The Librarians is an Australian television comedy series which premiered on 31 October 2007 on ABC TV. In the Republic of Ireland, the show aired on RTÉ Two. The series is produced and written by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope who are also the principal cast members. Hope is also the series' director. The first series comprised six half-hour episodes. The second series with another six episodes began airing on 5 August 2009 and was filmed at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
The series centres on the trials and tribulations of Frances O'Brien, a devoutly Catholic, sexless, inept, humorless, blithely racist, self-important and insensitive Head Librarian. Her life unravels when she is forced to employ her ex-best friend, Christine Grimwood – now a petty drug dealer who needs a character reference – as the Children's Librarian. Frances must do all she can to contain her menacing past and concentrate on the biggest event of the library calendar – Book Week.
Filming on a third and final series took place in early 2010Filming starts on series 3 of The Librarians – ABCTV Blog, 29 April 2010. and aired on ABC1 later that year. The theme music for The Librarians is an upbeat variation on the popular jazz tune "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie.
The Librarians was rated M in New Zealand for offensive language, sexual references and drug use.
Episodes
Season 1: 2007
Episode Title Original airdate Viewers Nightlyrank 1 "Should old Acquaintance be Forgot?" 31 October 2007 1292000 5 2 "Repeat Offender" 7 November 2007 1084000 14 3 "4 Kilos to Book Week" 14 November 2007 1006000 N/A 4 "Unholy Matrimony" 21 November 2007 1040000 13 5 "Amnesty" 28 November 2007 988000 12 6 "And Nothing but the Truth" 5 December 2007 1001000 10
Season 2: 2009
Episode Title Original airdate Viewers Nightlyrank 1 "Just Returned" 5 August 2009 1053000 11 2 "This Little Piggy" 12 August 2009 1028000 13 3 "Cut to the Quick" 19 August 2009 843000 19 4 "Romeos And Juliets" 26 August 2009 877000 17 5 "Deliverance" 2 September 2009 827000 16 6 "My Rock" 9 September 2009 936000 15
Season 3: 2010
Episode Title Original airdate Viewers Consolidated Viewers Nightlyrank 1 "Mother Pearl" 13 October 2010 726000 788215 15 2 "Quid Pro Quo" 20 October 2010 541000 596098 26 3 "Tsukiji" 27 October 2010 595000 661706 25 4 "Dark Before Dawn" 3 November 2010 582000 642233 20 5 "Kerching Kerching" 10 November 2010 572000 615530 24 6 "Milk, Not Cheese, Moon" 17 November 2010 534000 564685 25 7 "Pearl of Wisdom" 24 November 2010 489000 520072 25 8 "Power and the Passion" 1 December 2010 658000 710174 19
Cast
Main cast Robyn Butler as Frances O'Brien Roz Hammond as Christine Grimwood Heidi Arena as Dawn McConnichie, in a wheelchair, thanks to Frances' inattention Stephen Ballantyne as Matthew Bytnskov Keith Brockett as Ky Lee Bob Franklin as Neil Slider, attracted to Christine Wayne Hope as Terry O'Brien, in love with his wife, who ignores him Nicole Nabout as Nada al Farouk, a smart Muslim lady and target of Frances' intolerance Kim Gyngell as Father Harris, irritated by Frances' religiosity Josh Lawson as Lachie Davis (season 1) Fiona Harris as Jane (seasons 2 and 3) Victoria Eagger as Pearl O'Leary (season 3)
Guests Grant Piro as Piero (season 1) Stephen Curry as Life Coach (season 1) Kate Kendall as Jacinta McSweeney (season 1) Greg Stone as Premier Carter (season 1) Molly Daniels as Bridget / Bernadette (seasons 1 and 2) Noni Hazelhurst as Midwife (season 2) Marty Sheargold as Paolo (seasons 2 and 3) Hamish Blake as HD News Journalist, Jake Jackson (season 2) Lesley Baker as Christine's Aunt (season 2, 1 episode) Vince Colosimo as Adrian Green, Head of the Australian Library Association (season 2) Tony Martin as Gene, Adrian Green's boyfriend (season 2) Angus Sampson as Xavier Fisher (season 3) Tony Moclair as Bingo (season 3) Justin Hamilton as Biscuit (season 3) Lachy Hulme as Hasan, Nada's ex-husband (season 3) Peta Brady as Marzena Stovic (2 episodes) Peter Garrett as himself (season 3) Hannah Gadsby as Carmel (seasons 2 and 3) Celia Pacquola as Indigo (season 3) Patrick Brammall as Stuart (season 3) Amanda Muggleton as Rose McConnichie (season 3) Sue Jones as Olywn Slider (season 3, 2 episodes) Toby Truslove as Dave
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominee Series Result Ref2009 Australian Film Institute Awards Best Performance in a Television Comedy Robyn Butler Series 2 2011 Equity Awards Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Cast
Series 1 DVD & Blu-ray release The Librarians Set detailsSpecial features 6 Episodes 16:9 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Yes English (2.0 Stereo) Total running time: approx. 172 minutes Audio commentary by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope Photo board ABC promo interview Alternative ending for Episode 4 Deleted scene from Episode 6 Release date Region 4 5 December 2007
Series 2 DVD & Blu-ray release The Librarians Series 2 Set detailsSpecial features 6 Episodes 16:9 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Yes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Total running time: approx. 223 minutes Audio commentary by Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Roz Hammond and Heidi Arena The Making of The Librarians Frances' unheard library opening speech Christine's Ante Natal Classes Neil's Online Assignments Deleted scene Outtakes Release date Region 4 1 October 2009 (Series 1&2 Blu-ray also released)
See also List of Australian television series List of programs broadcast by ABC (Australian TV network)
References
External links ABC TV – The Librarians
Lallo, Michael: Fun between the covers, The Age Media release TV Week The Librarians – Episode 1 at Australian Screen Online