I think the TV series Burn Notice main character got the same attitude as Harry Dresden...well that and the rest of the series is realy good so check it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_Notice_(TV_series)

 

It's a good series and has a fuckin' great sense of humor, but the main character isn't really like Dresden in the least.

Still, it's fun as hell. Go check it out, people.

 

Burn Notice is pure win, but I have to agree that Michael Weston isn't very similar to Harry Dresden.

Still, the show is well worth watching if you're not familiar with it (I grew up watching MacGyver, so BN gets huge ups from me...)

 

well he do kinda tend to solve problems the same style as dresden...

...if it dont work the first time blow some shit up or blackmail it to work...

 

I dunno, Michael Weston seems more... subtle, I suppose. Anyone know how many episodes of burn notice there are? I've watched something like the first 12 but can't seem to find any more. Is that the whole season?

 

I haven't seen this particular show, but when I saw the thread title I thought of Eureka on Scifi. It's science fiction, instead of fantasy, but the main character has a somewhat similar sense of humor, and does a lot of similar investigating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_(TV_series) if anyone's interested.

 

Ive only managed to catch a few episodes here and there, but yea... Eureka is epic.

 

I watched Burn Notice recently. The series has a lot of parallels with Dexter.

Both shows are focussed on men leading secret double-lives in which they kill people. They're isolated from ordinary society and their family. Both are damaged goods. They've attracted psychotic, amoral girlfriends. They have few if any real friends, and instead use apparent friendships as tools. They are obsessed with their fathers. And, of course, both shows are set in Miami.

I'm sure there are more similarities, that's just what's been bugging me since I watched Burn Notice the other week.

I've never heard of Eureka, but it sounds interesting enough.

J22: There are 12 eps in Season 1. IIRC, the last episode has Michael Weston driving out of Miami to confront the organisation that put the burn notice out on him. He drives his car into the back of a waiting enclosed truck, hoping it's not a trap.

"Season 2 will premiere on Thursday, July 10, 2008" - Wikipedia

 

Dexter = no friends, mentor dad, kills for kills with bonus of the victim being bad, wants to kill.
BN = friends, abusive dad, kills for money, avoids killing.

Not really similar.

 

Yes, I know I'm a week or two late to this discussion but it finally made sense to me.

I've seen Eureka. Enjoyable show, but only vague similarities to Dresden Files. Dexter I've only seen the first two episodes of and while it was a good show, I think this one might be even further from similar as it's basically trying to justify and make an anti-hero out of a serial killer.

But Burn Notice? Yeah. That ones pretty close to the Dresden Files in terms of the simplest formula for the show. I should preface this by adding that I only came to this realization after finding a third show that sticks to a very similar formula.

The gist of it is this: Each episode involves a unique and difficult problem. It's a problem that local law enforcement either can't help with or won't help with. And so they need someone who can deal with this unique situation. You start with the problem, you see person X present the problem to the show's main character. They're slightly hesitant to take on the problem, and might suggest the cops. Here we find out reason Y that the cops won't help. Then, if the client is an undesirable we get introduced to a good reason to tackle the problem. Oftentimes good money. Other times because innocent person Z is in danger or is missing. Client's daughter, mutual friend, room mate, etc... And finally we get our protagonist hero to take the case and say, "I'll see what I can do."

It's always vague there, because the show is built upon each episode offering a new way or at least a different twist on a way of solving the episode's problem. Someone's life in danger, or loss of big money may frequently be the point, but the spy tricks or magic tricks necessary to solve are where the episodes differ.

Our protagonists have a unique relationship with law enforcement here. Sometimes they use them, sometimes they have to work around them. Occasionally they are helpful, and occasionally they just get in the way. In Burn Notice, he sometimes counts on cops to intercede and react (calling them to investigate a robbery in a nearby boat), while in Dresden Harry's relationships with both Murphy and Morgan fit the cops who help or who are required to follow rules and can be used for that reason.

