TV Show of the Week 15: Dexter

Mr E

I suppose I should be upset, even feel violated, but I'm not. No, in fact, I think this is a friendly message, like "Hey, wanna play?" and yes I want to play. I really really do.

Said by Dexter when he found something in his Fridge early in Season 1. Something that was left by the Ice Truck killer, and began a cat and mouse game that would lead to the revelation that.... nah, why spoil it for people who haven't seen it?

Dexter kicked off on Showtime in 2006 as a new 12 part original series, based on the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. A blood spatter analyst who works for the Miami Police department by day, and serial killer (who only goes after bad people who slip through the judicial cracks) by night. In season 1 he locked horns with the Ice Truck killer, a serial killer that dismembered his victims and drained their blood before leaving the pieces somewhere for the police to find.

Dexter wouldn't be the show it is without Michael C. Hall. His portrayal of Dexter is what sells the whole series. We are appalled by what he does, yet we are rooting for him to see what he does next. Its hard to think of another actor who could fill Dexter's shoes the way he has.

Surrounded by interesting characters - a foul mouthed sister trying to climb the Miami PD ranks, a psychologically damaged girlfriend, his adopted father and mentor who we meet through flashbacks (who taught him everything he knows), and a bunch of co-workers who are all well-fleshed out characters who we grow to like/dislike over the course of the season. Last but not least, there is Sgt. James Doakes, the one person who knows Dexter is up to something, but can't quite put his finger on it.

Season 1 was the first of 3, and there are 2 more on the way, so Dexter isn't going anywhere. For those who are looking for a new show to get their teeth into for Christmas, you can't do much better than Dexter - funny, thrilling, gripping, entertaining, and builds to a fantastic climax that will leave you wanting more. Season 1 is now available on R2 DVD, and Season 2 is out in March.

As well as being a way of reminiscing about how great this show is, this thread is also a means of introducing people to a show they may not have seen before. As such, please use spoiler tags for plot related comments. Thanks...

JP Liz

Brillant Show

Michael C Hall is excellent as Dexter

Basq

One of the finest shows to come out of the states in the last few years!

The first two seasons were both edge-of-your-seat and consistently brillant drama.. although I felt season 3 was slightly disappointing and slow (thought Jimmy Smits was incredibly one dimensional in it) - especially when compared to the first 2 seasons.

Michael C Hall is wonderful.. his performance of a likeable serial killer is what makes the show so entertaining. You shouldn't be rooting for a serial killer and his ever more gruesome killings week after week, yet Michael C Hall makes the character of Dexter so coy and immensely likeable that it's hard not to.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, I cannot recommend it enough.

tvnutz

Great show,first 2 seasons were brilliant and well worth watching. Season 3 was enjoyable but there seemed to be something missing compared to seasons 1 and 2. However it was still better than most of the stuff on tv and had Jimmy Smits in it,which is always a good thing!

J-blk

Couldn't agree more with all of the above. If you haven't ever watched this show, you really should - very few other shows on US networks (both past and present) can come close to the quality of this. Besides the drama, it has an excellent use of dark humor, leading to some genuinely funny moments (which you wouldn't really expect in a show about a serial killer!).

Elmo

Oh no, I am going to get my head kicked in with this show as well, Damn you BTVS.

Dexer was a huge dissappoint for me, Okay it was hugely hyped when I was in the states and it had a good marketing campaign. Big hollywood blockbuster let down.

Showtime isn't HBO, and this show shows how Showtime are really deparate to be HBO, at least thats how it seems to me.

Dexer is supposed to be a loveable character, and this is the first major problem of the series (American's faviourite Serial Killer is back !!!!)

The premise is good, it is interesting and it should work. Its different and should be well write. But it fails to bring anything new to the serial killer/detective drama.

The acting isn't even good. Dexter's sister is posiably the main reason behind this and the actress and script writers are on a mission to see how many F words they can get into a script, It doesn't work that way. Look at the Wire, one full scene where 2 character repeatly say the F word and you don't even notice, why? because both are credible caracters and the visual investigation under way is interesting, the f word suits the scene and characters.

