I’ve been trying to write a post about the Dresden Files since the second episode. I keep putting it down and then the next week’s episode is broadcast and I have to modify it. Everything below the fold was my draft comments as of last week, take them as they are, I stick by them.
However, I have to say that I don’t like the show anymore. It’s disappointing on a number of levels. What makes the books so good is the mixing of supernatural with the “real” and Harry’s angst in dealing with it all. This is entirely missing from the TV show. I will probably keep watching it, like an incipient car wreck, and I’ll let you know if I think it is getting better. Firefly, this is not. which probably means it will stick around for 6 seasons
Comments from last week are below.
Sunday, February 11, was episode 3 of the SciFi channel’s version of Jim Butcher’s concept of a modern fantasy world set in Chicago, otherwise known as The Dresden Files. I don’t believe my friend Steph would approve of that sentence
Spoilers Follow beneath the fold
As I noted in my previous post after episode 1, there have been a lot of changes in the story/characters/setting from the ones laid out in the books. Not necessarily all bad, of course, and I understand some of the constraints that force changes on a film crew. You can’t film a TV show in a tiny apartment with no room for cameras, after all.
But, I don’t like where they are taking pieces of the story arc. Murphy, for example. At the end of episode 2 she said, “Don’t ever lie to me (again)” or something along those lines. But, she was unconscious or insensate during her possession, so how does she know he lied? Is this supposed to be a illustration of her cop ability to sense deception? If so, it was weak. Also, doesn’t Murphy hire Harry because he is a wizard, with arcane abilities? Which brings me to my second big beef…
Why can’t Harry actually do anything magical? Oh, they’ve shown him calling up someone’s memories in a mirror and placing a protection on a house, but one of Book Harry’s defining characteristic is his dedication to his wizarding skills. The shield-bracelet stunt in the second episode was bogus. Catching a bullet on the actual bracelet is a poor second to using the bracelet to focus his powers into a shield. Maybe SciFi is waiting to see if the show catches on before spending any real money on CGI. I wish they would push more toward a show that describes a wizard-who-happens-to-be-an-Investigator, rather than vice versa.
Another point is Bob. Bob is playing the role of the all-knowing sage, which is useful for moving stories along, but in the TV show it’s being overdone. He’s pretty much all-powerful within his ghostly constraints. He’s got the answers to everything, if only Harry would listen to him. Bah!
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