The Dresden Files is a 2007 supernatural dark fantasy television series developed by Hans Beimler and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, based on the fantasy book series of the same name by Jim Butcher.  The cast includes Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz, Terrence Mann, and Conrad Coates and the series follows Harry Dresden (Blackthorne), a private investigator practicing wizardry, who solves cases using otherworldly magic.

Positives:

• Great performances
• Great characters
• Interesting story
• Good CGI
• Good soundtrack
• Great dialogue

Negatives:

• Poor CGI

Plot:  The Dresden Files follows the adventures of wizard named Harry Dresden in modern-day Chicago. This story is actually pretty good. Harry balances his interactions with “normal” society with those of the supernatural one. (3 out of 5)

Characters:  The TV show features a great cast of characters. Harry Dresden (Blackthorne) is the main protagonist of the series and is a wizard who acts as a consultant to the Chicago PD for some of their more mysterious cases. He’s quite humble and an all-around likable guy even though he gets put into these situations in which he reluctantly has to participate. It’s good to see that he does have personality and his own flaws as well as strength, but as a person he is actually good. Bob (Mann), his friend/ assistant/teacher, is a pretty good character too and there is this really good dynamic between these two.  You can definitely tell how close they are and how they rely on each other. Lieutenant Murphy (Cruz) is a great character too. She does play a strong female role but isn’t overly masculine about it. There is this great dynamic between Harry and her and the show does hints at a bit of a romance and you can definitely see that from their interactions. Morgan is a warden and tends to give Harry a hard time but Morgan does show that he is more well rounded than initially thought. Despite this there is a certain amount of respect between these two characters although they are clearly not friends. Another prominent character is Ancient Mai who is probably the biggest douchebag to Harrry throughout the whole series. she’s powerful she’s mysterious and she consistently admits that Harry is a thorn in her side. (4 out of 5)

Cast:  The main and supporting cast is awesome. Paul Blackthorne definitely kills the role of Harry Dresden and gives the character a certain amount of complexity that makes him that much more relatable. Valerie Cruz is portrays a strong female role. Terrence Mann is great, and brings sophistication to the character if Bob. Conrad Coates is just brilliant. (4 out of 5)

Visuals:  Visually the show looks good. There are many nice shots of Chicago both showing the busyness of the day as well as life at night in various locations. The use of magic is represented in a pretty good way however some of the more prominent problems with the CGI lay with the creature effects which do look s*****.  (3 out of 5)

Score:  The score is actually really good. The intro song does have a very upbeat feeling to it that does give a certain mood of excitement and modernist to the series. (3 out of 5)

Writing:  The episodes do have a lot of good, complex writing that make the episodes compelling.  Especially the dialogue, which is not only well written but really witty. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, The Dresden Files is a great series and sucks because of its failed renewal. Despite the poor CGI, the series does tell a compelling story, great characters, great performances, a good score, and witty dialogue.  The Dresden Files gets 3 out of 5.