User reviews

Should NEVER have been cancelled. I loved every minute.

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.

I have been reading the Dresden files by jim butcher and I am up to no 8. I enjoyed reading them so much when I saw the tv series on prime I thought I would give it a go. The only problem with reading the books first you get things in your mind about different characters and what they look like. I didn't like Murphy as I didn't imagine her like that and some other things were a bit different to the books. I did like bob. But I will say I did enjoy it and so did my husband

I just discovered this show on Netflix and am amazed that something so brilliant, engaging and well-written was canceled after only one season.

The characters are well-developed, the cast is believable and the storyline is engaging.

Compared to the reality drivel that has taken over television and cable this was like reading Shakespeare - engaging for those that like to have their brain cells teased a little bit instead of being "dumbed-down" by over-dressed idiots that can't act and think that behaving like a sociopathic idiot is entertainment.

I think commercial interests (e.g. paying sponsors), were put off by the fact that the good guy practices magic and wiccan symbols were displayed in a positive light (e.g. used to suppress evil energies) vs. traditional religious symbols. For the record my religious affiliation is Christian and I am not offended.

The "powers that be" made a mistake, I would pay for a second season!

This was a great show when it aired the first time but it was cut short for no apparent reason. Now that Arrow is ending I hope Netflix or prime restarts this show with the same people would be great.

If you agree this show should be continued sound off!

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

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??

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.

Stumbled across this recently on Netflix's "watch instantly" section. Have to say, got me hooked.

Imagine Harry Potter has gotten older. He's updated his wand with a drum stick, and instead of a staff.....he's got a hockey stick. Now he's a P.I./wizard for hire & helping the police with "unique" cases.

Not as much magic as I wanted and some effects are a bit cheesy, but the character development is great. Got to the end of the season 1 and wanted more, only to find out there was only one season. Booo! Right when the show started getting REALLY good....gone. Oh well.

If you enjoy magic, Harry Potter & CSI type stuff....check this out. Just don't get into any black magic afterward!

Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) is a wizard in Chicago. He's a supernatural detective who sometimes works with police Lt. Connie Murphy (Valerie Cruz) on some of her weirder cases. He's assisted by his late uncle Bob (Terrence Mann) who is a ghost. There is the High Council which works to keep magic from the public eye.

This is a Toronto-for-Chicago Canadian show. I like the world construction but I don't like Murphy not noticing all the magic. It makes her look dumb. Nevertheless, I like the actress. She's great and Blackthorne is great. Bob does need someone comedic to play him. I like the general structure of the big three. Back to the world construction, it's a little random to be dropped into this world without fully explained. The show needs to lay out his powers and the general premise of magic sooner. It also needs a Big Bad to drive the show for the first season. This feels like a 2/3 of a great show. It just needs to fill out the rest but it gets canceled before it had a chance.

LOVED this show. Watched it twice. I discovered it on Netflix. Like many other shows I enjoyed, it ended in an untimely fashion. ex: The Finder, Kyle XY, Roswell, The Witches of Eastend, Frequency, to name a few. Very disappointing. Who gets to vote on which shows get cancelled and which ones do not? And where do I sign up?

Jim Butcher's series of novels entitled "The Dresden Files" is clever, fast-paced, intense, and imaginative. Harry Dresden is a professional Wizard--The only one in the Chicago phone book--Who narrates his adventures in the form of detective novels. Dresden himself is a Private Investigator who consults for the Chicago Police Department, who consults on their stranger cases.

And that is just about where the similarities between the book series and the TV show end.

The TV series features a Wizard named Harry Dresden, who is more of a Private Eye with a magic hockey stick. He still works with CPD's Karren Murphy, lives with a ghost named Bob, and Morgan, Warden for the White Council is still breathing down Dresden's neck. All these characters are changed, often down to their basic characters.

And if you can get past all that, this series is still pretty great.

Jim Butcher wrote amazing novels, and this series will never stack up to it, but it's a fun series which is written intelligently and contains a portion of the charm of the series.

"The Dresden Files" takes place in a sort of "World of Darkness" Style Chicago--Everything is similar to the world we know, but not quite. There are Vampires and Werewolves and ghosts and Dragons lurking outside our perception. Dresden is sort of an intermediary between the mundane and the Supernatural. He's not particularly adept with magic (This element of the Dresden Files may simply have been changed for budget reasons), but he's more knowledgeable than the average Joe.

