What was this post apocalyptic educational program in the 1980s?

September 29, 2020 1:31 PM

In elementary school, I was shown an educational series teaching library skills. It is set in a post apocalyptic world and the protagonists of the series are trapped in a library, and use the card catalog to look up information about defeating a robot centaur monster who has laid waste to the earth.

My memory is that it was recorded off of public broadcasting. This was probably about 1985. It was weird and I think about it sometimes.

posted by chrchr to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: Oh I know this one! It was a series called "Tomes and Talismans", wiki link here, produced by Mississippi Public Broadcasting in 1985. I always remembered it as that underground library show, and until now had not actually been successful in finding any information about it, so thanks for the question! Apparently it's all available on YouTube, as well: here's the first episode.
posted by Jemstar at 1:52 PM on September 29, 2020 [15 favorites]

Response by poster: Wow! That's it!

Now that I know what it's called, I'm finding lots of great stuff online:

An overview of the series on Youtube.

A New Yorker piece from 2010

It looks like only the first ep is on Youtube, but amazingly, Mississippi Public Broadcasting is launching the series on its own streaming service next month. (NOT BUZZ MARKETING)
posted by chrchr at 4:30 PM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Chrchr wow thanks again for asking this question. I just watched the kickoff live streaming event where they showed the first 2 episodes and had a Q&A with some of the actors. It was as amazing as it sounds! =)
posted by Jemstar at 6:26 PM on October 15, 2020 [1 favorite]