''The Librarian'' is a series of original

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

made-for-television films from

Turner Network Television TNT (originally an abbreviation for Turner Network Television) is an American basic cable television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is dist ...

(TNT) starring

Noah Wyle Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter (ER), John Carter in the television series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Glo ...

as the

Librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

, who protects a secret collection of artifacts.

Development

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

, through his production company Electric Entertainment, brought David Titcher's original pitch to TNT. David Titcher wrote and created the original movie that sequels were based on. The director of the first film was

Peter Winther Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, and writer/creator David Titcher co-produced with Marc Roskin and Kearie Peak. In 2004, they planned to produce three ''Librarian'' films with '' ER'' star

. "Dean's pitch was a refreshing take on the hero story",

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

Senior Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of Original Programming Michael Wright said. "Instead of a muscle-bound, spandex-clad superman, we get an insecure but brilliant guy who thinks he's taking a safe job as a librarian, but instead gets taken on a ride in a world we'd like to believe exists."

Television films

''The Librarian: Quest for the Spear'' (2004)

''Quest for the Spear'' introduces Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), who is hired by the Metropolitan Public Library as The Librarian. What Flynn does not realize is that the library has existed for centuries and protects a range of historical and often magical items in a secret section of the library, including

The Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

Pandora's box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phys ...

, and

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

. When part of the

Spear of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

is stolen from the library, Flynn must recover it with the help of Nicole Noone.

''The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines'' (2006)

''Return to King Solomon's Mines'' begins with Flynn's attending a party at his mother's house, where he meets up with his "Uncle" Jerry, a close friend of his late father. Soon Flynn is on a quest to locate

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

, and along the way he teams up with Emily Davenport, an archaeologist who helps Flynn translate the Akon (aklo algolis) language. When they meet up with Jerry in Kenya, all is not what it seems.

''The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice'' (2008)

''Curse of the Judas Chalice'' finds Flynn experiencing a strange dream which leads him to New Orleans, where he finds himself in the way of a Russian conspiracy that involves the notorious vampire Prince Vlad Dracul. Once again, Flynn must overcome his fears and protect one of the world's most powerful and dangerous artifacts, the Judas Chalice, or face the consequences of it falling into the wrong hands.

Television series

''The Librarians'' (2014–2018)

ordered a ten-episode weekly series version of ''The Librarian'', following the original cast that includes

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...

and

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

, as well as four new characters who work for The Library. A teaser trailer aired right after the ''

Falling Skies ''Falling Skies'' is an American science fiction television series set in a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic era, created by Robert Rodat and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, executive produced by Steve ...

season finale A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...

. The series premiered on December 7, 2014. The new characters are: * Colonel Eve Baird (

Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model (person), model. She is known for her role as Mystique (comics), Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the X-Men (film series), ...

), who is a

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

agent who protects the group. * Jacob Stone (

Christian Kane Christian Kane (born Christopher Michael Short) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is known for his roles in the television shows ''Angel'', ''Leverage'', '' The Librarians'', and '' Into the West'', and the movies ''Just Married'', ' ...

), who has an IQ of 190 and extensive knowledge of

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. * Cassandra Killian (

Lindy Booth Lindy Booth (born April 2, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She played Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' (and Agent Hawk in the show-within-a-show ''Silverstone'') and Claudia on ''Relic Hunter'' and A.J. Butterfie ...

), who has the special gift of auditory and sensory

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...

s linked to memory retrieval known as

synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who re ...

. * Ezekiel Jones ( John Kim), "a master of technologies" and fan of classic crimes who enjoys playing the role of international man of mystery. Jenkins (

John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992; for which he recei ...

) serves as the quartet's reluctant, sometimes cantankerous caretaker; he has worked at The Library's branch office "for longer than anyone knows" and has extensive knowledge of ancient

lore Lore may refer to: * Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs * Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions Places * Loré, former French commune * Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in Lau ...

. The quartet battles the Serpent Brotherhood, a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

led by the mysterious immortal Dulaque, a

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...

played by

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing roles ...

. The series was filmed in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. On February 12, 2015, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second ten-episode season. It premiered on November 1, 2015. In December 2015, it was announced that the series would be renewed for a third season. On January 24, 2017, TNT renewed the series for a fourth season. In March 2018, the series was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Books

''The Adventures of the Librarian: Quest for the Spear''

A novelization of the first movie was adapted by Christopher Tracy as ''The Adventures of the Librarian: Quest for the Spear'', which was published in 2004.

