Dexter (TV series)

Dexter
Dexter intertitle
Developed by	James Manos, Jr.
Starring	Michael C. Hall Julie Benz Jennifer Carpenter Erik King Jaime Murray Lauren Vélez David Zayas James Remar C.S. Lee Devon Graye Dominic Janes Christian Camargo
Theme music composer	Rolfe Kent
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Daniel Cerone Clyde Phillips John Goldwyn Sara Colleton
Running time	approx. 50 min. (commercial-free)
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	October 1, 2006-present

For the Hanna-Barbera animated series, see Dexter's Laboratory.

Dexter is an American television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr. The show premiered on the premium cable network Showtime on October 1, 2006. The show has been renewed for a third season.

Set and produced in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a serial killer who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood pattern analyst.

Dexter has received considerable critical acclaim and has won two Emmys in technical categories, and has also generated public controversies concerning its content and promotion.

An edited version of the series began airing on CBS on February 17, 2008, due to the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike creating a shortage of new content. CTV simulcasts episodes along with CBS, and is also airing the edited version in order to avail of Canadian cable simultaneous substitution rules. Dexter debuted in Canada on The Movie Network and Movie Central on October 2 at 9 PM ET and October 1, 2006 at 8 PM PT respectively.

In the UK, FX aired the first season in the summer of 2007, with the second season to air in July 2008. FX hold lifetime rights to the first run of every season in the UK. ITV aired the second run of season 1 on Wednesday 27 February at 10.35pm, to a much larger potential audience than the cable and satellite only FX.

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 named Harry Morgan who recognized his sociopathic tendencies and, instead of getting him professional help, taught him to channel his gruesome passion for killing and dissecting in a "constructive" way: by killing people who "deserve it." His victims, however, include not only heinous criminals (such as mob assassins and serial killers of the innocent), but also less clearly abhorrent characters, such as a young alcoholic responsible for multiple vehicular homicides, and a nurse who poisons patients believing it is to end their pain. Most have slipped through the justice system, though it is not clear any effort was ever made to prosecute either the nurse or Dexter's opening-episode victim, a Catholic choir master who murders children.

To satisfy his interest in blood and to ease his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Although his drive to kill is unflinching (otherwise overcome by a feeling of "emptiness") Dexter is, through extensive instruction from Harry, able to fake normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially responsible human being. He is well-liked by most of his colleagues (with the exception of Sgt. James Doakes), his girlfriend, Rita (a psychologically damaged rape victim who Dexter uses as "cover" despite his lack of feelings or interest in sex), and her children. The first season focuses mostly on "The Ice Truck Killer" — a serial killer eluding the Miami PD who is communicating with Dexter through his crime scenes. Dexter's sister Deborah begins dating Rudy, who is revealed to the audience to be the Ice Truck Killer. At the end of the season Rudy attempts to kill Deborah, but is stopped by Dexter. Rudy reveals that he is Dexter's brother. Dexter has no choice but to kill him and make his death look like a suicide.

Doakes doesn't accept the suicide theory and starts tailing Dexter because of his personal suspicions. Rita's ex-husband, set up by Dexter for a felony parole violation, is back in prison proclaiming his innocence, and points Rita to a clue to the truth about Dexter. The season ends with Dexter and his sister entering a crime scene, with Dexter imagining a tickertape parade for himself, complete with confetti and airplane fly-over, and the crowd praising him for his fine work "taking out the garbage."

The complete first season of Dexter was released in a four-disc DVD package on August 21 2007 in the US.

Season 2

Dexter begins the season unable to satisfy his urges for over a month due to the constant surveillance of Sgt. Doakes. When the opportunity to kill arises, he has problems executing his victims.

To further complicate matters, treasure hunters discover Dexter’s underwater dumping ground for his victims. As the police extract body after body from the ocean, the media dubs the killer the “Bay Harbor Butcher”, and FBI Special Agent Lundy (played by Keith Carradine) is brought in to catch the "Butcher".

A cult following begins to form behind the “Butcher” when it’s discovered who his victims are, with Dexter even finding a comic-book character "The Dark Defender" created in his honor.

Rita’s relationship with Dexter becomes more tense as she and her children are dealing with the death of her ex-husband Paul, the result of a prison fight. Her late ex-husband’s suggestion that Dexter was to blame for his imprisonment eats at her conscience and eventually Rita accuses Dexter of setting up her ex-husband. Dexter admits to setting up Paul, but Rita refuses to believe that Dexter premeditated the crime. She assumes that Dexter is a heroin addict. He acquiesces to being an ‘addict’, though he characteristically allows the double entendre to go without clarification; in return, she vows to stay with him while he goes through Narcotics Anonymous program. In this way Dexter avoids responsibility for Paul's death (though he set the process in motion) and consequently maintains the rationalization that he only (directly) kills people who are also serial killers. Doakes pursues Dexter until he spots him at an NA meeting, and his first assumption is that Dexter’s devious behavior is drug-related.

