Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce que c'est?

[commonpeople1]

The FBI believes 85% of the world's serial killers are in the U.S.A., and that 20 to 50 of them are active at any given time. I wonder if any of them watch Dexter, and if they enjoy the show. Do they feel a unique connection with Dexter? Do they have pre-orders with Amazon for the series' boxset as soon as it's available?

I didn't think much of the show when I watched it with desayuno_ingles in Brasil. We watched the sixth episode and, despite most of the plot being explained to me, I still found the show convoluted, badly acted and somewhat hackneyed. When I returned to London, I learned that Kevin and Sissy Jen had gone through a Dexter marathon, thanks to the episodes being available for free, on demand. I decided to give the show a second chance, from its start, seeing that I was unemployed and had nothing better to do all day.

Dexter comes close to being great TV. It's not quite there yet for me, but it's almost there (I'm currenly on episode 8 of the first season). The premise is brilliant: Dexter is a blood splatter specialist with the Miami police who also happens to be a closeted serial killer. However, Dexter was raised by a foster father with Nietzschean ideals, who believed his son's psychopathy could be used as a force for good, i.e. he trains Dexter to direct his bloodlust at bad people. From there, the show constantly pits Dexter against notions of good and evil in modern life. If you are a nurse who poisons patients, you deserve to die in his hands. But if you killed a boy who raped you, then it's OK to retaliate; Dexter will let you get away with murder because you fit his view of what is acceptable.

The supporting actors are the main reason why this show isn't excellent. From Dexter's stilted cop sister, to the horribly miscast Lt. Maria Laguerta, the characters vary between downright bad acting to passable work. The show would benefit from new characters being introduced after an explosion that wipes out most of the old ones. However, the bad acting could be due to first-episodes-shakiness; I'm hoping they'll get better as the show grows. Right now, Michael C. Hall plays Dexter to perfection. He's all-American charm as well as enigmatic and camp. References to the novel American Psycho, as well as a host of other serial killers in pop culture, don't go amiss. You feel for Dexter when he finally gets his chance to confess to someone that he's a serial killer. And you can't help worrying for his relationship with the perenially fucked up single mother Rita as their relationship grows. To go from being a traumatised victim of domestic violence to lover of a serial killer has got to hurt!

My biggest worry right now is that the free episodes will end soon (it was a month-long promotion for FX channel) and I will have to wait until the boxset is available. I'd rather face Dexter's chopping board then wait a whole year for my fix to be satisfied.

Comments

[moveslikegiallo.livejournal.com]

UGH.

naturalbornkaos and I watched the first season. There are some brilliant, sparkling moments but on the whole it was a frustrating experience, and I'm not keen to see any future episodes.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Don't give anything away!!! :-)

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

Just stop watching! It only goes downhill from here! :(

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Can't. Stop. Watching.

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

He's wrong. Ignore him.

[aeonflux.livejournal.com]

We love Dexter, me and msanthropist. She has Showtime on demand at her house and I took full advantage. It's definitely not perfect, but after so many seasons of seeing Hall as David on Six Feet Under, I like to see him more self-possessed, if not less neurotic.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I'm quite happy with the subtle way he makes Dexter different from David (though both characters are similars in respect to their issues with the "closet"). I"m looking forward to the rest of the season and to what happens to him.

Embrace your dark side...

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love Dexter...and Weeds, and Californication and The L Word...Showtime: The Best Shit on Television...

Re: Embrace your dark side...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen those other shows yet... the downside of not having cable TV!

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

As long as he keeps taking his top off, I'll be happy to continue watching it.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Amen!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Were you as crushed as me when you found out he was married?

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Not really - he's still decorative.

And anyway - so am I!

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Married, I mean, not decorative.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That's what they all say down at the gay clubs.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Too much decoration makes for a B&Q.

[dilvsy.livejournal.com]

I love Dexter so much!
I read both books after watching the show, and truthfully, it is actually quite well cast. I got Gavi into the books, and told her to watch the show when I bought it, and she is now hooked too. She was afraid to watch the show at first in case the actors sucked...but, they are all so good!!!!

(Obviously, Michael Hall is the best actor in the show...but the cinematography, dialogue, etc is brilliant.)

The book is pretty much the first show, so if the second season is based on the second book, you are going to be in for a wild ride!!!

I am curious to see how they will make certain things from the novel work in the show...particularly the victims that are described in the second novel.

Also, hopefully they will delve deeper into his girlfriend's son's character, as in the novel, a big twist comes up in the second book regarding him.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Uhhhhh! That all sounds intriguing and good. I can't imagine any big twist related to the little boy since, right now, he's just a little twerp. But don't give anything away to me, just in case. :-)

[dilvsy.livejournal.com]

I won't!
It is funny reading the varied comments, half of us seem to love Dexter, and half hate it!

LOL

All I know is, the third novel comes out in paperback soon, and I can't wait!!!!

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

They've already altered certain...er...precursors for the end of the second book, so I'm not sure whether they'll be that faithful.

The victims in the second book creeped me out somewhat, I must say.

[dilvsy.livejournal.com]

yeah, same here....especially the first one, where they are describing the noise.

(don't worry, Ollie...I didn't ruin anything)

And damn...I bet I know what they changed!!!

(and obviously, since Ollie will kill us if we spoil it)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

YES I WILL KILL YOU ALL!

[dilvsy.livejournal.com]

damnit, don't you learn from Dexter?
Only kill us if we deserve it!

;)

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

I pretty much agree with you - I like it, but it's missing something. It probably doesn't help that my housemate raves about it, but I think that some of the subtlety falls off after the first few episodes, when they focus less on the disparity between how affable he is in real life compared to his inner monologue. However, things pick up towards the end of the season, and they've got loads of scope to play with. Plus I think his sister's ace.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

I fuckin´ told you! And thanks for explaining it in a manner that I couldn´t, durante el episode.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

As with most shows, it's just not good to catch the thing halfway through it - it's hard to be interested. But, watching it from the start, I can see what you meant, and I totally agree with your opinions on it. ;-)

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Ah, and I didn't mean it if I sounded bitchy. I was just excited you'd finally seen it and knew what I could see now!

I've got to netflix Heroes, I couldn't read that post for wondering if there were spoilers.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yes, better not read that post! Some people left spoilers unintentionally. Heroes is like a soap opera: watch it from the beginning and you'll get hooked, but don't expect Oscar-winning performances or "High Art". It's just good old disposable fun.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Ok, good to know. The blonde girl in the cartoon of them looks like the oldest daughter in Big Love.

[amanda-mary.livejournal.com]

The supporting actors are the main reason why this show isn't excellent. From Dexter's stilted cop sister, to the horribly miscast Lt. Maria Laguerta, the characters vary between downright bad acting to passable work.

Totally agreed. I'm roughly half-way through the series myself. I really want to see how this season's plot is resolved. But they'd better raise the bar for the supporting cast a bit. I do like the actress who plays Rita, though.

The opening credits sequence is absolutely phenomenal. Really well-conceived balance of funny and disturbing.

[amanda-mary.livejournal.com]

I find this guy's acting is particularly annoying.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I do like the actress who plays Rita, though.

Oh yes. In fact, the big selling point for me is her relationship with Dexter. There's so much edge to it, and so much potential for drama, that it provides much of the series' suspense.