32/18
Plot
He’s smart
He’s kind. He’s Dexter Morgan, America’s favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and his nights committing them. During season 8, Angel Batista was not always played by David Zayas. His son, David Zayas Jr., fills in for his father in some shots, as the two bear a striking resemblance.
Featured at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2007)
Dexter, who is visible throughout the first season, has a large scar on his left side. Later, in season 2, the scar moved to his right side, leaving his left side unmarked… Dexter Morgan: I lived in darkness for a long time. Over the years, my eyes adjusted until the darkness became my world and I could see…
Main Theme Written by Rolfe Kent Performed by Rolfe Kent
After four episodes, I’m ready to declare this show the best on TV right now, one that may one day rank alongside _The Sopranos_ and the first season of _Twin Peaks_ as a contender for second-best TV show of all time (after the incomparable _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, one of the show’s producers and writers is former Buffy writer Drew Z. Greenberg, and the cast includes Buffy/Angel mainstay Julie Benz. But it had the great grace of being the adopted child of a cop who (as we see in some amazing flashbacks) successfully instilled in him a complete moral code that he strictly adheres to intellectually. This is an absolutely brilliant concept (I assume it comes from the novels it’s based on), a concept that allows the writers to explore the nature of moral behavior and what it means to be human (Dexter is, in a sense, an alien).
Another thing the show does brilliantly is parallel movement at different speeds
There’s a primary, seemingly season-long story arc (involving the cat-and-mouse game between Dexter and a serial killer) and a secondary arc involving Dexter’s sister’s police career. The first handful of episodes feature a very strong completed arc involving one of Dexter’s cop colleagues and a local crime lord, while two of the four episodes so far have also featured a standalone story tied between (and played out) the ongoing ones. I saw the future of structuring a TV season, and this is it. While the writing isn’t quite on par with the best of _House_, it was excellent.
The cast and production are terrific
The only reason you wouldn’t want to watch this absolutely brilliant show is the frequent use of extremely graphic imagery: more body parts were probably shown in these first four episodes than in the first four episodes of every other TV show on air combined. Tune in if you can for a fascinating look at what makes us human — or inhuman.
