I agree about Susan. I think she was badly miscast (what’s with the random cosmetic changes? Murphy goes from distinctly blonde-haired to black and from Karen to Connie, Susan goes from black-haired to blonde, Morgan goes from half-berserker Norseman to cultured black man, Carmichael becomes Kirmani…the more substantial changes I can understand, but these seemed unnecessary, even if they don’t detract from the characters. Probably just a limitation of their casting options). She only appears in this one episode, and it seems like they weren’t planning to pursue Harry’s longterm romance with her.
Murphy, on the other hand, I think is great. She stays pretty true to her character in the book, and the later episodes pay just as much attention to her as to Harry. Setting aside the unnecessary cosmetic change, I think Valerie Cruz is quite good as an actress.
I also just realized Storm Front doesn’t have Bob in it at all. He was probably in the hour that got cut when it was no longer the pilot. Damn shame.
Many more replies than I was expecting, especially when my question was answered in post #2. Thanks! I’m enjoying reading everyone’s thoughts on the show vs the series, and might finally have to break down and check out Hulu instead of renting the show from Netflix.
Bosstone, thanks so much for your answers/info!
Absolutely! And it’s neat that we’re at the same point.
My SO has a friend who always carries a book around with him, and a while back I noticed that he had a Dresden book and I remembered hearing about the TV show so I asked him what he thought. I also read the summary on the back of the book, and it sounded interesting so I ordered the first book in the series from Amazon (for all of $5 with free shipping). And I got hooked.
They apparently had to do that, as it turns out there’s actually a Karyn Murphy on the Chicago Police force. Can you imagine the hell that poor woman would’ve been put through?
Also, one of the things they changed from the Storm Front pilot for the rest of the series is the addition of a physical manifestation of Bob; initially they were going to try for the skull-with-orange-eyes thing, but it looked too D-grade horror movie. That’s probably why there’s no Bob in the re-edit of the episode.
One more nitpick: they did have Mister; he was orange and wasn’t quite as large as he’s supposed to be, but he was in a couple of wide-angle apartment shots. Mouse wasn’t anywhere to be seen, though.
In the first novel, I didn’t know what to make of her. In Fool Moon Butcher, imo, overplayed her bitchiness; but what did not sit well with me at all was her irresponsibility.
I don’t remember what changed my impression … the family barbeque, however, was definitely a “falling in love” moment.
Maybe the same thing happens with Valerie Cruz.
If I’m not mistaken, Mouse is introduced in Blood Rites.
Oh yeah. That’s definitely a reason. But why Connie? It’s as if they had named Eastwood’s Callahan *Sheldon *…
My criticism is that if my pile gets mixed up, it’s a pain to put the books back in order because they aren’t clearly numbered. Some just say, “a novel of the Dresden Files”. I have a list of how they ought to go, but yeah, numbers would be nice.
Y’all are probably going to read faster than me, so don’t tell me anything!
One thing to say for Dresden, he falls short of the Mary Sue mark, even if he’s Butcher’s wish fulfillment. He’s awesome, but flawed, and his successes are entirely plausibly earned. I read part of the Nightside series after finishing the existing books in the Dresden Files, and the protagonist in those is painfully Sue-ish. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Dresden.
Bosstone, I’ve watched The Boone Identity and begin to understand, why you like Valerie Cruz as Murphy. She is a mix of the tough and annoyed early Murphy and the more mature one of the later books.
Paul Blackthorne is already settling into his character and doing a great job, so far.
Terrence Mann at first appears to be a more normal Bob as the “original” one, but his portrayal also hints at some insanity within the character that adds a nice unpredictability. Although he had not much to do, he gave the character already depth – and style. Kudos.
The plot was too predictable, but the episode was more coherent than the other two I had seen so far and was technically a major improvement.
Yeah, she really helps give Murphy life, and her role in The Boone Identity shapes her personality in (some) episodes after.
Great guy. I don’t think he quite matches book-Dresden, but the personality he brings to the TV series works perfectly well.
There’s a ton more depth to TV-Bob than book-Bob, simply by virtue of him having once been human rather than just a spirit with a one-dimensional personality.
I make no guarantees about plot predictability. I tend to be surprised by mundane twists that other people smell coming a mile away. But as Dresden and Eureka show, a plot doesn’t have to be unpredictable to be enjoyable.
I don’t know about all the editions but I remember the first ones came out numbered but the later ones were not. Which is annoying because you really do have to read them in order.
I’m all excited because I’ve just discovered these books/programs. I’ve read exactly one book and seen the first 5 minutes of ep one on hulu. When I get home I’m going to finish watching the first ep. I can’t believe I didn’t notice this show when it first ran on Scifi Channel. The library carries these books and others by Butcher, so yay, I’ve found another good writer.
When I’m reading a series of books that are unnumbered I write the number on them myself, discreetly, on the spine if possible. I hate flipping through to find the copyright dates. I also tend to keep a sequential list inside the book, use it as a bookmark.
I just went to his website, wrote down the order and hit the library.
I’ve also started the TV series on Hulu (which I have come to really like, and recommend). I just now finished watching Hair of the Dog. I’m liking things so far.
You are in for a treat. The books get much better after the first couple IMHO (and I liked the first couple too). The biggest disconnect I saw between the books and the show is that book Harry is much more powerful than TV Harry. Book Harry would never be able to keep his profession on the DL. It’s easier to suspend belief with the book. The best thing about the TV show are the actors. Paul Blackthorne and Terrence Mann were perfect in the roles. It would have been nice to see the show given a longer run and a decent budget.
Amen. I’ve only recently discovered the Dresden books and I ordered the DVD of the show as well. I’m reading the books and watching the shows and loving every second of it.
It’s a sad commentary on TV in this day and age when they have a quality show like Dresden and axe it after one season.
I am ashamed to admit it, but before the movies I used to participate in arguments about who would be a good Batman, and Christian Bale never came up. Wolverine was a frequent question, and nobody involved had heard of Hugh Jackman.
We had heard of Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson. Lestat and Hamlet weren’t the first things to come to mind.
If you can accept the hockey stick as a staff, and the drum stick as the blasting rod, you should be able to accept Blackthorne as Harry. It all works in context.
My opinion can be discounted (as if enough evidence hasn’t been provided to do that earlier) because of my firm conviction that Wilfred Brimley would make a great Ebenezer McCoy.
“Pulling a decommissioned Russian comsat out of orbit so it falls onto a vampire lair. It’s the right thing to do.”
How much taller do you want him? IMDB lists Paul Blackthorne’s height as 6" 3 1/2’. They changed his car from a Beetle to a Jeep because he couldn’t easily get in and out of it on camera.
Thanks! I’m enjoying reading everyone’s thoughts on the show vs the series, and might finally have to break down and check out Hulu instead of renting the show from Netflix.
