neck.
Dave and Kerry gave statements to the police the following day - and blamed Kate
for shooting Lauren and then herself. As Kate was rushed around hospital having
emergency procedure after emergency procedure and Lauren slipped into a coma, it
looked almost certain that nobody was going to survive. Kate, however, did
survive. Her statement conflicted with Dave and Kerry's - it was their word
against hers. All the police had to do was wait until Lauren awoke and gave her
statement - but that wasn't happening soon with her being in a coma. The police
decided to move Kate away and give her a new identity as part of the witness
protection scheme - they knew something wasn't quite right regarding the
shooting incident and they wanted to to find out what really happened.
Kate made her dramatic return to Sim Street a month after she was moved away as
part of the witness protection scheme and had one final confrontation with Kerry. In a physical fight Kerry
managed to tackle Kate and escape, leaving her trapped in a basement. Kerry was
then forced to go on the run. Kate returned in series 4 but had mellowed
somehow. She lived with Lou, her best friend, and Ben.
The Grass Family Also being introduced in series 3 alongside Kate was the Grass family.
Richard and Vanessa Grass moved to Riverside from Veronaville. In Veronaville,
Richard and Vanessa suffered at the hands of violence from a group of thugs. A
lottery win gave the couple the chance to escape and they did so.
The couple lived happily in Riverside for a few weeks until Vanessa made a
horrifying discovery - she had cancer. Vanessa immediately went to the hospital
and underwent several tests and treatments but was told her cancer was too far
advanced for her to be saved. In a desperate move, Vanessa left husband Richard
who had no idea of the pain Vanessa was going through. Richard managed to track
down Vanessa and convinced her to spend her dying days with him. Scared of her
long and painful death ahead Vanessa tried to take her own life. She failed and
Richard was left to pick up the pieces. The couple relocated to Ireland where
Vanessa spent her final few months alive. Vanessa passed away in July 2007 and
Richard has since decided to continue living in Ireland.
The Laytons Richard Grass, a millionaire from his lottery win wanted to get rid of his
money because without Vanessa he had nobody to spend the money with. He gave the
money to Paula Layton. The
Laytons moved to Riverside from their home in Pleasantview, after the father of
the family, Henry, was relocated as part of his job. The move proved difficult
for the family as the kids, Steven and Amelia, struggled to settle into school.
As the series progressed the family finally managed to settle in.
In series 4 however, all was about to change. Housewife Paula, mother of the
family, wanted a new career and planned to open a bakery. Her new career path
was going well until one week before the opening of the bakery. Three criminals
attempted to rob the un-opened store. Paula tried to talk them out of it until
one of the criminals revealed their gun, aimed and shot at Paula's son Steven.
As the criminals tried to escape the neighbourhood they ended up taking the majority of the
Layton's neighbours hostage in the pub. As their neighbours were held at
gunpoint, Paula and Henry were left to watch their son Steven slip away from
them. Henry and Paula were not alone in their loss that day - Steve Townie lost
his sister Marie, Dave Land's secret wife Delia was killed, all 3 hostage takers died
and so did a policeman.
Paula struggled to come to terms with the death of her son. She was driven to
near insanity and nearly killed herself, her husband Henry and daughter Amelia
when she drove her car from a cliff. Paula was diagnosed with depression and
Henry tried his hardest to help her on the road to recovery. As Paula neared
full recovery, Henry and Paula decided to split. Amelia, the daughter, decided
she wanted to stay with Henry, much to Paula's surprise. The decision pushed
Paula further back to the depths of depression and she tried to kill herself on
Halloween. Henry found his wife near death but managed to save her and told her
he was still in love with her.
The Days/Newtons Paula, until her latter days, was well known for being the perfect
housewife. The previous owners of her house also boasted similar qualities -
Lynda Day and Jess Newton, twin sisters and the original Sim Street Stepford Wives.
In series 1 we saw Mike and Lynda Day - the main starring characters of the
show. Mike was an abusive husband and Lynda had all the qualities of a Stepford
wife. As the series progressed so did the level of Mike's abuse. Name calling
led on to physical abuse and it soon became too much for Lynda. Once a woman who
prided herself on perfect appearance, family life especially, she cracked.
Revealing all about her husband's abuse and affairs to the whole neighbourhood,
she decided to throw him out of her life for good.
