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Dexter (TV series)

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Dexter
File:Dexter intro.png
The Dexter intro
Created byJames Manos, Jr.
StarringMichael C. Hall
Julie Benz
Jennifer Carpenter
Jaime Murray
Erik King
Lauren Vélez
David Zayas
James Remar
C.S. Lee
Devon Graye
Dominic Janes
Christian Camargo
Opening themeRolfe Kent
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersDaniel Cerone
Clyde Phillips
John Goldwyn
Sara Colleton
Running timeapprox. 50 mins
per episode
Original release
NetworkShowtime
ReleaseOctober 1, 2006 –
present

Dexter is a Showtime original television series starring Michael C. Hall as serial killer Dexter Morgan, who works as a forensics analyst specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the Miami-Dade Police Department. The series is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay.

The first season finished airing on December 17, 2006. On November 2, 2006, Showtime renewed the series for a second season,[1] which began shooting on May 21, 2007, and is scheduled to premiere on September 30, 2007. On July 17 2007, the first two episodes of Season 2 were leaked on the internet[2].

Plot

Main article: List of Dexter episodes

Season 1

Orphaned at the age of three and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by a Miami police officer who recognized his homicidal tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a "constructive" way—by killing only heinous criminals (such as child molesters, mob assassins, and serial killers of the innocent) who have slipped through the justice system. To satisfy his interest in blood and to facilitate his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police. Although his drive to kill is unflinching, he is easily able to emulate normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially-responsible human being. He is well-liked by most of his colleagues, his girlfriend, and her children.

The complete season one of Dexter is set to be released in a 4 disc DVD package on August 21, 2007.

Season 2

Template:Future television

This season is not based upon the second novel of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, Dearly Devoted Dexter. The part of the ocean where Dexter dumps his bodies is discovered by treasure hunters, which sparks a manhunt for the so-called "Bay Harbour Butcher" that draws in even the FBI. A cult following begins to form behind the "Butcher" when it's discovered who his victims are.[3] Dexter also seems to be having problems executing his latest victims. New cast members include Keith Carradine as Special Agent Lundy, and Jaime Murray as Lila, an ex-junkie artist who becomes Dexter's ally.[4] The role of Rita's son Cody has now been re-cast with another child actor.

Series cast

File:Dexter cast.jpg
The Cast of Dexter
Main article: List of Dexter characters

Four members of the cast also starred in the HBO series Oz.

Plot differences from the novel

There are numerous differences between the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter and the Showtime series based on it; they range from extra subplots to rearrangements and modifications of elements from the source material.

The novel is narrated exclusively from Dexter's point of view and focuses mostly on his pursuit of the "Ice Truck Killer". With the exception of adoptive sister Deborah and adoptive father Harry, much of the supporting cast (Doakes, Angel and LaGuerta) have minor roles in the novel. The TV series expands on their characters with subplots not present in the original, such as Angel's rocky relationship with his ex-wife.

Another addition is the inclusion of Rita's abusive ex-husband. Although he is mentioned in the novel, he is never actually seen. In the show, he becomes a full-fledged supporting character who professes love for his children, but nevertheless still treats Rita violently.

The biggest change is the lead-up and revelation to the identity of the Ice Truck Killer. In the novel, Dexter (and to a certain extent, the reader) is led to believe that Dexter himself might be the one committing the murders, due to a series of strange dreams that connect him to the murder; the possibility that Dexter's "Dark Passenger" is committing crimes when Dexter is asleep is brought up. The final clue is a blurry photo of someone who resembles Dexter at a crime scene. After the Ice Truck Killer kidnaps Deborah, Dexter (who is followed by Detective LaGuerta) confronts him and it it is subsequently revealed that the killer is actually Dexter's nearly identical long-lost brother, Brian, who, like Dexter, witnessed their mother's brutal murder. In the ensuing conflict LaGuerta is slain by Brian, Deborah finds out her brother is a killer and Dexter helps Brian to escape, an act referenced in the next novel.[5] As a morbid trophy, Dexter adds a drop of LaGuerta's blood to his collection.

