The Librarians: And the Sword in the Stone
December 7, 2014 8:59 PM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
Flynn, Col. Baird, and the potential librarians must stop the Serpent Brotherhood from returning magic to the world.
I've seen the movies but not the series. Why is magic returning to the world a bad thing?
(If you're missing Leverage, try Hustle. Great show.)
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 5:07 AM on December 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
(If you're missing Leverage, try Hustle. Great show.)
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 5:07 AM on December 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm new to this series and have never seen any of the movies. That said, I was under the impression that the show would be sort of a watered down milkshake of Indy Jones movies and National Treasure movies. That was my take from the commercials so that's sort of what I expected.
It wasn't terrible. But it was NOT good. I understand it was a pilot and they were trying to set it up as a thing. But the characters were so very weak. The thief especially. He barely spoke and had zero personality. He had little to do except smirk and stand around looking either baffled or smug about something.
The music was horrific. I don't think the background music could possibly have been any more distracting. It took me out of the scene constantly with its ridiculousness.
I will watch again. I hope it finds its footing. Without Wylie on it every week perhaps there will be more chance for the other characters (the two younger males, especially) to be a bit more fleshed out. Loved Laroquette as the crotchety old guy.
Major big fat plus so far: the women. I really like the strong female bad ass guardian character, and the quirky synthesiast character. And Jane Curtain. So I'm pumped about that.
I give it a D+. I want it to study harder and get a better grade next week. A pilot should serve as an appetizer to make you want more, and I guess it did accomplish that for me, because I will watch again. In spite of the pilot though, not because of it.
Edited to add: Oh god. And the sword fights. Cringeworthy. Make it stop.
Ironically, I turned to my husband at the end and said. "I've never felt sorry for a sword before". The sword had actually emoted more than any of the main characters. Heehee.
posted by the webmistress at 6:45 AM on December 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
It wasn't terrible. But it was NOT good. I understand it was a pilot and they were trying to set it up as a thing. But the characters were so very weak. The thief especially. He barely spoke and had zero personality. He had little to do except smirk and stand around looking either baffled or smug about something.
The music was horrific. I don't think the background music could possibly have been any more distracting. It took me out of the scene constantly with its ridiculousness.
I will watch again. I hope it finds its footing. Without Wylie on it every week perhaps there will be more chance for the other characters (the two younger males, especially) to be a bit more fleshed out. Loved Laroquette as the crotchety old guy.
Major big fat plus so far: the women. I really like the strong female bad ass guardian character, and the quirky synthesiast character. And Jane Curtain. So I'm pumped about that.
I give it a D+. I want it to study harder and get a better grade next week. A pilot should serve as an appetizer to make you want more, and I guess it did accomplish that for me, because I will watch again. In spite of the pilot though, not because of it.
Edited to add: Oh god. And the sword fights. Cringeworthy. Make it stop.
Ironically, I turned to my husband at the end and said. "I've never felt sorry for a sword before". The sword had actually emoted more than any of the main characters. Heehee.
posted by the webmistress at 6:45 AM on December 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
They have me enough to tune in next week, but I won't say I'm officially on board. How the show operates with the new configuration which was really only established at the end of what really was a fourth Librarian movie, will be the determining factor.
I've seen the movies but not the series. Why is magic returning to the world a bad thing?
Noah Wylie's character literally answers this exact question, which was asked by one of the new characters in the last episode. Magic, in itself, isn't a bad thing, but bad people do bad things with it, which can cause a lot of death and destruction, etc.
The music was horrific. I don't think the background music could possibly have been any more distracting. It took me out of the scene constantly with its ridiculousness.
I honestly don't even recall it. So for you, it was terrible, for me, it was completely forgettable apparently (still not a good thing!).
Major big fat plus so far: the women. I really like the strong female bad ass guardian character, and the quirky synthesiast character. And Jane Curtain. So I'm pumped about that.
I completely agree, and I think it's a great part of a growing trend to have strong female characters on tv. I hope it continues. I know about as much on synthesiast individuals as the show informed me ("Oh, yeah, I've read about those people....") but I'm curious as to whether it can be so consuming of an individual's ability to focus on their immediate surroundings and going ons, i.e., can they be absorbed into the world only they can see?
I really liked John Laroquette, even though, really, it's a character type that doesn't differ very far from what he usually does...but he usually does it well, so I'm cool with that. He immediately added a bit more gravitas to the cast with the departure of Jane Curtin (for the most part? Trapped in the library where ever it is?) and Bob Newhart.
