on DVD.
{Spoiler}I've been rewatching the three Librarian movies starring Noah Wyle (which I bought ages ago after they were recommended to me by
HirundoRustica ) on Blu-ray, and at the same time have also been rewatching this first season of the TV series on DVD. Having just recently finished watching Season 1 of
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Blu-ray, which starred Rebecca Romijn (who I felt was greatly underutilised in that show, which I found rather disappointing after the series had been created all because her character of Number One - along with Anson Mount’s Pike and Ethan Peck’s Spock - were such stand-outs in Season 2 of
Star Trek: Discovery that it seemed EVERYONE was asking for a show about
the three of them...yet despite Number One being one of the ‘main three’ characters, it didn’t really seem as though that was the case and I was craving more of Rebecca Romijn), I thought now was the right time to get back into
The Librarians TV series - hence my rewatch of the movies and this first season of the show.
Thankfully, Rebecca Romijn had a much more substantial role in this than she did in ST: SNW (considering she’s this show’s ‘lead’/’first-billed’, one would *hope* so). Not long after we're introduced to her Col. Eve Baird, she meets Noah Wyle’s Flynn Carsen, learns magic is real and is brought into the world of ‘The Librarian’ along with three others - Jake Stone (Christian Kane, who I was first introduced to as Lindsey McDonald in the BtVS spin-off,
Angel, and aside from one Ashton Kutcher movie, I can’t recall having really seen him in anything else besides this show), Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth, who I still recall first seeing in a movie with Jared Padalecki called
Cry Wolf, but most recently saw reunited with her co-star from this show, Rebecca Romijn, in Season 1 of ST: SNW for an episode...though I can't remember if they even shared any scenes together) and Ezekiel Jones (Aussie actor, John Harlan Kim - though going by just ‘John Kim’ here - who I only just discovered was in the
Nancy Drew show I’ve been watching. I *thought* he looked familiar, but hadn’t put two and two together since it’d been umpteen years from when I originally watched this season of the show. It took looking at his IMDB list of credits to make the connection).
What first struck me about this show was that it managed to keep the same ‘tone’ as the movies, not making things ‘too dark’, keeping the comedy, but also having a bit of drama/’seriousness’ mixed in. This was a *good* thing, as so many adaptations from movie-to-show or vice versa seem to want to ‘lighten things up’ too much or make them much ‘darker’. This was just the right mix and that helped it feel like it was set in the same universe as the films (though I kept being surprised when someone would utter the word 'shit', as I didn't really recall such a word featuring in the films - not that I was opposed to it here, as they only used it sparingly, making it unexpected when it *was* used and thus funnier than if it, as well as other cuss words, had been used more frequently). As far as the characters go, Baird quickly became a favourite of mine. I’d first seen Rebecca Romijn (when she was still ‘Rebecca Romijn-Stamos’) in the TV series
Just Shoot Me! before I ever saw her as Mystique in the X-Men films, so I already knew she could do comedy since she was actually quite amusing in that sitcom and it was great to see her stretch her comedic chops even further with this show. While she played the ‘tough’ side of Baird well and was believable as the ‘muscle’ of the group (though I think her fighting skills were a bit rusty...either that or the director and/or fight choreographer weren’t doing their job right, since she looked better when fighting in the X-Men films), it was seeing her get to be
funny that I really enjoyed.
In a strange coincidence with ST: SNW, this was the
second show I recently watched where Rebecca Romijn played a character who got stuck turning into a storybook character for an episode. In that show she became a ‘Huntress’ and in this one she became the exact opposite - a princess - with hilarious results (her princess-y laugh, which she immediately reacted to by covering her mouth in shock realisation at what was happening, was almost as funny as her hair progressively getting more ‘princess-like’ and her batting her eyelashes at Cassandra who, in a nice twist, was morphing into Prince Charming and thus attracting all the ladies...Baird included). Eventually, though, Baird became a "ninja princess" (because the little girl who was controlling all of this was able to think up such a thing) and thankfully got back to kicking arse. I was also amused by Stone becoming 'the Huntsman' and the hilarious way a bird randomly appeared on his arm between one shot and the next, Baird pointing this out to him and his reaction to it.
