I love the show. I have been watching it since season 1. On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 8:22 AM, Kelwyn <ravena...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It's difficult to explain to someone who has never seen Showtime's "Dexter" > why it is currently the most riveting and addictive show on television. When > you try, you tend to sound a tiny bit psychotic. > > "It's about this guy named Dexter who works as a blood splatter analyst for > the Miami Police Department but is also secretly a serial killer," you say, > adding quickly, "except he only kills bad people, the kind the law can't > touch. He has this code of honor and he's played by Michael C. Hall, who is > just amazing because he makes Dexter kind of lovable and, well, you just > have to watch it." > > http://theworldebon.blogspot.com/2009/03/selahday-orji-13-10009.html > > > SPOILERS!!!!!!! > > TELEVISION REVIEW > > An inevitable surrender to 'Dexter' > With the addition of John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer, Showtime's tale of > a grisly Robin Hood just gets better -- and bloodier. > > By MARY McNAMARA > > Television Critic > > October 30, 2009 > > It's difficult to explain to someone who has never seen Showtime's "Dexter" > why it is currently the most riveting and addictive show on television. When > you try, you tend to sound a tiny bit psychotic. > > "It's about this guy named Dexter who works as a blood splatter analyst for > the Miami Police Department but is also secretly a serial killer," you say, > adding quickly, "except he only kills bad people, the kind the law can't > touch. He has this code of honor and he's played by Michael C. Hall, who is > just amazing because he makes Dexter kind of lovable and, well, you just > have to watch it." > > You finish lamely, and your friend takes a couple steps back. > > Fortunately, as "Dexter" wades deeper into its fourth season, there aren't > too many people who haven't at least heard of it. Hall's recent marriage to > Jennifer Carpenter, who plays Dexter's foul-mouthed, unlucky-in-love > detective sister Debra, prompted a few headlines, and then Hall was > nominated for another Emmy. > > Now, the show has the added mainstream credibility of John Lithgow, beloved > star of stage, screen and the children's book/CD circuit. Lithgow plays the > Trinity Killer, a serial murderer as methodical and duplicitous as our man > Dexter. The season opened, in fact, with a woman coming home to find > Lithgow, stark naked, heaven help us, in her bathroom. He later cradled her > terror-shaken body in the water and cut her throat, holding up a hand mirror > so she could watch herself die. > > Chilling and yet perversely beautiful, it promised a most electric season, > which as we head into the sixth episode, the show has more than delivered; > with some 2 million viewers, Sunday's episode was the most watched in the > series' history. > > The viewership jump may be due to the recent cliffhanger in which Debra and > her off-again/on-again lover Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) wound up shot in > a parking lot or it may be Lithgow once again channeling creepy duplicity. > But more probably it's just the natural order of things -- inevitably, you > must surrender to "Dexter" because it keeps doing things you don't think you > will be able to watch in such a way that you simply must. > > When the concept was first floated -- a grisly Robin Hood of serial killers > -- many critics and viewers were understandably skeptical. But in adapting > the novels of Jeff Lindsay, writer James Manos Jr. created not so much a > jolly psychopath as the ultimate outsider. Darkly hilarious, "Dexter" is > essentially the story of the ultimate misfit -- like Sheldon on "The Big > Bang Theory," Dexter simply does not understand the language of emotion or > the social cues that others take for granted. Guided by his adoptive father, > Harry (James Remar), he relies instead on a code of survival, a code that > has been tested over the last three seasons by various events, the most > important of which is his growing love for Rita (Julie Benz) and her two > children. After Rita discovered she was pregnant, last season ended with the > two getting married. > > Many of us spent much of the summer wondering how on earth the writers were > going to navigate the murky waters of Serial Killer Dad. But we needn't have > worried. In this season's early episodes, as the Trinity Killer went about > his deadly business, poor old sleep-deprived Dexter was learning to > multi-task. What new parent hasn't grappled with the difficulty of juggling > family, career and lifelong obsession, be it music, writing, baseball or > strapping murderers to a table with Saran Wrap and stabbing them to death? > > At one point, in an early episode, Dexter fell asleep at the wheel and gave > himself a concussion, which meant he couldn't' remember what he had done > with the corpse of the guy he had just killed. Me, I tend to misplace my > purse, but I could still relate. And the real guy/extraordinary circumstance > of the show's writing and Hall's performance are so hypnotic that when > Dexter finally found the sawed up bits, we all breathed a sigh of relief. > > Dexter is, of course, dealing with a larger issue -- his love for Rita and > the kids indicates that he is not so much an Other as he once thought. He > still has to kill, but he discovers that he would rather be revealed than > have his family harmed. > > How, when or if such a disclosure comes is up to the writers, though one > hopes they will leave it for another season; this one's jampacked already. > Deb recently reunited with Lundy, the serial killer tracker from Season 2 > now hot on the trail of Trinity. But hours after their big clinch, the two > were shot down in a parking lot. But while others in the department > suspected the Vacation Murderers, a pair of druggies preying on tourists, > Dexter quickly realized it was the work of Trinity, with whom Lundy had > recently had a chance encounter. (Watching Miami live in perpetual threat > from any number of serial murders, you do feel a great amount of sympathy > for the local tourist bureau.) > > Dexter, in whom Lundy had already confided much of the Trinity research, is > now determined to kill the man he believes shot his sister. To do so, he > must insinuate himself into Trinity's life, which bears an uncanny > resemblance to Dexter's own. > > Deb, meanwhile, has her own integrity tested (Carpenter delivers a > gut-wrenching breakdown scene), and Rita is beginning to think Dexter has > something to hide. > > There is also an unfortunate B-plot involving Dexter's boss, Lt. LaGuerta > (Lauren Vélez), and Det. Batista (David Zayas), but the least said about > their ill-considered romance, the better. > > Not that it matters; anything would pale in comparison to Deb's anguish and > the scenes between Hall and Lithgow. Two haunted, ruthless men, and two > masterly actors, pitted against each other in a match to the death. Forget > "must watch" -- this season's "Dexter" is "can't wait" television. > > mary.mcnam...@latimes.com > > Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Post your SciFiNoir Profile at > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! > Groups Links > > > > -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
