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Herc’s Seen Showtime’s DEXTER Slice Into A Second Season!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Dexter,” the acclaimed Showtime hourlong about a disturbed Miami forensics expert who spends his off-hours torturing and killing no-goodnicks, returns tonight
It stars Michael Hall (gay David from “Six Feet Under”), Julie Benz (vampire Darla from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”), Lauren Velez (hot Dr. Nathan from “Oz”) and Jennifer Carpenter (the title character in “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”).
Though I didn’t make it past the series’ pilot last season, I felt not too lost coming into 2.1. Suspicious Sgt. Doakes has been tailing Dexter every night since Dexter murdered his long-lost serial-killer brother, so Dexter has had no outlet in which to indulge his urges. When Dexter finally shakes Doakes, the vigilante psycho is vexed with more than one kind of performance anxiety.
Fans will be keen to learn that two key developments conclude 2.1, one involving the Benz character’s ex-husband and one involving an underwater discovery.
9 p.m. Sunday. Showtime.
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been a long wait.
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First season of this has just finished on UK TV. I will be straight on the torrent sites for this.
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And if the writers use the latest book as some sort of template at all.
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hi from jolly old england, dexter is the best show you americans have at the moment i loved season one it was edge of the seat stuff an amazing show.i discovered it on a torrent site thinking it was an old british comedy by the same name about a black hairdresser and his family and friends very funny stuff its from the 80s and 90s,anyways downloaded the first episode and that was me hooked so screened it for a few mates and it turned into a weekly thing some mates coming round to watch it every one agreed a fantastic show. now on to season 2 i have seen the first 2 episodes that leaked on to the net its great and this show is only going from strength to strength well scripted and well acted this is a must see show and should be the top of every ones list. season one has just finished airing on fx channel over here and if no one has seen season one go and buy it its a great set and cheap it only cost me eighteen pounds bargin go buy it every one great show and the books are great to
mightyboosh
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well im not now lol
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If I remember correctly, the writers were going to throw the books out the window and start pulling shit out of their ass for this season, which can only mean bad things. Shame.
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Have to say I thought it suffered the fate of many UK sitcoms, in that it went on for about 3 series after it stopped being funny. Really looking forward to Season 2 of Dexter, the first season was awesome. Hopefully the fact they are deviating from the books won't mean things get too ridiculous.
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Sep 30, 2007 6:52:27 AM CDT
Hell no punto, the books were holding this show back
by guy who got a headache and accidentally
Already the first two episodes are better than last season, they can only improve by dropping the book plots. The books are sort of lame compared to the show.
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Was hot from season one of Buffy until today. She also has some acting talent. Wasn't she originally supposed to be Cordelia?
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dexter is the best show going on pay channels
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Sep 30, 2007 8:15:01 AM CDT
"I didn’t make it past the series’ pilot last season"
by thick mcrunfast
There's really no excuse for that, considering the popular and critical buzz the show garnered. Sad.
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I really liked the first two books and the first season. But the latest book was a pretty huge departure in the wrong direction.
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What the hell herc? This was easily the best american series I saw last year. Granted I haven't got my hands on them all - Most of the quality ones don't even make it to Australia and i can only download so many - but this is seriously brilliant stuff and Michael C Hall has been shamelessly ignored by the awards shows.
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That was 'Desmond's' you were trying to find I think. Classic stuffed ripped off by 'Barbershop' years later. Oh yeah, Dexter rawks, roll on episode 3...
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"I didn’t make it past the series’ pilot last season"
Really. I'd like to know why the TV writer for one of the biggest movie/TV sites on the web didn't bother to watch one of the greatest shows in recent years. 'Dexter' is tightly scripted, funny as hell, and features probably the best cast of supporting characters on any current show. Herc, your credibility with this lurker just plummeted, I'm afraid. -
...to not watch Dexter whilst still filling his time with insipid stuff like Big Brother and The OC. Definite credibility hit.
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Didn't make it past the pilot, what the hell. Dexter is one of the best shows ever made, and is totally ignored on award shows. I guess the show is too intelligent for some...
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Never read the books but saw and enjoyed Season 1. Been looking forwards to this since the last season ender. Departing from the books may give the writers more to do with the characters (including killing cast regulars). Looking forwards to this season!
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this guy's acting brings every scene he's in to a complete standstill. Yes you're an angry black man, we get it.
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Same planet, different worlds, I guess. I watched all of last season of Dexter and really didn't find it that great at all. Not saying its out and out bad or poorly executed, but the suspension of disbelief required is pretty enormous, performances are uneven and a serial killer protagonist show just sort of feels to me like it belongs in the "dark and edgy" 90's.
