Dresden Files 1.03: "Hair of the Dog"

[annathepiper]

Episode #3 of The Dresden Files brings werewolves into the picture and another pretty decent and watchable plot. But sorry, folks, this still ain't Harry Dresden we're watching here.


In the books, Harry Dresden would never, ever, ever need to pull a gun on an attacking werewolf. I mean, for fuck's sake, he's a wizard. He does not have to bother with a gun. He is his own offensive weapon. One good "fuego!" is all Harry needs to give an oncoming werewolf an introduction to the smell of burnt fur.

And really, this so far is a prime example of why, while I'm liking this show quite well and am enjoying the storylines, this dude Paul Blackthorne is playing just isn't jimbutcher's Harry Dresden. I can grant that three episodes into a brand new show about a wizard might be a little soon to see him make with the seriously offensive magic, but even given TV Harry rather than Book Harry, wouldn't you think that a guy who's supposed to be a wizard would actually do some magic rather than pull a gun when he's confronted with a pissed off werewolf?

We've barely seen TV Harry do any magic at all, really. What stuff he's done on his own (i.e., without Bob's assistance) has been strictly low-key stuff so far. In this particular episode, sure, he actually did two pretty cool things--the thing with the mirror where he had Heather the New Werewolf Chick look into the mirror and ID the FBI chick, and the thing where he set up the image of himself in the jail cell to cover his escape. But we have yet to see TV Harry do anything even remotely on the scale of what Book Harry was doing right out of the gate in Storm Front.

So I'm really, really hoping that the series is going to maybe work up to that. I can deal with TV Harry starting out at a lesser degree of power if we're going to see him work his way up to a greater one. I'm willing to be patient and wait and see so far just on the grounds that I am actually enjoying what's going on--all three episodes have been enjoyable, with some fun effects (I really liked Bob touching the bloodstains and morphing into the shape of who'd left the blood, that was cool), and decent plots.

And I liked Heather the Werewolf Chick, and bought the chemistry between her and Harry. I liked the idea that the FBI chick was herself a werewolf desperately trying to de-fur, and OH THE IRONY about her boyfriend winding up being the ninth required victim to break the curse on her. Nice little closing touch on that episode. I liked that Murphy is starting to show signs of interest in Harry, even something so small as asking him if she could buy him a beer. Very casual, just a nice little hint of future deeper interest.

But this still isn't Book Harry. We'll have to see if TV Harry and Book Harry eventually converge.


ETA 6:10pm: I have since rethought my position a little, thanks to several good comments on this thread as well as listening to the various episodes of the Butcher Block podcast. Thanks to all who have replied, and thanks to gamera_spinning for the last nudge I got about the podcast!

Comments

[mysticmoose.livejournal.com]

I was disappointed with last night's episode. I liked the first two episodes a lot, but I guess this time I didn't really buy into the chemistry between Harry and the werewolf lady; it seemed rather forced and predictable. Actually, the whole episode seemed sort of cheesy, and while I realize that the show is supposed to be cheesy and fun I felt it distracted from the episode and made all the characters (including Harry) seem like tropes. Though I did really like the twist in the opening scene - that was great!

I'm looking forward to watching the next one - I agree that Harry has yet to display his magical chops - so far he's been more of a "knows he's living in a world of magic" sort of guy than an "actually a part of the world of magic" wizard.

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

I haven't been thrilled with show. It's missing some element of soul that I loved from the books.

[shadowhwk.livejournal.com]

Harry has never, to my recollection, been shown as fearless. If I had a large scary thing bearing down on me, were I a wizard, I might reach for something other than my usual bag of tricks to fight back with too. So I don't think the gun was out of place.

I also assumed, being as Harry knows about werewolves, that there might be silver bullets in said gun. As FBI werewolf lost her fur when her boyfriend died, there might very well *have* been, but since she became human, it wouldn't do anything other than, you know, make holes.

As regards magic, yes, Harry advertises in the phone book, but how much magic can we really expect him to want to flash around if he doesn't need to? Mundane people in Harry's Chicago still don't believe in that sort of thing as a general rule.

[annathepiper]

FBI chick de-furred when her boyfriend died because he was the ninth wolf of her line--which was what was needed to break the lycanthropy curse on her. Or at least, that's how I read that. Besides, am I mis-remembering or did Harry even fire the gun? I'm not remembering him getting off an actual shot.

Point taken about wanting to minimize the amount of magic he's throwing around, but in this particular situation, where it's just Harry the wizard vs. people who already are aware of supernatural things, I think at least one blast of offensive magic would have been okay. ;) It was also his own home, so it's not like random passing strangers would have seen him defending himself.

And you're right, Harry isn't totally fearless. I'm just sayin', Book Harry doesn't need to pull a gun because he's already got the ability to defend himself without it. We see him doing that plenty of times in the novels, even if he's quite scared of whatever he's fighting (c.f. the toad demon in Storm Front, which I recently re-read, or at least re-listened to, since I played the audio version on my iPod). TV Harry apparently does need a gun as backup, and given that he's supposed to be a wizard, I'm just asking for some signs of why this is--whether it's because he's still a comparatively low-power wizard at this stage of the game, or what.

