The Dresden Files

The Sci Fi Channel produces a lot of dogs about giant mosquitoes, man-sharks and scorpions on planes but they also slip in some good stuff like Stargate (not an original idea of theirs) and Battlestar Galactica (not their idea either!). Well, hold on there a minute – Sci Fi blunders onto something good. The Dresden Files is based on a series of books about a private detective who also happens to be a magician. He is a very gifted magician with some out of the ordinary abilities that make him solve crimes and also make him targeted by dark spirits, etc. for his meddling ways.
I watched the premiere episode and really liked it. I mean I wasn’t expecting much but it seemed like a cool premise. I was never into Charmed, Angel, Buffy or anything along those lines - just never appealed to me the way this does. Dresden is more of a grown up show. His character is not perfect and even has a ghost (a Tim Curry wannabe) that hangs out in crib making pithy remarks. The premiere episode dealt with a little boy who wanted Dresden’s help because he had a monster in his closet. Through this event we get introduced to the local cops, evil characters and some spooky ones that we aren’t sure about yet. It is set in Chicago but at the end of the credits you see it is really a Canadian export. Should have known…I am a big Forever Knight fan…but that’s another story.
I would watch this show regularly. It’s on Sunday nights at 9pm and fits in nicely before bedtime. I have to admit that I like this show because in flashbacks to Dresden’s childhood it shows him in Atlantic City, where his father is a magician and just trying to make the rent.