Dresden's clients range from the clueless to those who are, themselves, Supernatural. More often than not, he finds himself in the thick of things the hard way. Bob, arguably his closest friend, a is ghost who lives in a skull, and is a constant source of information. Murphy relies on him to solve the unexplainable, but firmly refuses to believe Dresden when he talks about magic. Morgan is a Warden, similar to the police, and serves as a sometime ally, sometime thorn in the side.

Dresden relies on some tools of his trade fairly often, namely his hockey stick Which replaces the "Wizard's Staff") and his shield bracelet, but primarily, he relies on his wits to get him through. Dresden comes off as incredibly limited compared to both his enemies and his allies.

While the show has some good visuals and nice action, the best element of the show is the interaction between the characters. Harry is a sort of tarnished White Knight, a do-gooder who is frowned upon for his actions and decisions. Morgan is the straight-and-narrow type who plays off Dresden well, as does Bob, whose morals are often questionable at best. Lecherous, snide, and often "cranky," Bob cares for Harry, and looks out for his best interests more often than not. In fact, Bob may well be the most compelling of the supporting cast; though he's morally ambiguous at points, he takes actions that it's likely he wouldn't consider, were Dresden not in the equation.

All in all, the biggest flaw of the series is simply that it's not the book series. It's a solid TV show which still shows depth and character.

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.

Gotta say this show ought to have appeared on terrestrial television and, in its way, just as enjoyable as the likes of charmed and supernatural. Paul Blackthorne better known more recently for his role in Arrow plays his leading role well and as the episodes progressed, IMO I felt the characters became more entertaining. I haven't read the book(s)? having just been informed by a fellow contributor who recently reviewed the show, that they read them prior to watching the tv show so I can't say whether they are anything like the written format and though somewhat ignorant to that fact, I have found the show to be most enjoyable to watch. I agree with other reviewers comments that this is a show that would be great to see return to the screen with the original actors in play.

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.

the Dresden files was one of the best new shows to hit the airwaves in a while a one of the best things that sci fi ever had, its not to late people, if we all work together we can get this show back on the air, keep hope alive we can do it, if they can do it with jerhico we can do it with the Dresden files, no more ice spiders! more Dresden files sci fi!

Bonnie Hammer, President NBC Universal/Sci-Fi Channel 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112

Dave Howe, Executive VP/GM NBC Universal/SCI FI Channel 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York NY, 10112

Erik Storey, SVP Original Programming NBC Universal/Sci Fi Channel 100 Universal City Plaza Bld. 1400, 14th Floor Universal City, CA 91608

Tony Optican, SVP Original Programming NBC Universal/Sci Fi Channel 100 Universal City Plaza Bld. 1400, 14th Floor Universal City, CA 91608

Chris Sanagustin, VP Programming Development NBC Universal/Sci Fi Channel 100 Universal City Plaza Bld. 1400, 14th Floor Universal City, CA 91608

Letters to be posted on-line: scifiweekly@scifi.com SciFi Weekly: scifiweekly@scifi.com

Feedback: feedback@scifi.com Programming: programming@scifi.com

the following are contact numbers for sci fi big wigs they are owed by NBC/ universal the final say has not been made people we can do this

1 212 664 4444 NBC universal main number

1212 664 4121 Carrie gaffney production manager for sci fi!

1 818 777 6944 Erik storey

1 818 777 4629 Dave Howe

1 212 -664 4139 Sci-Fi programming main number

1 -212 - 664 -4453 Sci-Fi fan line

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/new-home-4-Dresden/sign.html#se

I'm really shocked that this was cancelled after one season. It was well written and the acting was really pretty good. Each episode was interesting and always had some twist to keep you involved. I have read some of the books and think these episodes are close and done well.

My only complaint about this show is why they made Dresden such bad? Why does he get beat up in every single fight he's in, even by women? He literally loses every fight he's in. It's pathetic! Those scenes are irritating to watch but whatever. The show is definitely worth a watch and even 12 years later I hope they bring it back at some point.

Give it a go...

Seems most of the critics here complain about this show diverging from the book version. If I was younger & read them, maybe I'd agree. However, this TV series IS well scripted/ acted & enjoyable, FAR better than many cheesier SF hits like Avatar, etc. At 60yo, I've other things to do aside reading fantasy now & this was a quality series that ended far too soon.

