Bit of Lit: the Dresden Files

[LadyTevar]

I don't think they gave the TV series time for Blackthorne to get a truly intense scene. They did have many scenes where Dresden got by on preparation and luck, just like the novels. The Hellion was a good example of this.

[Gaidin]

Every one of those episodes was more like one of the short stories anyway. If they'd done something like a 6 parter we could've seen something more like what he's asking for from Blackthorne. As opposed to Harry Dresden: Day at the Office.

[The Romulan Republic]

The show didn't need more time to do what I'm talking about. All that's needed is a reason for Dresden to be pushed far enough and an actor (and special effects if its a fight scene) that can pull it off.

I'm not saying Paul Blackthorne is a bad actor. But Dresden in battle is supposed to be terrifying. And I don't see that in what I recall of Paul Blackthorne.

To see some of what I'm talking about, watch these clips courtesy of the BBC (I think some of the scene is missing but you should get the idea):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o9LrbdorS0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf580OuAhd4

A bit on the hammy side, but aside from that its got a vibe like what I'm thinking of.

[Gaidin]

And Paul Blackthorne has exactly the kind of intensity you want in Season 3 of 24. But again, when they give him episodes that are Harry Dresden: Day at the Office, you're not going to get that.

[The Romulan Republic]

I haven't seen him in 24. I've watched very little of 24.

Maybe with different writers, directors, or executives, he would have captured that aspect of Dresden more.

[SCRawl]

When a guy uses a hockey stick and a drum stick as his foci, it's hard to take him seriously. The TV concept needed to be taken down to the wood and started over.

[Gaidin]

I haven't seen him in 24. I've watched very little of 24.

Maybe with different writers, directors, or executives, he would have captured that aspect of Dresden more.

It's like I've always told friends. Keep the cast, give it 13-15 episode seasons, give each book a 6 episode run, and give each short story a single episode tale and move it where you need to since it's a short story.

Short Story pilot-Book-Short Story-Book-short story would be the format I'd have done for a fifteen episode season.

[Ralin]

When a guy uses a hockey stick and a drum stick as his foci, it's hard to take him seriously. The TV concept needed to be taken down to the wood and started over.

I haven't seen any of the show, but that is pretty much exactly the sort of thing Dresden would do had he (or Butcher) thought of it.

[The Romulan Republic]

I haven't seen him in 24. I've watched very little of 24.

Maybe with different writers, directors, or executives, he would have captured that aspect of Dresden more.

It's like I've always told friends. Keep the cast, give it 13-15 episode seasons, give each book a 6 episode run, and give each short story a single episode tale and move it where you need to since it's a short story.

Short Story pilot-Book-Short Story-Book-short story would be the format I'd have done for a fifteen episode season.

What about some new stories?

And your plan would require a lot of seasons. How long would the show last?

Also, your plan would make the first season end between Fool Moon and Grave Peril. Why not end on Grave Peril (a cliffhanger)?

[Steve]

Granted, the show had other differences. Bob as the spirit of a sorcerer, Justin being his uncle, and Morgan being completely different as well. Plus the more complex relationship between Bianca and Harry.

[Crazedwraith]

Really, Guys? 'He uses a hockey stick' is supposed to be a terrible crime? Sure, using a staff is cool and fits his 'not tying to fit in, I am a wizard who is in the yellow pages shtick' but if that was the worst thing about the serious it would be a godsend.

And Harry is not an intense, wrathful guy. He's a geeky, wise cracking goof who gets by by the skin of his teeth. He certainly gets more wrathful and intense as the series go on. But it comes to a surprise to all say in Blood Rites when he gets all 'we find them and kill them!' over Mavra. And again in Dead Beat when he's like 'I'm going to kill all those necromancers'. Harry has his intense moments yes but they're generally reserved for when something personally pissed him off somehow. Gone after family or friends or killed women or children in front of him or something. And that didn't really happen in the series.

