Well, I did see the show first, Without the benifit of reading the books, I though certian aspects of the show were great. Now having read the books, I wish they had done more with the show. Unfortunately for me, I have lost interest in watching anything on the scifi network. They have a bad habbit of introducing bad plots and a healthy dose of cheese to any series that isn't strong enough to stand on its own. They also have a tendancy to end Good amd great shows before their time, while milking their institutions for all their worth... Example, Who thought that stargate would become the Law And Order of the SciFi world.
That being said, I think someone attached to the series had to be a fanboy... Someone not high enough to affect real change, but high enough to keep as much of the spirit of the books as possible. Origins aside, Bob was still Bob. Physical differences aside, Harry and Morgan were still Harry and Morgan. Harry and Murphy's relationship was pretty much the same. And I can see Harry having a back up staff made out of a hockey stick... I think there were several times recently he wish he had thought to make one... or just an extra period.
I do believe that the time for a NEW series has come, since the origional came out, Game Of Thrones, True Blood, and The Walking Dead has changed the game. You can Introduce Storm Front as the plot of the entire first season, you can leave people hanging at the end of an episode and not only is it ok, the people in charge have realized that it is a good trick to make sure that we come back for the next episode. With good Casting, good production, and good writers working along with Mr.Butcher to translate the story to script form.... I don't see anything but success, and a few broken bones, for our Harry Dresden.... Oh yeah, I am sure it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway.... a new network!