The Librarians television series owes its existence to three movies that aired on TNT between 2004 and 2008: The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines, and The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice.
Had those three movies not inspired the TV series, I wouldn’t be writing this post. The movies aren’t bad. They are enjoyable, though formulaic, Indiana Jones-style adventures with just a pinch of Harry Potter thrown in. They are not, however, “wonderful.” The Librarians is something else entirely.
The original Librarian, Flynn Carsen (played by Noah Wyle), is the only character from the original movies who shows up frequently in the television series. Chosen by the Metropolitan Public Library because of his exceptional intelligence and expertise in several different subjects, Flynn is charged with finding and retrieving magical artifacts, which are placed in the Library to keep them out of the wrong hands. Traditionally there is only one Librarian at a time, and he (the Librarian is often a male) is usually protected by a kick-ass Guardian (who tends to be female). The television series opens with the recruitment of a new Guardian, Colonel Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn).
In addition to selecting Eve, the Library expands its staff with three new Librarians. Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth) is a math and science geek who is dying of a brain tumor that augments her talents, allowing her to visualize complex things in a manner reminiscent of Sherlock’s “mind palace.” Jacob Stone (Christian Kane) is an expert in art, history, and literature; his work is frequently published in academic journals under fake names. Ezekiel Jones (John Harlan Kim) is an egotistical master thief who understands technology inside and out. As these new recruits begin training under Eve and Jenkins (John Larroquette), caretake of the Library’s annex, Flynn and his work take a back seat to the stories of the new Librarians.
Of all of the characters, I find Flynn the least appealing, so his frequent absences from the show don’t bother me. Like Ezekiel, he’s arrogant, but somehow Ezekiel’s ego comes across as charming, and Flynn is just annoying. As you come to know Ezekiel, he shows a depth of character that makes him all that much more wonderful; Flynn, though significantly older than Jones, manages to come across as a perpetual child, a loner who is rarely willing to listen to or cooperate with others.
I like Eve, who is almost a mother figure to the three new Librarians (although there is an alternate timeline twist that casts her in a different role), but my favorite characters are the Librarians themselves and Jenkins, who develops from fussy old man into a beloved member of the team over the course of three seasons. I wouldn’t do without any of the Librarians, and it is hard for me to pick a favorite among them, although I especially enjoy the way Ezekiel’s character has evolved.
The series reminds me a lot of Doctor Who — even some of the music sounds similar. “The Promise of Action” from The Librarians reminds me of “I Am the Doctor,” and Cassandra’s theme is similar to Amy Pond’s theme. The Librarians are a bit more limited than the Doctor in his TARDIS, almost always traveling only to different present-day Earth locations rather than through “all of time and space,” but, like Doctor Who, there is an overarching theme to each season, with each episode providing a new problem to solve while propelling the team forward to the season’s finale. In Doctor Who, these problems are always tied to aliens, but in The Librarians, the encounters are related to magic (in fact, Jenkins informs the Librarians “It’s never aliens”). Whether or not the folks behind The Librarians had Doctor Who in mind as they worked on the series, they definitely gave it (and Back to the Future) a nod in an episode that actually did involve time travel.
Within the series, episodes makes references to everything from fairy tales and Greek mythology to Cthulu and horror movies. One of my favorite episodes, “…And Santa’s Midnight Run,” features Bruce Campbell as a marvelous Santa who changes incarnations several times throughout the episode.
The characters are what really pulled me into The Librarians, but I also love its wit and geeky references. If you haven’t watched this show yet, by all means, check out the first season; my guess is that you will move on to the second and third. You may want to watch the first Librarian movie to get a sense of what’s going on in the series, but you can skip the second and third unless you are a completest.