As to adapting the books directly. Did you see the mess they made of Storm Front? No. TV doesn't have the effect budgets to pull it off the books accurately and unless you have Dresden talk over the whole thing, you'd be missing huge chunks. Plus the books have an ongoing story that by the two books a season plan, would take 10 years to finish and the odds of a show lasting that long are not good.

No, Dresden Files problem was being a bit bland, a bit dull and generic and not focusing on its characters as well as it should. Like I said originally some of the later episodes are not bad. The one's I remember include,one guest staring Claudia Black. The one where Bob comes back to life and the last couple that had more of a focus on murphy.

To my mind, a Dresden Files show should follow what that series did; original stand alone magical mysteries while taking a hefty dose of inspiration from Castle. The main plots are standalone, but what really brings us back is the on going tension and relationship between Dresden and Murphy. I'm not talking necessarily shipping like Castle but their friendship, professional trust, that kind of thing that was a big part of the first few novels before they came to trust each other completely.

[Gaidin]

Your opinion of their episode of Storm Front is pretty pathetic. When they try to knock that book down to a 43 minute episode of course it's going to suck. They don't have the damn time to give that story what it needs.

The rest of that is, well...eh. Whatever. If they were adapting stories I'd be more interested in HBO that could afford some of this, then fuck your Castle magic wannabe.

[Ralin]

TV doesn't have the effect budgets to pull it off the books accurately

Doesn't Dresden say at some point that magic tends to look like bad CGI?

[Crazedwraith]

TV doesn't have the effect budgets to pull it off the books accurately

Doesn't Dresden say at some point that magic tends to look like bad CGI?

Lol. Yes. In reference to the video Susan took of him killing the loup-garou. 'I've done magic on TV and people just complained the CGI was bad' or something like that.

Cards on the table I just don't like direct adaptations that much I'm the kind of person who can't watch the Harry Potter movies or GoT without fuming about how they've changed anything.

so I quite liked the approach the TV show took in basically being entirely its own thing. But each to their own.

It would be interesting to see what they could do with a film budget or an HBO 10 episode show budget. It wouldn't have all the disparate location shots and cast of hundreds GoT had. So they would be able to spend more on CGI to get the magic and monsters right.

[Ahriman238]

About a quarter of the way through Cold Days. Demonrreach is a prison for all the ancient sealed evil the White Council has ever dealt with, that part was actually spoiled to me. Though there's another thing Harry has on hand that no sane wizard has or wants, along with the Winter Knight, Darkhallow, and Lash. Good thing he didn't know about this circa Canges or... well, he'd have probably done exactly the same thing. Working for Mab is way less evil than unleashing hell that way.

Bob made a reference Harry didn't get! To Firefly, even.

Well, we have a mission to kill an immortal, save Demonrreach from time-traveling shenanigans and it all has to be done with 24 hours? And the Fomor are still lurking around? Great. Now it's a Dresden Files book.

I'm surprised Molly is still quits with the White Council, and really surprised at no point in the last fifteen months has McCoy stepped up and taken responsibility for her training and conduct. And what is it with Wizards and subterranean apartments anyways?

I have a feeling that really, really soon Harry is going to regret not seeing murphy the moment he got back.

[Gaidin]

Cards on the table I just don't like direct adaptations that much I'm the kind of person who can't watch the Harry Potter movies or GoT without fuming about how they've changed anything.

so I quite liked the approach the TV show took in basically being entirely its own thing. But each to their own.

It would be interesting to see what they could do with a film budget or an HBO 10 episode show budget. It wouldn't have all the disparate location shots and cast of hundreds GoT had. So they would be able to spend more on CGI to get the magic and monsters right.