As I mentioned in the other episode thread, this was definitely an episode where you had to suspend your disbelief regarding locations, specifically, at least as high as Nelson's Column or Big Ben, because dang, that there be some cheesy Tower of London fill in shots! Credit, at least, for having a Beefeater present. Kudos to moving their location to Oregon, which has a canny resemblance to British Columbia, ahem.
And so, magic was kind of, to some degree, released into the world, and our show becomes a cross between the X-Files, Warehouse 13, Indiana Jones and Doctor Who. Something of that mixture should hopefully keep it entertaining!
Alas, poor Excalibur, we hardly knew ye, but you apparently taught the Librarian how to fence with a rapier while being a broadsword, so you may not have been all that great in the first place. I was kind of hoping that once the sword melted, it would reform standing upright in the stone.
Oddly enough, this is the second time in 30 days that I've seen a character used electricity and magnets to defeat an enemy. Who saw that coming?
The show kept my attention through the hour, so while I wasn't necessarily rapt, it was enough to make me feel like I didn't really waste my time. I'm interested to see how the actual episodic setup operates, as opposed to our movie introduction.
posted by Atreides at 6:59 AM on December 8, 2014
I've seen the movies but not the series. Why is magic returning to the world a bad thing?
Noah Wylie's character literally answers this exact question, which was asked by one of the new characters in the last episode. Magic, in itself, isn't a bad thing, but bad people do bad things with it, which can cause a lot of death and destruction, etc.
The music was horrific. I don't think the background music could possibly have been any more distracting. It took me out of the scene constantly with its ridiculousness.
I honestly don't even recall it. So for you, it was terrible, for me, it was completely forgettable apparently (still not a good thing!).
Major big fat plus so far: the women. I really like the strong female bad ass guardian character, and the quirky synthesiast character. And Jane Curtain. So I'm pumped about that.
I completely agree, and I think it's a great part of a growing trend to have strong female characters on tv. I hope it continues. I know about as much on synthesiast individuals as the show informed me ("Oh, yeah, I've read about those people....") but I'm curious as to whether it can be so consuming of an individual's ability to focus on their immediate surroundings and going ons, i.e., can they be absorbed into the world only they can see?
I really liked John Laroquette, even though, really, it's a character type that doesn't differ very far from what he usually does...but he usually does it well, so I'm cool with that. He immediately added a bit more gravitas to the cast with the departure of Jane Curtin (for the most part? Trapped in the library where ever it is?) and Bob Newhart.
As I mentioned in the other episode thread, this was definitely an episode where you had to suspend your disbelief regarding locations, specifically, at least as high as Nelson's Column or Big Ben, because dang, that there be some cheesy Tower of London fill in shots! Credit, at least, for having a Beefeater present. Kudos to moving their location to Oregon, which has a canny resemblance to British Columbia, ahem.
And so, magic was kind of, to some degree, released into the world, and our show becomes a cross between the X-Files, Warehouse 13, Indiana Jones and Doctor Who. Something of that mixture should hopefully keep it entertaining!
Alas, poor Excalibur, we hardly knew ye, but you apparently taught the Librarian how to fence with a rapier while being a broadsword, so you may not have been all that great in the first place. I was kind of hoping that once the sword melted, it would reform standing upright in the stone.
Oddly enough, this is the second time in 30 days that I've seen a character used electricity and magnets to defeat an enemy. Who saw that coming?
The show kept my attention through the hour, so while I wasn't necessarily rapt, it was enough to make me feel like I didn't really waste my time. I'm interested to see how the actual episodic setup operates, as opposed to our movie introduction.
posted by Atreides at 6:59 AM on December 8, 2014
(If you're missing Leverage, try Hustle. Great show.)
I will have to try it one day, but, what I meant is that Librarians makes me miss the Leverage characters. I mean, I get that Baird is supposed to be the brawn rather than Kane's character, but knowing how wonderful he is at fight/stunt scenes, it's frustrating for them to set up the pretense that he can't win a bar fight.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:10 AM on December 8, 2014
I will have to try it one day, but, what I meant is that Librarians makes me miss the Leverage characters. I mean, I get that Baird is supposed to be the brawn rather than Kane's character, but knowing how wonderful he is at fight/stunt scenes, it's frustrating for them to set up the pretense that he can't win a bar fight.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:10 AM on December 8, 2014
Actually, the pretense is that he's pretty much only good for a bar fight, and not much else. I am kind of happy that he's not completely typecast, as I want to see Christian Kane continue to be successful and not overly reliant on that type of character. Some of the best episodes of Leverage, for example, involved him being forced to play personalities completely opposite his own.
posted by Atreides at 9:27 AM on December 8, 2014
posted by Atreides at 9:27 AM on December 8, 2014
The music was horrific. I don't think the background music could possibly have been any more distracting. It took me out of the scene constantly with its ridiculousness.
