The Dresden Files is an American television series based on the books by Jim Butcher. It premiered January 21, 2007 at 9:00PM EST on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on Space: The Imagination Station in Canada. It has also been picked up by Sky One in the UK and began airing on February 14, 2007.

Development

In 2005, the SciFi Channel announced that it had optioned The Dresden Files as a two-hour film and backdoor pilot. Nicolas Cage executive produces alongside Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Norm Golightly, and Morgan Gendel. It is produced by Lionsgate Television in association with Cage's Saturn Films.^[1] Production began during the Autumn of 2005. Originally, a Summer 2006 release was anticipated, but on May 23, 2006, a January 2007 airdate and 11 episode pick-up was announced on JBAnnounce, the official Jim Butcher announcement list. It was confirmed the next day by Sci-Fi.^[2]

The pilot film was made from a screenplay by television writers Hans Beimler and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and based on Butcher's novel Storm Front. David Carson directed and shooting took place in Toronto. It was announced in November 2005 that Paul Blackthorne had been cast in the lead role.^[3] The two hour pilot was originally intended to serve as the premiere, but certain last minute developmental and casting changes delayed its completion. Episode three (in production order) was aired in its place. Along with the re-shooting of several scenes, the two hour pilot has been cut to an hour and was the eighth episode to air. The full version will most likely be shown later but it will not follow the show's continuity.^[4]

Characters

Casting was confirmed on November 29, 2005 by Robert Hewitt Wolfe:^[5]

Principal cast

• Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) — The main character of the series, Harry is a reluctant hero, a professional wizard who often helps the police with cases involving "unusual" circumstances and others who seek his help. Harry's mother, a powerful wizard, died when he was young. He was raised by his father, a stage magician. When he was about eleven, his powers began to emerge, and his uncle Justin Morningway wanted to take him and teach him about his abilities, so he murdered Harry's father with black magic when his father did not relinquish Harry to him. Bob makes reference to Harry "self-defensing" his uncle to death. Justin Morningway left a programmed doppelgänger behind to resurrect him if he died. It is later revealed that Harry inherited a large amount of money that he gave to charity and owns the Morningway estate, which he refuses to live in.

• Lt. Connie Murphy (Valerie Cruz) — The Chicago policewoman who often seeks out Harry's help with cases that are hard to solve and may be supernaturally related — although she refuses to outright believe in magic, because such things do not fit with her "rules." She is dedicated and takes her job seriously, even going as far as seeking out the only wizard in the phonebook to help with cases. Lt. Murphy is a tough, no-nonsense woman who is divorced and has a daughter (Anna) who she says spends a lot of time with her father because of the long hours she has to work. Connie apparently has some romantic feelings toward Harry as she pointed out at the end of season one that if he kissed her again she wouldn't slap him.

• Bob (Hrothbert of Bainbridge) (Terrence Mann) — The old spirit who is owned by Dresden. He was once owned by Dresden's uncle, Justin Morningway before Dresden "self-defensed" him to death. He advises Dresden on both personal and magical matters. Bob is an invaluable source of knowledge which Dresden taps to solve supernatural crimes. In the first episode, Bob is seen redesigning a "Doom Box," which he describes as "a supernatural jack-in-the-box" that contains and amplifies magical energy. The original Doom Box formula was included in a grimoire that Bob wrote while he was alive; the book had been in Justin's possession until Harry burned it. Bob's current state is a punishment: he was executed, his soul sealed into his own skull for all eternity, for using black magic to bring a sorceress he had loved (Winnifred) back from the dead several hundred years ago. The exact date of his death is unknown, but the large crack in his skull may be some indication as to the way in which he died; also, in the first episode he threatens to "start belting showtunes from the sixteenth century," suggesting that he is at least that old.

• Warden Donald Morgan (Conrad Coates) — Morgan is a Warden of the High Council, the governing body of the wizarding community, and is assigned to the Chicago area. He is a stickler for the rules, powerful, and will often confront Harry because of their differing ideals and personalities.

Recurring characters

• Det. Sid Kirmani (Raoul Bhaneja) — Lt. Murphy's partner on the Chicago PD, he is perennially skeptical of Dresden's abilities.
• M.E. Waldo Butters (Matt Gordon) — a Chicago PD medical examiner who has assisted Lt. Murphy on several of her more bizarre cases.
• Justin Morningway (Daniel Kash) — a warden of the High Council and Dresden's uncle, believed to be dead.
• Bianca (Joanne Kelly) — one of the most powerful vampires in Chicago, and a member of the Red Court.
• Ancient Mai (Jane McLean/Elizabeth Thai) — the High Council's "top dog" who handles contact with other supernatural powers.
• Laura Ellis (Natalie Lisinska) — a waitress in a local diner, Harry's love interest in several episodes.

Minor magical characters

• Scott Sharp (Dylan Everett) — a ten-year-old adoptee with magical talent who was targeted by a skinwalker.
• Heather Bram (Kathleen Munroe) — a recently-converted lycanthrope who has left Chicago to face her new condition on her own.
• Sirota (Kim Coates) — an earth-bound demon responsible for converting humans into hellspawn.
• Sharon Mirell (Kerry Lai Fatt) - a former Chicago PD coroner who practices the very dark art of reanimation.
• Dante Arrias (Nathaniel Stephenson) — a magically-talented college student who temporarily wielded the power to create doorways.
• Amber (Christine Horne) — a Warden of the High Council, she helped Morgan protect Ancient Mai from a Kirtonian Dracoform.
• Sgt. Darren Munzer (Yannick Bisson) — a daring Chicago detective who cheated death by stealing other people's second chances.

Departure from novels

Several major changes were made for the series, including:

• Harry's "Blue Beetle" Volkswagen has been replaced with a WWII-era Willys Jeep.
• While Bob exists as a disembodied voice emanating from a skull in the books, he can appear in a (spectral) human form that emerges from the skull in the series. He is also the ghost of a human wizard, rather than a spirit of air and intellect as in the books.
• Murphy's name was changed from Karrin to Connie to avoid confusion with real-life Chicago police officer Karyn Murphy. Her character history was also altered significantly, including a daughter, Anna, who does not exist in the books.
• Justin Morningway (known as Justin Du Morne in the novels) is Harry's uncle rather than simply a Warden who took him in after his father was killed.

Jim Butcher released the following statement on his website bulletin board in response to fan criticism of the changes: "The show is not the books. It is not meant to follow the same story. It is meant as an alternate world, where the overall background and story-world is similar, but not all the same things happen. The show is not attempting to recreate the books on a chapter-by-chapter or even story-by-story basis."^[6]

Episodes

Second season

The Sci Fi Channel has yet to announce if it will renew The Dresden Files for a second season.

As with many shows with a devoted fan base, a campaign to pressure the Sci-Fi Network to renew the series has been started. Important campaign sites include "Save the Dresden Files" (http://maenad.tripod.com/saveharrydresden/index.html) and the "Dresden City Renewal Community" (http://dresdencity.org).

See also

• Chicago fiction
• Urban fantasy
• Fantasy television

References

External links

• Jim-Butcher.Com
• SCIFI.COM | The Dresden Files
• SCIFIpedia | The Dresden Files
• Template:Tv.com show
• The Dresden Files at IMDb