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Herc has made bad viewing choices for a few years now. I lost faith a long time ago. Big Brother, Survivor, etc... Like someone said above. He's the TV reviewer for one of the biggest sites on the net and has never watched past the pilot of Dexter. This site jumped the shark a while back and doesn't look to be improving any time soon. Anyway- love Dexter and hoping we get more than 1 tb for it. Knowing Herc we won't. I hope they go far away from the books. I read the first one after the first season. I would really love to read the 2nd and 3rd now- can I do that and not give away the overall arc of season 2?
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In the books, Doakes was attacked by the Ice Cream Truck killer and lost an arm and a leg. Also, Lauren Velez's character (the Lieutenant...I forget her name) was killed by the ICTK. The writers of Dexter the show have said they are not using the books for much in regards to story. But I can't wait for tonight because season 1 was incredibly well-written (WTF, Herc?!?!?) and this season should be (hopefully) even better.
3 questions, though:
1. Anyone besides me think the girl that plays Dexter's sis looks an awful lot like the 1,2,3,4 dancing girl from the ipod commercial?
2. Anyone else amazed at the transition from HBO to Showtime as to where the best cable shows are at? Since Sopranos left, all HBO has is Curb Your Enthusiasm. Showtime's got Weeds, Brotherhood, Dexter, and my new fav, Californication.
3. Should Herc's TV reviewer membership be revoked? Spends too much time on reality and little on shows like Dexter? Even Weeds and Californication only got his attention for their season-opening episodes. Since then, not a peep about them. Maybe Herc needs help... -
is like a movie reviewer who hasn't seen Pulp Fiction. Not only have you tragically missed out on a great experience, but when you don't keep up with the best your medium of choice has to offer, you've lost your relevance as a reviewer in that medium. I forget, were you the one who never watched Rome, either?
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Why are you writing about a show you never watch?!?
One of the best written shows on t.v. and you (a reviewer) couldn't spare a few hours?! -
Michael C Hall is great in this. Jennifer Carpenter is absolutely horrible. I know she's supposedly supposed to be annoying, as that's how she is written in the books, but there is no way in hell that she'd be able to be anything more than a meter maid in reality. There were a few great episodes last season, and Hall is great, but this show kinda feels like an edge UPN show at times.
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The rapport between Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer was awesome until it turned out he was his brother. After that it just strained credulity and came dangerously close to being completely ridiculous. The whole "code of Harry" thing is unbelievable too; the show would be much more convincing if Dexter's choice of prey was a product of his own warped mind. Why can't he just enjoy torturing and killing fellow predators? I realize this is all in the book; take it as criticism of the book too. When it doesn't dwell on Dexter's past it's the best show on television. I agree that Doakes has to go (wtf was that special ops connection episodes?) but I haven't had any problems with Dexter's sister. She's portrayed as one of the boys, which I guess is what some of you find annoying, and the only reason to believe she's incompetent is that she hooked up with the Ice Truck Killer, a convincing sociopath. Her acting is fine.
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She is.
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Wtf Herc, it's the most original and enjoyable show on television.Dexter's sister is alright by me too, my only complaint would be that having his brother turn out to be the killer was a bit silly on TV, it worked in the books but didn't translate. Still, 9/10 all the way through last season.
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Cagney & Lacey caliber acting, horrible dialogue. moldy "killer" jokes. two serial killers operating in Miami at the same time. meh.
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Love the idea of a serial killer Batman, but all the cool gore and violence doesn't compenste for all that bush-league dialogue. I think the Dexter head writer's big claim to fame was writing and producing Charmed for a few seasons, no joke.
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I'd have no problem if she pulled off being "one of the guys" but she comes off as incompetent and whiny.
Every time something didn't go her way, she freaked out and whined about it. -
Book 3 took a bad wrong turn into some supernatural bullshit. I'm looking forward to the Showtime version tonight and getting back on the ground, relatively speaking.
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but I agree with whoever said they're squandering a great premise on crappy TV writers. couldn't they get the guy who wrote the books to write the show?
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Sep 30, 2007 3:08:40 PM CDT
Herc loved the supermodel weather reporter show
by guy who got a headache and accidentally
The one that was canceled two hours after Herc wrote a post saying he couldn't wait for the next episode. Quit acting as if Herc suddenly has shitty taste just now out of nowhere. And hell yeah is Dexter's sister the worst actor ever, she always scrunches her face up in the most annoying manner possible, I really think she has some kind of partial facial paralysis. And she was happy to find out another serial killer was out there, just so she could get over her old boyfriend.
