Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Dexter: Season One From the books of Jeff Lindsay.

"It's like he's trying to impress me.   And it is working!"

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a forensic specialist in blood splatters for the Miami Police Department.  He knows blood, inside, and out.  Dexter is also a serial killer.  And his chosen victims are very specific.  Dexter is a serial killer who hunts other serial killers.

This odd little fetish is the result of years of work and planning by Harry Morgan (James Remar), his adopted father.  Harry was a cop, and a good one, skilled, honest, with a strong sense of principles.  So how could he have created this monster?

That relationship is the heart of the show; Harry loved Dexter, so much so that when he realized his son had problems, he did the only thing he could think of that would keep him alive.  He taught him how to be a very GOOD serial killer.  And he taught him to only kill those who really deserved it.  Other monsters like him.

So Dexter goes  through life, smiling, studying blood splatter, and putting away the guilty, saving the innocent (it does that too, you know) and ever so often, stalking a pedophile serial killer, and ending his life.  These bodies are not found.  Nor is any evidence at the scenes.  Harry taught his son well, and Dexter has only honed his art.

Dexter has a sister, Debbie (Jennifer Carpenter ((In an incestuous sidebar, Hall and Carpenter met on the set and are now married in real life)) Debbie is a cop, working vice (she is pretty) but what she really wants is homicide.  She is not as sharp as Dexter, but she has gifts of her own.

Dexter's main problem is he can't feel anything.  Emotions baffle him.  Motivations, urges, these things he can understand.  Why a killer would bury the dead face down or why he would use a linoleum knife, he grasps with ease.  What to say to a girl flirting with him...that leaves him puzzled.

Dexter has a girlfriend.  Rita Bennett (Julie Benz) is perfect for him; she is broken too.  A victim of spousal abuse and rape, she is not interested in sex.  Since Dex isn't either, it works out.  One of the most important lessons his father taught him is to blend, to fake emotional attachments.  Rita and her kids are a beard.

Of course there is one cop who is not buying the act; one cop who senses what Dexter is trying to hide.  Sergeant James Doakes (Erik King) hates Dex.  His former partner, Lt. Maria Laguerta (Lauren Vélez) hates his sister.  It's a dysfunctional family in the precinct.

Then there is something special; a serial killer who doesn't like blood, whose technique is precise, deliberate, and unmistakable.  A king among serial killers.  And Dex wants him.

And he wants Dexter.  He leaves calling cards in Dexter's house, and leaves clues at the scenes that only Dexter will recognize.  It is a game, and he wants Dexter to play.

And oh, how Dexter is eager for the game.

This show is listed as #30 in Empire's top 50.  And it deserves the honor.  It is intelligent, insightful, well written, and well acted.  The insights into the minds of the deranged are on target, and Hall's performance is spot on the right kind of remote creepy.

And, they make you like Dexter.  That is the scary part.  It is the scary part of most successful hunter type serial killers.  Sociopaths are frightening partly because the pass for normal, and because they can be so charming.

There are many elements to the drama beyond the murders; office politics, romance and mystery all play a part.  Rita has her own set of problems which present Dexter with a dilemma; he is a monster, not a hero.  Yet shouldn't he want to help her?  Doesn't he?
Insightful, disturbing, gory and great, this is an amazing series.  I give it my highest recommendation.

This review, Like The Ice Truck Killer is Lean-N-Mean.  It is a concise 666 words.

It is also entered in Msbunnylicious' Wicked Hallows Write Off.

A Grisly Little Collection...

Dexter Season One
Dexter Season Two
Dexter Season Three
Dexter Season Four
Dexter Season Five
Dexter Season Six

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age