Silent Library

Host

Zero Kazama

Broadcast

MTV: 6/15/2009 – 5/13/2011

Packager

Fractured Hip Productions

Silent Library was a basic stunt and dare show with a twist: it took place in an actual library. Not only did the players have to perform silly and sometimes embarrassing stunts, but they had to try to not make any noise in the process in order to win cash.

Development

The series was based on a game segment of the popular Japanese variety show Downtown's 'This is no task for kids!! (ダウンタウンのガキの使いやあらへんで!!, meaning Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!)

The series was renewed for a 20-episode second season, which premiered on January 11, 2010 and featured celebrities such as All Time Low, Jim Jones, We The Kings, Ron Jeremy, Naked Cowboy, Asher Roth, This or the Apocalypse, Forever the Sickest Kids, Jessie James, Aubrey O'Day, and Justin Bieber competing as contestants and appearing in humiliating punishment challenges.

The series' third season premiered on June 28, 2010. The bands Patent Pending, All Time Low, Stereo Skyline, Hey Monday, Anarbor, NeverShoutNever, Honor Society, New Boyz and Iyaz appeared as contestants, as did members of the New York Giants NFL team and the cast of the MTV original series The Hard Times of R.J. Berger.

The fourth season premiered on March 28, 2011. The cast of Jersey Shore, The Ready Set, Judah Friedlander, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, players from the New York Giants, 3OH!3, and Superstars from the WWE all competed as contestants.

MTV canceled the show on November 9, 2011. However, despite the cancellation, the series is occasionally seen in reruns to this day.

Format

The set was constructed to resemble a typical public library. A team of six players would sit at a study table, three on each side, with host Zero Kazama sitting nearby at the circulation desk next to the entrance. Six cards were placed facedown on the table, and each player would pick one and flip it over. Typically, five of the cards were green and marked "Safe"; the sixth, which was yellow and marked with a black skull and crossbones, meant that its holder had to endure a bizarre "punishment" challenge. In some cases during Season 2, five of the six cards showed the skull and crossbones, leaving only one player safe.

While the challenge was in progress, an on-screen gauge indicated the amount of noise made by the team. If the noise level went into the gauge's red zone at any time, the team automatically lost the challenge. Because one or more contestants were undergoing humiliating punishments, some of them quite ridiculous, it was a challenge for team members not to laugh. Only afterward did Kazama inform the team of their success or failure in this respect, as they were unaware of the gauge's readings. The team would also lose if they failed to achieve the objective of the challenge.

The game was played in four rounds, with three challenges in each of the first three rounds, and one in the fourth. Successful challenges in Round 1 earned $300; this was increased to $400 in Round 2, $800 in Round 3, and $1,000 in Round 4, for a possible total of $5,500. All winnings were split equally among the six players, and Kazama paid them off as they exited the library at the end of the show. A disclaimer during the end credits stated that the team might have played additional challenges that were not aired, and thus had possibly won more money than the total shown at the end of the episode.

Rating

Spinoff

The Noise – a kids spinoff of the show. Even though it does not take place in a public library, the contestants must try to perform physical challenges quietly without making so much noise.

Catchphrases

"SILENCE!"

"You have failed." – Zero

"Your execution was flawed." – Zero

"You screamed, you lose!" – Zero

"That was worth every penny." – Zero

"Your lack of success has led to failure." - Zero

"Too rowdy, you fail!" - Zero

"You made the sound of a little girl." - Zero

"You went through all of that for nothing." - Zero

"You showed courage, but your teammates lacked discipline." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends screamed like monkeys." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends laughed like hyenas." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends cried like babies." Zero

"You were brave, but your friends cackled like crows." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends howled like wolves." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends roared like lions." - Zero

"You were brave, but your friends barked like dogs." - Zero

"That was appalling, not even close!" - Zero

"You forgot the Golden Rule, SILENCE! You fail!" - Zero