Author Topic: Thanks to all our great fans!  (Read 60372 times)

Offline Darkling

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #60 on: August 04, 2008, 11:34:23 PM »
It's odd.  I saw the series first.  Took me a while, too - I couldn't get past the title, "The Dresden Files."  My brain kept telling me it was a series about war.  Either that, or an American series set in Germany which seemed just strange.

Unlike you I actually love the show but this is one thing we can agree on. I had my misconceptions too.  They advertised this show very poorly.  I wasn't going to watch the show at all.  Before it aired the few advertisements I had seen made it look like some cheap detective drama having to do with cases in the supernatural.   Another (yawn) Night stalker.  And I was already reeling in disgust from Stuart Townsend's version.  Is there anything that man touches that he doesn't ruin? the only reason I watched The Dresden Files was because someone talked me into it.  I was not going to watch it at all.   She talked me into it and while she was on the phone with me I turned it on and watched.

I saw the opening and the name Terrence Mann came up and I was like 'Wait.  I know him. Where do I know him from?'   When he finally came on screen my reaction was 'Oh, my God!  It's Dr. Frank N. Futter!'  In 2001 I had been to Broadway to see the revival of The Rocky Horror Show.   Terrence Mann had just taken over the role of Dr. Frank N. Futter.  I had seen and heard Terrence Mann in other things before then such as the cast album for Les Miserables (which I have loved for years) and as Oberon in the animated series Gargoyles but The Rocky Horror show was the first thing to come to my mind.  It was so surreal to see him there.  The first thing I did was retrieve the old playbill to make sure I was right and needless to say I was.  Before the word ghost was uttered on the show I noticed the manacle bracelets on Bob's wrists and I actually did ask the words 'Is he a genie?'  The thought that he might be a type of genie lingered for a chunk of the first episode because of his being bound to the skull and being able to be called back into it, much like a genie into his lamp.  Later this became very funny to me when in a later episode I heard child Harry ask the same thing. 

Seeing Terrence Mann as the ghost drew me in.  I loved the character almost immedately.  Discovering that Harry Dresden was a wizard was the next thrill for me.  The commercials didn't even mention that!  It's like they wanted to make the show look like it was something it wasn't.   Less than a month later I found myself buying all The Dresden Files novels from a Barnes and Noble and I devoured them.  I loved the books.  I grew very attached to the character of Thomas but I was actually a little disappointed that Bob of the books was nothing like Bob of the show.   I honestly perferred the show version.  I do love both though. I would have probably over looked the books if not for the show.

Even into the seventh or so episode the commercials were still somewhat misleading. I recall the one for Soul Beneficiary.  'And the number one suspect is BOB!' (cutting to a clip of Bob just standing there looking stunned).  That was probably the most misleading commercial since the commercials that aired before the premiere. 

Though The Dresden Files did have very, very good ratings I think if they had advertised it properly for what it really was they might have had an even bigger audience. There are people out there who still never knew it existed and those just discovering for the first time on Hulu either because the original commercials turned them off (as they almost turned me off) or because they never saw the advertisements at all.

'The night holds more than darkness and the stars.' - The San Francisco version of the Lestat musical.

Offline Naxos

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #61 on: August 05, 2008, 01:05:08 AM »
TDF was simply an incredible show. I am in shock that is was not renewed. It had better ratings than Sci Fi's flagship show BSG yet there is no Dresden Files on? I love the books and I loved the show. I enjoyed them both for different reasons and wish that I still had the series to watch on TV between books.

Offline Darkling

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #62 on: August 05, 2008, 05:11:19 AM »
TDF was simply an incredible show. I am in shock that is was not renewed. It had better ratings than Sci Fi's flagship show BSG yet there is no Dresden Files on? I love the books and I loved the show. I enjoyed them both for different reasons and wish that I still had the series to watch on TV between books.

Yes, I remember reading that at one point (for at least one episode) Dresden had higher ratings than Battlestar Galactica but The SciFi Channel wants us to quietly forget about that.   I agree with you completely.  I enjoy both for different reasons.  I love Thomas of the books and Bob of the show.

 
'The night holds more than darkness and the stars.' - The San Francisco version of the Lestat musical.

Offline Lotsacats

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #63 on: August 06, 2008, 05:07:37 AM »
I love both the TV series and the books. I saw the TV show first, which probably gives it just a bit of an edge, but then I went out and immediately bought all the books, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I'd probably never have discovered the books at all were it not for the show, so I owe it a very large debt.  :-*

There are elements of the show I liked better (Bob, definitely), and elements of the books I liked better (the Blue Beetle, more of Mister, etc.), but I see no point at all in vilifying either one at the expense of the other, nor in denigrating their respective fans. Many of us liked both, and have no problem with the conflicts and differences there-in. We're grown-ups. We can deal with it.  :)

Offline Darkling

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #64 on: August 06, 2008, 06:21:10 AM »
I love both the TV series and the books. I saw the TV show first, which probably gives it just a bit of an edge, but then I went out and immediately bought all the books, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I'd probably never have discovered the books at all were it not for the show, so I owe it a very large debt.  :-*

I could easily say the same.