This guy is ultra-consicnece and yet he has no consicnec. He kills and he likes it but only the bad guys. It's a gift as this father points out.

It falls into all of the sterotypical pot holes of decective dramas.

There's the Female cop no one (not even her father) sees as a good cop.
There's the Black cop who no one repects because he ratted on this fellow police officers.
There's the minority female cop climing up the ladder and doing anything and anyone on the way up.
There is the fat slob of a cop.
Etc etc.

It's like they have taken every character and premise of all of the good US cops show and thrown them into one series. Millienum meets NYPD Blue meets Cagney and Lacey meets Hill street blues meets The Wire meets The Practice etc etc.

Overall a dissappointment. rant over.

Mr E

Nice post, Elmo.... its always interesting to read an opposing opinion. Its hard to do a cop/procedural show without having some stereotypes. I'm watching the shield at the moment, and that has stereotypes too - doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

Truth be told, I had trouble getting into Dexter. I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes of Season 1 when it came out, couldn't really get into it, so I left it for a while. Closer to the end of the season I decided to catch up on missed episodes, and watched the next 5 over the course of a Sunday afternoon/evening. By then I was completely hooked, and watched the remainder pretty soon after.

Some shows, no matter how acclaimed they are, are not for everyone. For instance, I can't get into the Wire (I've restarted Season 1 a few times now and I just can't get into it).

Elmo

Mr E wrote: »

Some shows, no matter how acclaimed they are, are not for everyone. For instance, I can't get into the Wire (I've restarted Season 1 a few times now and I just can't get into it).

You should finish season 1 and start on Season 2. Season 2 is easier to watch and get into TBH. It's not the best of the series but its actually a better starting point then season 1. IMO.

Rich1691

Dexter is a great show!! Season three was slightly different to 1 and 2 but equally as great!! Michael c Hall is a great actor and Miguel Prado i.e.(Jimi Smitts) was a good season filler!!

Yakuza

I've all Seasons 1 and 2 lined up to watch, have watched S01E01-06 back to back, and I'm liking what I've seen so far. Interesting to see cameos from Denise Crosby and Sam from True Blood (and a few others I can't quite put a finger on)

tvnutz

Yakuza wrote: »

I've all Seasons 1 and 2 lined up to watch, have watched S01E01-06 back to back, and I'm liking what I've seen so far. Interesting to see cameos from Denise Crosby and Sam from True Blood (and a few others I can't quite put a finger on)

hardly "cameos" if true blood came after dexter. more like give them any role they can get before they get a proper show themselves.

Elmo

tvnutz wrote: »

hardly "cameos" if true blood came after dexter. more like give them any role they can get before they get a proper show themselves.

Yeah I was just thinking that! Carmel Manhiem (sp?) of The Practice and Ghost Whisper (her career has gone down hill) had a cameo in one of the Dirty Harry films, however she didn't say anything. She was an extra.

Yakuza

tvnutz wrote: »

hardly "cameos" if true blood came after dexter. more like give them any role they can get before they get a proper show themselves.

Fair enough, I used an incorrect term, I should have used "bit part". Back on to the main gist of the thread, am up to ep 10, and it's getting better yet!

Basq

It's worth mentioning that Dexter is starting on TV3 in the New Year.

Stench Blossoms

I've spent the last 2 days watching season 1 back to back.

I had pretty much guessed the ending 3/4 of the way through which I didn't really like as I prefer to be surprised ! Other than that I thought it was quite good and one of the best shows I've seen in awhile. I also like the fact that it's only 12 episodes long, means it's not being dragged out with unnessesary filler episodes.

Loving the theme tune as well.

Started season 2 now......

Elmo

orla wrote: »

I've spent the last 2 days watching season 1 back to back.

I had pretty much guessed the ending 3/4 of the way through which I didn't really like as I prefer to be surprised ! Other than that I thought it was quite good and one of the best shows I've seen in awhile. I also like the fact that it's only 12 episodes long, means it's not being dragged out with unnessesary filler episodes.

Loving the theme tune as well.

Started season 2 now......

Yeah this was my other problem with season 1, it was obivous, obivous.

