Dexter is the best show on TV and it features Micheal C. Hall, the best actor working in this medium.
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Television as a whole is a wasteland devoid of artistic integrity and emotional growth. Programs that are merely adequate ("Madmen," "Lost," "Damages") receive monumental accolades from quality deprived critics. Mediocre attempts at comedy ("Seinfeld," "Friends") are historically noted as classics, and all while the masses huddle around the boob tube watching moronic displays of scripted reality. But every once in a long while, a show comes along that bucks the trend and kicks TV programming in its bloated, self-important rear end. Television can be viewed as an art form proven by genuinely great shows like "Arrested Development," "Rescue Me," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Sopranos," and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." But for every great show there are hundreds of repetitive and unoriginal programs like "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "House M.D.," "Two and a Half Men," and others that refuse to push the art form forward by taking any kind of chances. For those of you who are sick to death of boring, unimaginative drivel, I highly recommend checking out Showtime's "Dexter," whose second season just hit store shelves.
With just the great plot lines and brilliant acting from its lead actor (Michael C. Hall) alone, "Dexter" should be considered among the greatest hour-long dramas ever aired on premium cable. Toss in an engaging ensemble cast, character origins shrouded in mystery, and the best antihero since Tony Soprano stopped doing business out of the back of the Bada Bing, and you've got the makings of one of the best shows ever to air on television. Now compound that growing list of accolades with scripts that work on almost every part of your body including brain-bending plot twists, genuine humor that'll hurt you down to your funny bone, and stomach-churning scenes of gore, and you've got yourselves the body of a masterpiece. A masterpiece whose main character would happily dismember it …if it met his criteria. That's because Dexter is a serial killer who hunts other murderers, all while working as a blood expert for the Florida police. While Dexter spends his on and off hours chasing down killers, the real crime in Season 2's debut on DVD is the complete lack of special features pertaining to the show itself.
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a blood-splatter analyst working for the Miami Metro Police Department and is one of the best in his field at uncovering the secrets left in the congealing evidence that killers tend to leave behind. But that's not the only thing Dexter is good at; he's also adept at hiding his own secret, that he is a serial killer who preys only upon other murderers who have managed to keep themselves out of reach of the police. Adopted at an early age by a cop who found him at a bloody crime scene, Dexter learned everything he knows from his father, officer Harry Morgan. Seeing an undeniable darkness inside his adoptive son at an early age, Harry taught Dexter how to recognize that same darkness inside other people. Harry also created a list of rules for Dexter to follow for him to weed out these other killers and for him to get away with "dispatching" them without ever being caught. Harry never revealed his son's secret, not even to his own daughter Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), who grew up in her adopted brother's shadow and desperately tried to gain her father's attention, even going so far as to become a detective on the same force as Dexter and her late father. But she never held a grudge against Dexter and is not only his coworker and sister but his best friend as well.
"Dexter" began as a series of novels by writer Jeff Lindsay, the first of which, "Darkly Dreaming Dexter," debuted in 2004. The main plot line of the original "Dexter" novel, including the characters and his involvement in the search for "The Ice Truck Killer," was used for the basis of the first season of the show. For this second season, the only link to the follow-up "Dexter" novels is a plot thread involving a member of the department who has a bit too much interest in Dexter's post work playtime. The first season of "Dexter" while excellent, felt confined by obvious budget problems that limited the location shooting and overall feel of the show. For the second season, it looks like they finally got the money they needed to make the program as effective as possible. Outdoor location shots (filmed in California) are plentiful, and the set for the police department seems to have tripled in size. There is a ton of even better "Dexter" moments that I would love to mention here, but I would hate to give anything away. "Dexter" is one of those shows that rewards you for having watched each and every episode in order. The way its creators unfold a story is darkly dazzling. For those television viewers who are hungry for a new crime drama and have graduated from the "Law and Order" and "CSI" ghetto, I give thee "Dexter."
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