I finished watching season one of Dexter this weekend, and I’ve gotta say, thank Jebus for non-network shows to attempt something for TV with some bite to it. If you’re unfamiliar, the title character (played by Six Feet Under’s Michael C. Hall) is a stab-happy serial killer who works for the Miami police as a forensics expert specializing in reading blood splatter. He’s plagued by vague memories from when he was three, before he was plucked from a horrific crime scene and adopted by Harry, a policeman who recognized his true nature and taught him to kill only those who deserve to be offed – various murders who have escaped justice.
Based on the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, it’s new spin on the serial killer genre. We’ve seen the serial killer-as-hero in Natural Born Killers and Hannibal, but Dexter goes inside the head of a remorseless, albeit charming, murderer to see how he ticks, and presents a scenario in which he could function in the real world (sunny, colourful Florida, to be specific). Not that the show is realistic by any means, though, with its conveniently daft supporting characters and a few outrageous plot twists.
My biggest criticism of Dexter, however, isn’t the outrageous plot twists, as much as it one rather predictable twist. [Warning: spoiler] C’mon, is it any surprise that a character with an uncanny resemblance to real-life serial killer Richard Ramiez turns out to be a killer? Not sure what they were thinking there. Duh…
Regardless, it’s ballsy to ask an audience to feel for a character who makes it very clear from the first episode that he has no feelings. Yet it works, and the plots and many subplots are engrossing. As far as genre fans go, Dexter is more drama/thriller/black comedy than “horror” but there’s enough macabre in the mix to catch a Rue reader’s eye.
Here’s the asinine thing, though: if you live in Canada and want to check out the official Dexter website, you get this message, “Sorry: We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages are intended for access only from within the United States.” [Translation: "Choke on it, you syrup-sucking assholes!"] Same goes if you try to access Showtime’s Masters of Horror page.
Showtime, you suck, but at least your attempts to lock out us Canucksters is futile. If you want to check out the Dexter site, simply go here, to a proxy, and paste this URL for the Showtime site into the space provided: http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.do There’s some fun behind-the-scenes stuff and other extras, if that’s your thing.
For Masters of Horror, paste this URL into the window: http://www.sho.com/site/mastersofhorror/home.do
Dig it.