Little Lunch is an Australian children's mockumentary television series that first aired on ABC Me in 2015. The 26-part, 12 minute series is based on the books written by Danny Katz and illustrated by Mitch Vane. The series was adapted for television by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope. The stories are set in the primary school playground at snack time and unfold through six children whose names are Atticus, Debra Jo, Rory, Melanie, Tamara and Battie as well as their teacher Mrs. Gonsha.[1]
| Little Lunch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (plus 2 specials) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Bernadette O'Mahoney |
| Producers | |
| Running time |
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| Production company | Gristmill Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC Me |
| Release | 20 July 2015 – 23 December 2016 |
Two additional specials were filmed and screened in 2016: "The Halloween Horror Story"[2] and "The Nightmare Before Graduation".[3] The series was filmed at St Kilda Primary School in Melbourne, Australia.
Main plot
editLittle Lunch is set in a suburban primary school in Australia and follows the adventures of six Grade 5 students (listed below). In each episode, set at little lunch (or morning recess), the children tell stories about a scenario that happened at little lunch or events that happened outside class for example, a walk-a-thon, two pupils competing for who gets to go on the monkey bars or celebrating a birthday.
Cast and characters
edit- Flynn Curry as Rory: A naughty, distracted and very likeable student who is friends with Atticus.
- Joshua Sitch as Atticus Busby: A sweet and nerdy student who is always hungry. He is friends with Rory, but can get frustrated with his antics.[4]
- Madison Lu as Melanie Woo: Stubborn, morally courageous, and shy
- Faith Seci as Debra-Jo: Smart, ambitious and organised, though some may call her bossy
- Olivia Deeble as Tamara Noodle: Excellent at sport and is not afraid to remind everyone
- Oisín O'Leary as Battie: The gentle, creative, daydreamer who is afraid of dogs and speaks with an Irish accent
- Heidi Arena as Mrs. Gonsha: Extremely patient and has a tendency to nod off in class
Episodes
edit| No. in Season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Principal's Office" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler | 20 July 2015 | |
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When Rory is punished and sent to the Principal's office, the other kids surprisingly feel sorry for him and try to cheer him up. | |||||
| 2 | "The Dress Up Day" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler | 21 July 2015 | |
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On Dress-Up-As-What-You-Want-To-Be-When-You-Grow-Up-Day, Battie dresses up as Stretcho, his very own made-up super hero. | |||||
| 3 | "The Ya-Ya" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler & Wayne Hope | 22 July 2015 | |
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The children discuss that Atticus has been acting strangely all week and that it might have something to do with his parents going away. Atticus confesses that he is upset because he is starving. | |||||
| 4 | "The Monkey Bars" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler | 23 July 2015 | |
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Tamara is very good on the monkey bars since she uses them every day, but Melanie is not as good because Tamara never lets her on them. When Melanie demands a proper turn, Tamara is outraged and so a battle of wills begins. | |||||
| 5 | "The Top of the Fireman's Pole" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler | 24 July 2015 | |
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After Mrs Gonsha bravely rescues a tiny boy from the top of the playground equipment, she can't get down herself. The children realise that Mrs Gonsha isn't stuck, but too scared to move as she's terrified of heights... | |||||
| 6 | "The Lost and Found Box" | Wayne Hope | Robyn Butler | 27 July 2015 | |
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After Debra-Jo loses her glasses the children take her to the Lost and Found box to look for them, where they discover all their own long-lost belongings. | |||||
| 7 | "The Milk Bar" | Tim Bartley | Robyn Butler & Trent Roberts | 28 July 2015 | |
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Rory has forgotten his lunch, again, and the other children have had enough. They refuse to give him any more of their food. Rory is starving and, in desperation, decides to go to the milk bar. | |||||
| 8 | "The Girls' Toilets" | Erin White | Robyn Butler & Danny Katz | 29 July 2015 | |
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Debra-Jo and Tamara each enter the school talent quest but discover to their horror that they are performing the same song. Scared of being outdone by the other, they ask Melanie to choose who will be better. | |||||
| 9 | "The Kiss-Chasey Oval" | Wayne Hope | Danny Katz | 30 July 2015 | |
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Tamara unexpectedly wants to play kiss chasey but the only person she wants to chase and kiss is Battie. When Battie refuses to play, Tamara tries to find a different way to get his attention. | |||||
| 10 | "The Thing In The Sand" | Erin White | Robyn Butler | 31 July 2015 | |
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Melanie thinks she discovers a possum's head in the sand pit, and refuses to believe that it's actually Rory's craft project made out of a pine-cone and toilet paper. | |||||
| 11 | "The Band" | Tim Bartley | Robyn Butler & Tegan Higginbotham | 3 August 2015 | |
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Bored during a rainy little lunch, Atticus starts a band and makes Battie reluctantly joins in too. | |||||
| 12 | "The Beep Test" | Tim Bartley | Robyn Butler, Kate McCartney & Kate McLennan | 4 August 2015 | |
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Debra-Jo can't understand how Tamara's favourite day of the year could be when the class does the beep test fitness assessment. On beep test day, Tamara is very excited, but after she sprains her ankle she can’t join in. | |||||