Regarding the three Librarians-in-training, it was nice to see Christian Kane play a character who wasn't so 'serious' all of the time. Lindsey in
Angel only really got to be 'fun' when he was either being bitchy with his co-worker, Lilah Morgan, at the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart or sniping at Angel. Lindsey's last episode in Season 2 of that show finally gave the actor a chance to show he was actually capable of doing physical comedy, as his reaction to Angel throttling his 'lead', whilst also wondering why Angel
wasn't trying to kill him like he usually did, showed he was quite adept at such humour. I noticed throughout this season of
The Librarians moments that reminded me of that funny scene from
Angel. Since the actual potential Librarians already had a 'Guardian' in Baird, it was important that Stone wasn't just extra muscle. He often showed his smarts and thought of things the others didn't, making him an asset to the group. I don't know how much older Christian Kane is than the other two, but while I did think it slightly odd that this older guy was hanging out with these younger two (or at least I
perceived them as being quite a bit younger - but, who knows, maybe the actors were closer to his age than I imagined? I don't feel like checking), he had good chemistry with them as well as Baird (who was more his age, I think). The absolute FUNNIEST moment from this whole first season (which I'd always remembered from back when I originally watched) was a moment between Stone & Baird which happened in the season final where Baird was hopping between alternate realities and in one of them she was Stone's Guardian, he was THE Librarian and the two of them had hooked up. I never forgot her reaction to him snogging her, as she "Nope"d away whilst waving her hand in the air.
If this^ was hinting at Baird and Stone maybe hooking up in future seasons...I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think they're good together as co-workers, but them being '
together together' could possibly mess up the team dynamic. I think a much more suitable 'love interest' for Baird is Flynn, since he's not always around and only appears every once in a while. They clearly had a thing for each other and were going off together by season's end, but he wouldn't be around enough to screw up the dynamic of the team (I did feel Noah Wyle went a bit more 'crazy' with his character in the show than in the movies, but on the whole I think he felt more or less like he was playing the same person. Only *this* show could manage to make me feel sad for a
sword, as we were forced to witness Excalibur - which Flynn had befriended and called 'Cal' (which I guess shows how good of an actor Noah Wyle is, since he was able to form a believable friendship
with a CGI'D SWORD) - 'dying' in the two-part premiere. Damn you, show! Did you HAVE to make Cal whimper like an injured puppy?!
While I saw various comments elsewhere that made it clear others weren't overly fond of Ezekiel Jones, I honestly didn't really have a problem with his character. Yeah, he was selfish/only cared about himself and stealing things, being a thief and all, but as far as 'a-hole' characters go...I didn't think he was
that bad. Maybe I'm biased since I'm a fellow Aussie, but I liked having him in the mix and his line deliveries/reactions to various things amused me quite often. We also gradually saw that there was a bit 'more' to him and that he *did* care about other people at times, he saved the day on more than one occasion and was another character who thought of things others didn't. I think the most 'human' he was happened in the episode where ghosts from the past were possessing people...which he firmly objected to. I enjoyed his interaction/dynamics with everyone else and was surprised with myself that I actually
liked him (whereas most of the time I tend to hate the token 'a-hole' member of a team in shows, as they're usually just snarky dicks who I can't understand anyone tolerating. Thankfully, Jones wasn't like that - at least *I* didn't think so, anyway).
I was less fond of Cassandra, who for reasons I can't quite explain reminded me of Fred from
Angel...but much less likeable (I think it was her way of speaking - she had this higher-pitched voice and tended to babble quite a bit as she lived up to her 'Math Girl' nickname in the show, doing mathematics for things which were visualised as glow-y symbols and whatnot in the air that she interacted with. In between her calculations, she'd sometimes remark on things she thought of that got her sidetracked for a second, interrupting her process, before she'd return to solving whatever problem. There was also the fact that she was dressed in a typical 'nerd' type of fashion...at least I
think that's what they were going for). Cassandra's character started the season at a bit of a disadvantage compared to the rest of the characters since she betrayed them in the two-part premiere to save herself from her tumor (which is the thing that allows her to be such a genius, I think).
