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124 out of 202 people found the following comment useful :- Great potential ruined by producers?, 12 February 2007 Author: innocuous from Raleigh, NC, USA
I'm a relatively recent fan of Butcher's novels, not even having read the entire Dresden Files series yet. But it's pretty evident that the producers of the series had some hangups about the Dresden character. I can handle the Hockey-stick-as-staff and drumstick-as-blasting-stick issues, and even the major character changes, including Bob now being the ghost of a departed wizard. But it's clear that the producers want Dresden to be more of an observer than an an active wizard. I guess thaumaturgy and offensive/defensive magic make them nervous. In the novels, Dresden would frequently summon fire or wind to assist him in dealing with both human and supernatural opponents. In the series, Dresden relies upon wit and perception, hardly every dong anything that's even remotely supernatural. (OK, OK...he got himself out of jail in the last episode and placed a simulacrum in his place. But he ended up there in the first place because he didn't resort to any of the means he normally would employ.) All in all, a bit of a disappointment. Harry, after all, is primarily a wizard and should be expected to act like one. Instead, he acts more like a psychic.
51 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :- Great TV show+Loads of potential+Cancelled=Typical, 7 October 2007 Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse
There was so much about The Dresden Files that appealed to me. I like noir-ish detective stuff and fantasy fiction. This show crossed them both perfectly and offered an interesting new story with every episode. So what do the execs at the Sci-Fi Channel do? They cancel it. And it's not because the rating were low either. It was because they were not reaching the correct demographic. What IS the correct demographic exactly? The show revolves around a wizard named Harry...Dresden; a Chicago-based Private Eye. He helps out the police with their bizarre, head-scratching cases without ever revealing his powers. Armed with a hockey stick sceptre and a drumstick wand, his methods occasionally rouse The High Council, the magical governors who are always weary of Harry since he used Black Magic to kill his uncle.It can be accused to ripping-off anything from CSI, Buffy, Charmed or even Law & Order, but I think that The Dresden Files stood well on its own two feet. The cold, wintry (often Xmasy) feel to the show and the naturalised look sits well with the supernatural element and there is a dynamic range of characters. Though my favorite has to be Bob (Hrothbert of Bainbridge), the ghost of a gentlemanly wizard cursed to live the rest of eternity inside his own skull when he's not helping Harry with his latest case. He's played by Terrance Mann, who you may remember as Johnny Steele, singing 'Power of the Night' in the original Critters movie.I am sad that The Dresden Files never made it past a single series. But I will surely be checking out the books that they are based on in the future.
31 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :- Why, oh, why was this canceled?!?, 1 July 2008 Author: Godfather-114 from United States
Television must have it out for me. Every few months or so a new show comes on the air. I watch the first episode then i'm hooked! But the networks get together after about 12 or 13 episodes (sometimes not even that long.)and say ' ya know what? This show tries really hard, has a fun and interesting plot, and its small fan base is growing steadily. Lets cancel it and act like its all their fault.' I mean what the @#$%*!!! The Dresden Files, Journeyman, (the still unsure future of) 'Eureka'. A few others are(Heres a blast from the past for ya.) Star trek, The Twilight Zone- both of which went on to become cultural revolutions that would shape t.v. for years to come but were canceled after 3 and 5 seasons, respectively. Oh, and here's the killer for me 'FIREFLY'!!! I loved this show, and so did many others. I think its time to show those studios whose boss!!! Whose with me!?! Bring back The Dresden Files! its better than most of the @#$% they have on there now! Your friend and hero, Godfather-114
29 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :- A highly watchable program killed before its time, 22 September 2007 Author: starcat-3 from United Kingdom
It makes you wonder if sci-fi know what they are doing, this show was cancelled way too soon. Interesting plots and a VERY watchable lead what more do you want? Apart from the pleasure of knowing that such a good show is coming back next year. 12 episodes for a first season is not an automatic death sentence - remember Buffy? It seams to be a trend with sci-fi, if a program shows too much intelligence they cut it and replace it with something cheap and cheerful (everybody remember when they swapped American Gothic with Sliders)!!! It seams that taste is an acquired taste after all I wonder if the bosses at sci-fi are able too learn it??
