Warp Section

When I saw that the Space Channel here in Canada would be carrying the new Dresden Files show I was exciting.  I’ve read most, if not all–I don’t know if there are new ones out since I last looked–of the Dresden Files mysteries by Jim Butcher.  In the books, Harry is a guy geeks can relate to.  He has trouble with women, he tends to carry around a lot of strange stuff, and well things tend to explode around him.  And come on dude, his blasting rod can pack a mean whallop!

So far I haven’t been too thrilled with the shows.  The TV Harry is just not my vision of the book Harry.  He should be taller, lankier, geekier, oh and his leather coat is too short.  Okay not to mention in the book, Harry doesn’t carry a freakin’ hockey stick and he drives an old VW Beetle not a Land Cruiser.  Nit picking, I know, but that is part of being a fan isn’t it.  Knowing the details that bring a story to life?

So while you’re waiting for the next epsiode, wander down to the library and check out one of the books.  You won’t be disappointed.

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First off, I’ll say that I’m amazed Carrie managed to restrain herself from reviewing Dresden Files this week, as the main creature introduced is none other than our friend lupine lycanthrope, aka werewolf. Carrie, for those of you who don’t know, is quite the werewolf professional, so I do look forward to her two cents in the comments of this post.
The actor who plays Harry Dresden is skirting the thin line between powerful acting and melodrama. I’m still giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I have to admit I’m wondering why the writers are putting him in this position in the first place. Out of nowhere he seems to fall madly in love this week. He plays it strong, but we’re never really given a reason for this sudden passion.

Dresden’s love angle was probably designed to parallel the real Romeo & Juliet (in werewolf form) story between the FBI agents. Following some ancient formula–Kill Nine; Remove the Sign–this agent–whom we infer, as the story progresses, contracted lycanthropy digging up Bosnia graves–has been first infecting, then killing victims in order to recover her own lost humanity.
Ironic.
Anyway, Dresden’s love interest is intended victim number 9, the final piece of the recipe. However, the werewolfian FBI agent’s partner in crime becomes unintentionally infected, and sneaks up on his lady-love as she’s about to finish off Dresden. She kills her own love, inadvertantly, and he lives (dramatically) just long enough to inform the audience that, oops, he was number 9, and so now she is healed. She reverts to human form and gazes sadly at her lost love.

Dresden’s love, on the other hand, remains infected! At least you can’t blame the writers for going cliche on this bit. Normally, the hero gets the girl, but Dresden, with his dry wit and somber outlook, works better as a slightly tortured loner.

There are some great scenes in this episode where the fevered victim is dream-speaking to the ghost of her dead friend. The cinematography is very edgy without being vertiginous, and it evoked a very creepy feel. The special effects budget, on the other hand, must have been used up, because we got a couple crappy CGI shots of a werewolf, the famous yellow contact lenses, and some fangs. For the most part they did a good job keeping the scary bits in the shadows, where they are scariest anyway.

Since the voice over is one of my favorite parts about this series, I’ll leave you with Dresden’s quote showing his dark view of humanity:

Animals. Sometimes I think that’s really all we are–driven by instinct, the need to survive; and if you really wanna see someone at their most primative, all you have to do is just throw them in a cage.

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Voice-over is often considered to be a weakness in television, but for The Dresden Files–perhaps because it came to us from book form–it is definitely a strength. This week Dresden is informing us that, while he can talk to ghosts, he’d really rather not.

So now you know what Harry had to do this week.

This week gave us a very clever plot, in my opinion, without the usual tip-offs five minutes in, or any lame stupidity-driven activities. It was complex, without being convoluted or confusing.
The theme was ancient Egyptian, showing that the writers are willing to draw from a variety of mythos.

Bob the Ghost and Harry continue to have witty banter without slipping into the silly.

As your image this week, I have provided a drawing of Dresden riding a dinosaur. If we’re lucky, our gritty detective will appear in a Heroes crossover episode!

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“When I was a kid, my father told me there was no such thing as monsters; my nightmares were just figments of my imagination. As I got older, I had to wonder, was he lying to me… or just wrong.”

Three shows sprang to mind when I watched the first episode of Dresden Files. It had the gritty detective of Eureka, the magical mystery of Charmed, and the dark supernatural feel of, well, Supernatural. Fortunately, it didn’t have the WB-required brooding teens or quite the level of silliness of Eureka. Don’t get me wrong, I liked all those shows, but this one, in my opinion, is a cut above. It’s the first good attempt at dark and magical since Angel.
It has humor, too, but it comes in the form of Harry Dresden’s dry, self-interested comments to the supporting cast. Blackthorne’s (Dresden) acting is strong, and while we haven’t seen much of the supporting cast yet, it seems promising.

The first episode has set up a darkly wonderful world with supernatural agents who aren’t just good and evil, but self-interested, rules-bound, and who have personalities rather than simple alignments. I have high hopes for the series.

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A few thoughts on the new Sci Fi Channel series based on the series of novels by Jim Butcher:

I wasn’t too sure about it at first. The plot seemed iffy — any story dependent upon our sympathy for a small child makes me suspicious. But one scene won me over completely: a circle of creepy Raven men surrounds the young boy-in-peril. One of them offers him a can of whipped cream, for his banana split. Because even if you’re a supernatural creature, the best way to keep the kid you’re protecting happy is to give him ice cream. It was so incongruous and wacky, I loved it. And those nictitating membranes? Very, very cool.

I like Harry, I liked the way the episode revealed his childhood in small slices, building up a mystery and leaving me wanting more. So yes, I’ll be watching again. But I do hope the plots get a little more interesting. It would also drive me a little less crazy if they used some actual folklore instead of just making stuff up. But that’s just me.

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