The Dresden Files Video Showcase

Guest Cast
Shannon Boodram ... Linda Atwater
Greg Bryk ... Tommy Tomm
John DeSantis ... Demon
Daniel Kash ... Justin Morningway
Jennifer Kydd ... Grace Cutler
Sherry Miller ... Mrs. Cutler
Christine Tizzard ... Jennifer Randall
Jonathan Whittaker ... Victor Cutler

A local gangster and his girlfriend are found dead. With no natural explanation for the gruesome crime scene, Murphy calls Harry Dresden. It is obvious to Harry that both were killed with "The Black."

The police assume that the gangster was the prime target, Harry is convinced that the girlfriend is the key. Soon Harry uncovers two more murders related to the girlfriend. He knows he's on the right track when he is attacked by a fire demon.

With Bob's help he recreates the spell that killed Murphy's stiffs and tracks the wizard to his lair.

I'm Pagan. If I had to have a label I'd probably use Wiccan. I live with magic every day so I might have a bit of a different take on books about wizards.

I wish there was a governing council that looked after all things magical. It might stop a lot of arguments. Though I suppose there will always be disagreements about just what is "black" magic and what is "white" magic. In my world there are sometimes shades of grey.

Even though the show (and the books) are fantasy I do like the way they handle magic. Harry Dresden lives within the mundane world like all of us do. I'm sad to see his television adventures come to an end so soon.

Harry Dresden is a fictional character on the television series The Dresden Files. He is portrayed by Paul Blackthorne.

Harry Dresden is a wizard living and working in the city of Chicago. Not only does he offer private advice and investigation, Harry performs consultation for the Chicago Police Department when they have a case involving either the paranormal or seemingly-impossible circumstances surrounding suspicious deaths. Dresden's principal contact at the CPD is Detective Connie Murphy. Murphy, though she believes that Harry's magic is some sort of front, appreciates his insight into cases, though she is frequently frustrated by his wisecracking and his tendency to leave out certain details (most of which involve magic that she would not believe, anyway) (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather", et al). He is apparently quite skilled at his craft, though sometimes his spells do not work as intended. Harry has more than once demonstrated a proficiency at opening locks and escaping handcuffs, even in front of Murphy (episodes 108, "Storm Front;" 109, "The Other Dick", et al).

Dresden is apparently the last living member of his immediate family. His mother, a powerful wizard (from whom he inherited his powers), was murdered by magic by an unknown agent when he was only three years old. She left him a special protection bracelet, which saves his life on at least one occasion (episode 102, "The Boone Identity"). Harry's father, a fairly unsuccessful stage magician with no real magic to speak of, raised his son as well as he could, as they were constantly on the move and short on cash. According to Morgan, a Warder, they were taken "off the radar" in order to protect them, apparently from whoever killed Harry's mother. Harry's maternal uncle, Justin Morningway, wanted to take the young boy in himself, to raise as a wizard (and heir of his powerful magical bloodline), but Harry's father outright refused, believing that Morningway only wanted to use Harry (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). Justin retaliated by murdering the man with a voodoo doll and black magic, disguised as a heart attack. Young Dresden went to live his uncle, and at his estate met Bob, the ghost of a wizard condemned for eternity to be tied to his own skull. Bob became Harry's tutor in the ways of magic. When Harry discovered that Justin murdered his father, he killed Justin using the same means, a voodoo doll and a ring that Justin had stolen years before. He is horrified at his own actions, and flees the scene. Morningway's death is ruled by the Chicago Coroner's office to be a heart attack, but the wizards' High Council knows better (episode 110, "What About Bob?").

They send Morgan out to hunt Harry, but Dresden is protected and hidden by a Red-Court vampire named Bianca. He later repays the favor by discovering which of her subordinates is trying to kill her and take her position (episode 105, "Bad Blood"). Eventually, Justin's death is ruled to be a self-defense, even though it came by black magic (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). Council member Ancient Mai is unsatisfied by the verdict, and remains openly hostile towards Dresden. She believes that he will, having used black magic once, use it again (episode 108, "Storm Front").