42 out of 68 people found the following comment useful :- Don't judge a book by its cover...WAIT >_<, 26 January 2007 Author: 5qu411-130nh4r7 from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Here's the deal: As you probably know, by now, "The Dresden Files" series is based on the Jim Butcher book series. More accurately, the characters are, where as the series exists within its own continuity. So, though Harry might be the same smart-ass as he is in the books, he's not necessarily going through the exact same stuff, or doing it all exactly the same way. There's other cosmetic differences, but over all, the purpose of the series isn't to serialize the books, but rather to tell stories involving characters from "The Dresden Files" in somewhat different story line.This being said, the first episode was aired. That's it. Judging an entire series on the series premiere is a bit ridiculous. Here's something else: "Birds of a Feather" wasn't even originally the first episode. "Storm Front" was. They changed it because they thought this would work better, and until we know what direction they are taking it in for sure, I'm not sure it's fair for anyone to judge the whole series. The Sci-Fi channel did it for a reason, and given that they have seen more than we have, and their record for excellent TV, maybe we should just put our faith in them for now, and give them the benefit that they know more than we do about it? There are some gripes, like the deus-ex machina they had, and the fact that Harry...well, he didn't really use a heck of a lot of magic. It did, however, make clear certain things: Harry has trouble with women, gave us a basic character (smartass, but wanting to help those who cannot protect themselves,) and Murphy was shown as the strong cop.But about that Doom Box thingy; from what I understand from the podcast over on jim-butcher.com, they had more backstory on it which got cut out... so it's kind of forgivable.My (slightly-but-not-very-much-so-educated) guess is that they want to establish something before blowing us away with Storm Front, which should be a pretty big episode.So guys, please don't just ignore this series. Watch it. At least give it a chance till "Storm Front" (the first book in the series and, I think, the sixth episode.) As for the title, Christian Mcgrath's illustrations are simply awesome, and the ones before that were pretty cool too. As it so happens "The Dresden Files" are a nice slice of occult-ish-mystery-noir-ish pie, so you should eat those up as well, the next time you visit your friendly neighborhood bookstore.
100 out of 187 people found the following comment useful :- The Dresden that really wasn't, 24 January 2007 Author: a-g-2 (a-g@visi.net) from York, VA
First and foremost, yes, I'm very much a fan of the books, so this led me to a bit of concern when I heard it was being made into a TV series. Not that there isn't an absolute wealth of information crammed into Jim Butcher's amazing novels with which could make several glorious movies or TV shows, but all too often (as is the case with this series I'm afraid) the series is developed by business people... not fans of the material. The result is a less than half-hearted attempt at realizing Butcher's amazing series.Now trust me, I was not gunning for this series to fail.. quite to the contrary I wanted to see it succeed in hopes that it might inspire others to check out JB's novels.Harry Dresden is the kind of character you'd buy a beer for in a bar. He's just an interesting cat with a great sense of humor and sarcastic edge that would keep fascinating conversation going well until last call. The Dresden of the TV series you'd pass by and not even give a second thought to. He's as flat as the script paper he's created on.You see far more development of the character as a kid than you ever did as an adult. And it's not the actor's fault (even though I do think Nathan Fillion of "Firefly" would've been a better fit for those who are familiar with the Harry from the books), but Paul Blackthorne is doing what he can with what he has. The written script however is where I find fault for not dipping into Butcher's bag of tricks enough to bring the wonderful universe of The Dresden Files to life.What they got right: Bob. That's about it. The way they changed Bob for the series makes sense AND it works. Both in the way he's written and performed. And is it me, or did anyone else who read the books also imagine Bob with a British accent? It kind of surprised me to see that's how they created it in the show, so I guess I'm not the only one.I do hold out hope that they will find a way to turn things around.. but I'm not left with an awful lot of confidence. The preview of episode two looks pretty lame.. "Murphy gets possessed".. eh.The first episode should've been an absolute grand slam home run. It wasn't even a double.I was disappointed and I'll give it one or two more shots.. but beyond that, I'll just be waiting for April when the next novel of the Harry Dresden series comes out.Oh by the way, when I first had read comments the producer of the TV series had made about things they were changing for the TV show, I posted a note on Jim Butcher's website and just aired a few of my concerns. I actually did receive a response on the site from Jim Butcher and he was most unhappy with what I had to say. I thought this was a shame because I did and do want to see the show be a success.. but for now I'll bide my time and hope I won't be left with the empty fulfillment of an "I told you so."*** Update *** Having now watched up through week 5 I can tell you I think they have improved. I'm surprised they still haven't gone as far into the depth of the books as they can. I don't know if that's cause they're saving story arcs for another season or they just don't want to spend the time on them yet.. but they could do more with this and I hope they do.Paul Blackthorne has grown on me as Dresden.. with the first episode I felt he was OK but with the show's progression I think I like how Blackthorne is presenting Dresden. It's not exactly like the books, but not too distant either.I still wouldn't say the show is great and to be honest I'm not even sure I'd be watching right now if it weren't called Dresden Files. But for now they have my attention.
