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Quint stalks DEXTER Seasons One and Two!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here making a quick trip into Coax territory. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Showtime’s series, DEXTER, so when I was offered the chance to review Season 2 early, I took it. I was also able to weasel a copy of Season 1 out of the deal, so over the last few days I’ve had a bit of a Dexter marathon starting with 1.1 and ending with 2.12, some 24 hours of television.
If you’re not familiar with the concept of the show, we follow a blood-spatter expert in a Miami forensics lab (the titular Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall) who also happens to be a serial killer, but a good one.
Turns out he was rescued from a bloody crime scene as a young child by one of the responding officers who raises the kid as his own. We learn in flashbacks early on in the first season that young Dexter showed the tell-tale signs of a serial killer, something that didn’t go unnoticed by his adoptive cop daddy.
Instead of ditching the kid, Harry (fuckin’ Ajax! James Remar) instills a strict moral code in the boy, teaching him that there is a way to focus the monster inside him for the overall good of society.
So, he teaches him to hunt serial killers, essentially. Murderers who escape justice. Harry also teaches him to avoid getting caught and, probably most importantly, how to be meticulous and precise in his work. This way he’s just as thorough as any detective and more precise than a DA.
In short, it’s a show starring an anti-hero, which put it right up my alley.
And because it’s on Showtime we get boobies, tons of gore and lots of f-bombs, so quadruple bonus.
Michael C. Hall (SIX FEET UNDER) leads the show and leads it well. It’s a tough mix, keeping someone that dark likable. Of course, everybody loves a good vigilante, so it’s not exactly like we’re expected to like a guy that kicks puppies and murders children. The people he’s after deserve what they’re getting.
Know what this show reminded me of? It’s like a lighter THE SHIELD without the documentary aspect. In both shows you’re following people who aren’t good guys, but work for the common good… occasionally doing something immoral to cover their own asses, but on the whole they have a strict moral code they live by. That said, I believe Vic Mackey would be on Dexter’s ass in a heartbeat.
In fact there’s a character very much like Michael Chiklis in DEXTER, Sgt. Doakes played by Erik King. King is the only guy in the whole precinct who can smell something off about Dexter. What’s great about Doakes is that he has no filter, he doesn’t play politics. If he doesn’t like you, you know it. And King says “motherfucker” with an almost Sam Jackson level zest.
In fact all the character casting is spot in. I take a special notice of Dexter’s sister, Deb, played by Jennifer Carpenter, my new crush. I know I seem to develop these on a weekly basis, but gimme a break. She’s hot.
I couldn’t place where I saw Carpenter before, but I had seen her in THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (she played the title character). She was cute there, but she’s smokin’ hot in this show and adorably vulgar to boot.
Julie Benz plays Dexter’s love interest, an abused mother of two who Dexter points out is just as messed up as he is, which is why they’re such a good pair. Now, I thought Julie Benz was fucking awful in RAMBO. Really horrible. That didn’t stop my enjoyment of the flick at all, mind you, but she was horrible in the film, but she’s actually quite charming on Dexter, which was a relief because she’s in just about every episode.
The police station is filled with sharply written characters, from Dexter’s sex-obsessed lab partner Masuka (CS Lee) to the ball-busting and manipulating, but still somehow nice Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Velez) to (my favorite) suave Cubano Angel Batista (David Zayas) the showrunners ensure that even when we’re not focused on Dexter we’re still being entertained as an audience.
This is another way DEXTER reminds me of THE SHIELD, another wonderfully cast show.
Anyway, it’s important to have characters to believe in, characters you like to watch to hold up the interesting arcs of both seasons.
In Season 1 we have a the emergence of a real deal professional serial killer who somehow knows Dexter’s secret life and seems to want to play, leaving clues only Dexter will pick up, communicating with bloodless corpses.
Dexter is in awe of this killer, viewing the bodies like an artist would view a masterpiece at a museum, appreciating it on a whole other level than most.
The whole season is aiming Dexter and “the Ice Truck Killer” towards each other. In an interesting approach, the creators show us who the Ice Truck Killer is more than a few episodes before Dexter figures it out, so when he meets with this character there’s a whole different perspective for us.
I can’t say it was a shocking twist who it was… anyone used to watching mysteries will probably figure out who the Ice Truck Killer is before they tell us, but that doesn’t make the character any less interesting.
Season 2 has Dexter taken completely out of his safe zone. His dumping ground is stumbled upon by a team of scuba divers and suddenly he’s thrust into investigating himself. At this point, Doakes knows something’s up and is tailing Dexter. Dexter’s relationship with Benz and the kids, where he’s really finding his humanity, is torn apart by the introduction of Lila, Jaime Murray, who peeks behind Dex’s mask and accepts who he is (or who she thinks he is). She’s a dark character herself. And she gets naked a lot and is really, really hot. Of course Dex is tempted and that throws his humanity in jeopardy.
She really is the devil… or the snake, tempting him to throw away all the goodness in his life, confusing his moral code and making it hard for him to focus as the noose is drawn tighter and tighter as the FBI and his friends come closer and closer to finding out his secret.
Without treading too deeply into spoiler territory I will say that even though I loved the second season (especially the heightened Doakes/Dexter cat and mouse game) I prefer the first season for its simplicity. Introducing us to Dexter and his habits meant a little bit of a pattern. Every episode would shed a little more light on Dexter’s past, give us a little more info on the Ice Truck Killer and give us a B storyline where Dexter would find some murdering asshole and wipe him out.