Just to make it clear--I actually like the show so far, which is why I'm continuing to tune in. This is just one of the details that seems really weird to me, and one which I hope they'll develop.

[annathepiper]

I don't agree with this completely, I think. I just started listening to the Butcher Block podcast, and in that, in one of the initial episodes, Jim Butcher himself is quoted as saying that he thinks that the show is actually getting the core attributes of the characters even as they're making cosmetic changes to adapt stuff to TV.

I agree with that. I can see the core characteristics of Harry and Murphy still there, for example, even if Murphy's now a dark-haired woman with a kid rather than a short, cute blonde. That said, the cosmetic differences in some ways are striking me as pretty major--like this magic thing. And I'm really hoping we'll see this developed so we can get an idea of what's going on here.

[annathepiper]

.... so far he's been more of a "knows he's living in a world of magic" sort of guy than an "actually a part of the world of magic" wizard.

EXACTLY. We've seen TV Harry come across so far as looking at things "a little differently" and being the guy who can solve weird crimes because he's aware that the supernatural actually exists. But so far he doesn't seem to be much more than that.

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

I think I miss the overarching storylines that stretch back before the books begin and always exist in the background- I'm sure that they will appear, but I don't think I'm hooked without them.

[annathepiper]

*nods* The podcast episode I just listened to indicates that they have in fact filmed a version of the storyline from Book 1--so yeah, I daresay we will be getting those larger plots eventually. As long as I know they're coming, I can deal with warming up with much lower-key plots first. ;) This is after all a TV show rather than a book series, and they have to come up with stuff every week rather than once or twice a year, so they do need to pace themselves.

[seattlesparks.livejournal.com]

See, for me, I had the opposite reaction. I went, "Oh, they're starting to pull storyline from the books!"

As for the blasting staff... 'Fuego' doesn't work too well against werewolves. As I recall from the books, it knocks 'em down, makes 'em smell like a burnt, wet rug, and a minute or two later they're up and healing and on your case. I don't have the books handy right now, and I'm fairly tired, but I'm pretty sure in the 'FBI werewolves trying to EAT US ALL RAWR' subplot of one of the earlier books, Harry ended up having to rely on Murphy with a gun. (Someone who has the books handy and remembers which one that's in, correct me if I'm wrong...)

Atop which, I'm pretty sure the hockey stick with the esoteric symbols carved into the side -- the one he dropped in the scuffle -- /is/ his "make things go boom" staff (since we see him with it in the opening credits). While I doubt a gun would be Harry's first choice, I can completely see him picking one up if it was closer than the staff.

Especially given that Fuego's a temporary solution at best, and crazy FBI boyfriend might've had a gun loaded with silver bullets (since he /was/ hunting werewolves)...

At any rate, I still quite like the show as well. And while I do still think it differs from the books in some significant ways (though ghost-Bob is starting to grow on me!), I just didn't find this particular bit terribly jarring. :)

[annathepiper]

Now that I've started listening to the Butcher Block podcast, I do indeed now know that the hockey stick is supposed to be his staff. This is covered in Episode #1 of the podcast. But I'm not sure a casual viewer would have picked up on that; I certainly didn't! Clearly I wasn't paying enough attention. ;)

I need to re-read Fool Moon, where the werewolves show up for the first time and are themselves getting hunted, but I don't recollect the FBI being involved there. It's been too long since I read it. Though I did remember "Tara" as the name of a werewolf character there, and wondered if the FBI chick was supposed to be the TV version of her.

TV Bob is starting to grow on me, too. I liked the bit with Harry walking off with the skull and Bob having to follow after him--a nice little visual to show us that Bob's essence is in fact bound to the skull.

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

I also think the point with the gun was to make her come after him, not so much to kill her. He didn't seem at all surprised when boyfriend popped up and gave him a chance to redirect her cleverly by referring to him with the other chick's name.

[annathepiper]

.... I hadn't thought of it that way, gun as bait rather than as self-defense. I could see that, perhaps. I did catch the little trick with the redirection, though. Thanks for pointing that out!

[seattlesparks.livejournal.com]

I haven't listened to the podcast, and I picked up on it!

Really, though, I only did so because they show him holding it up in a staff-like 'You Shall Not Pass!' manner in the opening credits! ;)

[seattlesparks.livejournal.com]

*Tracks down part of a review of Fool Moon from Amazon, emphasis mine.*

Actually he is a wizard/gumshoe with the kind of do-gooder streak that is a cinch to cause trouble. In this volume Dresden is trying to solve a serial killer problem which seems to involve several different kinds of werewolves. These range from nasty people who think they are wolves right up to the honest-to-God tear-you-and-all-your-friends-to-pieces loup-garou. Inevitably Harry goes into each struggle well armed with wands, charms, and even guns. And inevitably he drops or loses all of them. In fact your first warning that Harry is going to get flattened again is when he points his magic wand.

