Collectors (TV series)

Collectors is an Australian television series that is shown at 8.00pm on Friday on ABC1 and repeated at 6.00pm on Monday on ABC2. It investigates a variety of collections from museums and private collectors. It has been hosted by comedian Andy Muirhead, a former biologist, and features a panel of experts: Sydney-based fashion designer Claudia Chan Shaw, antiques dealer and restorer Gordon Brown and professor of sociology Adrian Franklin. The panel formerly included museum curator Niccole Warren and Lauren Carpenter, who still occasionally reports for the show. Past guests have included former immigration minister Amanda Vanstone and former opposition leader Kim Beazley.

On 11 June 2010, it was reported that host Andy Muirhead had been charged with one count of accessing child pornography. Collectors was off-air for a month and Muirhead took unpaid leave during proceedings. The website for the show was also taken down temporarily.^[1][2][3] These actions have been criticised for giving an impression of guilt.^[4] It was announced the following week that the show would return without Muirhead in July.^[5].

Collectors returned on 9 July 2010 without Andy Muirhead as host. Hosting duties were largely taken by Claudia Chan Shaw and repeats of the episodes of the show featuring Muirhead have been pulled from programming schedules to be replaced with the new episodes.

In August 2011, the ABC that Collectors would be "rested" following a strategic review of the network's arts programming. The last episode in the series aired on 23 September, with the team behind the show producing a new program called Auctions for 2012.^[6]

Segments

Each show is made up of a number of segments:

Under the Hammer

Former journalist and auction expert Justin Murphy journeys to auctions where he selects an object for the panel to bid on. The panelist who is closest to the eventual price wins the segment for the week. This has been replaced mostly with a similar segment in which the pannelists buy items which are then sold on at auction, seeing who can get the greatest profit from them.

Passionate Collector

A collector is profiled.

Mystery Object

The panel is presented with an obscure object or collectible and is asked to identify it.

Roving Eye

Gordon Brown investigates antique furniture and other collectibles. This was discontinued in the 2009 series.

My Obsession

Another profile of a collector.

Show and Tell

Viewers send in photographs of objects and the panel identifies and values the object.

Collector Cam

Viewers send in videos detailing their collections. This is a competition and the winner's collection (voted by viewers) is displayed at the end of the year at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. This segment was discontinued at the end of 2006.

Reports by various panel members on certain areas of collecting are also included in most episodes.

References