In the second season things become a little complicated, a little muddled. I’m kind of glad it did, actually, because there’s nothing I hate more than seeing a TV show hit the rinse-wash-repeat button on their second season (I’m looking at you, Heroes).
However I will say that things felt a little less convenient in the first season and Dexter felt a little more in control of his destiny, which I like.
I have no idea where they’re heading for Season 3, but I will be tuning in every week (or at least setting the DVR so I make sure not to miss an episode). I hope it stays as strong as it is in its first two seasons.
Season 2 comes out tomorrow and Season 1 is out now. In terms of special features… well, there aren’t any of note on Season 2… you get a few episodes of another show, but no commentaries or anything special actually relating to Dexter, which sucks. But the show itself is worth it, so I’m not going to complain.
That’s it for my thoughts on Dexter. What do you folks think of the show? Let me know in the talkback below!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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On TV, by a mile.
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Great show. Although living in Ireland meant I had to download all the episodes. Would Dexter come after me for such evil doing ?
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Can you take over coax? Please?!
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terrible dvd. showtime should be ashamed. review coming soon...
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Ever noticed the similaries between Dexter and Angel? I'm reaching here a bit, but, both characters have a thing for blood, and both grapple with having a 'soul' or lack of. Both have rubbed uglies with Julie Benz - wah wah woo. There's a character named Angel in both series, and um, yeah, that's it.
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Is this just an excuse to show off? "Yes, I get DVD's for free don't ya know?" Or is it just a confession that you have FINALLY started watching Dexter? Because the rest of us have already seen the first two seasons, and are waiting for Season three... so what's all the 'saw Season 2 early' crap??
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Possibly my favorite show of all time, as long as the next few seasons unfold as well as the first two.
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Dexter is one of my favorite shows...I love the grim comedy and dark title character. Michael C. Hall is perfectly cast, but the supporting ensemble is quite good as well. I have to admit, though, the first few times I saw him kill his victims, I cringed. Not because it was particularly bloody or gruesome, but because Dexter is the archtypical anti-hero, like you said Quint. I also agree with you about the better season being #1. But it really makes you get more into the show in season 2, because you're almost expecting that same pattern, but it isn't there, so you're, in a way, spiraling down with Dexter. Very clever. Season 3 should be interesting.
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I hadn't seen one episode until the DVDs came. Unfortunately the new season (which is what I meant by early, since the DVDs don't come out until tomorrow) is incredibly light on the special features, so I figured I'd write about what actually is on the discs.. the show. Didn't mean to make it a "nanner-nanner, I get free shit!" article.
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After watching the series, I had to go out and check out the books they're based on. Honestly? I read them wondering how the hell they made such an amazing series out of such mediocre books. They're not exactly bad or anything, in fact they're fairly enjoyable. But if I'd read them first, I never would have thought "Wow, this NEEDS to be a series!" The first season is essentially a VERY expanded version of the first book (and the expansions are good, adding character and flavor to an otherwise brief book).
The second season of the show has absolutely nothing to do with the second book whatsoever. The second book is a LOT darker, and deals with yet another serial killer, one that makes even Dexter feel disturbed.
I do think that Michael C Hall is the perfect casting for Dex, but oddly, of all the actors in the show, the one who NAILS their character perfectly is Jennifer Carpenter as Deb. She is dead-on to her literary counterpart.
I'm REALLY curious as to where they're going to go with S3, especially if they plan on touching on the books' Cody and Astor storyline. That's...wow. -
by downloading it from the internet. dexter is one of my fav show. not something i'd typically watch, but its a great show superb actors. bit gutted that doakes is dearly departed as he was an excellent foil to dexter. the first 2 seasons followed the books. dont know where the 3rd season is gonna go as the books went off into crazed dexter speaks to the devil and is possesed territory. hope the show keeps on track for season 3!
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i came across the first episode by accident day after it aired i thought it was a britsh sitcom about a black hairdresser called desmonds which i hadn't seen for years,so glad i downloaded it it's a fantastic show and us here brits only got the first season on tv and i'm sure it was cut bought the region 1 first season best show out there and dexter is so likable cant wait for season 3 jimmy smits playin a da and dexter making mistakes it's gonna be great
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Weird, I've just been getting into The Shield (I watched all of seasons 1 and 2 this weekend) and my exact thoughts were that it's a lot like Dexter in terms of quality. I assume it's because James Manos Jr worked on both shows and set a similar tone?
Anyway, I cannot wait for Season 3, and I'm not surprised you powered through both seasons in 24 hours Quint, it's a really fucking addictive show. -
Dexter is a terrific show.
I watched the entire 2 seasons in a single sitting.
Also - I think you meant "zeal", not "zest"... -
I don't really watch tv so it's a bit crap to say it's my favourite show on tv since i only watch this and Mad Men but still, great show. I got watching it soon as it came on because i was a Six Feet Under fan so wanted to see what Michael Hall did next - but this show is leagues ahead of SFU.
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so am i. been thinking about getting rid of satellite lately, i mean before the olympics, there was shit on. but I held out knowing the extra Olympics would hold me over until Dexter, The Shield, and Sons Of Anarchy started.
thank god some channels in this country still have solid programming that ain't reality TV. -
I read the first two books after having seen the first two seasons of the show, and was suprised to find that I liked the show better, the reverse being traditionally true.