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The premise is great, like others have said, but it's execution is pretty B-grade. It's definitely a more cheesey and fun take on the subject matter (yet somewhat original, still--at least for television). The concept is what's dark and edgy, and it doesn't spill any further than that.
But still--aside some horrific acting--that's also why it works for me. I could imagine a better show about a serial killer being made, but this works pretty well in the meanwhile. -
Carpenter does ok when she giggling and jumping about but when she turns on a dime and starts into "cop mode", the transistion is just horrible. And the actor who plays Doanes is laughably one note. Just a really bad steroetype of Detective Pembelton from H:LotS. Can't they get Andre? Please? Hell, I'd settle for a Lewis or Kellerman. Someone who has some chops. It's a good thing that Hall, Benz and ITK from last season had some gravitas to balance things out.~ -
Finally got to see all of season one on the box set. Worth the wait but don't want to do it again. Those of you who don't like the show there is no hope for you. This is easily one of the best shows period.
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Whoever wrote about the CHARMED connection was right. The guy who wrote last season's finale and this season's first episode wrote a ton of CHARMED episodes but little else.
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I must say the acting is the show's real Achilles' heel. I know the asian guy isn't a huge character, but he's even worse than the black cop or the sister cop. Michael Hall is good, but no where near as good as he was on Six Feet Under. It may just be the writing.
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I especially love it when Dexter yells at his sister Dee Dee for breaking into his lab.
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If Dexter's sister comes off as annoying headstrong, that means the actor & writers are doing a GOOD job, because that's how the character is supposed to be. Same with Doakes being a one-note musclehead. If you want a character with an arc, watch Dexter's girlfriend - with her ex gone, she may have the juiciest part trying to figure out who Dexter really is.
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Makes sense though.
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Whoever is bitching about bad writing on this show can go back to watching CSI and 'proceedural cop shows' geez. I bought the DVD set based on seeing the Pilot and have to say that I too and sad they killed the brother as he was kick ass great as an antagonist. The sister is fine, she annoys me too but that is the point. Tomboys annoy you unless your banging them. You know its true. So anyways, Dexter is phenom
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It's bad acting, and the bad acting goes way beyond the sister. I do admit I hate CSI more than DEXTER but perhaps not as much as CHARMED. CHARMED sucked worse than DEXTER even if it was written by the same guy.
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I mean normal TV - OK, it's free, go ahead and hate "Chuck." But you're paying for Showtime, aren't you? If you buy the premise, you'll like the show. If you don't, you'll find any reason to hate it. I, for one, like the writing. So yay for Julie Benz sideboob. Yay for Doakes' hammy overacting (he's like the Mark Whalberg character from "Departed"). Yay for Jennifer Carpenter's skinny ass and long legs. Yay for an even better season-long story arc! BTW, if you're paying attention to her acting, you have your priorities mixed up.
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Did you know the guy who wrote Charmed is now writing Dexter?
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I will admit the women on the show are incredibly cute. Especially the black girl whose boyfriend is cheating on her.
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there is nothing wrong with the writing or the acting in dexter. i'm sure all of you create layers and layers of complex, nuanced characters in all of your hour-long shows. those who don't are of course blinding the world with your brilliance in portaying a young female cop trying to live up to her father's legacy because of her insecurity about his bond with her adoptive brother, all the while wondering what it is that you do to attract ever more sick weirdos in your love life, all of which takes on added depth when you have all the information the audience has. you're right, the writing is shit. while jennifer carpenter isn't my favorite actress, she's definitely doing an very good job as a girl who's a fucking mess and trying to keep herself together. i really like this cast top to bottom, and i can't believe no one even mentioned my two favorite supporting roles, angel and maria.
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I know "Well, what shows have YOU made" is a popular dismissal of criticism, but that doesn't make it valid.
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Coaxial lives in the past, obsessing over Joss Wheadon and not missing a lot of new shows unless it has some Buffy connection. Why do I feel we're not talking about Dexter because it is grown-breaking, but because of 'Darla'? In any case, what's unfortunate here is that if you haven't seen season one, the opening re-cap spoils a lot of it.
I do wish the intro of Dexter, and the torture ritual, was less gross... it's really off-putting and unnecessary. Turns away viewers that could enjoy the show.
I absolutely adore the Hispanic characters in this show.
