The Dresden Files

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Revision as of 18:58, 26 February 2007

This article contains information about a currently running television series. Information may change rapidly as more episodes are released.

The Dresden Files is a modern-day fantasy/mystery TV show based on the series of books under the same name, written by Jim Butcher. The stories are centered on Harry Dresden, a professional wizard and mystic detective in Chicago, Illinois. Dresden attracts cases that the police cannot solve through conventional means, usually because they involve some manner of supernatural influence. While supernatural creatures and phenomena are real, most of the world doesn't believe in them, leaving the police unable to solve or even comprehend the mysteries Dresden undertakes.

Conventions of magic

Magic is distinguished into several varieties related to source and purpose, but overarching is the distinction between white and black magic. Black magic opens the door to temptation by one's darker desires. Practitioners of magic are monitored by the High Council to deter the use of black magic. Voodoo is known to be categorized as black magic.

Characters

Central Characters

• Bob the Skull – Ghost bound to his only remains, his skull, inscribed with arcane symbols. In the possession of Harry Dresden; formerly belonging to Harry's uncle, Justin Morningway. Centuries old; very knowledgeable in magic and mysticism. Capable of shapechanging at will to mimic others' forms. Mostly self-interested, but cares about Harry, at least when it's important.
• Harry Dresden – Professional wizard and mystical private investigator in Chicago.
• Detective Kirmani – Police detective working under Lieutenant Murphy.
• Lieutenant Constanza "Connie" Murphy – Police detective at police district 27. Divorced; mother of Anna Murphy; friend of Harry Dresden.

Peripheral Characters

• Ancient Mai – Very powerful and high-ranking woman in the High Council.
• J. T. Bergen – Las Vegas casino owner and tycoon.
• Bianca – Vampire of the Red Court. Operates a club. Friend (and potential romantic interest) of Harry Dresden.
• Heather Brant – Office worker. Werewolf. Friend and former roommate of Mina Watkins.
• Jake Darius – Vampire of the Red Court. Third eye dealer. Former associate of Bianca, now operating in the Gulf Coast region.
• Mr. Dresden – Professional stage magician who performed in various cities under the name "The Astounding Dresden." No actual magical power. Husband of the late Margaret LeFay; Harry Dresden's father.
• Charles Harding – Owner of an antiquities and curio shop in Chicago. Father of Lisa Harding.
• Caryn Harris – Matthew Jacobs' girlfriend. Fell in love with Jacobs while he was still a hellion, inspiring his restoration to humanity and his escape from Sirota.
• Matthew Jacobs – Thief turned hellion by Sirota. Returned to humanity and escaped Sirota after falling in love with Caryn Harris. Harris's boyfriend.
• Laura – Diner waitress. Harry's girlfriend.
• Marie – Works in the Chicago police records department. Single, talkative, aggressively seeking a romantic relationship.
• Morgan – The High Council's chief warden in Chicago.
• Anna Murphy – 9-year-old daughter of Connie Murphy. Spends most of her time with her father.
• Mr. Murphy – Constanza Murphy's father. "Old school" cop. Living in Florida with a hooker.
• Natalie – Vampire of the Red Court. Former novice of Bianca. Tried to frame and kill Bianca to gain use of her club as a third eye dealing den. Currently in High Council custody.
• Special Agent Kelly Raskin – Former FBI agent from Memphis, Tennessee. Former werewolf, cured by the bloodline purge arcana. Lover of Zachary Bushnell. Currently held in a mental hospital.
• Lucas Sabin – Prison inmate. Professor of ancient Egyptian history; knowledgeable in Egyptian magic. Killed a boy by mummifying him alive. Former cellmate of Gus Boone.
• Cheryl Sharpe – Adoptive mother of Scott Sharpe; divorced. Adopted Scott illegally, unknowingly in a deal with the Raven Clan.
• Scott Sharpe – Student at JFK Junior High School in Chicago. Has the gift of magic, as yet unmanifested. Protected by the Raven Clan. Adopted son of Cheryl Sharpe.
• Sirota – Demon, seducer of humans. Turns humans into hellions and leashes them with chains of sin. Operates Club C7.

