Sci-Fi Storm

Syfy’s breakout hit The Magicians returns tomorrow night at 9/8c, and the second season is already amping up the magic levels – in order to save the magic.

Season 2 begins with with the possible destruction of all magic, and Quentin (Jason Ralph), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), Eliot (Hale Appleman), Margo (Summer Bishil) and Penny (Arjun Gupta) are in Fillory to save it. Fillory, which Quentin thought was just a place from a series of storybooks called “Fillory and Further”, is not only real but is the source of all magic. And to save it, it may mean fulfilling the story and becoming the kings and queens of Fillory. Meanwhile, Julia (Stella Maeve), having become a hedge witch since she was rejected as a student at Brakebills, is teaming up with the Beast (Charles Mesure) in order to get revenge on the trickster Reynard the Fox, and her friendship with Quentin won’t stop her.

I don’t think it is a surprise that the students survived the attack by the Beast, although we were left wondering at the end of Season 1 – and it is “resolved” rather quickly. However, this isn’t just a push of a reset button after a cliffhanger – their survival won’t be without issues and consequences that will last through Season 2. So while the show still keeps its whimsical side, it will continue with exploring deep issues, such as Julia’s need for revenge after the being a victim of Reynard’s sexual assaults.

It is interesting that the parallels with C.S. Lewis’ world of Narnia continues as well, with Eliot not only having to become High King, but his fellow students also becoming Kings and Queens – two of each, just like the Pevensies in Narnia. This seems to add to the intrigue of the story, however – it is like seeing someone else’s take on the story, being familiar yet different. And we’ll see a deeper side of Eliot while he is in Fillory with new responsibilities.

I can’t wait to see more of this show…

The Magicians, based on the books by Lev Grossman, follows the 20-something students at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, where they discover that magic is hard and the world of fantasy is real.

Creator/producer Dean Devlin has been chomping at the bit to make an announcement over the past few days, and finally today he could – after the third season finale aired on Sunday, today Devlin announced that TNT has renewed The Librarians for a fourth season. The next season should start airing later this year.

The Librarians is based on a series of TV movies produced for TNT which followed Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), who was chosen to be the next Librarian for the mysterious Library which holds many artifacts (such as the Sword of Excalibur) that possess many magical qualities. The series picks up with the the Library taking on three new Librarians to help Carsen – Jacob Stone (Christian Kane), an expert in history, languages and agriculture with an IQ of 190; Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth), a mathematician with an innate ability to visualize and solve problems in her head; and Ezekiel Jones (John Harlan Kim), a master lockpicker and thief with extensive knowledge of technology. They are joined by Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn), a former NATO Colonel who is the new Guardian, whose job is to protect the Librarians, and Jenkins (John Larroquette), the Library’s caretaker, who has been around for a strangely long time…