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Quote of the Day: The Soppiness to Be
“Santa is real?!” – The Librarians, Season 1.
“The things that make life worth living can’t be thought here, they must be felt here?” – Flynn Carsen, The Librarian: The Quest for the Spear (TV movie).
I don’t recommend TV series all that often. In fact, if it’s on film (of sorts), I don’t tend to recommend anything much made after about the year 2000. The Librarians (and the original Librarian TV movies), featuring among others Noah Wyle and Bob Newhart, is a rare exception. I first chanced across the third of the movies a wee while back, catching it midway through. From interest, I went to amazement that they still made things like this, and went and bought all three movies on the strength of it. All of them are jewels waiting to be discovered.
For me, the biggest challenge is how to describe it all without spoiling anything – because to see any of it for the first time is one of those rare pleasures that shouldn’t be taken from us: The best I can do for now is say, what if myth and legend were real? What if running through the histories of King Arthur and Merlin, ancient Greece, the Norse myths, and the like was a vein of truth richer than we dared believe? (What if they’d made a fourth Indiana Jones movie?)
Well, that’s the sort of thing you get with The Librarian movies and, later, The Librarians TV series, roughly. It’s not always “super polished” (and in fact, that’s one of its great charms – not losing itself or the story in things that ultimately don’t really matter that much), it has its faults – though here they’re very human and endearing “imperfections”. I’d tell you more, but I don’t want to spoil even a moment of it for you. And that’s about the highest praise I can give a TV series, these days or any others.
Enjoy.
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Published in Group Writing
I saw the three movies when they came out and remembered them fondly enough that I looked for them on DVD. And once found them, but at a ridiculous price*. They were ten year-old TV movies and they wanted $30 each. I remembered enjoying them, but I didn’t remember enjoying them that much.
* For scale, while I would buy some new releases, I mostly scoured the bargain bins. I probably averaged $5-$6 each, including the new ones.
I was a tad luckier, I think I paid £10 for the lot (movies-wise). That was a little while ago now, and a number of DVDs lately seem to be much more expensive.
Edit: Though I’d just add, you might find the TV series are priced more reasonably — though you might also be able to catch them on several TV channels, if that appeals.
I saw the first one and thought it was entertaining enough, but didn’t move on to the rest. I am slightly curious about the follow-up TV series.
Each series is quite self-contained in its way, building through a story arc for each. I particularly liked series 2. This is the part of the intro to the more feature-length first episode of series 1, in case of it’s of any interest:
I don’t think I’ve found another such good-natured series, broadly. Within its limits, it’s very engaging and satisfying. Or I tended to find it so.
You might look for Warehouse 13 from the SyFy channel.
Thank you — I’ll add that to my, admittedly short, list of ones to look out for.
Have you tried Eureka?
Can’t say I have. I’m not even sure I know what that one’s about. I’ve very vaguely heard of Warehouse 13, I think, but not Eureka. Another one for my somewhat scanty list?
Those two shows did a couple of crossover episodes.
Eureka has a lot of charm and won’t weigh you down with modern angst. I enjoy it.
Good enough for me. I’ll add it to the list. Thank you.
I caught one of the movies years ago and enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the trilogy. I wonder if a new actor could be brought in to continue the character. Otherwise, bring in one of his grad students to take over the role or a modern professor who read Professor Jones’ research papers and sets out to find some item he never got around to.
A very carefully chosen new actor and cast … maybe. But it would require something of the love with which the original films seemed to have been made — and probably, I’d say, real film in the cameras, not pixels.
Ah, yes. The Librarians. Nice little set of programs (didn’t see the movies). Must confess, I had a momentary frisson of panic when I saw the OP and thought that it was a recommendation for a series called The Libertarians.
Nooooo………………….
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It’s hard to change characters given that they have renamed them all, including the original, to be “Indiana Jones and the”. You can’t keep doing that if he’s not in the movie. And I’m not sure that “Chuck Hamilton and the Thing Indy Forgot to Do” is going to cut it.
You’d need an actor who can do the physical stuff as well as the comic moments. One with broad appeal who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
If only there were a fine series of programs and movies we could make do with . . . Well, aside from Judge Mental and the Lost Library, of course — one of RSR Studios’ finer releases.
And someone with a bit of substance, too.
Looking forward to enjoying The Librarians during some (fingers crossed) down time this weekend.
All 3 shows are charming light entertainment. The quality is generally good, though the digital effects adequate not great. But if you grew up watching Star Trek, they are more than sufficient.
I also recommend Leverage. A coterie of “crooks” use their criminal talents to turn the tables on bad guys who’ve avoided the conventional justice system.
Eureka is a must-see, especially in later seasons when it packs a powerful and emotional punch. The Christmas episodes are classic, and I’m surprised Colin Ferguson has no other steady gig, since he is a master of both comedy and drama.
Eureka and Warehouse 13 have some crossover episodes, as I recall.
We’ve only watched the first season (and a bit of the second) but Henry’s actions in the season 1 finale were a bit shocking. So much for that genial everyman character.
I also endorse the Librarians. Warehouse 13 has a similar focus on enchanted artifacts, and is also good. Rebecca Romajn is a bit more convincing as a physical combatant than Joanne Kelly, but they are both wonderful actresses. I didn’t find Eureka as “light” as others suggest. There is a multiverse plot that is utterly tragic early in the five seasons, and other instances of collateral damage that clashes with the overall light tone. Still worth watching.