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The Dresden Files Season 1 Episode 8

Storm Front

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9.0

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 3/18/07

When the police hire Harry for help with investigating two particularly grisly and "weird" deaths, he finds himself the target of a user-of-the-Black fueled by tremendous hatred. Even worse, as Harry is the only non-Council wizard in Chicago powerful enough to have committed the crime, he immediately becomes the number one suspect for Ancient Mai and Morgan. Now, Harry must find the real culprit and clear his name... or face some "old school" justice.

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FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (16)

There is a vast difference between a series pilot and a series premiere.

10

By Carycomic, Mar 09, 2012

In this case, the series premiere "Birds Of A Feather" was (as listed in the "Trivia" section above) actually the _third_ episode filmed. But, this one? Clearly, the pilot that sold SCIFI Channel on the premise. For one thing; Terrence Mann, as Bob, is conspicous by his absence. And, the Volkswagen Harry is supposed to drive, just like in the books? Evidently, it gave up the ghost (no pun intended), as one scene depicts it on a hydraulic lift in a service garage. Hence, it's replacement by an army-surplus jeep! The two biggest differences of all, however? The introduction of Susan, the reporter/girfriend, who seems to have been written out of the series _since_ the filming of this pilot. Plus, Murphy having knowledge of true magic, in general. And, the High Council, in particular. In "The Boone Identity," she's apparently been rendered amnesiac about such things. As her half-memories of the voodoo Dresden used on her possessed body were clearly most disquieting to her. So, for all of the above, plus the fast pace and cool special effects, I give this delayed-action telecast of the original pilot a perfect ten. Thank you, and congratulations, Messrs. Beimler and Wolfe.moreless
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Storm Front

10

By TrueTvWatcher, Dec 11, 2011

Storm Front was a perfect episode of The Dresden Files because it had a well written and entertaining story, great magic special effects, and it was awesome to see more of Ancient Mai. Dresden gets pulled into a case by Murphy which turns out to have implications of Black Magic and Harry becomes the suspect. It was fun watching Harry figure out what was going on and the fact that it involved Bianca's place. There was a lot of character development in this episode as well as action, drama, and intrigue. I look forward to watching the next episode!!!!!!!!!moreless
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A sample of what could have been

9.0

By EliasC, Oct 12, 2007

'The Dresden Files' was always one of my guilty pleasure reads. Not a great series but an enjoyable alternate universe book series similar to our universe in which magic works and the main characters are likeable. 'The Dresden Files' book series is a breath of fresh air compared to the morbid, dreary, and sexed-up series' written by such authors as Anne Rice and Laurel Hamilton. Not to say that these other book series are bad, but there is only so much vampire sex a person can take. Jim Butcher's wizard Dresden is a particularly likeable character and he is played humorously well by Paul Blackstome who makes the character believeable. Also, converting the character 'Bob' from a skull to a real actor was also a stroke of genius by the writers. It has made this character very interesting and is a major plus for the series.

'Storm Warning' is the only episode that follows the Jim Butcher books and it is the best of the series even though the SCiFi Network decided to cut this original 2 hour episode by 40 minutes. This episode was obviously meant to be the pilot instead of being aired as episode 8, and if it had been aired completely as the original first episode, it would have gotten this series off to a great start. Instead SciFi Channel aired a bewildering and confusing first episode that would have turned me off to the series if I didn't hope for improvements and knew that better episodes were to come.

The handling of 'The Dresden Files', like previous Sci Fi Channel series such as Farscape and Serenity, illustrates that something is very wrong with the suits at the SciFi network. Once again they have killed a promising TV show by inept scheduling and messing with the production team's episode submissions. Such behavior is now a pattern on the part of the SciFi Channel and must only indicate that quality is not the goal of the network. It is amazing that a TV network can give audiiences quality such as 'Battlestar Galactica' yet sabotage other shows of quality. Though perhaps not. The success of BSG was due more to the networks original British partners than its committment to quality television. SciFi Networks goal seems to be only to make money, How else do we explain the failure to support quality SF at the same time it presents dreck such as the Saturday Night Movie, Ghost Hunters, Wrestling, and Flash Gordon?

Look for 'The Dresen Files' when it appears on DVD. This series is well worth it and it is a shame that it wasn't given a chance to develop further.moreless
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Harry must resolve a pretty hard case, without the help of Bob...