Deceased Characters

• Arvin – Vampire of the Black Court. Third eye addict. Worked for Natalie. Killed by Bianca.
• Gus Boone – Ex-convict, thug. Used an Egyptian artifact and ritual to gain the power to transfer his mind into another's body, killing his current body in the process. Killed by Harry Dresden.
• Special Agent Zachary Bushnell – FBI agent from the Memphis, Tennessee office. Werewolf. Lover of Kelly Raskin. Killed by Raskin when she mistook him, in wolf form, for Heather Brant.
• Clive – Retired contract killer for the High Council, specializing in hunting vampires. Killed by Arvin on contract for Natalie.
• Lisa Harding (ca. 1989 - ca. 2006) – Daughter of Charles Harding. Killed by Gus Boone during an armed robbery.
• Margaret LeFay – Harry Dresden's mother. Killed when Harry was very young.
• Melissa – Contact of Harry Dresden with access to High Council records. Killed by a skinwalker hunting Scott Sharpe.
• Edward Miller – Billionaire stockbroker. Body-hijacked in 2006 by Gus Boone; killed in 2007 when Boone jumped from Miller into another host.
• Justin Morningway – Harry Dresden's uncle; brother of Dresden's mother, Margaret LeFay; from the magical side of the family. Killed in 2002 by Dresden, using black magic, in self defense.
• Donald Primko – Hellion recruited by Sirota. Killed by Matthew Jacobs.
• Whitney Timmons – Scott Sharpe's school teacher at JFK Junior High School. Killed by a skinwalker hunting Scott.
• Mina Watkins (b. ca. 1983; d. February 12, 2007) – Office worker turned werewolf. Killed by Zachary Bushnell.

Organizations

• The Black Court – Association of feral vampires. Rivals of the Red Court.
• The High Council – Authority over affairs of magic and wizardry.
• The Raven Clan – Family of supernatural creatures, Ravens. Mercenaries. Stubborn, clever and ruthless, but as creatures of habit, predictable. Protecting Scott Sharpe for the High Council.
• The Red Court – Association of civilized vampires. Has a truce with the High Council. Rivals of the Black Court.

Companies

• Club C7 – Night club operated by Sirota.
• Kirby's – Bar in South Bend, Indiana.

Creatures

• Hellion – Any of a number of creatures whose powers or lineage originate from Hell.
• Raven – Morally neutral creature, humanoid with avian features related to their namesake. Able to shapechange into ravens or crows.
• Skinwalker – Powerful creature with the ability to skin people from afar and to take over their identities by occupying the empty skins.
• Vampire – Usually belong to either the Red or Black Court. Don't burn or ash when killed.

Locations

• 137 North Bolgia Place – Matthew Jacobs' home before he turned human and went into hiding.
• 5321 Henders Way – Old Methodist church on Chicago's north side. Has been shut down for years. Used as a nest by the Raven Clan.
• 5809 McKinley Avenue – Whitney Timmons' house in Chicago, and the site of her murder.
• Arvin's apartment – Arvin's home. Messy and filthy.
• Bianca's loft – Bianca's home above her club. Stylish.
• Clive's warehouse
• JFK Junior High School – Scott Sharpe's school.
• Joseph Miller's Estate – Mansion and grounds. Former residence of Edward Miller.
• Menard Correctional Facility – Medium-security prison. Currently holds Lucas Sabin; formerly held Gus Boone.
• St. Margaret's of the Roses – Catholic church upon sanctified ground.

Equipment

• Bob's First Grimoire – Text written by Bob the Skull, containing details on creation of a doom box among other perilous and unsavory magics. Destroyed by Harry Dresden after he killed its owner, his uncle, Justin Morningway.
• Chain of sin – Binds a hellion to the will of the chain's owner. Must be broken to release the hellion.
• Doom box – Magical artifact that captures and amplifies magical energy. When opened, it explodes, killing the opener.
• The Lock of Anubis – Egyptian stone tablet inscribed with heiroglyphs and the outline of a left hand. Combined with a ritual, the Lock enables a person to tranfer his mind into a new host body. Touching the Lock again, though, is fatal to the transferred spirit.
• Shield bracelet – Protective charm passed down to Harry Dresden from his mother. A magical circle inscribed on each of several copper medallions absorbs and deflects energy. Known to stop bullets.
• Third eye – Drug in the form of blue liquid. Mind-altering rage enhancer made for and by the undead. Addictive and deadly.

Spells

• Bloodline purge arcana – Cures a person of lycanthrope. The afflicted person must kill nine other lycanthropes from the same bloodline as his own.