Mike, however, was not best pleased and threatened Lynda that, should she throw
him out, he'd expose a secret she'd die to keep hidden. Lynda reluctantly agreed
to take Mike back and promised herself she'd find a way to finally get rid. She
was too late however and Mike caught her in the act of ridding all evidence of
her hidden secret. In a moment of anger, Mike's abuse finally went one step too
far and killed his wife.
Murder does not go without punishment and Mike was whisked off to prison.
Lynda's sister Jess Newton arrived in Riverside along with her husband Angus and
daughter to take care of Lynda's children James and Becky. Jess decided to take
the kids back to her hometown rather than live in Riverside and the family moved
away in series 2. Mike went through a court case and was sentenced to spend life
behind bars. Lynda had said to herself she'd die to keep her secret hidden - and
that she did.
The Townies
The Days and Newtons weren't the only family to disappear in series 2
- the Townies followed suit. Steve and Marie Townie were one of the original Sim
Street families. Brother and sister, the pair shared a home and were both
hopeless romantics. Marie struggled to find any man suitable for her and Steve
harboured a major crush on a fellow neighbour. However all changed at the end of
series 1 when Lexi, on/off boyfriend of Rik, gave herself to Steve in a night of
passion. The relationship didn't last long. Lexi soon found herself back in
Rik's arms, only this time more permanently whilst Steve went back to harbouring
a secret crush. He didn't have to do this for long however as himself and Marie
were soon driven away from Riverside to spend time with their dying mother.
Steve and Marie made a brief appearance in series 3 when they returned to catch
up with old friends. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong day to return. The pair
were taken hostage along with the majority of the other street residents. As
Steve called his fiancé from the basement Marie was shot dead. Steve then went
on to blame himself for his sisters death - 'if only I hadn't made that phone
call' being his thought. Steve went back to the town his mother was dying in
to be with her and his fiancé Andrea. Since the April 2007 hostage, Steve has
suffered the inevitable loss of his mother after a long battle with cancer.
The Roberts
A third family joining the Day/Newton and Townie family in a series 2 move out was the Roberts
family - Paul, Lisa, Katy and Leon. In a brief 2005 appearance we found out
Lisa, an ex-prostitute, wasn't the most faithful of wives. Having an affair with
Robert Walls, she paralysed him by pushing him from a first story balcony in
order to keep her affair secret. The job she had intended to start was finished
by Jackie Walls, unknown to Lisa who always thought she had killed him. The body
of Robert was buried under the Roberts garden by Lisa a few months before the
family moved. Lou Parker was then to move into the house later that year.
The Roberts family returned to Riverside in early 2007. Lisa had felt incredible
guilt and wanted to come clean. She soon discovered however that Jackie Walls,
the mother of Robert, was living in Riverside. Lisa was forced to tell her
husband Paul everything - her affair with Robert and his eventual death. To
Lisa's surprise, Paul knew everything revealing to her that she hadn't killed
Robert - Jackie had and he saw her do it. The pair realised going to the police
wasn't an option, after all, Lisa had committed a crime in itself by trying to
kill Robert. They decided their only option was to escape Riverside for a second
time. It was almost too late however as the night they tried to escape, Jackie tried
but failed to kill Lisa. Lisa escaped mostly unharmed and back in the arms of
husband Paul.
The Smiths
Before the Roberts had first moved to Riverside in 2005, their home was occupied
by the Smiths. Ken, Karen and their two children Kelly and Liam moved to
Riverside in early 2005. They were on the run from something and were trying to
keep their past life a secret. Unfortunately for them, Lauren Hill suspected
something was wrong and made it her job to find out exactly what the family were
hiding. After several minor discoveries, Lauren finally found out the whole
truth after she broke into their home one night when they were out. Lauren
discovered that Ken Smith had nearly killed someone and was being chased after
for attempted murder. Lauren was unlucky however, the night she broke into the
Smith household was also the night Kevin, the son of the man Ken nearly killed,
decided to set their house on fire. Lauren was trapped in the house as it burned
but managed to survive. However, she was the main suspect for setting the house
on fire. Ken made an agreement with her - she keeps his secret hidden and he
drops all charges of arson against her.
Ken returned at various points in series 2. He first returned to punish Lauren
and did so by killing her sister Angel. Over the course of the series Lauren put
the pieces of the puzzle together to find out that Ken was behind her sisters
murder. On the same night Lauren went to track down Ken, he went to Riverside to
confront her. As Lauren drove away from Riverside she received a chilling phone
call from Ken warning her he was on his way to her home in Riverside. Kerry,
sharing a house with Lauren, arrived home from a night out only to be confronted
by Ken. As Kerry tried to escape she fell down a flight of stairs and Ken left
her for dead. Kerry survived her fall but Ken was never seen again and the
police have since dropped all charges against him due to lack of
evidence.