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because Carpenter didn't go into any "cop speak" in this episode and was all the better for it. Doakes was annoying as ever. Does anyone get the feeling that Carpenter and Doakes are going to hook up? Because if that happens, I may throw up a little.
However, Maria was hilarious, trying to get away from the unwanted "girl bonding" with the woman who took her job. Benz was touching as she reached her self realization in her culpability in her ex-husband's death. Also liked the reveal of Dexter's graveyard (30 and counting!!) plus the look of desire on Micheal Hall's face when he saw Chico, that mountain he had to climb.
I think that simplifying into something as trite as: If you like the premise, you'll like the show, is critically misleading. I think that as long as you like enough things about the show to keep you interested will do, for starters.. -
Wow Herc, just wow.
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...to run this section anymore. There are just too many superior shows that he claims not to have seen. Dexter, It's Always Sunny.
If there is one thing worse than not watching a show, it's FUCKING JOINING IT IN ITS SECOND/THIRD/FOURTH SEASON. Shows like these are character-driven serial narratives. How the fuck can you appreciate them from anyplace other than the beginning? -
Haven't the first two episodes of season two been available to torrent for, like, six months?
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almost completely ruins the show. She is so Goddamn awful. She's just terrible, and wooden. Everyone else: great. Dexter isn't the best show ever, but it's a lot of fun to watch.
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the whole thing with his foster dad teaching him to kill for good instead of evil was a bit stupid though-it was like he had a superpower or something.
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Uh, you have it backwards. The Tomboy is the *least* annoying woman you can ever hope to find. You know that think where you like fucking a really hot girl, but then wish she'd shut up 98% of the time? Where she complains about video games being for kids, makes lemon-eating faces while watching a David Lynch film, and makes you tape Lost because it's on at the same time as 'The Bachelor'? You don't get that with a tomboy. Usually with a tomboy you get a girl that can actually hold an engaging conversation, has decent taste in film, movies and music, while still having a vag and funbags. You're fucking nuts if you think tomboys are generally annoying.
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would be a HUGE mistake for this show. The first two books were very good, and I was looking forward to the third, which just came out last month. But, then I read it. I really didn't like the new direction the author takes. I didn't like the supernatural slant, which is fine if I'm reading Stephen King, but Dexter should remain grounded in reality in my opinion. Making the Dark Passenger a seperate entity was just a dumb idea. I also didn't like the way Cody and Astor are portrayed in the second and (more so) third books. If all it took to turn people into serial killers was a piece of shit dad, then there would be TONS of serial killers running the streets.
As for the series, I love it. I was hooked from the start. Hall and Benz are great actors, although I have to agree that Carpenter could use some more classes. I thought she was fine in the Exorcism of Emily Rose, but they must have directed the shit out of her for that. In this, she just comes across as not being able to read dialog worth shit.
I hope the writers stay away from the books... at least the third one anyway. I wouldn't mind the story line from the second book showing up at some point. -
I dug the finding of his "graveyard" & the manhunt for him, but almost all the rest of that wasn't so great. The first season was fantastic, because he was like a killing Batman. Trying to act normal, but really wanting to "put on his mask" and go have fun. Here he's a big pussy. He goes after a blind guy? Where's the hunt in that? Then he can't even do it?! He has all sorts of emotions now? The whole point was that he was completely disconnected from emotions and him trying to live as a sociopath. This whole thing was just a mess. And isn't the name of the show Dexter? Not Dexter & His Ethnic Friends & Their Problems? Wholy christ, the books were so much better than this. If you are a fan of this show, go read the 2nd book and tell me you don't want to see Doakes dealt with like that. So far, thumbs down.
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Now I've only read the first book, and I have to say that the show was a lot better then the book, maybe because they had a lot more time to develop the brother. The book just was not as engaging and exciting as the show. It is not a page turner, it took me a while to read it because I kept forgetting about it, just like the new Palahnuick. Which in the case of Fight Club the movie was a lot better. I read all of Chucks books first before I read Fight Club and I thought it was the lamest, the movie made it cool though.
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Every Oz alumni can do whatever the fuck they want as far as I'm concerned, they've earned it.
Deb on the other hand is terrible. -
kaiser - i've been saying showtime's the new hbo for a couple of years now. didn't have to wait for the sopranos to fade to black.
shitstorm - dexter's been pulled seriously off his game as a result of the unexplored emotions involved with killing his biological brother to save his non-biological sister. And to make this season interesting, he's got Doakes on his as well as Keith Carradine's rock star FBI serial killer catcher.
