Where have all the good shows gone? While this fall season started with such promise and expectation it is mid-October and the lack of hits generated by this year’s freshman class has been disappointing.
So far only Ugly Betty and Heroes have steped up as possible ratings bigshots. Only a few others such as The Nine and Brothers & Sisters seem likely to stick around for the full season.
But the best new show this year is by and far Dexter. Ok, most people probably havn’t even heard of Dexter, an odd name for an odd show. It’s on Showtime in the U.S. and TMN in Canada.
After three episodes Dexter has managed to blend a solid mix of CSI, Nip/Tuck, Six Feet Under and add a dash of Silence of the Lambs.
Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under is once again playing with dead bodies, this time tough he enjoys killing them. But, don’t get me wrong Dexter is the good guy in the story.
Dexter is a sociopath who has no discernable feelings and he enjoys blood. So much so that he is a blood spater analyist for the Miami Police department.
Somewhere along the road something cracked in Dexter that made him want to kill and torture animals as a child. His foster father, a renowned detective, recognized who his new son was and trained him to only kill those that deserve it, mainly other sociopathic murders.
So far each episode of Dexter has shown the protaganist ruthlessly murder evildoers. But, he ain’t your normal hero as he enjoys murdering. Essentially his duty to kill bad people is helping to keep his murderous rage under control by releasing it on those that deserve punishment.
But, not there is a serial killer on the loose that has taken an interest in Dexter and has left him “special gifts.”
The heart of the show though is really Dexter’s relationships with the people in his life, mainly his foster sister, who is a homicide cop, his co-workers and his girlfriend and her children.
Since Dexter has no feelings he has to fake his way through life and the inner monologue of the show is fasciniating, disturbing, enlighting and truthful.
It’s interesting to see how Dexter, a man with no feelings, can by be a better brother and boyfriend than men who do have feelings. Albeit Dexter works hard to hide his lack of feelings, the opposite of everyone else in the world, and while it may seem at times that Dexter can be incredibly selfless you have to realize he really is doing everything for himself.
Jennifer Carpenter plays Dexter’s sister Debra and she adds a certain quirky humour to the show and is a total contrast to her brother. She wears her emotions on her sleeve and often putting her foot in her mouth.
Julie Benz is wonderful as Dexter’s girlfriend Rita, whom Dexter describes as “just as damaged as he is.”
In the third episode we finally get to see Dexter’s first kill, which happens to be a nurse, played by Denise Crosby aka Tasha Yar, who is killing Dexter’s father through overmedication.
The moral dilmenas presented by the show are numerous. The audience is essentially asked to empathize with a man who has no feelings what so ever and who enjoys torturing and murdering people. I mean will Dexter crack and lose control? What if he starts killing people that are not evil, or what if he things they are evil but they are not?
How will the “Ice Truck” serial killer impact Dexter? Will Dexter’s fascination and admiration for him mean that Dexter will let him get away with keep murdering in favour of keeping around someone he respects?
I don’t know but I am dying to find out.