The Lands Kerry Harris is one of Sim Street's biggest characters. From her near death
experience at the hands of Ken Smith to becoming a fugitive, Kerry has never
lived a quiet life. A special episode in series 3 was dedicated to Kerry and
explained her life to date in full. Her life was relatively normal until 1986
when, aged 15, she met Kate Thomas. Kate led Kerry away from best friend Lauren
Hill and into a world of sex, drugs and alcohol. Two years after meeting Kate,
Kate killed a client of Kerry's in self defence. Kate and Kerry parted ways
after the incident and never spoke again until 2006. After two years of an
unstable life Kerry managed to get a job and a place to stay in 1988.
After a year of working in a toy store she soon found herself as owner after the
original owner passed away leaving her job to Kerry, the only remaining employee. Through
her job Kerry met Dave, a businessman who showed an interest in buying the toy
store. Dave's interest soon moved from the toy store to Kerry and the pair built
up a relationship over the course of several years. They married in 2004. Dave
and Kerry split up soon after their wedding due to Dave being declared bankrupt.
Scared, Dave ran away from his life leaving Kerry distraught - and divorced.
Less than a year later however, Dave returned, apologised and declared his love
for Kerry. Months later the pair engaged again and planned to marry in 2006.
Dave was never able to be fully committed to one woman. In the build up to his
second wedding to Kerry he started an affair with a co-worker - Kate Thomas, an old
friend of Kerry's. Kerry refused to believe Kate's sordid tales of her time with
Dave until one night in October 2006 when her life changed forever. Finding out
her fiancé had cheated, Kerry grabbed Kate's gun and shot at Kate twice, first
time hitting her best friend Lauren, second time managing to shoot Kate in the
neck. The police interviewed Kerry and Dave but they both gave the same story -
that it was Kate who had shot Lauren before turning the gun on herself. After a
month or so of investigating - including hearing the truth from Kate who had
survived the incident, despite the rest of the world thinking she was dead - the
police headed to Paris on New Years Eve 2006 to arrest Kerry. Kerry however, was
already putting her escape plan in action after discovering her own mother,
Phyllis, had been working undercover to discover the truth from Kerry. Kerry
successfully managed to escape and has been on the run for over a year. Dave did
not managed to make it out of the hotel that night - he was shot dead by Lexi
Hill.
During Kerry's year on the run, we've seen her befriend Jackie Walls during a
trip to New York, resort back to her old profession as a prostitute and, most
shockingly, come face to face with the best friend she tried to kill. In a
flashforward revealed at the end of series 4, we see Kerry come face to face
with Lauren, the woman everybody thought was dead.
The Harris Family Kerry's parents, Seth and Phyllis Harris, were introduced towards the end of
series 3. Seth is a retired bank manager and Phyllis is a retired policewoman.
Phyllis was brought out of retirement and worked undercover as she lived in the
same house as her daughter Kerry, who was suspected of attempted murder. Over the
course of 4 episodes Phyllis succeeded in getting the required information from
Kerry. Despite going back to retirement, Phyllis wanted to remain in Sim Street
and continue working as landlady of the Riverside Pub.
This news didn't go down well with Rik and Lexi Hill, the owners of the pub. Not
wanting to throw an elderly couple out onto the street without a home and job,
Rik and Lexi provided them with a roof over their heads and jobs in the pub.
Phyllis and Lexi developed a disliking for each other and Phyllis tried many
times to break up the happy couple. She drugged Rik once and successfully ruined
the couple's wedding day when she told Lexi that Rik had had an affair - an
almost false accusation. Rik had kissed another woman but he had been under the
influence of drugs
when doing so. Rik and Lexi briefly split until they realised that Phyllis was
behind their break up. As they went in search for Phyllis they discovered she
had suffered a heart attack. Not being put off, Lexi still threw Phyllis and
Seth out of her home and onto the streets in the series 4 finale. The news
didn't bother Phyllis much - she had bigger news to deal with. Her doctor had
just revealed to her that she had a tumour.
The Hills The Hill family are the most well known, most respected family in Riverside.
The family consists of father Jack and his two children Rik and Lauren. Rik is
married to Lexi and the couple have one child, Kacey, and another on the way. Deceased members of
the family include Elizabeth, Jack's wife and Angel, the sister of Rik and
Lauren.