His uncle's death comes back to haunt Harry in a very real way when a dopplegänger of Morningway appears on the scene and Murphy begins an investigation into the suspicious circumstances surrounding Justin's death in light of the similar death of Harry's father. Thanks to the actions of Bob (returned briefly to mortality), Morningway is forever destroyed. Harry confesses to Murphy about the death of Justin, and she drops the case (episode 110, "What About Bob?").

Harry does make use of a voodoo doll once more, when a disembodied murderer uses ancient Egyptian magic to take over Detective Murphy's body. Using some of Murphy's blood, he inflicts pain on her, tricking the criminal inhabiting into meet him, and Dresden is successful in exorcising him. And though Murphy does not clearly remember the events of the episode, she knows something disturbing happened, even though Harry assures her she had merely been knocked unconscious (episode 102, "The Boone Identity"). When she, plagued by nightmares, confronts Harry again, he tells her that he rescued her from some very black magic, and she bleakly affirms that they will continue to work together as long as she can manage it (episode 110, "What About Bob?").

Despite the fact that Harry appears perennially low on cash, he evidently inherited a sizeable estate from his uncle, Justin. He refuses to touch any of it, not even to sell the house, perhaps from guilt over the circumstances surrounding Justin's death. Harry gave all the cash to charity, but retains the mansion because of the numerous dangerous magical artifacts it contains ("It's safer that way", he explains to Murphy.) (episode 110, "What About Bob?"). Even when it appears that he will not get his private investigator's licence since he cannot pay the class fees, he makes no mention of his fortune (episode 109, "The Other Dick").

Another one of his inheritances is Bob's skull. Harry and Bob appear to care a great deal about each other. When Bob appears to die, even though he had seemingly just betrayed Harry to resurrect Justin Morningway, Dresden mourns... until Bob reappears moments later, having reverted to his skull (knowing that he would do so and neglecting to tell Harry such, so as to hear his touching words). Bob, however, states most emphatically that he would never betray Harry (episode 110, "What About Bob?"). After Harry is kidnapped, Bob leaves a message in floating, glowing letters for Murphy to find, giving her where to find him. Bob even entrusts to Harry the secret of his imprisonment, Bob's use of forbidden black magic to resurrect his lover (episode 106, "Soul Beneficiary"). A skin walker tortures Harry in order to get information out of Bob, and though the ghost eventually capitulates, he also helps construct a "Doom Box" which Harry uses to destroy the creature (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). Bob helps out in any number of ways with Dresden's cases, from merely offering his knowledge (or caustic commmentary) to making use of his ability to analyze body samples and take on the appearance of the original owner (episode 103, "Hair of the Dog").

Source

Constanza Murphy is a lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department Homicide Division. When her cases involve seemingly-impossible deaths (such as a man drowing in Pacific Ocean seawater in the middle of the city), she calls in the assistance of wizard Harry Dresden. Though she does not understand what he does, or how he does it, she does appreciate his ability to close cases. That does not prevent her from growing annoyed or exasperated with his tendency to leave out important details (episode 104, "Rules of Engagement". She is partnered in the police department with Detective Sid Kirmani, who often acts as a hindering force in her investigations due to his distrust of Dresden and his methods (episode 112, "Second City", et al).

Murphy is divorced with a young daughter, Anna, who spends most of her time with Murphy's ex-husband because of the time-consuming nature of Murphy's police work (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). However, she loves her daughter a great deal. Murphy's relationship with her father is much more strained. The elder Murphy, also a cop, was a very distant father, and did not even know his wife had left him for three days because he refused to leave a stake-out. Eventually, he retires from the force and moves to Florida. Murphy and her father evidently reconcile after Harry Dresden saves his life from a corrupt cop who is using magic to steal "second chances" at life (episode 112, "Second City").

During the course of an investigation, Murphy's body is taken over by a disembodied criminal looking to escape capture. Though Harry succeeds in exorcising him and Murphy's memories of the incident are vague, she is left with intense nightmares, for which she starts taking antidepressents (episodes 102, The Boone Identity; 110, "What About Bob?").