9.2

By DERBEST, Jul 28, 2007

This episode left me breathless...It had a lot of unpredictability, and action...Harry is called by the police to get involved into a strange case...At first he decides to renounce the case, but he is visited by a member of the High Council, who treats his as the main suspect...So he gets back into the case and finds out that a wizard is behind this, and he may be the next target...He fights a demon, manages to survive and attack from a vampire, and from the wizard who builds a voodoo doll to kill him...And again he demonstrates his powers...This was a very exciting episode, which i enjoyed a lot.moreless
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Awesome episode! had me on the edge of my seat.

10

By SohiHien, Mar 23, 2007

Another great episode! They seem to be getting better as the season goes on. You could tell this was made before the others since Harry's house looks different and his cat was in it. Where was Bob though? Not even a shot of his skull. Lots of awesome magic and creatures in this episode, I loved it.

I also don't mind the changes they made to the epsisode, and yes I have read the first book. There were tons of changes but it still had the major plot elements and characters in it and it was exciting and interesting so I'm fine with it.

I hope they show Harry's cat in it again and Bob better be in the next episode! I felt that something was missing with his character being absent.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Paul Blackthorne	Harry Dresden
Valerie Cruz	Connie Murphy
Conrad Coates	Morgan
Raoul Bhaneja	Detective Sid Kirmani