| 13 | "The Joke Competition" | Wayne Hope | Danny Katz | 5 August 2015 | |
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On a very hot day, Atticus decides to distract everyone one with a joke-telling competition. While everyone takes turns to take the stage and tell a joke, Melanie panics at the thought of getting up in front of everyone. | |||||
| 14 | "The Old Climbing Tree" | Erin White | Danny Katz | 6 August 2015 | |
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Battie loves the old climbing tree in the playground where he goes to sit and think. Debra-Jo thinks it's dangerous and should be chopped down. The children are divided and form camps to embark on a campaign to get their way. | |||||
| 15 | "The Oval" | Ian Reiser | Kate McLennan | 7 August 2015 | |
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Most days, Rory kicks the ball over the fence, hits the council windows and is promptly sent to sit in the Principals office. Today, he is trying very hard not to do that, by kicking the ball to the other kids instead. | |||||
| 16 | "The Pavlova" | Erin White | Robyn Butler | 10 August 2015 | |
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For the birthday party of Max and Elsa, the weird twins, Mrs Gonsha makes a pavlova, which looks delicious, but is the most disgusting thing the children have ever eaten. | |||||
| 17 | "The Germblock" | Erin White | Robyn Butler | 11 August 2015 | |
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Melanie is very upset when Tamara 'germblocks' Melanie, the rule that forces someone to be isolated if they have done something disgusting. Tamara has accused Melanie of not washing her hands after going to the toilet. | |||||
| 18 | "The Grandparents Day" | Ian Reiser | Robyn Butler & Tim Potter | 12 August 2015 | |
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After last year's Grandparent's Day was a disaster, Mrs Gonsha is determined to make this year's celebration a great success. She has asked Battie's grandfather, a renowned inventor, to be the guest of honour. | |||||
| 19 | "The Cake Stall" | Ian Reiser | Robyn Butler & Danny Katz | 13 August 2015 | |
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When Melanie decides to have a cake stall to raise money for homeless puppies, she asks Debra-Jo and Tamara for help. After Mrs Gonsha rewards the girls, Atticus gets jealous and sets up a rival fundraiser. | |||||
| 20 | "The Walk-A-Thon" | Erin White | Trent Roberts | 14 August 2015 | |
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The children face the difficult task of finding the right partner to be their walking buddy for the walk-a-thon. Tamara is determined to find the best companion who will assist her in doing the most laps. | |||||
| 21 | "The Windy Day" | Erin White | Roz Hammond & Bob Franklin | 17 August 2015 | |
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During a very windy little lunch, Mrs Gonsha insists the class comes inside and does yoga, much to Debra-Jo's horror. | |||||
| 22 | "The Body Bus" | Erin White | Robyn Butler | 18 August 2015 | |
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After the kids see a health van parked in the playground, rumours fly about what it's doing there. Debra-Jo begins to act very strangely, and tries to create reasons for her to suddenly leave school. | |||||
| 23 | "The Election" | Ian Reiser | Danny Katz | 19 August 2015 | |
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When Rory announces that he wants to be the Prime Minister, Mrs Gonsha suggests that they have their own election. Debra-Jo runs against Rory, and Tamara joins the campaign trail too. | |||||
| 24 | "The Corridor Outside 6E" | Bob Franklin | Danny Katz | 20 August 2015 | |
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When Max and Elsa, the weird twins, suddenly leave class without a note, everyone speculates as to why they disappeared. Before long, a ridiculous rumour chain is circulating. | |||||
| 25 | "The Gap Behind The Dumpster" | Tim Bartley | Robyn Butler & Danny Katz | 21 August 2015 | |
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Atticus decides to start a secret club with Rory, but after Rory invites everyone else to join, Atticus gets cross. | |||||
| 26 | "The Relationship" | Bob Franklin | Robyn Butler & Trent Roberts | 24 August 2015 | |
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Rory is bewildered and confused when he finds out a grade six girl likes him and Debra-Jo cant understand why she feels so cross about it. | |||||
International broadcasts
editThis show airs in the United States on Universal Kids and in Canada on TVO. The first season is still available on Netflix in the UK. However, the US only had these until March 15, 2020.
In Vietnam, it was broadcast on VTV7 (Vietnam Television) from December 2019.
Home media
editA two-disc DVD (PAL, Region 4) collection of the 26 episodes was published by the Australian Children's Television Foundation in 2017. The series and two specials were available for digital download from ACTF.
Novelisations
editIn addition to the original series of books, Katz and Vane also wrote and illustrated a number of novelisations, themselves based on specific episodes of the TV series. The novelisations were published in collections of three by Black Dog Books, an imprint of Walker Books. Each collection included a handful of greyscale stills from the series.
- Episodes 7, 18 and 19 were novelised in Triple the Treats (2016).
- Episodes 22, 11 and 9 were novelised in Triple the Trouble (2017).
- Episodes 3, 2 and 17 were novelised in Triple the Laughs (2017).
- Episodes 20, 23 and 8 were novelised in Triple the Games (2018).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Australian Television: Little Lunch". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Airdate: Little Lunch: The Halloween Horror Story". tvtonight.com.au. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (3 December 2016). "Little Lunch: Christmas special". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Australian Curriculum: English" (PDF). actf.com.au. 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2020.