I think possibly it was because the show is slightly less surreal than the books, closer to a familiar reality, so it rings more true. I watch the shows thinking that there could be a Dexter out there somewhere, but the books veer further into the fantastic and slightly silly at points. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives things a slightly different tone, which the show reels back a little. -
Aug 18, 2008 7:29:48 AM CDT
One of the (if not THE) most entertaining shows on TV
by cletus van damme
I'm a huge Shield fan too. I got my girlfriend into Dexter and she can't get enough. I also got her into Mad Men and The Venture Brothers, so she now trusts my opinion on damned near everything. Nice position in which to be. ;)
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My brother and I are eagerly awaiting season 3, and a friend of mine is just catching up on season 2. Now I just need to get my flatmate to watch it!
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We've finally gotten a Dexter TB.
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"We've finally gotten a Dexter TB."
yup. quint gets a cookie. and a pass for something to be named later.. -
i enjoyed the hell out of the first half of the first season, but it has just gone down hill. the flash back scenes are cringe inducing, his sister is the worst actress, and doakes became a parody of himself in the second season (also not a good actor). i almost gave up on this show half way through the second season. here's hoping season 3 kills off his sister and does something fresh and clever.
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some friends got me into this show about 3 weeks ago and it's a fun watch. i'd rate it up there with lost, BSG and heroes (if it gets better). hall works the perfect mixture of likeable and crazy as hell as dexter. season 3's trailer looks fantastic and it looks like exactly what i thought season 3 should deal with as soon as i finished season 2. so i'm pumped, i can't wait to see dexter go get some more a-hole killers off the streets.
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Great show, deserves more AICN coverage, and I can't wait till the third season starts.
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I don't see how they can follow the books for season three without looking ridiculous. I think the author was a little off his rocker for trying to make it a paranormal show. I hope the show runners realize this and start a different continuity.
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It perfectly sets the tone of the show...sinister and fun. I like the show overall, especially Hall, but some of the supporting cast is less than stellar. Especially the sister, Deb. I find her annoying and not hot at all. But to each their own.
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on DVD. I had a blast. My new favorite show! I always loved Michael C. Halls acting on Six Feet, but he turns it up a notch with Dexter. I'm starting to watch season two in the next days. Cannot wait!
Am planning to check the books out sometime soon too -
I just said that to my girlfreind yesterday and she couldn't see much similaritys. Glad that someone else noticed it.
By the way, cant wait for season 7 of the shield either. -
spatter... not splatter.
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I think the show is great and I'm glad Michael C. Hall got another good project to work on following "Six Feet Under", especially after his performance in the episode where he was carjacked/kidnapped. That said, what is up with the rest of the cast of "Six Feet"? They all must have the worst agents in the world.
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Always lame to get those talkbacks when nothing is happening on a show, only to get the ball yanked away like Charlie Brown when the show is actually on the air.
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Does anyone else remember the best (and last) of the three storylines in season 2 of ace 90s show MURDER ONE featured a moral dilemma because there was a serial killer (Pruit Taylor Vince) who only killed other serial killers? A theme that makes for good tv.
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Finally some love for DEXTER here and a talkback!!
I have to admit I was seriously ticked off, at first, about the lack of special features on the season 1 DVD set and it sounds like the season 2 set is no different. I can only surmise that "The Powers That Be" are hoping to keep some level of the characters' mystique intact by NOT showing them as actors/actresses playing a role, commenting on scenes, flubbing lines, etc. All that stuff has the net effect of taking you out of the fantasy...it's letting you peek behind the curtain. While it may be intellectually satisfying, emotionally it distances you from the fantasy. Once I met the humans who played the GWAR characters out of costume, seeing them perform was never quite the same, you know?
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The most ominous intro I've ever witnessed. How they turned a shave, getting dressed, and breakfast into that opening, is pure genius.
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keep in mind season 2 is NOT based on book 2. nor will season 3 be based on any of the novels. they broke out of the books late in season 1 when they allowed Lt. Maria Laguerta to live.
and little in the showtime series has been from the books since. -
I didn't care for how they changed his childhood from having a secret laboratory to being found in a blood bath, but he does still have his trademark red hair and DeeDee is way hotter grown up. Maybe Season 3 will introduce Mandark !
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And it is for the best that season 3 will not be based on the book. I HATED it. Really disappointing in the light of the first two. I LIKE that Dexter's evil comes from within.
Bookmark this talkback and keep it going!! -
welcome aboard the Dexter bandwagon Quint. Maybe you can convince Herc to have Dexter talkbacks when the new season starts in about a month if he isn't too busy obsessing over SNL.
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I agree that the books had gone so far off track that the show would be stupid to copy it. It is probably the only time in history where the TV version is far superior to the books.
Having said that, I believe Showtime already has a trailer on the website for Season 3. From what I can tell of the trailer, it kind of looks like Dexter stalks and kills a drug dealer, or something, who turns out to be an undercover cop. I could be totally wrong...but either way, it looks fantastic. -
I have been a massive (both literally and figuratively) fan of this show for a long while.
I've seen both seasons twice and the second season I've seen it thrice.
I first thought of Rita as this incredibly sweet girl who made you cringe when you would see her interact with Dexter because she simply didn't have a clue what was lurking just below the surface.
But on repeat viewings, there were things about Rita that just simply began to...well...bother me.
For starters, Dex is a show that sucessfully utilizes a perfect marriage of realism AND romanticism about serial killers, with every cast member working to support the balance.
Julie Benz, aka Rita, on the other hands, brings in an X factor that simply doesn't belong: MELODRAMA.
Julie Benz plays it sooooo saccharine. Her pursed-lips, misty voice and needy countenance simply becomes over-bearing.
but she is a hottie...
not a doubt bout that... -
but he is a truly decent man working in a place that see more and more good men doing bad things.
this does make him a prime target for the writers to kill off though, since most of the audience does like him like a puppy dog.
should make you happy though, McPoops... -
Dex is a masterclass in the neo-premium-channel-television era we are living in...
