The Dresden Files

I meant to post a comment on the new SciFi Channel series of The Dresden Files yesterday, but really, it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm. It’s not that the show was bad– if it was bad, I’d have no problem writing something saying that. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that good, either.

The series, for those not aware of it, is based on a popular set of fantasy novels by Jim Butcher, following the adventures of Harry Dresedn, the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book. Dresden ekes out a living as a sort of mystical private investigator, doing jobs for members of Chicago’s underground magic community, and occasionally helping the Chicago PD with supernatural crimes. The books start off with an episodic PI case or two, and quickly develop an overarching plot– eight books in, it’s actually teerting a little under the weight of backstory, but whatever.

The first two episodes follow the “episodic PI” format, with Harry getting a case at the beginning of the hour, and solving it by the end. There’s no indication of whether there will be a multi-episode arc in the future– it probably depends on whether the series finds an audience. Neither of the episodes so far is taken from the books, though there is apparently one based on the first volume coming up.

As for the particulars of the show…

My reaction was more positive than that of the Slush God, and more on the lines of SF Signal (via Tobias Buckell). It’s hard to really translate First Person Smartass narration into video– the late, lamented Nero Wolfe series on A&E is one of the few to do it well, and they had to resort to heavy use of voice-over. Also, they had first-rate actors in Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin to play the key roles.

The Dresden Files is nowhere near as successful, but that’s not a big surprise. It’s the Dumbass Horror Movie Channel, after all– I don’t expect brilliance (I’m not a fan of Battlestar Galactica, so it hasn’t raised expectations for the network). There’s not that much of Harry’s cynical voice in the show, and the voice is most of the fun of the books.

Is this the sort of thing that could shake out over time, and turn into a pretty good series? Probably. My opinion of the show is probably slightly higher after two episodes than after just the first, and it might get better with future viewing. As it turns out, I’m playing intramural basketball on Sunday nights this term, which means I’ll be looking for something to watch as I cool down after games, and this fits the bill reasonably well.

At the moment, though, my initial reaction is “Well, it could be a lot worse…”

(One other note, on the SF Signal review: the author laments a missed opporunity, saying “They could have taken each book, and made 3 or 4 episodes out of each one.” I’m highly dubious about that idea– for one thing, that would require an awfully big investment both in terms of production capital and audience goodwill. More importantly, though, I just don’t think the books are all that deep… They’re fun, but it’s not like there are lots of subtleties to be lost if they streamline the plot a bit.)