The Librarians

[Skywalker]

I completely agree with Christopher, I was barely through the first episode and I realized the show was already much better than the movies. There were some things that I liked about the movies, but ultimately they were very disappointing and didn't live up to the concept at all. Back when I'd first learned of this show being in development I was kind of disappointed I'd never watched the movies, because they sounded right up my alley, but in retrospect I'm glad I waited until this past week to watch them. If I'd seen them back when they first aired I doubt I would have ever bothered with The Librarians, which would have been a shame because I'm really enjoying it so far.

The rest of the season looks like it'll be fun. I hope this does well in the ratings, because I want to see it stick around for at least as long as Leverage did.

While watching the episodes I did think it would have been a neat little bit of continuity had Lana, Kelly Hu's character from Quest for the Spear, been there in place of Lamia, but Lesley-Ann Brandt did a fine job as Dulaque's lieutenant. And Lana might not have worked as well, anyway, because throughout Quest for the Spear she developed an admiration for Flynn, so her still being with the Serpent Brotherhood a decade later might not have made sense.

Did anyone else get a kick out of how they handled the episode titles? I know it's a minor thing but I thought it was fun.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Admiration?

I watched Spear Today.

She wanted to boink him.

 

[intrinsical]

I have to wonder if the whole twist about them being cut off from the Library and its supply of magical artifacts was a deliberate attempt to differentiate themselves from WH13. They made a big deal about the fact that the team could no longer make use of all the artifacts stored in the Warehou--I mean, Library.

Its a conscious decision. John Rogers specifically mentioned they had to fiddle with the format so its a little different from WH13 in an interview at this year's New York Comic Con.

 

[Greg Cox]

Am I wrong or did Matt Frewer's arch-villain character get away scott free?

I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be Merlin or something.

 

[Christopher]

I gather Frewer will be a recurring adversary.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

I liked the concept, I liked most of the new cast (not a big fan of John Larroquette or his character), but the whole show felt really off. I hope it's just because this was the premiere, but something about the editing, direction, or writing really just gave me a very, very amateurish vibe about the whole thing. The fight scenes, in particular, were really awful.

Did anyone else get a kick out of how they handled the episode titles? I know it's a minor thing but I thought it was fun.

I appreciated that quite a bit.

I do hope Rebecca Romijn will wear her hair down more, though. She looks kind of odd with it tied off like that.

 

[Skywalker]

It looks like the season premiere did quite well in the ratings.

Great news! I hope the numbers remain strong for a long time.

 

[Mr Light]

I caught the pilot out of curiosity, knowing nothing about the previous tv-movies. Two words sprung to mind; cheap and goofy. I was surprised to see Noah Wylie was the star of the pilot since he doesn't appear in the trailer I saw in the movie theater for one second. You'd think they would have advertised him being in it and falsely imply he's the star of the series.

 

[intrinsical]

I liked the first two episodes. Its light, cheesy and a puff piece of a show. Strangely, it had a lot of British influence. Noah practically channeling The Doctor, complete with a Doctorish theme music playing in the background every time The Librarian does something heroic. The second episode also referenced a british comedy, Little Britain, when they crashed a wheelchair into the crown jewels.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I thought it was pretty good. The cast and characters are appealing, and it was nice to see Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart appear. The mini library is a nice base of operations. The background quest to save the main library is a nice way to keep Noah Wylie away for a while, and bring him back for events. It seems like it's going to be fun.

I especially liked how the woman with an eidetic memory and synesthesia always has stuff swirling around her head.

 

[Christopher]

Strangely, it had a lot of British influence. Noah practically channeling The Doctor, complete with a Doctorish theme music playing in the background every time The Librarian does something heroic.

John Rogers is a big Doctor Who fan. There were a ton of DW in-jokes in Leverage, like a character using "Tom Baker" and "Sylvester McCoy" as aliases or another saying "Bow ties are cool." So it's no surprise that he wrote the Librarian as a Doctor-ish figure here. Indeed I felt the way they handled Eve Baird's first meeting with Flynn was similar to the way companions are introduced to the Doctor -- they're going about their business when suddenly this fast-talking, weirdo genius shows up, dominates the situation, and draws them into a world of wonder. That was surely intentional.

 

[RPOW0614]

I enjoy the Librarian movies. Goofy, light-hearted fun.
I was all set to hate this as a WH13 rip-off because I loved WH13. I didn't hate it and enjoyed both of the episodes...errrr 2 hour pilot. The only weak point was Rebecca. Her delivery and acting weren't that great but I am sure she will get better as the series progresses. She was hilarious on NTSF:SD:SUV. Added to my DVR schedule.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I immediately spotted Christian Kane aka Eliot Spencer the hitter. What can I say? He has a very distinctive hairstyle.

I see what you did there.

I miss Leverage.

 

[Mr Light]

So, is this what Warehouse 13 is like? I only saw the pilot back in the day.

 

[Christopher]

So, is this what Warehouse 13 is like? I only saw the pilot back in the day.

