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The Dresden Files - The Complete First Season | 
 enlarge | Actors: Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz
Studio: Lions Gate
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $14.49
You Save: $15.49 (52%)
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Rating:  175 reviews
Sales Rank: 1037
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 3
Running Time: 530
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: LGED21688D
UPC: 012236216889
EAN: 0012236216889
ASIN: B000QUEQ4U
Release Date: August 7, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 03/11/2008 Run time: 530 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
The Dresden Files is about a wizard named Harry. "Good marketing," a cynical observer notes in one episode from the Sci-Fi Channel's one-season wonder based on the books by Jim Butcher. "Couldn't you come up with something a little more original?" Actually, this series manages to be plenty original despite echoes of The X-Files and the 1970s cult classic The Night Stalker. Paul Blackthorne stars as Harry Dresden, a scruffy Chicago private eye whose gift comes in handy for children menaced by skinwalkers, or for offering Lt. Murphy (Valerie Cruz) of the Chicago police "an unconventional point of view" concerning grisly, bizarre cases involving werewolves, vampires, and other decidedly unfriendly spirits. The Dresden Files is a paranormal noir (para-noir?) that deftly balances genuine scares, hard-boiled moxie, and tongue-in-cheek humor, delivered with panache by "Bob" (Terrance Mann), an ancient English spirit who resides in a skull and gives.Harry supernatural assistance. Harry's backstory--magician father, wizard mother, treacherous uncle--is revealed over the course of these 12 episodes. The eighth broadcast episode, "Things That Go Bump," was reportedly intended as the series pilot, and may be the best place to start. But Harry's world-weary voice-over in the classic tradition ("If you're a wizard and you fail, people can end up dead") keeps viewers oriented. Low ratings made The Dresden Files disappear, making this DVD set welcome for the series' hardcore fans who mounted the ultimately unsuccessful letter-writing campaign to save Dresden from the "Brilliant, but Cancelled" files. But even those who are unfamiliar with Butcher's books or are not on the Sci-Fi Channel's wavelength will be charmed. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 170 more reviews...
 The Curse of SciFi December 2, 2008
This is the third series related to the SciFi Channel that I purchased - and all three sets of DVD's had problems. I bought Sliders; Season 1&2 had one episode I couldn't watch at all, and two others (so far) with glitches. I also bought Outer Limits (New Series); Season 1 also had one episode I couldn't watch at all (though to be fair, I bought all of the genre Outer Limits DVD's, and so far they're ok). I toyed with buying the complete series of Stargate SG-1 - but several reviewers had complaints with those DVD's, so I think I'll pass on that. The Dresden Files series has proven the worst of the lot. Out of five episodes, I was able to watch only three - two out of five could not be watched. The show itself is great, and definitely deserves five stars; but the DVD's are the pits, and don't even deserve one star. I don't know what it is about the SciFi Channel series; I've ordered other (non-SciFi related) servies and never had a problem so far. Nor is all the SciFi series from the same producer: Dresden is Lionsgate; Sliders is Universal; Outer Limits is MGM. Other than the SciFi Channel, there's no connection between the three. So I have to conclude someone put a curse on all SciFi products. Needless to say, I won't be buying Battlestar Gallactica anytime soon.
 Great show November 24, 2008
I really enjoyed the series when it aired, I had to purchase the DVDs. I'm just sorry that the series was not renewed for another season. Special effects were pretty good and not overdone. The acting was great also, and a good story line.
I read a few of the bad reviews, and they seem to echo the bad reviews of other books-to-film reviews that I have read for movies that I enjoyed. If you read a book and then expect the same experience from a movie or TV show, you are fooling yourself. Go in with an open mind and expect something new, you might actually enjoy it. If you want the book experience again, go re-read the book.
More like 3.5, but I may be biased. November 18, 2008
Ok, here's the deal. While the producers didn't go out of their way to make this clear, "The Dresden Files" is NOT an original series. It's based off of a series of books by Jim Butcher by the same name. The reason it only gets 3.5 stars in my book has less to do with an actual dislike of the series, and more disappointment in what it could have been. The books are, beyond question, the BEST ones I have ever read (move over, Harry Potter and Eragon). If they had stuck more closely to the origninal material, this would be a 5 star series still in production.
Gets better every time I watch it November 8, 2008
I have not yet read the books that this series was based on so I have no real frame of reference as far as how faithful it was, but based on its own merits I thought it was really good. Some of the creature effects could have been a little better, but given the budget they probably had to work with I thought they did rather well. The interplay and banter between Harry and Bob is quite good, and is usually very humorous. I liked the fact that it was usually like a detective story more than a straight-up supernatural problem. The supernatural element was a large part of the show, as anyone who knows anything about this series would know, but the life of Harry Dresden is quite compelling overall. The things he goes through between trying to pay his bills doing consultant work for the police department, dealing with paranormal activity, and being under constant scrutiny by fellow magic users makes the drama of his life interesting. Plus, there is a large factor of rewatchability. So buy this as quickly as you can and watch it more than once.
 Better Than the Books November 7, 2008
I picked this up on a whim, and I kind of liked it. Since film adaptations of books invariably veer from the source material, I gave the books a try, and found I liked the series better. In the books, it seems to me Harry is a keg of dynamite looking to explode of someone, and it's hard to root for someone with anger management issues.
In the series, Harry is just as scruffy, but a lot more likeable mostly because he often finds himself on the short end of the stick. Being able to see Bob also added a more human touch to the series, and Murphy just wasn't some excuse for Harry to get cases; she had some depth to her.
Now that I discovered it, I wish it could have gotten another chance, but oh well. Give this one a try if you can find it.
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