The Librarians – Coming to a television near you!

Posted October 20, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson

Often librarians in pop culture are reduced to over-sexualized stereotypes in low tops and glasses, so I can’t help but be excited about librarian portrayals that don’t fall into this category.   Throw in some corny fantasy and I am completely lost.  Therefore, I feel compelled to tell you about “The Librarians” just in case you aren’t aware.

 First, let me promise that I am in no way employed or endorsed by TNT (though quick shout out to TNT: if you are looking for an archivist come May 2016, please let me know).  I just completely love television, librarians, and librarians on television, and “The Librarians” looks like my next favorite mini-series.  Last week, TNT released a trailer for their upcoming “The Librarians” mini-series.  I was a little hesitant at first, as my memories of the one “Librarian” syndicated movie I saw was not great.  The one moment that I do remember is Noah Wyle, the information professional in question, struggling to identify what indigenous language an Amazonian tribe was speaking in hopes of figuring out his location, only to smile and say something along the lines of, “I was over-thinking it.  They’re just speaking Portuguese!”

“The Librarians,” however, looks great.  The show continues in the original franchise’s mythology: that there exists a library that houses all of the magical items of the world: Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Poseidon’s trident, and the Shroud of Turin to name of few.  These librarians must protect and recover these powerful relics, and will most likely do so while indulging in very silly antics and engaging with kooky characters.  Noah Wyle returns, starring alongside John Larroquette Rebecca Romijn, and… basically I’m counting down the days until December 7th.

While this show will likely have nothing to do with librarianship, or contemporary libraries, or reality as a whole, I still can’t shake my excitement.  Maybe we MLIS students can all take a break in December, before exams and final papers and projects are due, and escape into the ridiculousness that “The Librarians” has promised.  Anyone have a big living room?

P.S. I hope someone is proud that I resisted the pun “CHECK OUT ‘The Librarians!'”  Or does including this bad joke in the post script still count?  Shoot.