Also I just want to point out that unlike most US dramas HBO/Showtime shows generally get only 12 episode but they go out for a full hour, which means that they only have 4 less hours then most US dramas.

Mr E

orla wrote: »

I had pretty much guessed the ending 3/4 of the way through which I didn't really like as I prefer to be surprised!

I'd say you figured out who the ITK really was, but had you figured out where that person fit in Dexter's life? That was the real surprise for me..... Enjoy Season 2!

J-blk

orla wrote: »

I had pretty much guessed the ending 3/4 of the way through which I didn't really like as I prefer to be surprised !

I'd say you'll find the same with season 2 as well - season 3 was a bit twistier with the ending, but again, you can see where certain things are going about 3-4 episodes from the end. Now normally, I'd find it very boring for a show to be predictable as to how the season is going to end, but I find with Dexter it's great to see how they get there - it always delivers, even if you've figured out the ending very early on (I was amazed with some of the discussion on season 3 with just how early people were figuring out main plot threads ).

Season 3 is also quite different to the first two, mainly because the writers are completely on their own - for the first two, even though things were changed, the main ideas came from the Dexter books. Still, I thought it was still good and there is a very good overarching progression in Dexter's character through each season. I definitely still recommend watching every single episode .

Stench Blossoms

Elmo wrote: »

Yeah this was my other problem with season 1, it was obivous, obivous.

Also I just want to point out that unlike most US dramas HBO/Showtime shows generally get only 12 episode but they go out for a full hour, which means that they only have 4 less hours then most US dramas.

Ah I'm used to watching Heroes, Lost, Desperate Housewives etc that have the 22 episode series. I much prefer the shorter series with longer episodes.

Micheal C.Hall really makes the show, makes me quiver sometimes. He was brilliant in Six Feet Under as well.

Mr E wrote: »

I'd say you figured out who the ITK really was, but had you figured out where that person fit in Dexter's life? That was the real surprise for me..... Enjoy Season 2!

No I had guessed that

They were related and most likely brothers. Mainly because they were both perfectionists and assumed they both had the same background. I didn't expect him to try kill Deb though.

I've watched the first 3 episodes of season 2 and so far I'm liking it.

ixoy

J-blk wrote: »

Season 3 is also quite different to the first two, mainly because the writers are completely on their own - for the first two, even though things were changed, the main ideas came from the Dexter books

How did S2 come from the books? Now admittedly I've only read the first two, but there's nothing there really present in the second season other than Doakes and his plotline is very different than where it goes in the books. Indeed S3 is surely closer to the books, with the

marriage to Rita

.

Curvy Vixen

basquille wrote: »

It's worth mentioning that Dexter is starting on TV3 in the New Year.

The implication in the ads is that it's episode 1 of season 1...can anyone verify this? It looks and sounds like a good series but I'm a bit anal about watching stuff from the very beginning Also, it's clashing with Grey's this week anyway so may need to prioritise in the future!

Elmo

orla wrote: »

No I had guessed that

They were related and most likely brothers. Mainly because they were both perfectionists and assumed they both had the same background. I didn't expect him to try kill Deb though.

I expected it all

J-blk

ixoy wrote: »

How did S2 come from the books? Now admittedly I've only read the first two, but there's nothing there really present in the second season other than Doakes and his plotline is very different than where it goes in the books. Indeed S3 is surely closer to the books, with the

marriage to Rita

.

True but both season 1 and 2 carry their main story arc/idea from the books though you're right, season 2 only uses it very broadly and then goes its' own way. Whereas in season 3, the only story carried from the book seems like a second tier arc to me, rather than the main plot. I also remember reading somewhere that Jeff Lindsay provided more input on the first two seasons, whereas the third has been more of a direct product of the writing team but I'd have to dig that up, so I could be wrong...

Shryke

This is a great show but I lost interest while watching Season Three. My one problem with the show is that I can predict everything that will happen, usually episodes in advance. This leads me to not bother watching. It didn't matter so much with the first two seasons as it was still very enjoyable to watch but with three not grabbing me I've stopped following for now. I'm positive I'll catch back up but it's going to be whenever I've got the time.