Deb continues to struggle with the trauma of her experience with the Ice Truck Killer. For a sense of safety and comfort she stays with her brother, another new source of stress in Dexter’s life.

New cast members include Jaime Murray as Lila, a (supposed) former meth addict, firebug and artist who becomes Dexter’s sponsor and later on his lover. FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (played by Keith Carradine). Rita's mother Gail (played by JoBeth Williams). The role of Rita’s son has been re-cast. Cody is now played by child actor Preston Bailey.

Season 2 premiered on September 30, 2007. On July 17 the first two episodes of the season were leaked on the internet, and on December 4 the last two episodes were also leaked. On November 4th, 2007, the Writer’s Guild of America started a strike, but writer Daniel Cerone stated in the LA Times that Season 2 had already been completed in anticipation of the WGA’s action.

Throughout Season 2, the Bay Harbor Butcher (Dexter) is pursued by Lundy, while Deb grows in her affection for the FBI man as well as in her confidence in her detective skills. Doakes returns to pursuing his suspicions about Dexter, and ultimately discovers Dexter's collection of glass slides, containing blood sample souvenirs from all of his victims. The possibility of matching the slides hidden in Dexter's air conditioner with the bodies of the Butcher's victims sets up the climactic process in which Doakes discovers and confronts Dexter (who overpowers him and keeps him locked in a cage, while he sets up Doakes as the Butcher). Only Doakes' former partner, Lieutenant LaGuerta, believes in Doakes' innocence. Her proof of Doakes' innocence is tainted by her efforts to help him, and rejected by Lundy, though he believes she may be right. In the Season finale, Dexter's pyromaniac stalker ex-sponsor/girlfriend Lila serves as the surrogate who blows Doakes into pieces (along with the corpse of another victim Dexter has butchered in front of him), thereby resolving the situation to Dexter's benefit without Dexter having to himself murder the innocent and mostly honorable policeman. Dexter subsequently travels to Paris to kill Lila, who has fled there after trying to burn Rita's children and Dexter alive; Doakes' memorial service goes largely unattended (with the exception of LaGuerta, Dexter, and Doakes' immediate family); and in the logic of Dexter's world, all is well again.

Season 3

A third season of Dexter was announced following the season two finale, in which an ad ran assuring Dexter would return in 2008. Showtime President Robert Greenblatt also confirmed that a third season is due to start, but only after an excessive amount of time, he suggested sometime in October. No other information was given as to why an almost year long hiatus was in order for a very high rating series.

U.S. broadcast controversy

When CBS announced in December 2007 it was considering Dexter for broadcast over the public airwaves, Parents Television Council (PTC), a nonprofit advocacy group, publicly protested the decision.

In preparation for the broadcast premiere of Dexter on CBS, on January 29 2008 the network posted promotional videos on YouTube. The next day, the PTC for a second time called upon CBS to withdraw plans to broadcast the show. PTC President Timothy F. Winter issued a news release stating "We are formally asking CBS to cancel its plan to air the first season of Dexter on its television network. This show is not suitable for airing on broadcast television; it should remain on a premium subscription cable network. The biggest problem with the series is something that no amount of editing can get around: the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn’t get discovered." Winter went on to quote CBS President Leslie Moonves post-Columbine comment: ‘Anyone who thinks the media has nothing to do with [increasing violence in society] is an idiot.’ Winter called on the public to demand local affiliates preempt Dexter, and warned advertisers the PTC would take action against any that sponsored the show.

Following Winters' release, CBS added Parental Discretion advisories to its broadcast (but not the YouTube) promotions. CBS rated Dexter TV-14 for broadcast. The show premiered on February 17, 2008 with minor edits, primarily for language, and with scenes involving dismemberment of live victims cut away to the next scene. Scenes involving sex were also taken out of the broadcasts.

Cast

Main article: List of Dexter characters

• Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
• Julie Benz as Rita Bennett
• Jennifer Carpenter as Deborah Morgan
• Erik King as Sgt. James Doakes
• Lauren Vélez as Lt. Maria LaGuerta
• David Zayas as Angel Batista
• James Remar as Harry Morgan
• C. S. Lee as Vince Masuka

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 “Tamiami Butcher” (renamed the “Ice Truck Killer” for the series). With the exception of sister Deborah and 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 Paul. 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 to and revelation of 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, taken from surveillance footage, of a man who resembles Dexter at a crime scene. After the Tamiami Killer kidnaps Deborah, Dexter (who is followed by Detective LaGuerta) finds and confronts him. 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. As a morbid trophy, Dexter adds a drop of LaGuerta’s blood to his collection.