Quote
There are elements of the show I liked better (Bob, definitely) and elements of the books I liked better (the Blue Beetle, more of Mister, etc.),

Mister is in Storm Front and in a deleted scene from Rules of Engagement that's on the DVD.  As for the Beetle, realistically Paul Blackthorne is a big man and they'd have to fit him in there with equipment.  It would have been very difficult.

I love Bob of the show and Thomas of the books. 

Quote
but I see no point at all in vilifying either one at the expense of the other, nor in denigrating their respective fans. Many of us liked both, and have no problem with the conflicts and differences there-in. We're grown-ups. We can deal with it.  :)

I agree.

'The night holds more than darkness and the stars.' - The San Francisco version of the Lestat musical.

Offline Naxos

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #65 on: August 06, 2008, 08:44:25 PM »
I love both the TV series and the books. I saw the TV show first, which probably gives it just a bit of an edge, but then I went out and immediately bought all the books, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I'd probably never have discovered the books at all were it not for the show, so I owe it a very large debt.  :-*

There are elements of the show I liked better (Bob, definitely), and elements of the books I liked better (the Blue Beetle, more of Mister, etc.), but I see no point at all in vilifying either one at the expense of the other, nor in denigrating their respective fans. Many of us liked both, and have no problem with the conflicts and differences there-in. We're grown-ups. We can deal with it.  :)

You nailed it.

Offline MerriSedai

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #66 on: September 01, 2008, 02:47:02 AM »
Now we have Harry et al. of the TV show and Harry et al. of the books and Harry et al.of the comics and (soon) Harry et al. of the role-playing game.  It does make defining canon difficult, but as a fan, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.  It gives us lots of iterations to play with in costuming, etc., without someone really jumping down your throat for a "non-canon" costume.

In contrast, I belong to a Star Wars club and when you realize how canon has solidified in 30+ years (what with the extended universe and animated stuff and videogames, not to mention the 501st and the rebel legion on costuming), it's really hard for a newb to keep track of, and rather off-putting sometimes. 
Damn it, Harry!  That's not a plan, it's a Looney Tune!

Offline Wizwad

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #67 on: September 11, 2008, 09:25:03 PM »
I would suggest that the slightly different versions of Harry and those around him make the canon that much more realistic and three dimensional than it might otherwise be.  I for one am different depending on to whom I'm speaking, as I modify my behaviour and thought processes and means of expressing myself, conciously or subconciously to address the requirements of that individual or group.

It's one of the reasons I hate speaking on the phone to someone whilst being overheard by another for whom I'm a slightly different person.  And, in fact, until those two people meet and realise what the deal is, I feel like I'm being pulled in different directions.

The one area where I think the show would be better would be for Harry to have a bit more emotional energy.  But I keep saying that, so I'll stop. :)
Life  isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain. ~  Unknown

Offline Darkling

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #68 on: December 16, 2008, 06:13:03 AM »
Quote
The one area where I think the show would be better would be for Harry to have a bit more emotional energy.  But I keep saying that, so I'll stop. :)

I find it funny you feel that way because I have a friend who insists that show Harry always seemed like he was on the verge of hysteria.  I felt Paul Blackthorne captured all the aspects of the personality quite well. 

'The night holds more than darkness and the stars.' - The San Francisco version of the Lestat musical.

Offline fyrefay52

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #69 on: August 15, 2009, 08:31:52 PM »
Dear Mr. Wolfe,
The show died an untimely death--and I only got to see in on YouTube, because Of circumstances which made it difficult to watch it in 'real time.'  I really liked what I saw, and wish there were more.
Please, Mr. Wolfe, Jim, keep options open for at least a TV movie about  Harry Dresden!
I love seeing him 'in action!'
Thanks for all your hard work.
Peace,
Tina
Live, love, laugh, learn...

Offline ColdWinterWind

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Re: Thanks to all our great fans!
« Reply #70 on: April 06, 2010, 09:51:15 PM »
<snip>

Hopefully we can all do it again next year.  As they say in the language of my people:  God willin' an the crick don't rise.

My folk say 'Lawd willin', and the creek don't rise.'  Thass how we roll in da South.
~Find Your Center - MetaPhysics Applied While You Wait~