Necronomicon

Dexter, for me, is far and away one of the best things on television. From the performances of Michael C. Hall, the content you'd scarcely find on network television, the wonderfully dark humour, to the captivating story arcs (the Ice Truck Killer remains my favourite villain in recent memory). It's easy to find examples of books poorly adapted to television (see The Dresden Files) but Dexter is a rare breed that, imo, surpasses its source material greatly.

Take Season 1, which was based on Jeff Lindsay's debut Dexter book 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter'. The television series didn't change much, but it dealt with the Ice Truck Killer differently.

We were introduced to Rudy a few episodes before the end of the season and, while it became a little predictable that he was the ITK, it was an absolute bombshell when it was revealed he was Dexter's brother.

The book

didn't introduce us to the character at all, and left the revelation of his family ties to Dexter until the last few pages. Maybe the twist didn't have much of an effect on me because I'd seen the series first, but I felt it was rushed.

I've been debating Season 2 vs Season 3 with friends (neither touches the first in my opinion). The third season has gotten a good bit of criticism, but I honestly think it stands toe to toe with Season 2. While the second season was very good, I thought it waned in the middle.

Dexter went through a bit of an identity crisis as he tried to turn away from what he was, and I think it slightly stunted the 'Bay Harbour Butcher' storyline

(and hands up who nearly threw something at the tv everytime fish-lips Lila was on the screen? ). I thought Dexter was back to his vintage self in Season 3, and that

Miguel was a vastly superior antagonist than Lila.

. Where Season 3 undoubtedly fell down, though, was in its very weak finale.

Killing Miguel off in the penultimate episode turned it into a damp squib, and the anti-climactic 'skinner' arc was wrapped up poorly.

I guess there's room for improvement in both the fourth book and fourth season (particularly after the very disappointing third book 'Dexter in the Dark' which I hope never lends parts of itself to the show) but I'm very much looking forward to both.

Elmo

Necronomicon wrote: »

I guess there's room for improvement in both the fourth book and fourth season (particularly after the very disappointing third book 'Dexter in the Dark' which I hope never lends parts of itself to the show) but I'm very much looking forward to both.

I know they say this with every series that their will only be 3 but I thought that their would only be 3.

Just to point out that the reveals in any show may not always be reveals. Our criticism of the show because of the lack luster reveals may be done on purpose by the shows makers. The show isn't necessarily a "who dunnit?". However the reveals in season one seemed to be quite forced. Everything about the ITK storyline seemed forced, as did many of Dexter's killings.

I still don't get the acting part of this series, often it is dry. I am not sure if his step-sister got killed after season 1, I hope she did. But she is one example of bad acting. I did try and watch the final 2 episodes but I just couldn't go on.

From the performances of Michael C. Hall, the content you'd scarcely find on network television, the wonderfully dark humour, to the captivating story arcs (the Ice Truck Killer remains my favourite villain in recent memory).

This isn't Network television and TBH IMO this series doesn't come close to the acting and performances of 1990s classic network TV. US Network TV is going through a dry patch and Dexter is indeed better than much of the crap coming from Network TV, however that is not all that hard. (The Practice's serial killer story line was both dark and comic, and really had you thinking is he or isn't he).

amacachi

Elmo wrote: »

I know they say this with every series that their will only be 3 but I thought that their would only be 3.

5 seasons it would seem. http://tv.ign.com/articles/921/921985p1.html

Necronomicon

Elmo wrote: »

This isn't Network television and TBH IMO this series doesn't come close to the acting and performances of 1990s classic network TV. US Network TV is going through a dry patch and Dexter is indeed better than much of the crap coming from Network TV, however that is not all that hard. (The Practice's serial killer story line was both dark and comic, and really had you thinking is he or isn't he).

Yeah I know, that's what I meant in my post. I like how they can be a bit more liberal because it's cable television. CBS do run a more censored version of the show, I never found out how that took off actually.

Stench Blossoms

I've finished watching season 2 and 3 and I think i prefered season 1. I know it was predictable but it was more enjoyable that the other two seasons.

JP Liz

Starts tonight on TV3 at 10pm