TV Review: Dexter |
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He's not your garden variety serial killer, is Dexter. "Dexter" follows the life (and chronicles the youth) of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a blood splatter specialist working for the Miami Police Department. His hobbies include helping his sister get ahead in her own career, and ritual killing of those who truly deserve it. Serial killer as hero? Well, it worked for "American Psycho", didn't it? Not that you could call Patrick Bateman a hero. Dexter, and his sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), who is a police officer herself, are foster children of a well known and beloved cop (played by James Remar exclusively in flashbacks to Dexter's past). While the focus of the show is primarily on Dexter and his adventures in vigilante serial killerism, the show also highlights the burgeoning career of his sister, other detectives in the department, including Sergeant Doakes (Erik King) who hates Dexter (could he have an idea of what Dexter's hiding?), Angel (David Zayas) who appreciates Dexter far more for his help with cases, and Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Vélez), who seems fairly incompetent and hot headed, and has a crush on Dexter. If all this isn't enough, Dexter also has a girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz) with two children, who's coping with life after finally getting free of her abusive drug addicted ex-husband. Sounds like high melodrama? Well, it's definitely got a sense of humour about things while still maintaining a serious tone when warranted. I personally found it really refreshing - a different perspective, a different type of character and nowhere near as predictable as most fare nowadays. Some of the ways in which Dexter tries to fit in and keep a human face are entertaining and certainly never dull - I was wary of the potential in the girlfriend relationship, but it seems to be staying away from too much cliché so far. The device of incorporating his past through the flashbacks is used well, and James Remar does well as Dexter's dad, who realizes what Dexter is, but helps channel his urges into something positive and give him the skills he needs to avoid getting caught and fit in. Perhaps it's just a tad far fetched that a decorated police officer would react that way, but just go with it for the sake of the show, trust me. Keep in mind that the show is fairly graphic, in that you see violence and its results, but it's on cable, so it's not going to go too far. Also, one other note: If you were a fan of "Oz", you might recognize a number of the actors here! 8/10
Okay, so I made up the last one. The teaser for next week's show seemed to reveal a LOT, at least to me; and that's promising. While I don't want the WHOLE pot of beans spilled right away in one fell swoop, I do like SOME pieces of the puzzle put together. See last season's "Invasion," which started great, then IMO got too cutesy a third or halfway in, trying to prolong and stretch it's story with pregnant pauses, and lost most of its' audience. I think "Heroes" may have hooked me better if there was a two-hour pilot instead of one. The male characters didn't do much for me; they seemed too dark and uninteresting to me. However, Masi Oka as Hiro does steal the show with his scenes and he displays a comedic charm and talent. There was a reference to a X-Men comic, #143. That was kinda cool. A character stated this was where Kitty Pryde did some time travel. I'll have to check on that. I thought this was the last Byrne issue and a "Christmas/Kitty/Home Alone" issue, where she fends off a predatory alien. The thing I hated most about the show was the music, actually. At times, it was way too artsy, way too loud, way too Vanilla Sky "We're trying to make a statement here." I will watch next week. I think the show does have potential and it's a good lead-in to Studio 60.
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