One of Harry's skills is the ability to alienate almost everyone. So this time Harry is not only dodging werewolves, he is also being chased by Chicago's number one gangster and all of the local FBI. Nor are the local cops fond of him. After the FBI manages to capture the loup-garou and lock him in a police holding tank, Harry manages to not get to the police station quite on time. Before Harry can do anything most of the occupants of the building are dead. What does Harry finally do? He blasts an invincible werewolf straight through the station's walls and several nearby buildings before setting him down so that the wolf can escape. Not too bright is our Harry!

So I think the FBI involvement (granted, I recall the FBI agents NOT being werewolves until they were bitten by the one they stupidly locked up) and the use of guns both are in keeping with book-Harry's adventures. TV-Harry just learned from book-Harry, and was just smart enough not to try Fuego'ing a werewolf through a wall. ;)

[annathepiper]

*giggle!* Like I said, clearly I wasn't paying close enough attention. Though I did see someone's icon referencing the hockey stick--I should have picked up on it from that!

[annathepiper]

Oh okay, cool, thanks for the quote. I really do need to re-read the book and remind myself of all these things, I think--if my memory of Early Book Harry is getting hazy, it behooves me to brush up while I'm watching TV Harry to make sure my comparisons and contrasts are actually apt.

[seattlesparks.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a heck of a lot of Harry to keep track of, at this point! I know I personally only remembered the FBI involvement because there was a passing reference to it in a more recent book (either Dead Beat or Proven Guilty, I can't recall which, but I think it was Proven Guilty).

But yeah, I'm tempted to reread the earlier ones myself, before White Knight comes out in a month and a half. :)

[annathepiper]

Ah! And I have not yet read Proven Guilty, so I suppose I can be forgiven for missing that reference. ;)

But! It's next on my To Read queue!

[shadowhwk.livejournal.com]

He did actually shoot her. Several times, actually. I know she lost her fur because her boyfriend died :) but what I'm saying is, we don't know whether the bullets were silver or not because, since she lost her fur, silver bullets would not do anything to a normal human other than leave holes. So we don't get the discussion of silver or not. I assumed they were, is all.

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

But I'm not sure a casual viewer would have picked up on that; I certainly didn't!

Having never read the books, I had no clue about any Staff o' Doom, and was wondering what the heck he was doing with a hockey stick. I thought perhaps they were mixing beasties, and he planned on using it to stake them like vampires. Though now that I stop to think about it, that doesn't make sense either, since he had the silver spikes.

[firni.livejournal.com]

The part I liked the best was how the closed-captioning kept spelling it "lichenthropy" and "lichens".

HARRY'S GONNA GO KILL SOME LICHENS

[annathepiper]

*laugh!* Makes it sound like a Nethack game! Now I have the urge to go fire up Harry the Wizard in Nethack tonight just so I can beat up lichens. ;)

[annathepiper]

Ah, thanks for chiming in! I think it'll be a bit more obvious that the hockey stick is magical if we actually see him doing something magical with it.

The thing with the silver spikes was neat, though.

[annathepiper]

Ah, thanks! I don't know how the hell I missed that, unless it's because I was doing stuff on the computer while i was watching the episode. Which is totally likely. ;)

Thanks for clarifying your point! I get what you're saying now.

[firni.livejournal.com]

What's funny is, I didn't even realize it was based on a book series until you guys mentioned it.

I'm so sheltered.

However, I did manage to name my blood elf mage "Zerika"... ALL HAIL STEVEN BRUST

[firni.livejournal.com]

Just now, on a Stargate episode, they spelled "joules" as "jewels".

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

I've never read the Dresden books, although my Chris has. I've been enjoying things in the absence of any knowledge of the books, although it's been a little slow. Chris on the other hand has noted that the sheer difference in the worlds is probably enough to throw off any fan of the book series.

I think I'm fortunate that when the execution of a movie or tv show is so far off from the original that I stop even trying to connect the two. It's when they get very close that I actually start getting annoyed by missing or incorrect details.

[annathepiper]

Having just read the latest Harry Dresden paperback--I finished it up last night, in fact--I find myself obliged to observe that at least in some respects, the differences aren't as obvious as I thought they were. 'Cause, well, um, Harry did pack a gun to take with him on an excursion in this latest book. So I have to hereby not bitch about that anymore. ;)

I know what you mean about proximity making one more likely to nitpick. I do see some proximity here--as I mentioned in comments further up the thread, I see the core characteristics of Harry and Murphy and even Bob, which goes a long way towards keeping me around. It's just that that makes me more aware of the changed cosmetic details.

The podcasts say that we're actually going to get an adaptation of the first book as episode #5, and perhaps as of that point and after, we'll start seeing interesting signs of long-term story arcs. I'll be real interested to see if they implement the same story arcs the books do, and if so, how.

[annathepiper]

Hah! Nice. ;)

[firni.livejournal.com]

If they have to defib me, I'd like 200 emeralds, please.

[annathepiper]

Heh, now, I've managed not to read any Brust despite the fact that his books have been around way longer than Jim Butcher's. ;) So you've got me there!

[firni.livejournal.com]

Phoenix Empress of the Draegerans (or however you spell that).

READ THE TALTOS BOOKS, I COMMAND THEE

Get thee hence to teh library, woman.

[annathepiper]

LOL! I'll get 'em onto the reading queue. But I've got a LOT of reading to do this year. ;)