The Dresden Files

I’m a big fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series of books. I had the privilege of seeing Mr. Butcher at this year’s Dragon*Con. Now, the Sci-Fi channel has turned the series into a television serial, with mixed-positive, results, in my opinion.

As a caveat, I must note that this television series has always been intended as a parallel universe to the books. It will go off in new directions, with new stories, and I acknowledge that.

I do have a few gripes. One, Lt. Karin Murphy is a brunette, and Susan Gonzales is a blonde. Blah. How difficult is it to procure people with correct hair colors, especially given that Susan’s hair is obviously dyed? Two, Bob’s sarcasm is part of his schtick, and I miss it in the TV show. Three, why is Justin DuMorne alive? That’s just confusing. Four? Well, we’ll wait for next week’s episode.

Now that I’ve ragged on the show, I should say that I liked it! I thought Paul Blackthorne did an excellent job portraying Harry, and although it looks like they’ve dropped the poorer-than-dirt aspects of the character, I still like his earthiness.

Of course, once again there’s a tv show involving a HUGE urban apartment that no one outside of stock broker or lawyer or real estate developer could afford. Why can’t poor people live in small apartments?

Here are some comments by Jim Butcher himself in a news article out of Toronto