An onslaught of musical cliches. Harp flourish here! Angelic chorus there! "Look! Magic!!" It sounded like a bad Christmas commercial was playing on top of the dialogue in some of the scenes with Wyle & Romijn. I hope they ease up a little, going forward. I like the premise of the show, and I see potential for some fun ideas.
posted by gimli at 2:10 PM on December 8, 2014
An onslaught of musical cliches. Harp flourish here! Angelic chorus there! "Look! Magic!!" It sounded like a bad Christmas commercial was playing on top of the dialogue in some of the scenes with Wyle & Romijn. I hope they ease up a little, going forward. I like the premise of the show, and I see potential for some fun ideas.
posted by gimli at 2:10 PM on December 8, 2014
How has no one mentioned the kiss yet? Was there smouldering chemistry throughout the pilot that I somehow missed? Maybe the music drowned it out for me because I was absolutely not feeling it. It might as well have been prefaced with, "Well, the script says we kiss here..."
Fight scenes were really disappointing. I would have preferred better choreography to an exploding helicopter. I really don't mind that no one is using guns, but if you're eshewing them in favour of a sword you should probably know how to use it.
I've been pretty negative on FanFare posts lately. I should really find more stuff I like. Will not even bother with the next episode of this, unfortunately.
posted by ODiV at 7:51 PM on December 9, 2014
Fight scenes were really disappointing. I would have preferred better choreography to an exploding helicopter. I really don't mind that no one is using guns, but if you're eshewing them in favour of a sword you should probably know how to use it.
I've been pretty negative on FanFare posts lately. I should really find more stuff I like. Will not even bother with the next episode of this, unfortunately.
posted by ODiV at 7:51 PM on December 9, 2014
I admit it's been awhile since I watched the original movies, but I really don't remember Wylie's character being, um, well, such a fop? Not that it's a bad thing, but the boots & the cravats and the scattered hot mess of his personality. Maybe I'm just glossing over it with fondness, but I seem to remember him being more of the bookish nerd quasi Indiana Jones, and less manic.
But I'm there for Kane and his axe and his art history. And fingers crossed that Matt Frewer continues on as the big bad. And hell, honestly, a boatload of quotes that I can throw at people at work. (Thank you Jane Curtain.)
posted by librarianamy at 4:33 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
But I'm there for Kane and his axe and his art history. And fingers crossed that Matt Frewer continues on as the big bad. And hell, honestly, a boatload of quotes that I can throw at people at work. (Thank you Jane Curtain.)
posted by librarianamy at 4:33 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
My feelings on it were.... mixed. My detailed thoughts are here as I had to cover it with my "TV writer" hat on. But they can pretty much be summarised as:
1) The music was terrible. Which is a shame as it's Joseph LoDuca who should damn well know better.
2) The focus on Wyle was perhaps necessary for now, but it effectively meant that everyone else got short-changed in character development terms.
3) As a Brit I had the choice of laughing or crying at those London bits. Luckily I decided to laugh.
4) If you're going to have the sword in the stone, a bunch of caverns, lots of stonework and a fucking henge in the episode, then maybe put some of your budget into more realistic rocks
But... but... despite all that I think I can see what Devlin and Rogers are trying to do here - they're aiming for "fun family show" and almost pulled it off. And with a little bit of work they could still get there so I'll keep watching and and keep faith with them for the next few episodes at least.
If the general quality curve isn't upward though then I'll tip my hat to them for at least trying and move on without much regret.
posted by garius at 5:14 AM on December 10, 2014 [3 favorites]
1) The music was terrible. Which is a shame as it's Joseph LoDuca who should damn well know better.
2) The focus on Wyle was perhaps necessary for now, but it effectively meant that everyone else got short-changed in character development terms.
3) As a Brit I had the choice of laughing or crying at those London bits. Luckily I decided to laugh.
4) If you're going to have the sword in the stone, a bunch of caverns, lots of stonework and a fucking henge in the episode, then maybe put some of your budget into more realistic rocks
But... but... despite all that I think I can see what Devlin and Rogers are trying to do here - they're aiming for "fun family show" and almost pulled it off. And with a little bit of work they could still get there so I'll keep watching and and keep faith with them for the next few episodes at least.
If the general quality curve isn't upward though then I'll tip my hat to them for at least trying and move on without much regret.
posted by garius at 5:14 AM on December 10, 2014 [3 favorites]
garius, definitely post your link above under the recaps. If you do it yourself and click "I wrote it," then it will get a nice MeFi emblem showing that a Mefite wrote it. It was a good read, by the way.
But I'm there for Kane and his axe and his art history.
