I’m Hooked on Dexter
Anyone that knows me knows that I love horror movies. I especially love zombie films, so if you know of a good one I haven’t seen, let me know.
That said, I am not generally a fan of movies or shows where the bad guy or a guy with an evil persona, or who does bad things in order to elicit some kind of whacked out version of justice is the hero. This is the point at which I stand up in front of the crowd and say, "My name is Steve, and I watch Dexter." The crowd then responds in unison; "Hi, Steve."
Why would I admit this? Because Dexter is that good.
Wikipedia can say it better than I:
Orphaned at the age of three and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by a Miami police officer named Harry Morgan who recognized his sociopathic tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for killing and dissecting in a “constructive” way: by killing only heinous criminals (such as mob assassins and serial killers of the innocent) who have slipped through the justice system. To satisfy his interest in blood and to facilitate his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Although his drive to kill is unflinching (otherwise overcome by a feeling of “emptiness”) Dexter is, through extensive instruction from Harry, able to fake normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially-responsible human being. He is well-liked by most of his colleagues (with the exception of Sgt. James Doakes), his girlfriend, and her children. The first season focuses mostly on Dexter’s urges to find and kill the Ice Truck Killer. At the end of the season the killer attempts to kill Dexter’s adoptive-sister, Debra, but is stopped by him. The killer reveals that he is Dexter’s brother. Dexter has no choice, but to kill him at the end of the season, and makes the killer’s death look like a suicide. However, Doakes doesn’t accept the suicide theory and starts tailing Dexter because of his personal suspicions.
OK, I haven’t seen any of that. I started with the last half of episode 16 of season 2. It was so taut and riveting I started watching the repeats of season 2 on Time/Warner Cable’s On Demand service. If you haven’t seen them, you have until March 10, 2008. I have now seen the whole second season and I am impressed enough to get the first season on DVD.
Dexter has all of the qualities I hate in a show. I hate "inner dialog" narration; Dexter uses it and it actually works to the shows advantage. Without it, the audience would have no insight into Dexter’s motivations, which are hard to convey with character dialog. While the camera work is not of the twitchy NYPD Blue variety, the images on screen have the washed out look of Janos Kaminsky’s photography for Steven Spielberg. Again, on Dexter, this makes the whole series seem more surreal and is appropriate to the show.
The way Michael C. Hall plays Dexter is perfect. He’s a guy on the edge and Hall can convey whatever Dexter is thinking with just a look. In order to get into the show, you have to like Dexter somewhat, and Hall conveys that perfectly. Dexter is just another guy trying to get by. The rest of the cast is really good too.
The writers aren’t fooling us. Dexter is not a sociopath. Since he has a code to live by, engendered by his foster father, Dexter has an outlet for his "Dark Passenger," and he actually cares about how the people around him will react if they ever found out he’s a serial killer. If he were a pure sociopath, Dexter wouldn’t really give a damn about them. This is the part of the show I’m facsinated by. Dexter actually has a lot to say about the human condition, and that is something I didn’t expect either. If you like smart TV, get into Dexter.
Tags: dexter, showtime, tv, cbs
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