The purpose of this episode was to show Dexter off his game, clear out the less interesting detritus from last season (Julie Benz' ex, who should have been cast a blonde neanderthol on that ABC sitcom), and give Dexter an opponent or two worthy of his considerable skills.
Oh, and this season, the moral ambiguity for we the audience will involve, amongst other things, just how much we root for Dexter to not get caught, and how comfortable we are with our own reactions to unfoldment of this season's plotlines. -
Dexter is kinda' scrawny.
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Hey gang. Cut Herc some slack. To be honest, I told Herc I would love to be the moderator of sorts for any and all Dexter talkbacks this season, having seen the first four episodes of the season after falling in love with the series last year. So Herc put this talkback together on short notice, basically because I mixed up the premiere dates and slept late on Sunday. Anyways, the point is this:
We all make mistakes sometimes. Critics are not infallible, especially TV critics who, for the most part, review pilots or the first few episodes of a series, never to revisit the show again until the next season's premiere, if there is one. But shows get better (or worse) over time, and when I named Dexter my third favorite pilot of last season, I genuinely believed that the excellent Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot was setting up a classic television series. Boy was I wrong. It took about a half-dozen episodes for creator Aaron Sorkin to completely lose me and the only thing I felt when Studio 60 was finally given its walking papers was relief that NBC had come to its senses. Naming Kidnapped the second-best pilot of last season was another monumental mistake. I never bothered to follow up with the series after its first two highly charged episodes, and neither did NBC for that matter, cancelling it just weeks into its run. Honestly, there was no excuse for pinning gold and silver medal honors on those two series. Which brings us back to last year's bronze-medal winner, Dexter, a show that when all is said and done will go down as the single best program Showtime has ever produced.
Here's what I wrote on 9/11 last year about Dexter, which earned an A- in my book.
"Herc didn't give this show any love so let me act like Paul Revere here and tell everyone that Showtime has found another keeper. This is like the series every Law and Order/CSI/Criminal Minds/Killer Instinct fan always wanted to see. Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) plays a forensic cop who analyzes blood spatter by day, and plays serial killer at night. The cooler thing is that he kills other serial killers, which is like that episode of Killer Instinct a year ago, and also reminded me of Jeff Povey's gnarly book, The Serial Killers Club. The pilot was surprisingly funny, especially Dexter's interactions with a black cop who gets the creeps from Dexter and suspects he might not be as normal as he appears. Dexter is a black hole who feels nothing, but he's good at acting like he does feel something. He is a complete sociopath. Romantic subplot feels a bit forced and the female lead isn't great but I'll give this show the benefit of the doubt. The pilot is pretty gruesome and involves a guy who drains his victims’ bodies of blood and chops up their bodies in nice, neat sections. This series isn't for the faint of heart. Showtime is quietly establishing itself as a must-have network, what with Weeds, Brotherhood, and now this."
Like I said, not a bad assessment, but it doesn't nearly do the show justice because until Lost and The Wire return, Dexter is simply the best drama on television, hands down, no contest. Last night's premiere was excellent and the second season's first four installments are just as great. The most interesting new aspect of the show is Rita's complete 180. I love how her character has progressed. She's standing up for herself and it's a welcome change for the character. I'll chime in with more later, but this show kicks ass! -
..let me be the first to say- apology accepted. Hip Hip Hooray!!
And Shitstorm 23- your name says it all -
so it wouldn't be fair to rag on a show I haven't seen. But, yo be unfair, everythng I've heard about this show soulnd like "CSI Psycho" by way of every dark and gritty vigilante crime fighter comic from the '90s. A killer who's sympathetic because he kills bad guys. Once you've seen a few decades of Punisher comics and Executioner novels, this is fresh and original how? Not meaning to be snotty, I'm Just asking.
Personally I'd love to see a movie of Max Allen Collins "Wild Dog" comic, but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. -
Do you guys blow each other? Dexter ownz you both..and the sister is perfectly cast..also the Brotherhood is better then probably the past 3 seasons of the Sopranos..at least.
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will obviously be framed by Dex for the murders. Whoever said Dexter > The Wire is a true idiot. Great show though. Great show. There really is no excuse for Herc to be sleeping on it.
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I loved this episode
I'm really surprised "shtstorm23" isn't get that Dexter is going through something, and under watch from Doakes. This show can't be torture porn about watching a guy kill other people. Watching someone with absolutely no emotion wouldn't make good television. It
s not Friday the 13th, not a slasher movie. -
Great season 2 premiere!
Underwater burial was very cool!
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