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The Dresden series got me interested enough to read a couple of the Dresden files books, and I was surprised to discover that the books are actually pretty entertaining and much, much better than the TV show. The producers of the show really butchered (*groan*)a lot from the books. Murphy is a squat blonde karate expert in the books. Rodriguez is a hot latina brunette. On the TV show, Harry uses a hockey stick and a drumstick. In the books, it's an actual wizard's staff and a blasting rod. Magic is easy for him on the TV show; in the book, it takes preparation and forethought. They've done this to a point in the TV series, but in the books, one of the themes is that he disrupts anything electrical, whereas in the TV show he has electric lights and spends lots of time in Murphy's office talking to her by her PC.
Worst of all, several of the episodes are taken directly from the books (the last one's plot was roughly what happens in Storm Front, the very first book). But they completely screw up stuff that happens. It's really bizarre.
All-in-all, I'd probably like the show more if I'd never read the books. Now that I've read a few, it's very hard to watch the show. Although I still do.
In any case, it's no Eureka. I really dug the first season of that show.
As for season 3 of BSG, I know I'm in the minority, but I've never felt like there was filler. Virtually everything that's happened the entire season has tied into something that's happened before and lead to something that's happened later. And I have a feeling the lack of battle is going to serve to emphasize it when it returns (probably Sunday...). To me, it's just like season 1, where the imporance lies in the character interaction, rather than the external conflict. Except they did what I thought were a lot of really, really ballsy things, addressing the sort of political stuff that they have. It gives the show, the world of the show, a unique sense of reality. An uncomfortable sense in some ways, because like all of the best science fiction (I mean literary when I say that), it's a commentary on humanity as we are, set in another universe. And, I know I'll be in the minority on this one, but I love space battles as much as the next guy. I don't need them every week, however. That's what Stargate's for. To me, Battlestar Galactica has been a dramatic series from its inception, and I'm glad it continues to emphasize that. Maybe they've slid a little too far to the other side of the scale, but, again, I think that ends Sunday.
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