‘I’ On Culture
As a fan of the old television series The Librarians, I was pleased to discover that it has been brought back by TV network TNT as The Librarians: The Next Chapter. It is not a great series, but compared to what we’ve been force fed the past few years by TV networks, it provides a very good time. It’s a continuation (with a new cast) of the show, which created a magical library with a powerful librarian and a select team to protect the world from evil magic.
Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), the librarian in 1848, grabs evil ruler Gregor and pulls him into a time bubble, expecting his assistant to pull him out right away. That doesn’t happen, and he gets pulled out in today’s world. He is shocked to discover that everyone he has known, especially Anya, the woman he loved, are all gone, and he attempts using magic to get her back. That releases all sorts of magic into the world, creating massive problems.
By the coincidence of the needs of television, a couple of tourists happen to be wandering through the castle. They are Lysa Pascal (Olivia Morris), a scientist who also by coincidence actually owns the castle and looks exactly like Anya and has been directed to the basement, as has Connor Green (Bluey Robinson), an historian who has wrecked his career prospects by focusing on “weird events” and is reduced to doing a blog. The two amateurs touch the “Stone of Kraljevik” which releases a beast called a Drekavac, created from the souls of unbaptized babies, which switches back and force between unbearable sorrow and murderous rage. The three, Vikram, Lysa and Connor, decide they have to fight it and are joined by Vikram’s new guardian, Charlie Cornwall (Jessica Green). And the fight is on.
One of the fun elements in the series is its choice of the magic used. There are nods to time loops separating lovers, Cupid’s arrows, the Red Shoes and “memory crystals.” And the solutions are often clever and different. Each show is somewhat different, and it is really well-written, a nice change from many series that seem to regurgitate old plots.
The acting is good, if somewhat over the top, particularly for McGowan. Watching the 200-plus-year-old man wearing headphones and dancing to modern music, for example, added a bit of fun. But he functions very well as a sort of Sherlock Holmes character, figuring out ways to overcome all sorts of magic, while not exactly being upfront about his motives and actions. He really wants to get his old love from the 19th century back, even if it violates all the codes. To add to his problems, we have a new immortal guardian of the library, Elaine Astalot (Caroline Loncq), who is both no-nonsense and understanding. Morris and Robinson play their “straight man” roles well. And Green is stunning, great in action scenes and can handle comedy well.
What I particularly like is that the “good guys” win not by force but by being clever. We don’t see superhero strength taking down monsters. We see clever resolutions to problems. For example, the Drekavac is not beaten by superhuman strength but by Vikram baptizing her with her own tears. This show is not one where after the first 15 minutes you know the ending.
I also like the use of Belgrade and Balkan legends, as well as the ones we have already seen in so many other venues. Some of the scenery is spectacular and just adds to the feeling of dealing with something new. There is very little of the expected computer graphics creating new things. Instead, we are dealing with people, often strange people, but ones grappling with human problems, just more focused thanks to the “magic.”
Of course, there are limits. At least one of the monsters looks like the ones from old movies, where someone would wear a strange costume. But I enjoyed the shows more than the usual police crime dramas, which are repetitious. It won’t win awards, but it is enjoyable. Try it; you might really like it as much as I do.
