After being thoroughly disappointed with an episode from the second season of "Masters of Horror" I was still flipping through the horror section under Showtime On Demand. I clicked on "Dexter" and read the synopsis about a vigilante serial killer with a girlfriend who wants a commitment. I had never heard of any story like this before. I was hooked right from the first episode.
The opening sequence of "Dexter" sets the dark humored tone. The camera follows him through an ordinary morning routine that is filmed in a ghastly fashion utilizing uncomfortable close-ups that get right in your face and under your skin: Dexter shaving and dabbing at his nicks with a paper towel, the deliberately slow cutting and cooking of food that looks more like dismemberment than anything culinary, a stream of tobasco sauce on fried eggs that resembles blood, the remains of a freshly squeezed blood orange that looks like a mutilated corpse, and the use dental floss and lacing of shoestrings that evoke thoughts of confinement or strangulation.
Then Dexter puts on a t-shirt and stares into the camera with the feral eyes of a hungry predator. His face is lighted from the right, leaving the left side of his face shadowed. This shot depicts the duality of Dexter: the light-hearted nice guy side he puts up for the world and the dark side that remains meticulously hidden. Finally we see him exit his apartment with a nod and smile to the camera, as if to assure us that the bloodthirsty beast we saw in his apartment is kept on a very short leash.
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a vigilante serial killer. After accumulating enough solid evidence about his target, he moves in for the kill. His victims are murderers, pedophiles, arsonists, black widows, and other assorted creeps that the world could do without. When he's not taking out the human trash, he works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. At work Dexter puts up a friendly, easy-going persona. He is a consummate professional and a brilliant forensics expert who gets results.
At the department he works with his sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a foul-mouthed cop with a bright mind, but very lacking in confidence and political savvy. There is also forensics analyst Matsuka (CS Lee.), the friendly pervert with a sick sense of humor. Sgt. Doakes (Erik King), is as Dexter puts it, the only one in a room full of cops who is suspicious of him. Doakes is a tough cop but his detective skills are rather mediocre. Angel Batista (George Zayas) is a far better investigator who appreciates and respects all of Dexter's hard work. Angel and Dex in partricular make a great team. Leading the homicide division is Lt. Maria LaGuerta: tough, ruthless, but too vain for her own good. She has the hots for Dexter and this naturally unsettles him.
For several months, Dexter has been dating Rita, a single mother of two who suffered years of horrid abuse at the hands of her drug addict husband who is now in prison. As Dexter puts it Rita is perfect for him because "she is, in her own way, just as damaged as me".
This is the neat little world of lies in which Dexter lives: days of honest work, nights off with a girlfriend, and the occasional act of vigilante justice. However all of this is turned upside down with the arrival of a killer soon to be known as The Ice Truck Killer. The ITK leaves clean, bloodless, frozen remains of hookers right out in public for all the world to see. Dexter can't help but to admire the meticulous and precise handiwork of this new killer. The presence of the ITK sets of a chain of events that will change Dexter's world forever.
The show is based on a series of novels written by Jeff Lindsay. While the books focus entirely on Dexter who narrates, the series however, delves more into the lives of the supporting characters creating enough plot (and sub-plots) to sink your teeth into. The entire cast turns in great performances that grow with the characters they portray.
Actor Michael C. Hall has said in interviews that Dexter really isn't emotionless, but he is emotionally frozen. Right from episode one we see some evidence: his righteous anger at a pedophile ["OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!"], his dedication to his sister ["If I had feelings for anyone, I'd have them for Deb."], the tenderness he feels for Rita ["Normal people can be so hostile......but never her....."]. Dexter may tell us that he is hollow inside , but he doesn't know that he's just frozen, nor does he realize just how much he has already begun to thaw out.
In a world of endless CSI and crime drama franchises, it's refreshing to see a new spin on an idea that is running out of steam. It is uncertain how long and how far this show can go, but with a third season coming up, "Dexter" shows no signs of slowing down. If you're in the mood for something dark, cynical, and sarcastic, this is the show for you
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M. C. Whiting
seriously recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2008
P. Norris
And I thought this was another rubbish American crime drama...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2011