Likewise, cards on the table, when someone made a really good Magic Police Drama pilot and took it not one step further and it didn't have a single reference to Dresden, didn't need to make a single reference to Dresden, and was able to make it its own world, I really have no faith in the general cable channels to do a Dresden Files tv show in the sense of Harry Dresden: Day at the Office. I wouldn't mind Harry Dresden: Day at the Office. Especially if it was HBO or Showtime doing it. More new material is great, especially if Butcher is given some input. What happens between the books is a question I'd like to know, as the books are basically always Shit Is Hitting The Fan(TM), and things are over in three days tops. Some of those general cases where he's just earning a living could be pretty interesting. But when they can't even take that independent pilot and run with it? Eh. I've got little faith in them.

[SAMAS]

Got Cold Days and Side Jobs for my birthday, going to read Cold Days first.

Chronologically, Side Jobs comes first.

[Gaidin]

Chronologically, Side Jobs comes first.

There's no harm no foul in reading Cold Days first since he's already started it. I mean, hell he's not really read anything in Side Jobs and he's theoretically got a lot of math in figuring out what's where in that book anyway.

[PainRack]

I just read the free chapters to Skin Game.... Holy Shit... Nicodaemeus is going to mess with a god. And we KNOW from Side Jobs that the Greek Gods are still active in the world, where they apparently stir up football hooliganism in their pursuit of excess.

[PainRack]

As of Skin Game, the Fomor have made some gains in Territory. We also see that they're from under the sea, and probably Butcher's tribute to Lovecraftian Dagonites.

To be frank, they appear to be merely the forefront of a wave of factions. And it isn't new.

It was specifically mentioned that Marcone had repulsed multiple attempts in Chicago before the end of Changes and we could see stuff like the Indian rakshakas.

[Crazedwraith]

Skin Game has its own thread. This thread is not for posting latest info.

[Ahriman238]

Done Cold Days.

So, is Molly now doomed to become Maeve 2.0? That's sort of the impression I got from the discussion on the mantles of the Queens.

Harry versus Fix was epic, Harry giving in to the mantle was frightening.

So, we have a man-behind-the-man. The Adversary which is probably linked to the other shadowy conspiracy, the Black Council.

Is Kringle.... Vadderung? Or something similar to him? That was just such an odd moment.

[Terralthra]

Done Cold Days.

So, is Molly now doomed to become Maeve 2.0? That's sort of the impression I got from the discussion on the mantles of the Queens.

Harry versus Fix was epic, Harry giving in to the mantle was frightening.

So, we have a man-behind-the-man. The Adversary which is probably linked to the other shadowy conspiracy, the Black Council.

Is Kringle.... Vadderung? Or something similar to him? That was just such an odd moment.

Vadderung is Odin is Santa Claus, yes.

[Ralin]

Done Cold Days.

So, is Molly now doomed to become Maeve 2.0? That's sort of the impression I got from the discussion on the mantles of the Queens.

Yes, let's bet against the daughter of Michael and Charity Carpenter who was trained by Harry Dresden's ability to stubbornly cling to her principles in the face of temptation and supernatural manipulation.

Is Kringle.... Vadderung? Or something similar to him? That was just such an odd moment.

Turns out that Santa Claus stories in real-life trace back to Odin mythology.

So, going through the audiobook of Dead Beat again and I realized something. We keep hearing about how crazy powerful Cowl is and how he can do things with magic that aren't supposed to be possible and so forth. He's probably at least Senior Council level in terms of power, skill and knowledge. All of which draws attention from the fact that Harry actually did fend him off in their very first encounter nearly ten books ago, since which he has improved dramatically in pretty much every area of wizarding. He was probably going to lose, sure, but that's pretty damned good for a fairly young wizard who'd never had much contact with the larger wizard community outside of his apprenticeship and a few really bad days every couple years.

Also always overlooked the fact that Cowl was hurt by having that car flipped on top of him, even if it wasn't enough to stop him.

[Ahriman238]

Started on Side Jobs. Faintly amused by the prequel story of Harry and Murphy's first meeting. Heh, bridge troll.

'Vignette' was literally just three pages of Bob and Harry bickering because Harry's advertising doesn't capture the glamour in what he does.