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Rebecca McFarland	Susan Rodriguez	Guest Star
Joanne Kelly	Bianca	Guest Star
Sherry Miller	Monica Cutler	Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- In the opening sequence, Harry tells Kirmani that his father named him after Harry Houdini. What he's leaving out, but was in the books, is that his full name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden and he is actually named after three famous magicians: Harry (Houdini), (Harry) Blackstone, and (David) Copperfield.
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- For the first time in the series, we see that Harry owns a large orange cat. This may be "Mister", the cat that Harry owns in the novels, but this is never stated explicitly.
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QUOTES (22)
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- Harry: (voiceover) When I hung up my shingle, I thought all my cases would start with a sultry femme fatale begging for help and oozing sex and danger. I live in hope.
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- Harry: (does something magickal that makes his hockey stick "staff" glow) Detective Kirmani, to what do I owe the pleasure?
  Kirmani: Nice trick. You got batteries in that thing?
  Harry: Everyone's a skeptic.
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- Kirmani: I've been meaning to ask you... Harry Dresden, "Wizard." Let me guess, a couple of summers ago you were a Jedi Knight and now you're a wizard named Harry? Eh, it's good marketing, I guess, but couldn't you come up with something a little more original?
  Harry: My father named me after Harry Houdini. You heard of him?
  Kirmani: Yeah, he was a circus freak, right? Like Bozo the Clown?
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- Kirmani: The victims were Jennifer Randall and Thomas Edward Thomson.
  Harry: Tommy Tomm. The mobster.
  Kirmani: Wizard and organized crime connoisseur. Quite a nice resume you got there, Gandalf...
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- Harry: These people weren't stabbed, Murphy. Nothing touched them. Their hearts exploded out of their chests. There's only one thing that could do that.
  Kirmani: A microwave?
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- Murphy: The murder weapon was black magic?
  Harry: Yeah. Look, Murphy, we both know there's no such thing as magic. I appreciate your offer, I really do. But, I can't help you on this one. To solve this case, I'd have to recreate the way the murders were done and if I do that, there are people that will be unhappy with me; seriously unhappy.
  Murphy: Your bosses? The society? Or The Association?
  Harry: High Council. Do yourself a favor. Forget I ever told you about them. Gotta go.
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- Harry: The High Council. Capital H, Capital C. Cue ominous music. It's kind of like the Bar Association for wizards. They provide oversight; they administer the entrance exams and try to basically keep all this magick stuff out of sight and under control. The good guys, theoretically. But cross them and you'll wish you'd never slung a spell.
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- Harry: Look, I'm not the only answer here. We could be looking at an out-of-towner, something out of the Nevernever. Or even a free agent, a sorcerer.
  Mai: Which is the only reason you're still breathing. I'm gonna make this very simple, Dresden. If someone else did this, prove it. Find him and bring me his head on a platter. Because if I don't get his head... I'm taking yours.
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- Harry: High Council justice isn't like the regular legal system. It's more, uh, old school. With blunt implements and sharp edges. So when Mai tells me to do something, I can't exactly appeal to a higher court. And if I screw up, I'm not likely to get a stay of execution, either.
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- (Harry, dressed in towels only, is kissed passionately by Susan)
  Harry: Susan, Susan, Susan, it's not a date if we never leave the apartment. Now, we're going for dinner and a movie, and you're going to wait there while I get dressed. Okay? All right?
  Susan: Your loss.
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- Susan: (looking at poster) The Astounding Dresden?
  Harry: My dad. He once opened for Sinatra.
  Susan: So what happened to you? Stage fright?
  Harry: Hah. Very funny.
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- Harry: Okay, down in the basement there's a potion on the workbench. Drink it, it'll help you escape. Just go! C'mon!
  Susan: Oh, my coat!
  Harry: What are you doing?!?
  Susan: I'm getting my coat, Harry!
  Harry: Demon! Get down there!
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- Harry: Okay. You wait here. I'll make sure the coast is clear.
  Susan: I have an idea. You play the helpless damsel and I'll go check things out.
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- Susan: Are you okay?
  Harry: Ungh. Define okay...
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- Susan: You can't tell me what to do. I'm a reporter!
  Morgan: Oh. Good for you.
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- Harry: (to Susan) Perfectly good head. Two eyes, a nose, a little mouth... all in the right place.
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- Harry: Take it easy. Basement is off-limits. There's leftovers in the fridge, help yourself. And if a big furry monster comes in and sits on your chest, well, that's my cat.
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- Murphy: (punching Harry in the stomach) That's for hanging up on me, stealing evidence from a crime scene, and assaulting an officer.
  Harry: You mean Kirmani? He counts?
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- Harry: The magical world isn't so different from the normal one. It's full of predators and prey. And in Chicago, one of the biggest predators of them all is Bianca.
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- Victor: The heart is such a fragile thing. Easy to break. Impossible to repair.
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- (Morgan banishes the demon after hearing Harry refuse to bargain with it)
  Harry: And the test, did I pass, professor?
  Morgan: Class dismissed.
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- Harry: So you went to bat for me. I'm speechless.
  Morgan: Works for me.
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NOTES (9)
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- International Airdates:
  Canada: March 18, 2007 on SPACE
  UK: April 4, 2007 on Sky1
  New Zealand: November 7, 2007 on Prime
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- Terrence Mann does not appear in this episode.
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- This episode was initially meant to be the two-hour series premiere, but the Sci-Fi Channel had no slot to fit it into, so they used the third episode—"Birds of a Feather"—as the lead-in for the show instead.
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- "Storm Front" is also the name of the first Dresden Files novel, which the story of this episode is based upon.
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- The character of Kirmani was actually named Carmichael in the books, but was changed to more closely match actor Raoul Bhaneja's nationality.
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- Though Harry drives a VW bug (nicknamed "The Blue Beetle") in the novels, the producers decided that he would drive a Jeep in the series. The main reason for this is that Paul Blackthorne is over 6' 5" and would simply look odd climbing into and out of a VW bug.
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- The character of Karrin Murphy in the novel was renamed "Connie" because it turned out that there is actually a Karyn Murphy who works in the Chicago Police Department. Thus they had to change the name due to legal restrictions.
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- In the novels, the two main women in Harry Dresden's life are Karrin Murphy, a petite blonde Irish police officer, and Susan Rodriguez, a striking black haired Latina reporter. This is interesting, because for the series they cast Valerie Cruz, a striking black haired Cuban-American, as Murphy and Rebecca McFarland, a petite blonde Irish-American, as Susan.
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- James Marsters, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, narrated the audio version of the book this episode is based upon and was originally considered a strong contender for the part of Harry Dresden. Unfortunately, the part would require James to move to Toronto, where the series films, and to commit to being there for a possible five years. James was unwilling to do this because it would take him away from family, friends, and his blossoming career in Los Angeles, so he declined the part.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Kimani: Let me guess, a couple of summers ago you were a Jedi knight and now you're a wizard named Harry? It's good marketing I guess, but couldn't you come up with something a little more original?
  Kirmani is referencing the recent popularity of the Harry Potter series of novels by J K Rowling, featuring a teenage wizard called Harry. Kirmani's comment suggests that Harry is something of a con artist, jumping on the bandwagon of popularity.
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- Kirmani: Wizard and organized crime connoisseur. Quite a nice resume you got there, Gandalf...
  Referencing the famous wizard from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, made increasingly popular in recent years by Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed trilogy of film adaptations. The character of Gandalf (who also features in Tolkien's The Hobbit) embodies the commonly perceived archetype of the traditional wizard with flowing robes, pointed hat, long white beard and a tall wizard's staff.
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