The Dresden Files 1x01 - Pilot

The Sci Fi Channel's new television series The Dresden Files brings to life Jim Butcher's Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, a wizard residing in modern day Chicago. In fact, Dresden is so modern that he is even listed in the phonebook under “wizards.”

This is how a young boy, Scott Sharp (Dylan Everett), finds Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) in the pilot episode. Armed with a page from the phonebook and a wad of cash, the boy seeks Dresden's services to help him get rid of monsters. Initially, Dresden dismisses the boy as having an overactive imagination, which is odd since it has been revealed through flashbacks that Dresden has had personal experiences with real monsters when he was a boy. After some convincing by Bob (Terrance Mann), an apparition that resides in a skull, Dresden takes on the investigation. This is when the magic of Dresden is revealed. In the midst of Dresden's investigation for Scott's monster, Lieutenant Connie Murphy (Valerie Cruz), a Chicago policewoman, finds the body of a woman who is completely skinned from head to toe without traces of blood anywhere. Due to Dresden's specialty for all things supernatural, he is frequently called in by Murphy to aid in “unusual” investigations for a different perspective. Naturally, the unusual circumstances of these cases intersect when Scott, as the primary target, and Dresden find themselves face to face with a formidable foe that can skin people alive with a single thought.

The pilot episode has a lot of information packed into forty-three minutes, possibly too much at once. With the revelation of Dresden's past through flashbacks and the introduction of a modern world where magic and supernatural beings exists, the pace of the episode stumbles a bit. Having never read Butcher's novels, mentions of a High Council leaves one confused. Despite the questions the episode raises, it also answers some questions, especially those about Dresden's past and his relationship with his father. Though the answers given are vague, they are enough to partially satisfy the mysteries of Dresden's past and sustain the viewer's intrigue to continue watching.

Fans of The Dresden Files novels feel that television series has taken too many liberties in its adaptation by altering many distinct details from the books. For example, Dresden is being portrayed as a ladies man on screen, while in the novels, he is shy and reserved when it comes to dating. Murphy has been changed from a blonde, short, Irish-Catholic, childless woman to an averaged-height brunette with a daughter. Bob in the television series has a human form, whereas in the novel he has no human form and is known to occasionally borrow the body of Dresden's cat, Mister, who does not exist in the small screen adaptation. There are many other differences between the novels and the television series. However, for one whose first exposure to the supernatural world of The Dresden Files is through the television series, the pilot manages to capture the essence of the novels even though many will continue to say that the books are “better.” This is still a decent adaptation, and hopefully upcoming episodes will prove this and draw more viewers into its magical charm.