Not so much. The original Librarian movies (which predated W13) were built around a similar premise -- an impossibly vast mystical repository for items with supernatural power -- but were really more along the lines of an Indiana Jones knockoff, with a hero and his love interest-of-the-film going on globetrotting adventures after some famous supernatural or mythic goal (e.g. the Spear of Destiny or King Solomon's Mines). The Library contained big-ticket mythical items like Excalibur, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Golden Goose, the Loch Ness Monster -- basically every cliched, hoarily familiar mystical object you've ever heard of. Warehouse 13's artifacts tended to be both much smaller-scale and much more imaginative and original -- obscure items that were imbued with paranormal effects related to the personalities of their owners, e.g. Hitler's microphone would give you the power to sway people to do evil, Mrs. O'Leary's cowbell starts fires, Chuck Yeager's favorite record creates sonic booms, etc. It was less about quests to exotic places and more about helping ordinary people escape the harmful consequences of the artifacts they came across.

Although both the Library and the Warehouse had caretakers who were much older than they looked and had the (overt or implied) ability to appear and disappear at will, Judson (Bob Newhart) for the Library and Mrs. Frederick (CCH Pounder) for the Warehouse. And both are comedy-adventures, but the comedy in the Librarian movies was far more dominant and goofy.

Oh, and the Librarian movies referenced H.G. Wells's time machine -- but Warehouse 13 made H.G. Wells a recurring character, and she was awesome.

As for the series, they've deliberately modified the format in order to avoid too much similarity with W13. They've cut the team off from the Library, and judging from the promos I'm seeing, it looks like the thrust of the show will be less about tracking down magic artifacts and more about dealing with magical creatures and phenomena that have been unleashed into the world. There's an ad showing on Hulu that depicts a dragon, a giant, a Minotaur, and the like and includes a dialogue reference to Santa Claus. So it looks like the main similarity between the series and W13 will be the emphasis on the team dynamic in a comedy-adventure setting.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I watched all three movies the other day.

The Time Machine from the 1960's movie was seen in the large collections annex during the first ten minutes of the third movie next to Noah's ark and the Nautilus.

 

[May 20]

Or record all of them and watch them over the course of the week?!?

That's what we're doing. And we're watching them a little at a time as time permits. We probably won't make it through until after Christmas break starts. But the kids and I are already loving this.

I liked the first two episodes. Its light, cheesy and a puff piece of a show. ...

I agree, and I am perfectly happy with its being a puff piece. A step into the fanciful is often very good for morale.

 

[EmoBorg]

The show looks like a WH13 clone. I just hope they get the chemistry of WH13 cast.

They got one thing wrong about Excalibur. Excalibur was not the sword that was pulled from the stone. Excalibur was the sword given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

 

[Christopher]

The show looks like a WH13 clone. I just hope they get the chemistry of WH13 cast.

Well, the Librarian movies actually came before Warehouse 13. Recall that Flynn said he'd been the Librarian for ten years -- the first movie was in 2004, the sequels in '06 and '08. Warehouse 13 premiered in '09.

But as I said above, the show appears to be deliberately modifying the premise to be less like W13.

They got one thing wrong about Excalibur. Excalibur was not the sword that was pulled from the stone. Excalibur was the sword given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

Well, there have been versions of the story that have conflated the two, especially in pop culture. And it would hardly be the first fact this franchise has bent.

 

[JD]

So, is this what Warehouse 13 is like? I only saw the pilot back in the day.

Not so much. The original Librarian movies (which predated W13) were built around a similar premise -- an impossibly vast mystical repository for items with supernatural power -- but were really more along the lines of an Indiana Jones knockoff, with a hero and his love interest-of-the-film going on globetrotting adventures after some famous supernatural or mythic goal (e.g. the Spear of Destiny or King Solomon's Mines). The Library contained big-ticket mythical items like Excalibur, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Golden Goose, the Loch Ness Monster -- basically every cliched, hoarily familiar mystical object you've ever heard of. Warehouse 13's artifacts tended to be both much smaller-scale and much more imaginative and original -- obscure items that were imbued with paranormal effects related to the personalities of their owners, e.g. Hitler's microphone would give you the power to sway people to do evil, Mrs. O'Leary's cowbell starts fires, Chuck Yeager's favorite record creates sonic booms, etc. It was less about quests to exotic places and more about helping ordinary people escape the harmful consequences of the artifacts they came across.

Although both the Library and the Warehouse had caretakers who were much older than they looked and had the (overt or implied) ability to appear and disappear at will, Judson (Bob Newhart) for the Library and Mrs. Frederick (CCH Pounder) for the Warehouse. And both are comedy-adventures, but the comedy in the Librarian movies was far more dominant and goofy.

Oh, and the Librarian movies referenced H.G. Wells's time machine -- but Warehouse 13 made H.G. Wells a recurring character, and she was awesome.

As for the series, they've deliberately modified the format in order to avoid too much similarity with W13. They've cut the team off from the Library, and judging from the promos I'm seeing, it looks like the thrust of the show will be less about tracking down magic artifacts and more about dealing with magical creatures and phenomena that have been unleashed into the world. There's an ad showing on Hulu that depicts a dragon, a giant, a Minotaur, and the like and includes a dialogue reference to Santa Claus. So it looks like the main similarity between the series and W13 will be the emphasis on the team dynamic in a comedy-adventure setting.

Santa Claus is going to be a character in one of the episodes, and he's going to be played by Bruce Campbell. They showed a quick flash of him in the trailer for the rest of the season after the pilot.

I really enjoyed the pilot. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be, a lot of light-hearted fun. As much as I enjoy darker shows like The 100, it's always nice to get something on the opposite side of the spectrum.
I really liked the characters, they put together a good cast. I am a little disappointed that they aren't going to be based out of the main Library, but I understand that that would be hard to do on a weekly basis so I'm willing to forgive that. Really looking forward to continuing on with the show.