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But this is the best show on telly.
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Aug 18, 2008 9:59:41 AM CDT
This is a really hard show to watch when there are 7 days betwee
by miserableraingod
This is absolutely, positively one of my favorite shows, but as a fan I know that to experience it the RIGHT way, you need to have a few days between each episode. The tension over the course of the season builds and builds, and the previews for the next episode will drive you crazy with anticipation (I don't know if those are on the DVDs). Having that week-long break between eps adds another HUGE level of thrilling entertainment to the show, like no other show I've ever watched. You will have butterflies in your stomach, you will lose sleep, you will wonder like hell what the show is doing. That second season, with Doakes and the FBI closing in on Dearly Devoted Dexter, and he knows it but has no idea what to do...damn. DVD lets you watch the next one immediately, and thats cheating.
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Fuck DVD.
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It's true. I read the first book and it was like an outline for the series. A very THIN outline. I have never seen such an improvement in a story when going from print to screen.
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...they're OK. Well, the first two are OK, but they are very different from the show (less meat. And that is to say, less character development, less fleshing out the stories, and less grade-a, 90% lean ground chuck). The third book tried so hard to explore the origins of this darkness within our Dex, and in other characters as well, and instead of being an intense psychological thriller, it chose to go with a supernatural cause. Thats right, folks, supernatural. It seems that all people who do bad things are possessed by demons. Your groans are well-deserved. It wasn't even a good, well-written supernatural story. It was lame and slow and Dexter is just a total idiot in it. There are goo dparts, like the Training, but that is overshadowed by the terrible, out of place, and poorly conceived demonic stuff.
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It's not a BAD show, but it's also not that great. When people talk about the great supporting cast, I always get a bit perplexed. Not that the actors playing these roles are bad, but the roles themselves are pretty thin. Everyone has one note to strike, and they continue to strike it. Masuka is the pervy guy. Angel is the suave Latino. Deb is the potty mouthed chick who has relationship troubles and works out a lot. Laguerta is the career minded lady who has history with Doakes. Rita is the wounded survivor. Compare that cast with the cast of fuckups that make up the Baltimore P.D. on The Wire, and they're not even in the same universe in terms of being a genuinely "peopled" cast. To restate, though - I don't think Dexter is BAD, per se, I just don't think it's the second coming that some people seem to think. My two cents...
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Herc and his weird grudges against good shows is baffling sometimes.
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The piano/violin music, 'the dark passenger', which plays when he's on his boat, or going in his dark place in general. This show is a masterpiece. And Lyla seemes to have been hated by fans.. but I thought she was delicious. Her final fate was sad.
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Showtime what's up?
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Let's wait until there are actually new episodes playing. I love Dexter. One of my favorite shows. And comparisons to The Wire? Come on! Two different shows with completely different agendas. Dexter deals with broader strokes, so the characters won't be nearly as lifelike. But we watch because it's an escape. The Wire is like a slice of life.
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I agree; two very different shows, and what I'm saying is that I prefer one to the other. Dex is good for what it is, I just don't like what it is as much as I like what some other shows are.
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Agree 100% about the show being a huge improvement on the books. It's rare to see that happen too. The first was OK but the second was just awful on every level.
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Season 2 was even better than 1. And Doakes was such a good character.
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Great show - one of the five best on television. Glad you discovered it. Now give me Season 3 (bitches).
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Instead it is borrowing from 'Sandman', and we get a serial killer's convention in town...
And I somewhat agree with toshiro-solo, it is a fun watch (I have seen every episode) but it is not what I would consider great by any means, and comparisons to The Wire in terms of quality are laughable... -
When it comes to good pay cable shows. But yes, Dexter is the best Showtime has. I'm very curious where they'll be going with the story in S3, since they've already done the "Dexter is the hunted" storyline. Seems like it would be tough to match that level of suspense again. But I can't wait to find out. This show is entertaining as hell.
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is the only reason I hesitate to continue watching the show. She is one of the worst actresses I've ever had the displeasure of watching and no matter how cute she is, it doesn't help.
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I'm pretty sure you're mistaken about that.
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HBO is diminished, for sure, but - Generation Kill? John Adams? Recount? The Polanski movie that I can't remember the name of? I'm gonna go ahead and say that they're slightly better pieces of work than Army Wives or Starter Wife. All subjective, but - that's just me. And speaking of subjective, how can something be "literally" a masterpiece? The term "literally" refers to something being EXACTLY something that exists in the observable world. You might say that "That tree is literally the biggest tree I've ever seen" or "That new Mac Book Air is literally the lightest laptop that's ever been created", but you can't say that something is LITERALLY a masterpiece, 'cuz that's a subjective call... Sorry, it's the English teacher in me kicking in, which is lame, but - pet peeve of mine.
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The Shield and Dexter are two of my four favorite current shows (along with BSG and Lost), but I'm not sure I get the comparison. The Shield is very visceral, fast-paced, and "real," in an exaggerated way. Dexter is very deliberate and stylized.
To me, it seems much more like Veronica Mars, if she was a sociopathic killer. -
Aug 18, 2008 1:03:18 PM CDT
Does that mean that Jaime Murray isn't in 'Hustle' anymore?
by derlanghaarige
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Till one of my friends pointed out that she looks a lot like Michael Jackson...then I just curled up in the fetal position under a scalding hot shower....
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I really miss that guy.
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"In both shows you’re following people who aren’t good guys, but work for the common good… occasionally doing something immoral to cover their own asses, but on the whole they have a strict moral code they live by."
