YMMV / Tomes & Talismans

• Anvilicious: The series is not at all subtle in how it praises books, libraries, research, and learning as the keys to civilization and hope for the future and makes its villains the destroyers and perverters of knowledge.
• Awesome Music: The title sequence song, 80's synth at its finest. The fact part of it is used during the climax when the hologram is projected only underscores this.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In the middle of the series, as the kids are first starting their research, out of nowhere a voiceover song about the encyclopedia is sung by Ms. Bookhart. No other songs appear in the show and the moment is never mentioned or referenced again.
• Cult Classic: Thanks to the show being one of those perpetually aired during library story hours and other activity days to keep elementary-age kids occupied throughout the latter half of The '80s, a much-larger fanbase was formed than one would expect (if only for vague memories of "that sci-fi library show" which just could not be forgotten). To add to this, the fact the show has never been released on DVD (and there are no plans to do so at this time) has led to some fans creating their own burned DVD copies from when the episodes were on YouTube to enable those with such fond memories to finally obtain it. When the show's 35th anniversary occurred in 2020, Mississippi ETV was bombarded with interest and requests, to the point the show was not only re-aired once more, but multiple interviews were held with some of its actors and webpages devoted to the show popped out of the woodworks—and much of this came as a surprise to both said actors (who thought everyone had forgotten/never liked the show) and Mississippi ETV itself.
• Funny Moments:
  • A very early one: at the start of the series, when Ms. Bookhart is waxing rhapsodic about her favorite books and the word "cloud" in the dictionary, watch her assistant librarian; the very visible eye-roll he gives, quickly turning into an approving smile when she turns around, is hysterical.
  • At several points during the library research, when Ms. Bookhart is leading the kids around to different parts of the library, Aphos is often either accidentally standing in the way or left behind; in either case, he has to quickly move out of the way or hover briefly in confusion before following.
  • When Aphos is getting after Abakas for reading "The Story of the Amulet" instead of the books the Universal Being directed them to, she's able to figure out one of the clues (the ruby's task) by using the book's index, thus saving her from having to read the entire book. Her smugness, and Aphos's reaction, are priceless.
  • Aphos acting out Romeo and Juliet (including doing Juliet's parts in falsetto). The other kids quite understandably make fun of him (and it comes back as a Brick Joke when they film the documentary). He also gets a little too into quoting Richard III until they tell him to shut up.
  • Also while filming the documentary, Holon and Aphos happen to walk past and disturb the shot, causing Varian to become angry and Abakas to accuse her father of "ruining everything."
  • Holon seems to be a source of a lot of these, actually. Aside from the hilariously awkward Ship Tease with Ms. Bookhart, he doesn't seem particularly eager to ride the horse, and the reactions he and Aphos have to his unwashed underclothes—the scent of which they need to attract said horse—are quite memorable. (When they're actually out placing the garments in the forest, Holon pauses to wonder if the scent will actually work...and then he and his son share a long, meaningful look and say no more.)
• Heartwarming Moments: Surprisingly several moments of this crop up—the repeated references to all of the people Ms. Bookhart knew and cared about being gone; a moment when Holon and his kids are forced to sever contact and think they might never talk to each other again; a moment when Tesla walks around looking at the remnants of Earth civilization the Users have gathered, then pauses at the bookmobile sign that makes her think of her grandkids trapped in the library; and the ending when it's revealed the evacuees from Earth did have descendants, and they will now be coming back and reuniting with Ms. Bookhart, as well as establishing a permanent alliance with the Users.
  Ms. Bookhart: Come on home.
• Narm Charm: Despite the wooden acting, stilted and often unrealistic dialogue, limited outdoor setting and Zeerust interiors, bad special effects, and Anvilicious nature of the moral and the show's educational portions, there's still a certain charm about it all. There's sincerity in what is being presented, at least some attempts at an intriguing backstory, a fairly good plot, and characters whose fate becomes of interest to the viewer.
• So Bad, It's Good: Thanks to the Narm, it's often quite cheesy, but if Bellisario's Maxim and the MST3K Mantra are followed, and focus is given to the story instead of the educational segments, it's actually fairly entertaining.