But problems requiring unique non-cop solutions and protagonists who know tricks on how to solve them. This is why Burn Notice feels similar to Dresden. Ideally you have two arcs going. One in each episode with some problem/mystery solved by the end, and a second over-arching problem that is ongoing through each episode. Dresden Files as a tv show was completely lacking the secondary season or series long problem. It barely mattered what order you see the episodes in. Burn Notice on the other hand has the mystery of who burned Michael and why going on.

Bonus points if anyone's managed to guess the third show that adheres to this formula. I'll add in that it was sadly canceled after only three excellent seasons. It had the same formula for each episode and a larger arc that covered season 1, a second season-long secondary arc in season 2. Season 3 had a big arc for half a season, and then another arc for the other half of a season.

And to be honest, the third show probably has the best writing between Dresden Files (TV not books), Burn Notice and it.

I've been coy about naming the third so that I'll interest those of you who enjoyed the Dresden show and Burn Notice simply because the title would make some scoff and laugh. But I will admit that I own all 3 seasons and have recently been re-watching them all. And while she's a bit of a whore, a manipulative bitch, and sometimes treats her friends really poorly, I am definitely a little bit in love with Veronica Mars.

Besides, with Veronica Mars, you have three complete seasons to watch and enjoy. Dresden and Burn Notice are only a dozen episodes each.

 

I know why you watched Veronica Mars:



Can't say that I blame you...

 

Thanks for posting that pic, Nukular. For some reason I'd always thought Veronica Mars was a kids cartoon like Kim Possible. Nonjon's coyness over revealing the title only further led me to believe he was being defensive about holding up a cartoon TV series as a model show.

So, I wikipedia'd that shit, and found tap-dancing praise from the likes of Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, Stephen King, and Ed Brubaker.

I'm definitely going to watch this.

To anyone considering watching Eureka: I found it pretty boring overall. It's an interesting concept, but the show doesn't really develop or go anywhere interesting until the final two eps of the season. There is not much of an overarching plot to tie the eps together, and the science is just used as window dressing and silly plot device - they don't even attempt to make it believable.

Overall, it feels an awful lot like watching a kids show but with an adult protagonist.

edit: Eureka's portrayal of an Australian annoyed me. His accent was so bad that I didn't even know he was supposed to be an Aussie until a third of the way into the series. I thought he was a stereotyped South African big white hunter.

 

Honestly, the only show I could compare to Dresden Files is Supernatural. It's a damn good show and one of the main characters, dean, really reminds me of Dresden.

P.S. Random tip - watch Reaper, I found out about this show today and it's unbelievably full of win.

 

It was Mr. Whedon's exultation of the show's greatness that attracted me. He even appeared in an episode working at a car rental agency (He was Employee of the Month too). He did a pretty gushing review of Season One on dvd here, which may or may not have been what spurned me into checking it out. Can't remember.

I kind of agree with Yak on Eureka too. There's not enough science-y super genius stuff for me and none of the characters are really pushed to that level where they're likably quirky instead of a little bland. But compared to the glut of reality shows, and the few good scripted ones, Eureka is still in my DVR list.

"Supernatural" deals with the fantasy type stuff that would fit into Dresden, but something about the show has always irked me and kept me from liking it. Truthfully, it might be that Sam and Dean are too pretty and the sort of background over-arching story feels too important. I can rarely stand those types of shows. Like Heroes, Lost, or 24. Where you watch an episode and it leaves you more frustrated for answers than with any sort of completeness. And it's basically pointless to just catch one random episode. Yeah, I'm not big on commitment.

Reaper is okay. It has moments, but Sam (the main character) just whines so damn much it gets old. It wants to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although come to think of it, the rough stuff in early Buffy was drowning in whining too. Xander and Willow as the fun and humorous people were the only thing that kept the boat afloat until Buffy got fun too.

Yes, yes. I watch too much TV.

 

Blasphemy! There is no such thing as too much TV!!