At the end of season 1 it was hinted at a possible future romantic relationship between Connie and Harry. During the episode "Second City" Harry lost the trail and asked Connie to slap him in order to provide an emotional bump so that he could regain focus and the trail. When she refused he stated that he would have to "do it the hard way" and proceeded to give Connie a long kiss, which she reciprocated. When Harry broke the kiss after a few moments Connie stared at him briefly, somewhat shaken, before slapping him. At the end of the episode Connie apologized for slapping him and stated that she wouldn't do that again, indicating that she'd taken some time to ponder her response to Harry's kiss.

Source

Bob's full name is Hrothbert of Bainbridge. A powerful sorcerer, he lived hundreds of years ago, apparently in England. During his career he authored many grimoires, one of which fell into the hand of Justin Morningway, Harry's uncle. As Harry Dresden put it, there was "some pretty nasty stuff in there," including something called a "Doom Box." Harry burned Justin's copy after it came into his possession (episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). During his life, Hrothbert fell in love with a woman, another skilled wizard (sorceress), by the name of Winifred. When she was tragically killed he used black, black magic to resurrect her. For this he was condemned by the High Council to be a ghost trapped within his own skull for all eternity, unable to interact with the world in any physical way. According to the Morningway-doppelgänger, the story of Hrothbert and Winifred is legendary in some countries. Bob is still sensitive about the subject (episodes 106, "Soul Beneficiary;" 110, "What About Bob?").

Bob first meets Harry Dresden circa 1982 when the wizard, 11 years old and newly orphaned came to live with his uncle, Justin Morningway, who was in possession of Bob's skull at the time. Bob served as the boy's tutor in all things magical, teaching him the principles of black magic and the defense against it, and while practicing black magic is strictly forbidden by the High Council, Bob felt Harry ought to know it for "self defense". This comes into play years later when Harry, fully grown, comes back to his uncle's and discovers his father's ring and a voodoo doll. He asks his uncle if he killed his father, and Justin gives him a speech resembling a manifesto about how it's time for a change- how Justin and Harry can change things. Harry realizes that Justin didn't invite the High Council for a networking session to benefit Harry, but rather as a trap to exterminate them. Harry tries to stop him, but his uncle fights back. Bob sees Harry remove the voodoo doll but doesn't say anything, knowing, as Harry does, that if Harry were to press the ring around the voodoo doll's "heart," Justin would die as the ring has been in his possession long enough to be a personal item. When Justin summons a large shard of wood to try to thwart Harry, it is Bob who shouts out a warning, despite the fact that his skull is in Justin's possession. Justin dies when Harry's hand clutches in pain after being grazed by the shard of wood, and while Harry refuses the rest of the inheritance and gives it to charity (besides the house), he keeps Bob within his possession. Morgan, a Warden of the High Council, is opposed to Dresden's continued possession of the skull, believing that Bob is dangerous (episode 110, "What About Bob?").

Harry has since made a way for himself in Chicago, straddling the world of the everyday and the supernatural by acting as a private investigator and consultant for the Chicago Police Department on seemingly unexplainable cases, and Bob is his secret weapon in this. Not only does Bob contain a wealth of knowledge gleaned from his own wizardly expertise, the ghost has accumulated centuries of experience since being tied to his skull. In addition, Bob can take on the appearance of people given a piece of their personage, an ability that has proven essential to the happy resolution of several cases (episodes 103, "Hair of the Dog;" 104, "Rules of Engagements"). The ghostly wizard can also write in the air in glowing letters (episodes 101, "Birds of a Feather;" 106, "Soul Beneficiary").

