There was so much about The Dresden Files that appealed to me. I like noir-ish detective stuff and fantasy fiction. This show crossed them both perfectly and offered an interesting new story with every episode. So what do the execs at the Sci-Fi Channel do? They cancel it. And it's not because the rating were low either. It was because they were not reaching the correct demographic. What IS the correct demographic exactly?
The show revolves around a wizard named Harry...Dresden; a Chicago-based Private Eye. He helps out the police with their bizarre, head-scratching cases without ever revealing his powers. Armed with a hockey stick sceptre and a drumstick wand, his methods occasionally rouse The High Council, the magical governors who are always weary of Harry since he used Black Magic to kill his uncle.
It can be accused to ripping-off anything from CSI, Buffy, Charmed or even Law & Order, but I think that The Dresden Files stood well on its own two feet. The cold, wintry (often Xmasy) feel to the show and the naturalised look sits well with the supernatural element and there is a dynamic range of characters. Though my favorite has to be Bob (Hrothbert of Bainbridge), the ghost of a gentlemanly wizard cursed to live the rest of eternity inside his own skull when he's not helping Harry with his latest case. He's played by Terrance Mann, who you may remember as Johnny Steele, singing 'Power of the Night' in the original Critters movie.
I am sad that The Dresden Files never made it past a single series. But I will surely be checking out the books that they are based on in the future.