''The Librarians'' tie-in novels

Three tie-in novels have been published, all written by Greg Cox: * ''The Librarians and the Lost Lamp (2016)'' follows the characters of the television series as they attempt to find Aladdin's lamp, in both the past and the future. * In ''The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase (2017)'' the characters attempt to find various sections of the original Mother Goose story book before a descendant of the original Mother Goose is able to recombine the parts and use its power. * In ''The Librarians and the Pot of Gold'' (2019), the Serpent Brotherhood have returned, and the Librarians learn the truth behind the story of St. Patrick driving the “snakes” out of

Éire () is Irish for "Ireland", the name of both an island in the North Atlantic and the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland which governs 84% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinct from Northern Ireland, which covers the remainde ...

. He had the help of a Librarian.

Comic books

''The Librarian''

Released in November 2006, Electric Entertainment and Atlantis Studios produced a graphic novel adaptation of ''Return to King Solomon's Mines''. The adaption was written by James Watson and illustrated by Nate Pride. Electric Entertainment and Atlantis Studios additionally signed an exclusive worldwide agreement to produce an original comic book series based on ''The Librarian'' characters. "Comics are great opportunities to explore mythology, history, and each character in a way we could never do on film," said Executive Producer

. "There are thousands of artifacts in the Library – each one a new adventure. Based on the response we’ve had from the first film, fans of all ages loved the characters and want to see more. This series will give it to them."

''The Librarians''

On June 20, 2017, writer

Will Pfeifer Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and artist Rodney Buchemi were announced as creators of a new comic book series from

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

, based on ''The Librarians''. The series is set to launch on September 13. The final issue was released December 13, 2017.

Film

In 2009 Producer

had indicated that the next entry in ''The Librarian'' series would be a

theatrical release An art release is the premiere of an artistic production and its presentation and marketing to the public. Film A film release is the authorization by the owner of a completed film to a public exhibition of the film. The exhibition may be in theat ...

. Shooting was planned for some time in 2009. However, actor

later said in an interview at the 2010

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

that shooting had not begun and there were no immediate plans for a theatrical release of the next film in the series.

Characters

Mythology of ''The Librarian''

The Librarians are the guardians of powerful and magical relics, having been for centuries, and often undertake globe-spanning adventures to recover items and store them in the Library. Some of the relics in the Library include: the original ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

'',

, the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

, the

Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...

, the ''

Nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in t ...

'',

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

, Pan's flute,

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

's trident, and the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...

. There are also living assets within the Library; for example, the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

can be seen in the water around the "tree" made of walkways at the end of the Judas Chalice adventure.

Awards

''The Librarian: Quest for the Spear''

Nominated

* Saturn Award (2005): Best Actor on Television (Noah Wyle), Best Supporting Actor on Television (Kyle MacLachlan), Best Supporting Actress on Television (Sonya Walger), and Best Television Presentation * Motion Picture Sound Editors (2005): Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form – Sound Effects & Foley. * Visual Effects Society Awards (2005): VES Award for Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program * Writers Guild of America (2006): WGA Award for Long Form – Original (David N. Titcher)

''The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines''

Won

* Saturn Award (2007): Best Presentation on Television.

Nominated

* Saturn Award (2007): Best Actor on Television (Noah Wyle), and Best Supporting Actress on Television (Gabrielle Anwar). * American Society of Cinematographers (2007): ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series/Pilot (Walt Lloyd) * Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2007): Critics Choice Award for Best Picture Made for Television * Emmy Awards (2007): Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Joseph LoDuca), and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

References

External links

*
TNT homepage for ''The Librarian: Quest for the Spear''

* ttps://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20081210/neilchatter10_st.art.htm ''USA Today'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Librarian Franchise, The American television films Treasure hunt films Treasure hunt television series American adventure films 2010s adventure films 2000s adventure films 2000s American films 2010s American films

Development

Television films

''The Librarian: Quest for the Spear'' (2004)

''The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines'' (2006)

''The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice'' (2008)

Television series

''The Librarians'' (2014–2018)

Books

''The Adventures of the Librarian: Quest for the Spear''

''The Librarians'' tie-in novels

Comic books

''The Librarian''

''The Librarians''

Film

Characters

Mythology of ''The Librarian''

Awards

''The Librarian: Quest for the Spear''

Nominated

''The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines''

Won

Nominated

See also

References

External links