I love the Shield, but the cops in the show aren't even anti-heroes. They are the Villains. They kill cops, run drugs, offer protection money. They have started drug wars. Every bad thing that happens to them, they deserve. The strike team doesn't work for the greater good and they do not have a moral code at all. But i still love the show, one of the best on T.V. by far. -
Now he only does bad things He's changed man :( alot of the stuff he has done was for the greater good, but that changed. He only helps himself now.
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There's nothing more fascinating than a fundamentally evil character struggling to find the good within, or being forced to work extraordinarily hard for it (Russell Crowe's character in 3:10 to Yuma is another fine example). Dexter's essential nature is sociopathic, but the Code of Harry is his gateway to moral behavior, much as the love of Buffy (and the chip in his head) was Spike's.
Second best show on TV, after Pushing Daisies. I thought the second season was even stronger than the first, for two reasons: the further exploration of Dexter's character prompted by Lila, and the revelations about Harry's background and the questions they raised.
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agree on both points :p
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...was always the cool guy in high school.
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Seen Season 2 yet, but man was Season 1 a lot better then the book. The book was boring and the show had a lot more time to develop the characters. I didn't read the second book because I didn't really enjoy the first one. Surprised that the show was so much better then the book.
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thanks for finally giving this show some attention. i have been bitching for a while about how we never get a talkback for this show. will you be doing a weekly talkback for us now? pretty please?
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awesome show
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Maybe I am, but I could've sworn I read somewhere that it was Herc's favorite show. And I seem to remember TBs dedicated to The Shield eps regularly. As far as original programming, looks like Showtime has become -- and been for some time -- the new HBO. No The Wire, no Sopranos, no Oz. But HBO still rules at the miniseries, and will continue when the Band of Brothers loose follow-up comes out next year. Can't wait for that.
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IS original programming. It's just not an ongoing show...
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Definitely one of the best shows on television. Bring on season 3!!!
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Here's the thing. I think Dexter is compulsively watchable and pretty entertaining. The acting is solid across the board (I especially enjoyed Keith Carradine in season 2), there are some great characters (like Doaks) the production values are pretty high, the concept is interesting, etc. However, I consistently roll my eyes at how contrived it is. It's a soap opera. Just look at a concise summary of the show so far: (Spoilers) Dexter was adopted and raised to be a morally upright serial killer by his Dad, who found him in knee deep in the blood of his murdered mother. He grows up to be a blood spatter analyst, working alongside his Dad's bioligical daughter on the case of the "Ice Truck Killer", who turns out to be his long lost brother who was also left in the knee deep blood of their murdered mother. At first they kind of make it look like the sister is the killer but it ends up being this guy, who instead dates and becomes engaged to the sister. Meanwhile Dexter is a goodie two shoes boyfriend with whatsherface until her ex gets out of jail and starts trying to weasel his way back into the picture. Dexter frames him for heroin use and he breaks parole and ends up back in the slammer, where he tells Dex's squeeze exactly what happened but she doesn't care. He's so mad he conveniently gets beaten to death by someone tougher than him. But the catch is that Rita thinks he's a junkie so now he has to go to NA where he meets some crazy psycho hose beast who gets naked a lot but is even a pretty scary person for a serial killer to be dealing with. The police find Dexters stash of dead bodies and he's put in the awkward position of investigating himself. This guy Doaks has been on to Dexter for a while but somehow the entire universe seems to be conspiring to make him the prime suspect for all of Dexter's kills. He is repeatedly framed by happenstance and does a terrible job of clearing his name, despite many screwups on Dexter's part. Psycho girlfriend almost makes Dexter come out of the closet but then everything fixes itself without much effort on his part and he's ready set go for season three. P.S. It turns out that dear old Dad is also responsible for the death of Dexter's mother, because he was in charge of the undercover operation that got her chainsawed to pieces. And he was having sex with her. And he committed suicide because even though he trained Dexter to be a killer he had a moral crisis about it. Also there was some shenanigans in there with two female police lieutenants who get all up in each others business, that whole thing was pretty ridiculous.
But yeah, I kind of like watching it. It's OK. -
I think I found the character all right in the first season... at least I didn't feel her scenes were unwatchable. But man, in season 2 it was over the edge. I'm pretty sure I did skip over at least one of the scenes involving her and her new love interest... and I never do that. Both of those characters were brutal. It's rare that a show can alternate stuff that I find so insufferable with stuff I find so engaging.
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Agreed - not a bad show, but just OK.
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Aug 18, 2008 5:15:15 PM CDT
I know people who cancelled HBO after The Wire went off.
by iamjack'suserid
I think people base their subscriptions more around what shows, not mini-series, are airing. With a mini-series, you might get a couple of months worth of programming as opposed to years like with series.
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Never seen any episodes...are the DVD season sets worth buying?
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You know, I think she gets a bum rap. I haven't seen her in other stuff, so maybe this character is the extent of her range. If that were true, that would be pretty sad. But just because the character is kind of annoying, I don't think that necessarily makes her a bad actress.
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***Spoilage***
When Dexter finally tells Doaks he owns him then head buts him. It's so twisted that you're rooting for Dexter when Doaks is really a much better dude. -
I can spell.
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Jennifer Carpenter makes Jennifer Connelly look like Jennifer Lopez. Or something.
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Dexter's been one of my favorite shows for the past few years. It's a real shame that the season 2 DVD has no extras to speak of; that's ridiculous.