Rik and Lexi had an on-off
relationship for several years prior to their daughter
Kacey's
birth in 2006. Rik was unemployed and a known womaniser
whilst Lexi was a socialite. Lexi's accidental pregnancy
brought the pair closer together. After a series of
incidents - including an attempted suicide from Rik -
the pair finally
decided to enter a serious relationship whilst at the
same time calming their lives down.
Rik and Lexi got engaged on New Years Eve 2006 and got
married just under one year later on 31st October 2007.
Between the engagement and the marriage things weren't
always easy. Rik was falsely accused of having an affair
and it was revealed, only to viewers through a
flashback, that Lexi murdered Dave Land.
Lexi's reason for murder was briefly touched on in a flashback. It was revealed
that Lexi accidentally discovered Dave was having an affair with a woman behind
his fiancé Kerry's back. Delia, the woman Dave had been seeing, was actually his
ex-wife - or so he thought. Delia had actually refused to sign divorce papers
meaning the pair were still legally married. Lexi wanted to tell Kerry the
truth, the pair were good friends after all, but Dave threatened Lexi telling
her should she reveal the the truth then he'd kill her. Lexi shot Dave dead on
New Years Eve 2006 by shooting him in the heart. The investigation into Dave's
death has collapsed due to a lack of evidence and suspects. The police suspected
Dave committed suicide but had to rule their only lead out after a gun was never
found. Lexi has since then managed to keep her secret well hidden.
Now Rik and Lexi are happily married with one child and
another on the way.
Jack Hill, father of the Hill family, has lived in Riverside all his life.
Throughout series 1 we saw him being the supportive father to his three
offspring, Lauren, Rik and Angel. Following his daughter Angel's death in series
2 Jack fled abroad and has lived there ever since, making a brief appearance
back in Riverside for his son Rik's wedding to Lexi. Jack returns to Riverside
in 2008 after a 3 year break to take back his role as father of two.
Last, but certainly not least, is Lauren. Lauren is widely recognised as being
Sim Street's leading character - but that all changed in 2006 when she was
killed by best friend Kerry. Prior to her death, Lauren had seen herself in a
near death situation when she was trapped in the Smith household as it burned.
Lauren was also put through further turmoil in series 2 when her younger sister
Angel was killed and her best friend Kerry nearly died falling down a flight of
stairs. In series 3 however, Lauren set herself free from drama. She had made
finding a boyfriend her number one priority. After the age of 30, Lauren has
never had a long term relationship and decided that she didn't want to enter her
forties as a single woman. Lauren developed a crush on a neighbour and the pair even shared
a kiss but a relationship was a no-go area since the man, Richard Grass, already
had a wife.
After failing to find a boyfriend, Lauren found herself wrapped up in another
drama when her best friend Kerry and fiancé Dave were confronted by
Kate Thomas and a gun. As Lauren rushed to warn Kerry of the danger she was in, Lauren
found herself entering the pub at the wrong time as she was shot accidentally by
Kerry. Lauren entered a coma after being admitted to hospital and Kerry, in an
attempt to prevent the truth regarding the gun incident coming out, switched off
Lauren's life support machine. Kerry thought she had killed her best friend
until a year later when she stole documents from her mother Phyllis, a
policewoman. The documents gave Kerry the location of Lauren and over 3 months
after discovering the truth, Kerry went in search of Lauren and found her. All
that remains now is for the truth to come out - how did Lauren survive Kerry's
murder attempt and why has she been hidden away for over a year?
The Stones As Lauren returns to Riverside (we think) so do another couple - Julian and
Rachel Stone. Julian, 38 years old, is a businessman whilst Rachel, 34 years
old, is a top London model. As we meet the couple in the opening episode of
series 5, Rachel is retiring completely from the modelling world and the couple
are relocating to Riverside. The Stones, like most other families living in
Riverside, are more than your ordinary next door neighbours. They are thrust
being the centre of attention in the local celebrity world in London to being
the centre of attention in Riverside but for entirely different reasons. The
Stones aren't alone in their trek to Riverside - they bring with them journalist
Elsa and Joanna Richards, the missing model and best friend of Rachel who we
learn more about through flashbacks.
Series 5 - Starts Wednesday 5th March The brand new series of Sim Street launches on Wednesday 5th March. Here's the brand new video advert
promoting the shows return.
