The Dresden Files: The Complete First Season

Imagine if Harry Potter grew up to be Philip Marlowe, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what "The Dresden Files" is like.

While it starts weakly -- and is rarely faithful to Jim Butcher's novels -- "The Dresden Files" manages to whip itself into a solid supernatural-mystery series, with a pretty good cast and some genuinely twisty-turny mysteries. And, of course, a snarky ghost living inside a skull.

Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) is Chicago's only wizard-for-hire, with a tragic past, a hockey-stick staff, and a companion spirit named Bob who lives in a skull (Terrence Mann). He's also perpetually in bad with the wizard council, and moderately famous among the supernatural crowds lurking around Chicago.

As the series opens, Harry is approached by a young boy who claims he's being stalked by otherworldly forces -- and his mother confirms that he's been followed by blackbirds, crows and ravens ever since he was born. Even worse, a skinned body is found in a nearby apartment -- and the malevolent skinwalker who stole the woman's dermis may be after the boy as well.

Arguably the premiere is the weakest of the series, since there's little actual detecting going on. But things perk up in the following episodes. Harry tackles a hellspawn in love, a serial killer murdering werewolves, a bodysnatching murderer, a fertility clinic with a dark secret, a bunch of young thieves using deadly magic, and an attempt to frame Bianca, the sultry vampire club-owner.

Things get even worse when Harry is trapped with a bunch of hostile wizards inside a deadly cloud, which can only have been conjured by one of them. And when Bob is stolen, Harry finds himself confronting his cruel uncle Justin -- whom Harry "self-defensed to death" five years ago.

"The Dresden Files" are only loosely based on the Jim Butcher novels -- it's not as dark or as complex, and a lot of characters are changes. But take it as its own animal, and it ends up being a very solid detective series... albeit one where the suspects and victims just happen to be vampires, devils, lycanthropes, incubi and necromancers.

The plots are genuinely mysterious and gritty, sometimes with genuinely surprising answers, and odd twists on typical urban-fantasy, like vampire junkies. The stories are kept from being too grim by Bob, who provides some witty dialogue to offset the cop-style stuff ("And you wonder why your life is an unending series of insurmountable intellectual, financial and emotional hurdles!").

If the series has a problem, it's that sometimes they overuse the handheld camera, especially in fight scenes. And the CGI ranges from decent (Bianca's vampire transformations) to somewhat hokey (dragon, werewolves), but not bad considering.

Blackthorne is just right for the role: quirky, likable, and a little bit charming. Mann makes a brilliant foil as a damned ghost, who provides hilarious, slightly pervy information for every occasion, and Conrad Coates is good as the rigid Morgan, who is just waiting for a chance to behead Harry. Unfortunately Valerie Cruz is far too dewy-eyed to make a convincing hardcore cop -- she's completely eclipsed by the hilarious Claudia Black in "Other Dick."

The first season of the "Dresden Files" has its flaws, but it's still an enjoyable, suspenseful urban fantasy series that gives a new spin to the lone-wolf detective. Definitely worth watching.

If you are a big fan of Stargate SG-1 or Dr. Who, The Dresden Files is a perfect fit to satisfy your hunger for sci fi tales. It's a great show with unique stories full of mystery and intrigue based on the books by Jim Butcher.

This was an amazingly fresh new series that was good enough to sink your teeth into, week after week.

Simply put, it was an adult version of Harry Potter, a grown up wizard named Harry Dresden along with his sidekick Bob. Bob is Harry's snooty mentor, hilariously portrayed by Terrance Mann, who is imprisoned in his own skull as punishment for dabbling in black magic.

Harry, deliciously played by Paul Blackthorne with a lost puppy dog expression, is a lone wizard that actually advertises his business in the yellow pages, who always seemed to find himself surrounded by trouble. Or trouble always seemed to find him.

Whether it be battling against sultry vampires, seductive werewolves, creepy skinwalkers, spooky shapeshifters, or helping solve cases with his cop friend, Murphy, he does his best in protecting the city of Chicago from dangerous threats day after day. What a guy. Heck, I just want to give him a big hug.

The Dresden Files has been by far one of the best shows on television this past year (2007) pulling in at least 1.7 million viewers on a weekly basis. Many fans who watched this series have gotten addicted to Jim Butcher's novels, who just recently released a new addition called "White Night".

Unfortunately, it was a short lived series on SCI-FI and recently cancelled which is a shame since it was a superb show that was truly a magical experience.

There are thousands of loyal fans trying to encourage the network to renew The Dresden Files, please give them a helping hand and stop by this site: [...]

In the meantime, you can also check out the official Dresden site at [...]

I was hesitant at first because peope told me it strayed to far from the books. But after watching it, I quite enjoyed the show. Some things are very different, but still worth giving a try for anyone who has read the books, or someone who is just looking for something new.