The Dresden Files
When I first saw ads on TV last week for the SciFi channel’s new series The Dresden Files, I was intrigued. Being one of the many, many people who’ve read the complete adventures of Harry Dresden, and having occasionally opined “they oughta make a movie outta that”, I was eager to see how it would be treated, and how close to the original they’d keep it. Tonight, I got that opportunity.
As series premiers go, it was above average. A good comparison could perhaps be made to the pilot of the X-Files, so many years ago; both introduce us to people whose jobs involve the supernatural, and both spend far more time on character than on plot. This isn’t a bad thing; Harry Dresden is a complex character, and complex characters are more difficult to do right in television than in literature.
The show would appear to be keeping the broad picture true to the books, while deviating somewhat where details are concerned. Gone is the Blue Beetle, replaced by an elderly Jeep, for example. Instead of the basement (and subbasement) of a rooming-house, Harry apparently lives in a ground-floor office-cum-apartment, complete with windows. Bob is retained, thankfully, but in the guise of a white-haired Jeeves-like gentleman sorcerer it’s quite difficult to imagine being tittilated by trashy paperback romances.
Very little actual magic is shown, and the only part of Harry’s arsenal of tricks shown is his shield bracelet; teasers for future episodes hint tantalizingly at either his staff or blasting rod. SFX are about what you’d expect, i.e. adequate CGI.
You’d have to ask Jim Butcher why Chicago is the location du jour for supernatural shows. Unlike the last supernatural law-enforcement show set there, whose name I can’t think of (and which featured a dwarf thief), The Dresden Files takes itself seriously. Again, a comparison to the X-Files seems apt; both shows accept the paranormal as part of everyday life, in a quiet, low-key sort of way. If the show can continue to maintain this attitude, without falling into the over-the-top ridiculousness that made Charmed so bad in it’s last seasons, and without getting bogged down in looooooong story lines (Angel, Supernatural), it should do pretty well, I’d say. The last part is perhaps my only criticism; while I’m glad the producers didn’t (at least immediately) drop Harry into war with the Red Court, the much-foreshadowed antagonism with Harry’s malevolent uncle holds the potential for one long-running feud. That’s not necessarily bad, but once you’ve killed, transmogrified, entrapped, or otherwise neutralized the level boss, er, big baddie, you have to be able to come up with some kind of decent plot afterwards, or things are going to start going all Buffy in a hurry…
If you’ve got nothing better to do on Sunday nights, try turning on The Dresden Files. You might just like it. I do.
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