108 out of 204 people found the following comment useful :- WOW! Surprisingly unimpressive!, 30 January 2007 Author: Josh Myers (myrothe) from United States
-Contains minor spoilers_ Well I was mildly excited about this show. I have read part of the first book, and thought this would probably make an excellent, or at least entertaining show.However I was frankly fairly bored through the whole first episode. I mean first off I heard that there was supposed to be a bit of humor injected, but unless you mean the tire lock I really didn't see it. Secondly I certainly hope every single episode isn't peppered by flashbacks of Harry as a kid. Very boring. I also thought the acting/writing was a bit sub par. I mean ...SPOILER... Why did no one even seem remotely upset about finding a skinned woman? Everyone was just kind of like "Meh...oh well, call harry".Third, and the biggest offender to me was the special effects, or lack thereof. I mean this is a show about a WIZARD for hire. So don't you think he should at some point USE magic? I mean I was looking foreword to seeing SOMETHING. When the skinwalker walks in for instance what happens? Nothing. Cut to commercial, next scene hes strung up and being beaten. Wow, way to fight her Harry. And what about the Skinwalker? Anyone wanting to see what the horrible creature beneath the skin looks like? Nope don't get to, she just looks like a lady. Way to save on that budget...scarrrrry.And the Raven-men? Looked EXTREMELY low budget. Hmmm, lets have em wear black, have badly done white face paint, and make their voices sound like you used the ten dollar "Darth Vader voice changer".We don't even get to see Harry make the "doom box", he just mentions it, then has it in his hand the next scene.Overall I thought the first episode was very weak. It reminded me of a very low budget episode of charmed. I will watch a few more but at this point my hopes are LOW.-UPDATE- Saw episode two, it was horrible as well :(
17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :- Well worth the watch, 27 January 2008 Author: Scottsmn from Tucson, AZ
Contrary to some of the negative criticism I have read about this show, I actually really enjoyed it. It had good plots, with good acting. I would put it in the same category as Stargate Atlantis. It has some action, some humor, a hint at romance but nothing concrete, and some good science fiction. The Sci-Fi channel has done it again! I went out and bought season one to catch the episodes I missed at the beginning of the season. This show is well worth the time to watch. And worth the money to buy if you are like me and missed some of the first episodes. I just hope that it continues in to another season and doesn't get canceled like Firefly.
16 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :- Good stories, good acting, good show.. So of course they canceled it., 21 October 2007 Author: majorallen from United States
Perfect show?-No. Good ,interesting, enjoyable ? Very.Rating relative to the pus oozing from 90% of the channels? Ten stars out of ten. What politically correct network wrecker decided to cancel the show? Probably someone who used the same paradigm used to cancel the original Star Trek. Not that I'm a big Trek fan but you have a popular show that's cheap to produce and generates revenue ... and you cancel it???I didn't get to see them when they were broadcast but was able to see them all on DVD rental.It's really nicer like that-no commercials and with 4 episodes on a rental you can sit back and enjoy 3 hours if you choose.The actors all have a good screen presence. Usually an actress as attractive as Cruz doesn't have to do much acting but she does a good job and she looks better than anyone I've seen on the screen in awhile.
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :- Wonderful series, 1 March 2008 Author: alexa_beth from United States
This series has most everything you want in an entertaining show; there is enough heart for the casual viewer, and dynamic "otherworldliness" for the sci-fi fan. Paul Blackthorne is great, he doesn't let his charm and good looks get in the way of drawing you into his character. Valerie Cruz is saavy enough to be a cop and warm enough to be a friend. I couldn't get a handle on Terrance Mann's character, but what does one expect from a ghost? The special effects deserve a mention on their own. They are fantastic all through the series. Different effects for the different situations and characters without being heavy-handed. I rated this a 9 because the middle episodes had some blood in the shows, and even though it was always called for and didn't cross the line to be gory, I just don't care for it. Overall, it's a great series with fantastic actors. I look forward to more!
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