Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3551 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-08-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 368 minutes

Synopsis
British actor Paul Blackthorne (24) loses his accent to play Chicago detective Harry Dresden in this darkly funny drama. But since this smart series airs on the Sci Fi channel, Dresden is no ordinary P.I. Like another famous Harry, Dresden is a wizard with extraordinary powers. When Chicago’s finest aren’t able to solve crimes, people turn to Dresden and his supernatural abilities. From the slightly strange to the truly paranormal, Dresden is the man to master the mysteries. THE DRESDEN FILES is based on Jim Butcher’s books and also stars Valerie Cruz (NIP/TUCK).

Synopsis
Based on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, The Dresden Files chronicles the cases of no ordinary detective. Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) is a wizard, the only one listed in the Chicago phone book. He's got a handle on the crimes that can't be solved by anyone else. Paranormal? No problem. Dresden deals in all matters of supernatural threats. If you need a little hocus pocus or some other worldly advice, Dresden's your man.

Customer Reviews

It's magic
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.

Good old fashioned fantasy entertainment
With every fantasy series these days seeming to stretch itself over an unfeasibly long story arc, it's good to see a series which returns to the old formula of largely standalone episodes. Each of the episodes is thoroughly entertaining and by the end of the season, a nice cast of characters is assembled ready for a kicking second season which may or may not happen.

I haven't read the Butcher novels, but I gather liberties are taken with them. If sanctity of the canon is something that bothers you you'll need to be aware of that. But for the rest of us, this is excellent entertainment.

Very enjoyable show!
I preordered this from the States to watch in the UK because I am such a fan of the Jim Butcher books. All I can say is I have no regrets. I love this show and am really sorry that this has not been picked up for a second season.

Thankfully Mr Butcher still has many books planned in this series. I can only hope that someone in TV land sees the potential in this show and revives it!

In the meantime I have preordered the UK DVD set so I can lend it out to friends so that they too can get hooked.