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I loved season 2 even more than season 1 even though season 1 was better. Weird huh? Still, this show hasn't had an episode that I haven't loved and I'm quick to trash a beloved show once it goes south. I was worried that they were "mainstreaming" Dexter a bit in S2 (with all the human feelings and whatnot), but they pulled him back at the end. He should always be a different kind of creature and never a mere vigilante.
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I actually dug how you saw Dexter starting to transform into a real human and see him struggle with the surprise of feeling a genuine emotional connection (compassion, concern) to someone. And I also think that if there isn't some of that kind of character development, the show would get stale that much faster. That's also one of the things I dig about Lost, is that you actual see characters change, but in a gradual, subtle way that feels earned. There's continuity AND change.
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Are at the end of his hercvault recaps, if I'm not mistaken.
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That honor belongs to Mad Men.
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(sung to the tune of School House Rocks' "Electricity") Hercules the Strong surfin TV shows
Was searching with... Subjectivity, Subjectivity.
We know his tastes are diverse' but sometimes blow',
It's all uh...Subjectivity, Subjectivity.
Hatin' all our favorites will bring Herc calls of
Subjectivity (geek) Subjectivity
Talkin' smack 'bout Housewives, dude's got no balls
Subjectivity, Subjectivity
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Spoiler........... The Doaks angle was extremely annoying with how over the top he was played. There was really no rhyme or reason for Doaks to suspect Dexter for anything except for the fact that he was a little weird. I never bought that premise. I agree that Doaks getting bitch smacked by Dexter's head was awesome. That is one character I will not miss.
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How many shows have you cheering the way Dexter does? Got a total community at work that adores this show. Fun Fun, awesome fun.
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...ar more reliably review anything than Quint or the rest of these kids can. "Best Show Ever"? "Masterpiece"? Dexter is a good show, maybe even *really* good, but it's not great and it's not a masterpiece. Like you said, man, the biggest thing that bugs me is how underwritten the supporting cast is. I really want to like Angel, Doaks, Deb, and even his girlfriend whose name I can't even remember despite being most of the way through Season 2. They're all given nothing to do, always the same notes, and because of this are nowhere near the same league as the supporting cast of The Shield, in which I don't mind spending four episodes away from Vic watching Dutch become overly fascinated with a serial killer's wife or Aceveda juggle his loyalties. You show me a scene in Dexter HALF as intense as what Aceveda goes through halfway through S3, and go ahead, make it about Dexter's ambitious boss. I'm not saying Dexter isn't entertaining -- it definitely is, and Hall holds it all together, though I do like the FBI commander -- but it's nowhere NEAR the same level of awesome as The Wire, Rome, Sopranos, The Shield, or even BSG. It's not just that they're different shows about different things, it's that the makers of Dexter don't know how to make truly deep characters or build real drama.
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King did a good job with a poorly written character. The only aspect of his character we see is that he is a former marine that was a psycho. That and he hates people that are "different". Not really much in the way of character development. Especially considering we see every side of all the other characters.
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There are some people who have an innate ability to tell when other people are lying (I know, because I'm one of them, and I don't even do it the way most people do, by detecting facial micro-expressions; I seem to pick up on very subtle alterations of speech timing). It's thus not a stretch to imagine that some people are hard-wired to pick up a weird vibe from the constant acting that all sociopaths do. I always figured that Doakes simply had that gift, and I think the character was written with that premise.
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If developing every character fully were the only criterion for greatness, or even a necessary criterion, you would have a valid point. But saying Dexter isn't great or a masterpiece because the supporting cast do not constitute truly deep characters (and I would agree with you 100% on that) is like saying that the early Beatles catalog isn't great because the instrumental arrangements are, for the most part, just standard rock 'n' roll. It's simply not the point of the endeavor. Dexter is great (and maybe a masterpiece) because its central character poses incredibly thought-provoking questions about the nature of good and evil and the origins of human moral behavior, and the show is meant to be focused very strongly on him as a result. Surrounding him with a characters that were as deeply developed would make no more sense and be no more helpful than adding piccolo trumpet and marimba and a bass solo to "Please, Please, Me."
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I think The L Word is pretty damn fantastic, as well. It appeals to my prurient interests AND my intellectual interests. Score!
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Michael C. Hall as Mr. Zsasz in Batman 3. This DOOM commands!
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of a supporting cast, then? emvan, to use your parallel I think it's more like going to a live Beatles show where they've hired a piccolo trumpet player, a marimba player, and advertised a bass solo but then just play "Please, Please Me" as is. Sure, the song is always going to be solid, but then what was the point of hiring the extra players? If the supporting cast isn't important, why are they there? Don't develop them at all if they aren't important. Ashok0, the There Will Be Blood also doesn't work because that was a 3 hour movie. If a miniseries was made based on Oil! and Plainview's "brother" showed up in the majority of episodes, wouldn't you want to know more about him than we get in the film? Wouldn't you want to see the preacher developed more, maybe see his arc from righteous antagonist to lowly, pleading beggar he is at the end of the film? This is one of several reasons I love Lost. Everyone is/was given a fair shake at development.
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Aug 18, 2008 11:47:23 PM CDT
When Dexter finally tells Doaks he owns him then head buts him.
by iamjack'suserid
Hell yeah. That's the 'stand up and cheer like a drunk mofo' moment of the show. I couldn't believe that scene. Total ownage. My favorite scene of The Shield is during the first or second season when Dutch owns that serial killer. Everyone is in that tiny cramped room watching Dutch seemingly getting his ass handed to him and he totally turns it around. When he walks out he gets cheered by the whole barn. Dutch is one of the best characters of any show, and to see him get that almost reluctant victory. Another 'stand up and cheer' moment.