But to Harry, Bob is far more than a simple tool or resource. Bob is a friend and mentor, and both care deeply for each other. The ghost strongly affirms that he would never betray Harry, even though the opportunity has been presented more than once (episodes 101, "Birds of a Feather;" 106, "Soul Beneficiary;" 110, "What About Bob?"). When Bob's mortality is restored by a doppelgänger of Justin Morningway, in order to resurrect the original Justin using Bob's infamous black magic spell, Bob instead sacrifices his physical existence so as to destroy Morningway forever and ensure Harry's safety. As Bob is dying from the spell, Harry mourns him. Bob, however, knows all along that he would simply revert back to his ghostly existence, and neglects to tell Harry this, so as to hear all the nice things Harry says about him (episode 110, "What About Bob?").

When Dresden is kidnapped by a pair of women planning on using him to commit insurance fraud, Bob faces a difficulty of how to effect any sort of rescue, seeing as he cannot travel far from his skull and cannot, due to his non-corporeal state, say, pick up the phone and call the police. Fortunately, Detectives Murphy and Kirmani end up coming to Harry's office, and Bob leaves a floating message in glowing letters for them, giving them the information they need to find the missing wizard (episode 106, "Soul Beneficiary"). While Bob may roll his eyes at Harry's "quixotic" desire to help people, he consistently assists Dresden, even if only by offering testy or critical advice.

Bob, though he tries not to let it on too much to Harry, suffers emotionally from his inability to physically affect the world, and he feels responsible when he is unable to stop a woman from getting murderously struck by a car just outside Harry's office. The feeling experienced by a living person when Bob inhabits the same space is quite unsettling. "That's something, at least," Bob mutters glumly (episode 107, "Walls"). He spends his spare time doing such things as redesigning old spells, such as the "Doom Box," something of a magical bomb, which Harry uses to destroy a skin walker (apparently sent by the Morningway-doppelgänger in episode 101, "Birds of a Feather"). Bob is also something of a romantic: he is seen with a handkerchief, wiping his eyes during a movie while a rather bored-looking Harry is watching with his latest girlfriend (episode 105, "Bad Blood"). He is also constantly interested in the physical attractiveness of the female clientèle that come to Harry Dresden for help.

Morgan is a Warden (law enforcement officer) of the High Council, the ruling body of the wizarding world. He operates in the region of Chicago and takes a special interest in the matter of Harry Dresden, having followed his case for a number of years. Morgan was one Warden dispatched to hunt Dresden down after Justin Morningway, Harry's uncle, was discovered killed with black magic. However, Red Court vampire Bianca hid Dresden, and so Morgan was unable to locate him (episode 105, "Bad Blood"). When the High Council finally ruled Morningway's killing to be in self-defense, Morgan remained unsatisfied by the verdict, believing that Harry might one day fall back into black magic (episode 104, "Rules of Engagement"). He was also against putting the cursed ghostly wizard Hrothbert of Bainbrige (i.e. Bob) into Dresden's keeping (episode 110, What About Bob?).

One special ability of Morgan's that mystifies Dresden is his ability to vanish, an unsettling skill to Harry. Morgan finally reveals, under duress as He, Dresden, Ancient Mai, and two other Wardens are trapped in a region of hell, that it is not, in fact, a spell of teleportation or invisibility, but instead simply tricking the eyes into not seeing him. As his title implies, Morgan is skilled in defensive spells, or wards. Also, his sword doubles as his wand (in the same manner as Harry's drumstick and hockey stick do) (episode 111, Things That Go Bump).

Det. Sid Kirmani (Raoul Bhaneja) - Lt. Murphy's partner on the Chicago PD, he is perennially skeptical of Dresden's abilities.

M.E. Waldo Butters (Matt Gordon) - a Chicago PD medical examiner who has assisted Lt. Murphy on several of her more bizarre cases.

Justin Morningway (Daniel Kash) - a warden of the High Council and Dresden's uncle, believed to be dead.

Bianca (Joanne Kelly) - one of the most powerful vampires in Chicago, and a member of the Red Court.

Ancient Mai (Jane McLean/Elizabeth Thai) - the High Council's "top dog" who handles contact with other supernatural powers.

Laura Ellis (Natalie Lisinska) - a waitress in a local diner, Harry's love interest in several episodes.