I heard “Dexter” was a show worth watching and the idea of a mildly comedic criminal thriller centered on a serial killer working for the Miami police department is certainly interesting enough to raise even the most skeptical eyebrows. However, there is no way you can just jump into that kind of subject matter at the beginning of the second season. So, when I received the second season DVD set for review I knew I had to check out the first season if I was going to even try and review it.
Luckily, my new Roku NetFlix player had the first season of “Dexter” on Instant Play and following the weekend I was not only caught up on the 12 first season episodes as if I owned them, but I was already finished with the second season and interested to see where they were going to go from here, but I did have a few problems with the series as one is bound to have considering the luck such a character as Dexter must have.
The first season of the show did a lot to explain the origin of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), which is based on the Jeff Lindsay novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter.” The audience is continually treated to flashbacks of a young Dexter with his foster father (James Remar) as he learns early on his son has a tendency to kill inside him. He coaches him on how to control his need and ultimately lays down a set of rules on who he is allowed to kill and why. These rules are very strict and Dexter lives by them to the T.
Guided by a need to kill but an equally compelling moral compass, Dexter never really scares you. There is something understandable in the way he operates even if his actions are altogether frightening. You sympathize with him as he struggles to feel. He seems to reject the idea of having any real reason to live, yet you know the desire to be “normal” is there. It’s a very engaging idea and it is what makes you accept the liberties the show must take in order to keep a monster like this out of jail.
The second season certainly has more flaws than the first season as Dexter’s underwater graveyard is found by deep sea divers and the 12 episode season is spent with him trying to literally catch himself as he works as a blood splatter specialist for the department and has an opinion that is well regarded when it comes to killers – I wonder why…
However, the problems with the season have little to do with the driving plot, they arise with the introduction of Jaime Murray as Lila. This is probably the most high profile part she will ever have as her only real talent seems to be the ability to flash her tits at every possible moment. Her character is annoying as hell and you continually watch as each minute passes praying Dexter will come to his senses and make her his next kill. However, that pesky code is always fucking with that possibility.
This is a show that is never overly gratuitous (when Lila is not flashing her tits) even though it deals with a serial killer who chops his victims into several pieces and stows them away in garbage bags before sending them overboard to the bottom of the ocean. There is certainly a fare share of gory moments, but considering the subject matter and the fact it is on Showtime I think it is handled well.
Michael C. Hall is fantastic in the lead role and considering her part, Julie Benz is equally entertaining as Dexter’s girlfriend Rita, a role that could quickly get annoying if not handled properly. What really surprised me though was Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter’s sister Debra. I recently commented how Carpenter hadn’t done much of anything since making a rather impressive starring role as Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Come to find out she has been pulling her weight on “Dexter” and she does a pretty good job as she has to play the hard-nosed chick with an insecure girl on the inside. It’s not an easy role to pull off, but she does it well, even at her most kick ass moments.
Special features wise this set is a complete dick move. The set contains four discs and the fourth one is the only one boasting anything special. The packaging tells me I am going to have access to two episodes of “Brotherhood”, the first two episodes of the second season of “The Tudors”, an episode of “Californication”, a Michael C. Hall interview and podcast as well as a sneak peek at “Dexter” season three. Too bad all of that shit is either online using some “E-Bridge” technology or I have to buy a whole other season of another show to get the first episode of “Dexter” season three. I gave the “E-Bridge” thing a shot, but was redirected to some security page that gave me no additional information so I gave up. What a really shitty move on the part of Paramount not to even say on the packaging that some of the extra material requires an Internet connected PC. Shame on them!
Despite my praise for the show and ignoring my distaste for the treatment of the special features I am not quite sure if this is a show worth buying as much as it is a show simply worth checking out. You can rent it via NetFlix and if you have the Roku NetFlix player I already know you can play the entire first season for free. DVDs cost a lot nowadays and you really don’t want to spend you money unwisely. I can say I would not jump into this series in the middle of it. Definitely watch the first season before the second. A lot of what makes this a good show is who Dexter is and the first season breathes a lot into his character and helps in connecting with him the rest of the way.
