The Curse of the Judas Chalice is the third episode in The Librarian franchise, following two made-for-TV movies and followed by a four-season series simply titled The Librarians. I've watched them all and have enjoyed almost all of them.

By now, we know the premise. In case we need a quick refresher course: the first minute and a half of the film scrolls through scenes from the two previous movies: Quest for the Spear and Return to King Solomon's Mines.

Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle) is a highly educated and intelligent young man. He's likable, and he can be down to earth when he needs to be. He works for a secret library that houses the most important and most powerful historical artifacts in the world. His immediate bosses are Judson (Bob Newhart) and Charlene (Jane Curtain). They are both masters of the deadpan understatement. So we already know that at least a little bit of comedy will show up in every story, in the midst of the magic.

Flynn has spent the last several years globetrotting and "saving the world from evil" by retrieving key pieces of ancient history. Now, he's feeling overwhelmed by the physical demands of the job. He also just got dumped by his girlfriend. He needs a vacation. He chooses to go to New Orleans where, ironically, a new case finds him. He lands into a mystery involving the silver chalice of Judas, some vampires, and -- amazingly enough -- Vlad the Impaler himself. It also includes a group of Russian thugs who want to find everything first so that they can use the power to their cultural advantage. Of course.

We recognize this pattern. Flynn finds an artifact, and the bad guys try to get it away from him. In the meantime, he always meets a beautiful and exotic woman who may be able to help him in his quest and in his getaway. This time, she's Simone Renoir (Stana Katic), a singer in a nightclub. She has also been the keeper of a small relic for a good, long while. Can Flynn and Simone follow its clues to find the silver chalice? And who can they trust to assist them, along the way?

This time, it's maybe an unexpected pleasure for viewers that Flynn is actually solving a puzzle here in a big city in North America, instead of zipping off to a remote location somewhere else on the planet. This episode is also not quite as violent as the last one although, yes, the bad guys do like to rough up and/or kill their opponents. As for the musical background, Joseph LoDuca once again provides the familiar themes of these films. Placing this storyline in New Orleans gives him a chance to add regional music styles to reinforce the setting and to enhance the action.

Bruce Davison gives a good performance as Professor Emil Lazlo, whom the Russians have kidnapped from the University of Bucharest. They hope to use him as an interpreter of the cryptic clues. Are they aware of ALL of his talents?

The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice is an entertaining way to spend an hour and a half of one's life. And you might not be able to fully predict the outcome.

I fell in love with the four seasons of TNT's The Librarians series first, before I came back to check on the original three films. I heartily recommend moving on to the TV series. Flynn Carsen is still involved, from time to time. So are Judson and Charlene, up to a point. The main characters are three younger people who have taken on the roles of the new Librarians (played by Lindy Booth, Christian Kane and John Harlan Kim). They have a guardian played by Rebecca Romijn. They DO embark on the kinds of adventures and searches that Flynn was known for. Their library administrator of sorts is Jenkins, portrayed by veteran actor John Larroquette. He is the perfect person to be exasperated by a set of Librarians whom he cannot fully control. Again, the shows are smart, funny, adventurous, magical and, many times, action packed. Happy viewing!