That seriously sounds like a bumper sticker or something. I like it.
I admit it's been awhile since I watched the original movies, but I really don't remember Wylie's character being, um, well, such a fop?
I don't recall his character being that zany in the originals, either. Perhaps there's another reason Librarians don't last very long, they go CRAZY. (Okay, he calmed down, but it was kind of out of character, and as I and others have pointed out, seemed to borrow a tad from Dr. Who, weirdly enough).
posted by Atreides at 6:55 AM on December 10, 2014
But I'm there for Kane and his axe and his art history.
That seriously sounds like a bumper sticker or something. I like it.
I admit it's been awhile since I watched the original movies, but I really don't remember Wylie's character being, um, well, such a fop?
I don't recall his character being that zany in the originals, either. Perhaps there's another reason Librarians don't last very long, they go CRAZY. (Okay, he calmed down, but it was kind of out of character, and as I and others have pointed out, seemed to borrow a tad from Dr. Who, weirdly enough).
posted by Atreides at 6:55 AM on December 10, 2014
garius, definitely post your link above under the recaps. If you do it yourself and click "I wrote it," then it will get a nice MeFi emblem showing that a Mefite wrote it.
Hey cool - didn't know about that. Have done so. Thanks.
posted by garius at 8:34 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hey cool - didn't know about that. Have done so. Thanks.
posted by garius at 8:34 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, and what was with the sword's sound effects?
posted by ODiV at 10:58 AM on December 10, 2014
posted by ODiV at 10:58 AM on December 10, 2014
As the owner of not just two, but three magical swords, I can vouch for their authenticity.
posted by Atreides at 11:25 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 11:25 AM on December 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh the kiss! I did a wtf at the time but forgot to mention it. It was completely out of left field, and out of place.
posted by the webmistress at 2:28 PM on December 10, 2014
posted by the webmistress at 2:28 PM on December 10, 2014
I enjoyed the movies for what they were - lower budget silly camp with tons of enthusiasm. And the enthusiasm really carried the movies.
I'm liking the TV show. I hope they stop doing stuff they think they need to do get "numbers" up and do more of what their instincts suggests.
Surprised at the quality of the cast, is the economy bad enough to extend to decent actors or did they sign on due to the fun factor?
Also a little bit surprised at the ages of the actors. Lindy Booth is only a year younger than I am at 35, Rebecca Romjin is 42 (still wow!). Noah Wyle is a year older than she is and Christian Kane is 40 now.
The cost of special effects has plummeted, and maybe the quality has too since because *anyone* can do CGI now, maybe the barrier of entry on the artistic side has fallen.
posted by porpoise at 7:15 PM on December 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm liking the TV show. I hope they stop doing stuff they think they need to do get "numbers" up and do more of what their instincts suggests.
Surprised at the quality of the cast, is the economy bad enough to extend to decent actors or did they sign on due to the fun factor?
Also a little bit surprised at the ages of the actors. Lindy Booth is only a year younger than I am at 35, Rebecca Romjin is 42 (still wow!). Noah Wyle is a year older than she is and Christian Kane is 40 now.
The cost of special effects has plummeted, and maybe the quality has too since because *anyone* can do CGI now, maybe the barrier of entry on the artistic side has fallen.
posted by porpoise at 7:15 PM on December 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
4) If you're going to have the sword in the stone, a bunch of caverns, lots of stonework and a fucking henge in the episode, then maybe put some of your budget into more realistic rocks
Come on. When people are chewing on the set that much, your scenery budget goes really quick.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:51 AM on December 22, 2014
Come on. When people are chewing on the set that much, your scenery budget goes really quick.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:51 AM on December 22, 2014
I nth that the kiss was "where did that come from?" territory. Why bother if Flynn won't be around anyway?
I am amused by the clipping book concept.
Still don't think the thief guy got much development, but they did have a lot to cover. Ah well.
I wasn't that into the Librarian movies, but I did watch them when I heard there was going to be a TV show (which I couldn't watch due to lack of cable at the time) so I dunno, I think I was slightly more into this than I was those. Oh, whatever, I just wanna watch something Leverage-y.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:11 PM on January 5, 2019
I am amused by the clipping book concept.
Still don't think the thief guy got much development, but they did have a lot to cover. Ah well.
I wasn't that into the Librarian movies, but I did watch them when I heard there was going to be a TV show (which I couldn't watch due to lack of cable at the time) so I dunno, I think I was slightly more into this than I was those. Oh, whatever, I just wanna watch something Leverage-y.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:11 PM on January 5, 2019
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posted by oh yeah! at 9:51 PM on December 7, 2014 [2 favorites]