Most reviewers compare the novels to the show! Very understandable but ultimately a waste of time! I already have given up on the ability of producers to successfully adapt novels and comic books! Sometimes I am just satisfied if they manage to capture the essence of a novel or comic! It is better to see an adaptation as an alternative universe of the original story! That way the viewing experience will be more enjoyable! So not having read the books I can give a more objective view on the dresden files! And i think it is an entertaining show that is getting better each episode! Paul Blackthorne does a good job in the acting department! He is very charming and convincing! His sidekick Bob is a nice addition! Even if Bob is a ghost it is obvious that Harry and Bob are friends and that is nice to see! I have read on wikipedia that Harry Dresden is a very powerful wizard! In this show that isn't very clear because he doesn't use strong magic that often! After having seen 7 episodes this is explained due to the fact that Harry Dresden is reluctant to use dark magic because it is addictive and destructive! It seems to me that in future episodes they will let him use more and stronger magic in order to show a more darker side of Harry Dresden! At least that would make more sense and would be interesting! You can always hope! For now I enjoy this show as it is! Overall this is a nice take take on detective mystery shows!

I hope to see this series renewed for a second season.

The world of Harry Dresden is a rich, imaginative universe, full of gray tones that deserve to be explored further. The characters and creatures are fascinating, the scenarios well written, and the visuals impressive.

Most appealing of all is the acting, particularly that of Blackthorne and Mann as Harry and Bob. They play off each other with perfect timing, whether for comedy, action, or intense drama. It's a brilliant pairing of actors with characters.

As with all first seasons, there was imperfection. Moments that lacked clarity, characters that lacked dimension. But as the Dresden Files progressed through its brief 12 episode run, the improvement was staggering. Actors grew into their roles, dialogue sharpened, and editing improved.

This is a good show. It could become even greater. It's worth saving.

This show is catching a lot of flak from fans of the book for not staying true to every line in the source material. Their quick to point out the flaws but what they fail to see is the important story aspects the kept intact for the show. Such as the characters and the over all storyline. The Dresden Files is a good adaptation from the books. Harry is the same ol' reluctant curmudgeonly anti-hero thats in the book. Bob is still a relentless perv. Murphy is still the hard nosed detective. There is some good unspoken sexual tension between Harry and Murphy I might add. The stories are cool and the magic is unique and doesn't follow the Hollywood cliché's. In addition; Harry's nonchalant take on life and death situations aggravated further by his smart mouth is always entertaining. The best thing about the Dresden Files is that it seems like the story lines are different enough from the books that if you see an episode based on a book you haven't read yet its not going to spoil the story.

As an avid Jim Butcher and Harry Dresden fan, someone who had read and loved all of the Dresden Files books...

I was sorely disappointed by this series. The Dresden Files Book series is one of extreme promise, and I was excited when I heard there would be a television series as well, but unfortunately...

Nothing lives up to the book, nothing is the same. The only common elements are the character names, and the fact that Dresden is a wizard. But all the key elements that make Harry what he is, an amazing and well written character, are not captured by this show. I do not in any way blame the acting.. I blame the writing. Harry's wit, tone, and feeling have been lost.

If you want to see the real Dresden, read the books.. do not dare settle for this show.

The first book of the series is called Storm Front. Go buy it.

I never read the books (I am a video/movie type) however my wife did & loved them. She has filled me in as much as possible & thru this I began to enjoy the stories! While she wasn't thrilled with the show at first, I got her to accept that the show was the show, not the books, & for her to enjoy it for what it was instead of comparing the two. Since then we have watched the entire season/series, and we BOTH want more! While not as terrific as the books perhaps, but then so can be said of Harry Potter! (Anyone who has read those knows what I mean, and it was the same situation there for my wife & I as it was for Dresden Files! She read & I listened!) In fact Harry Potter was worse, as without my wife's help, the movies were actually hard to follow! With Dresden it wasn't even that bad at all! So if someone from some studio somewhere ever reads this, think about taking the risk to try this again! Let Harry grow his hair a bit perhaps , but that was the only real complaint everyone we know had! After watching the 1st season, we are left wanting more! And not some other Dresden "look-alike" story. Jim Butcher is the man for this! Let him do what he does best!

And others we know agree!