Honestly, I couldn't blame Stone for continuing to be wary of/not trust her despite the fact that she kept pointing out she'd been helping them on several occasions to make up for said betrayal. What I liked about Stone was that he calmly explained to her his reasons for not trusting her, he wasn't a big jerk about it, and was civil...but he wasn't instantly going to forgive her either and that had to be *earned*. I personally feel Lindy Booth is no Amy Acker (Fred), but she did get to show her dramatic skills in the haunted house episode where she took on a serial killer girl and vented at her. I also approved of Cassandra kicking the arse of Lamia (Lesley Ann-Brandt, who has annoyed me for four seasons of
Lucifer thus far and I don't expect that to change whenever I eventually get around to watching the final two seasons. And what is it with her ALWAYS playing a character who hates
blondes? On
Lucifer, it's Chloe, and here it's Baird. The most interesting thing about her in this show was getting to hear her have a different accent to her one in
Lucifer), who was henchwoman to the season's recurring main villain, Dulaque (Matt Frewer, who bizarrely seems to be fond of doing accents he just can't seem to master if his one in this show and attempt at an Aussie accent in the series
Eureka are anything to go by. JUST
STOP, Matt Frewer! You're NO GOOD at them no matter how much you
think you are!).
The fifth member of the group is Jenkins, who is basically there to fill in for whenever Flynn isn't around whilst also pretty much filling the same role as Artie from
Warehouse 13 (which this show has more than a few things in common with). While I wasn't that fussed on his character, I didn't hate him either. His basic function was to deliver the majority of the exposition. John Larroquette was fine in the role, but I wasn't that invested in finding out more about him either - which it was hinted at, on several occasions, had something to do with Arthurian legend. Much more interesting was the character of Morgan Le Fay played by Alicia Witt (points to the show for going with a non-traditional
redheaded interpretation of the character, which I imagine hasn't really been done before...or at least not often). Just in her one and only episode she proved a more interesting villain than Dulaque was throughout the
entire season. I especially liked her dynamic with Baird (who I enjoyed seeing punch Morgan, and the way she laughed it off made her more interesting too). Honestly, *she* would've made a much better recurring villain than the ones we were stuck with this season. I hope she returns. If not, it'll feel like a massive waste of potential. Other actors I recognised guest-starring this season included Bruce Campbell as Santa (which I was surprised by, since I had no memory of him in the show) and an even
more surprising appearance from Jerry O'Connell (husband of Rebecca Romijn - which explains the randomness of him turning up for a cameo) in the season final as a younger version of Dulaque (I guess Jerry felt the need to imitate Matt Frewer's dodgy accent by doing one of his own?).
It was nice to see Charlene (Jane Curtin) and Judson (Bob Newhart) from the movies make an appearance in the two-part premiere (though sad that Judson died off-camera and was limited to appearing in a mirror). It was clear the show didn't have the budget to maintain the 'main library' and thus we got a reduced base of operations set that was the 'library annex'. However, by season's end The Library was brought back...though I don't know how often we'll get to see the true scope of it. As first seasons go, this one was pretty tight and I didn't feel there was any particularly 'bad' episodes (just ones that were a bit more enjoyable than others). It was pretty much as fun as I remembered it being, it kept 'true' to the spirit of the movies and I was glad to see much more of Rebecca Romijn here than I did in ST: SNW. I've had Seasons 2-4 of this show sitting, unwatched, on DVD for years now and just hadn't gotten around to watching them because I had SO many other shows on DVD/Blu-ray waiting to be watched. Now that I've finished the rewatch of the three movies and first season of the show, I can finally move onto watching the remaining three seasons which I haven't yet seen (though I think I *may* have started Season 2 previously and maybe watched the first episode...but that would've been it, as I think I got sidetracked by watching other things).