In the TV series, Brian is introduced under the fake name 'Rudy', a prosthetist who becomes Deborah's boyfriend, and his relationship to Dexter only revealed late in the first season. Here, Dexter kills Brian instead of letting him escape, Deborah does not discover her brother's secret and LaGuerta is not present at all in the confrontation.

Some of the characters have had their names changed. Detective LaGuerta is named Migdia in the novel and Maria in the show while Doakes' first name is changed from Albert to James.

There appear to be 98 slides in Dexter's collection, which implies that he has killed 98 people in his cause. In the novel, it's mentioned that he had 36 victims after the priest.

Critical reception

The initial response to Dexter was positive. The website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 based on 27 reviews, making it the third-best reviewed show of the 2006 fall season. This score includes four 100% scores from the New York Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and People Weekly.[6] Brian Lowry, who had written one of the two poor reviews for the show, recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety after watching the full season.[7] On the CNET Networks website TV.com, Dexter has an overall rating of 9.5/10.[8]

On December 14, 2006, Michael C. Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor in a Television Drama Series for playing Dexter.

Awards

2006

2007

Nominations

2006

2007

DVD release

Art Cover DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information
File:Dexter-DVD.jpg The Complete First Season August 21 2007 [1] 12
  • 2 Audio Commentaries by the Cast
  • The Academy of Blood – A Killer Course!
  • N Technology
  • 2 episodes of Showtime’s Brotherhood

    • International broadcasting

    Country Alternate title/Translation TV Network(s) Series Premiere Weekly Schedule
    United States United States Showtime 1 October 2006
     Australia Showtime TBA 2007
    Canada Canada The Movie Network (Eastern Canada)
    and Movie Central (western Canada)    		 1 October 2006
     Belgium BeTv March 2007
     Brazil Fox July 8 2007 Sundays
     France Canal + May 17 2007 Thursdays
     Hong Kong Fox Crime July 19 2007 Thursdays 10pm
     Hungary Viasat3 August 31 2007 Fridays
     Japan Fox Crime August 8 2007 Wednesdays 10pm
    Latin America Movie City May 6 2007 Sundays
     Turkey e2 Feb 22 2007
     Norway Canal Plus January 11 2007
     Sweden Canal Plus January 11 2007
     United Kingdom FX July 8 2007 Sundays
     Finland Canal Plus
    Nelonen    		 January 11 2007
    August 30 2007
     Ireland FX July 8 2007 Sundays
    Israel Israel Yes Stars 2 11 July 2007 Wednesdays
    Iceland Iceland Skjár Einn January 2007 Sundays
    Serbia Serbia Fox crime
    Bulgaria Bulgaria Fox crime Fridays

    Cultural references

    Trivia

    • In the original opening credits, the lock used by Dexter on his front door is a "Dexter" lockset. In later broadcasts it was replaced by a "Defiant" brand lock.

    References

    1. ^ the futon critic: Showtime's Dexter Takes A Stab At Season Two
    2. ^ "Massive Leak of Pre-Air TV Shows: Piracy or Promotion?". TorrentFreak. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
    3. ^ IGN.com, "Dexter Gets Ready for Another Killer Season"
    4. ^ IGN.com, "Dexter Makes Friends"
    5. ^ Jeff Lindsay. "Chapter 1 except of Dearly Devoted Dexter". Dearly Devoted Dexter. Random House. Retrieved 2007-03-17. Doakes was convinced that I'd had something to do with LaGuerta's death. This was totally untrue and completely unfair. All I had done was watch – where's the harm in that? Of course I had helped the real killer escape, but what could you expect? What kind of person would turn in his own brother? Especially when he did such neat work.
    6. ^ "Dexter (Showtime) - Reviews from Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
    7. ^ Looking forward, some no-no's for the New Year
    8. ^ TV.com highest rated shows
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