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Yes he could always intuitively tell that something was off about Dex. In the first episode, Dexter even comments on how strange it is that in a building full of cops, Doakes is the only one who can see through his facade. However, the thing that confirms Doakes's suspicions is at the end of Season 1 when he realizes that Dexter has a connection with the Ice Truck Killer by being privy to information that the cops don't have.
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It's the way the character is written. She's written as a foul mouthed teenage valley girl who's supposed to be a competent police woman (actually she's not, but everyone treats her like one). It'd be a tough role for any actress to not look bad in.
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Darla is Hot.
'Nuff said -
And I didn't think Benz's Rambo role was badly acted... just badly edited. Seriously, the scene of Stallone and Benz on the boat was the best scene in the movie but in the editing it somehow became the worst.
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Schoolgirl in Buffy, Cheerleader in Dexter. Let's give her the support she deserves.
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I thought she was great - I thought ALL of them were great - I even cam around to Laguardia in the end!
Doakes was actually MY favourite and considering someone has already SPOILED up above I'm gonna go ahead and say I'm sad that his character doesn't make it.
Maybe he'll show up in flashbacks like Daddy?
My favourite Deb moment was when she discovered Chopin. And until the end, I totally preferred Lola to Rita. Sorry. The HOT/CRAZY curve was close on that one. -
sometimes I can't type
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I almost wish Doakes would turn up in season 3 in the state he was left in in the books. That was actually a highlight of the trilogy for me.
And PoopAgoose, you woke up TomBodet! -
I'm right there with you, Greyskull. It's okay, though... people can hate her, just means more for you and me...
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Yeah, my point wasn't that the supporting cast is what makes or breaks a show, my point is that the greatness of a show is made of the sum of its parts... Dexter is a great character, but he gets put in some pretty stupid situations, issues are often worked out far too conveniently (Oh, the "Ice Princess" is by a *children's* book writer! of course! never saw that coming!), and when every character on there except Dex is a one-note wonder -- and the quality and meaning of the plots overall is by far lacking compared to the depth of metaphor hidden in all the shows I mentioned above -- then yes, it misses greatness. The only scene in the entire series I've seen to date (I'm on #20) which has caused me to feel shock, or awe, or joy, or love, or any kind of real emotion was when they discovered Dexter's graveyard, and even that was a minor feeling compared to the depths of feeling I've been made to feel so many times in the history of The Shield, The Wire, or even Lost. And you can knock The Sopranos all you want for having a meandering last few seasons, but damn if its every episode still didn't have more thought and character development put into it than anything the writers of Dexter have tried to explore. As someone said before, Dexter is a fun soap opera, nothing more. If you learn anything about the human condition from it, please let me know, because all I've got now is that Cuban immigrants like chicks and hats, Asian forensic specialists like boobs, having relationships with serial killers or abusive husbands can make women really sensitive, and that when you see your mother get killed with a chainsaw it can make it tough to relate to others... and don't we all find it tough to relate to others sometimes? Almost as if... we had our own "dark passengers"?! Good show, but if you haven't watched the others then you can't say great.
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I don't hate Deb at all I actually really like the character. Mostly because I think the actress is cute and charismatic as hell, not because they ever give her anything interesting to do, though. Watching her in her pajamas or at the gym is a *hell* of a lot more fun than I ever have awkwardly reading you trying to insert your own opinions and personal thoughts into every damn interview you do.
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The first half of Season 1 and the first half of Season 2 combined. They both start incredibly strong and both get progressively less plausible as they go along. But, as much as I laughed at some of the plot twists, I don't think there's any other way to do it. Deb is perfectly cast. Not sure what it is with the sockfuckers here and disliking any actress who's attractive. My only problem was with Doakes, whose character seemed out of place, and the whole back story where he's a marine or some crap was unnecessary. If anyone on the show didn't need a superhero backstory it was Doakes. They'd have been much better off leaving him as the roid-abusing asshole cop he fits so well.
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...but he's over the top in a good way. I had a problem with it too at first, but I grew to love it over time. And Jennifer Carpenter does a fine job playing her role.
My problem with Dexter's character growth in season 2 is that I was completely on the fence during season 1 on whether he was good or bad. He was both, or rather, neither. In season 2, they tipped the balance so that I thought of him as good. I want the moral ambiguity of season 1 back. I still love season 2, and I'm fine with Dexter "developing," I just don't want them to get away from the premise that he's not quite human and can never truly related. His damage is permanent, as far as I'm concerned. -
made him from a good guy to kind of an asshole. at least for me, even if he didn't wanted to go through with the frame job in the end. He still let his whole family think Doakes was a murderous psychopath. Season 1 Dexter was a bigger boyscout (as far a serial killers go)
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Okay, that may not be the exact category Dexter falls in. But while it may not be focused on relationships like a Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives, it really doesn't have a ton more to say about the human condition than either of those -- nor does it feature incredibly gripping, emotional moments that bring it above those show's caliber either.
Unless I missed it, describe for me a moment in Dexter more intense than: (1) Pullo's gladiator scene and Lucius's reaction in S1 of Rome, (2) what happens to Naiobe in Rome, (3) Pullo's tongue/axe scene in S2 of Rome, (4) the whole money train plot in The Shield, (5) the whole Cavanaugh plot in The Shield, (6) Aceveda's capture in The Shield, (7) Lem, (8) the Richie Aprile conclusion in Sopranos, (9) any BSG season finale, (10) the Lost Season 3 finale's last 30 seconds, (11) any episode of Lost S4, (12) the entirety of Californication S1, (13) any given scene with Bunk or Avon or Stringer or Omar or D'Angelo or Bodie or Michael or Marlow in The Wire. I mean, damn, can y'all even come up with a good quote from Dexter that doesn't involve some hyperintrospective narration line? You all want it to be one way... but it's not. It's the OTHER way. -
For anybody who's ever studied abnormal psychology, Dexter's existence is also an impossibility. Psychopaths exist because they have zero emotion, and therefore commit heinous crimes to feel something, anything, which Dexter does touch on in the scenes where he as a kid is standing near a roof ledge, etc. However, they do NOT consider themselves as having something wrong with themselves, and while they may work to fit in and look normal, they would never have the internal conversation Dexter does about whether he can be redeemed and become "good". They just wouldn't care.
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His hotshot fed in s2 was amazing
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I think it was season 2 or 3? It's when the Galactica drops into the atmosphere of New Caprica, and then performs an FTL jump. An awesome display of awesomity.
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Great scene! Season 3 episode 4, a lot of peoples favorite, for good reason!
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...but Doakes was no saint. And he had Dexter backed into a corner. But like kesoze4 mentioned, psychopaths shouldn't be worrying about being redeemed. In S2, Dexter was much more focused on questions of morality and that made it more like a vigilante cop show, rather than the serial killer show it started out as. Although, I do like that he's now past Harry's code, even if he's still practicing it for now. That could lead to an interesting season 3. As much as we might like to sympathize with him, Dexter should only grow darker as time goes on. Season 3 should be about rationalizing the twisting of Harry's code. He should cross the line, without even realizing it at first.
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It's absolutely true that Dexter is nothing like a textbook sociopath (even though I called him one earlier). kesoze4's description of psychopaths above, however, is mostly wrong. Sociopaths feel emotions, as intensely as anyone -- they couldn't function as human beings if they didn't. What they lack is empathy and hence an understanding that other people don't think the way they do, with complete self-centeredness and ruthlessness. Whether they become serial killers, CEO's, or Cincinnati Reds third basemen is a function of nurture and circumstance, not brain hard wiring.
Dexter's psychology is very different, and the second season went a long way towards explaining and exploring that. -
"My favorite scene of The Shield is during the first or second season when Dutch owns that serial killer. Everyone is in that tiny cramped room watching Dutch seemingly getting his ass handed to him and he totally turns it around. When he walks out he gets cheered by the whole barn. Dutch is one of the best characters of any show, and to see him get that almost reluctant victory. Another 'stand up and cheer' moment"
Can just keep rewatching that scene over and over. So brilliantly set up for the "underdog" to hand out a thorough smackdown. -
Jennifer Carpenter: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. The character is supposed to be kind of immature with that superficial toughness masking her sense that she's actually an impostor.
Doakes: The idea is that this guy is actually a really good cop with strong instincts and he has an instinct that Dexter is not up to snuff. I find him being on to Dexter completely plausible. -
Everything I've read about psychopaths and sociopaths suggests that these are just too labels for the same things, with sociopath gradually being replaced by psychopath. I think the distinction that's being made is arbitrary and lacks any evidence to support it.
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Doakes' past was kept (deliberately?) mysterious. He was some kind of Black (pardon the pun) Op in Haiti and we don't really know much more than that, really...
He was "good" enough to leave his wife before he killed her and I think his alleged sixth sense about Dexter was no more complex than one killer to another killer - takes one to know one...
Again, I'd love for his character/backstory to be explored further in future eps, but then again, part of me would prefer to keep it a mystery.
If it happens, no doubt it will be because of Laguardia and so maybe they can finally do something more interesting with her? -
Never said sociopathic lacking in an understanding of emotion was so very different from myself. I do so very much hate rabbits, for example. Useless animals. Old black lab riding copilot as I'm driving home with the sunrise, tho? Totally into it. Dexter wouldn't give a shit and probably murder me and my furry dark passenger. Asshole.
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I don't know if it's more the actor or Doakes character, but the guy is just so over-the-top and fuck yeah angry black man with sixth sense that I cringed every time he was onscreen in season 1.. and a couple eps of him trailing Dexter in s2 I'd had enough.
That said, the series never *blew me away*... I liked it well enough for some trashy fun (there's just something about the sum of it that stops me taking it seriously), but I can't say I was wholey invested in it in the first place. -
Dexter turning himself in would have made him the good guy. As it was, he decided not to turn himself in, which meant he would have had to kill Doakes, who hadn't done anything wrong. The Dexter/Doakes confrontations were amazing. Slashing tires, meeting at AA, the confrontation at the docks, and the wonderful headbutt.
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Good comparison with the Shield by the way, both are excellent shows... but i like Dexter more... if only because Dexter is always Dexter, while Vic Mackey was more hardcore in the pilot than he's ever been since. As for season 2 vs season 1, I love both but like 2 a bit more, although i agree again with the key term "convenient" primarily the death at the end of 2.11 Still though, amazing, shocking... I can still feel the shock on my face when that building went up in flames. Wild. Dexter is the 2nd best show on tv now (after Lost) the 2nd best show nominated for Emmy (after Lost) and the show I am most looking forward to right now!
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was that nobody cared about him when he died. I always agreed with Dexter's fantasy about how when people realized he was the bay harbor butcher, he would be an instant celebrity. A huge portion of Miami would want to thank him for the good work. Why no fanfare for Doakes when he died? Did I miss something?
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Dexter would say: " Call me Ace, huh?"
But anyway, I absolutely love this show. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I kind of identify with the character and his inner voice.
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