In the television 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 hesitantly 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. Furthermore, while in the novel Dexter and his brother are nearly identical, the actors playing the two characters are distinct from each other in their looks.

During the ending of the first novel, Deborah is wide awake for the exchange between Brian and Dexter, so from the second novel onward, she knows that her brother is a serial killer. The Deborah of the television series does not.

Some of the supporting characters are changed. Detective LaGuerta is named Migdia in the novel and Maria in the show while Doakes’ first name is changed from Albert to James. (Doakes’ first name is not revealed in the first novel, but in the sequel Dearly Devoted Dexter.) The character of Angel Batista is a lab tech in the books while in the television series he is a homicide detective. The character of Camilla Figg is a young lab tech infatuated with Dexter while in the television series, she is an older woman who once worked with Dexter’s father. She is the records supervisor and has a more maternal relationship with Dexter.

In the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dexter references his urge to kill as being controlled by a “Dark Passenger”, and when in his killer trances he tends to refer to himself as We or Us. In the first season, only one reference is made to this “Passenger”, as Dexter stands at the scene of Angel’s stabbing by Brian alias Rudy, an event absent in the book. In Season 2 episode 3, the writers finally explain Dexter’s urge to kill as his “Dark Passenger” and make multiple references to it throughout the episode.

Much of the second season had little to do with the second novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter, although they both shared a subplot concerning a suspicious Doakes following Dexter, both concluding in Doakes being 'taken care of' by another killer to prevent Dexter from breaking his moral code. In Dearly Devoted, Doakes is tortured and dismembered (his hands, feet and tongue are removed) by Dr. Danco, a serial killer. He survives, however, and returns in the third novel albeit in a much more different state; he is unable to speak and is fitted with prosthetics. The Showtime series has Doakes being blown up by Lila, Dexter's psychopathic ex-girlfriend.

Viral marketing controversy

In preparation for the UK launch of the series, FX (UK) experimented with an SMS-based viral marketing campaign. Unsuspecting mobile phone owners received unsolicited SMS messages identified as being from "Dexter," with no other identification or originating phone number. The SMS messages contain the following text, referring to the phone owner by name:

"Hello (name). I'm heading to the UK sooner than you might think. Dexter."

Some time later, an email is received directing the user to an online video "news report" about a recent spree of killings. Using on-the-fly video manipulation, the user's name and a personalized message are worked into the report – the former written in blood on a wall by the crime scene, the latter added to a note in an evidence bag carried past the camera.

While the marketing campaign had succeeded in raising the profile of the show, it proved unpopular with many mobile owners who saw this as spam advertising aimed at mobile phones. In response to complaints about the SMS element of the campaign, FX issued the following statement:

"The text message you received was part of an internet viral campaign for our newest show Dexter. However it was not us who sent you the text but one of your friends. We do not have a database of viewer phone numbers. The text message went along with a piece on the net that you can then send on to other people you know. If you go to www.icetruck.tv you will see the page that one of your friends has filled in to send you that message. Therefore I suggest you have a word with anyone who knows your mobile number and see who sent you this message. For the record we did not make a record of any phone numbers used in this campaign."

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. 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. On the CNET Networks website TV.com, Dexter has an overall rating of 9.4/10.

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.

DVD release

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Additional Content
The Complete First Season	Region 1:August 21 2007 Region 2:May 19 2008	12	2 Audio Commentaries by the Cast The Academy of Blood – A Killer Course! N Technology 2 episodes of Showtime’s Brotherhood

Video game

A video game based on Dexter was announced on March 4, 2008, to be developed by Marc Ecko's game development company, which previously developed the controversial urban graffiti game Getting Up. "Dexter is the extremely rare TV show with enough layers of action and tension to translate perfectly into a compelling video game," said Marc Fernandez, Vice President of Marc Ecko Entertainment.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The music from the Dexter TV series was released August 28, 2007 on the album Dexter: Music From the Showtime Original Series. It is produced by Showtime, and distributed by Milan Records. The album is also available online on the iTunes store. The iTunes release includes five additional bonus tracks from Seasons 1 and 2.

The album contains 25 tracks over 1 hour and 4 minutes. Track 1 is the opening theme. Tracks 2 through 11 are mostly Cuban and Latin music used during the show, with tracks 2, 6 and 9 containing narration by Michael C. Hall. Tracks 12 through 24 were written by Daniel Licht, who composed all of the show's themes. Bonus track 25 is track 24, "Blood Theme," with Jon Licht singing over.

Track listing

"Dexter Main Title" (Rolfe Kent) – 1:40 "Tonight’s The Night" (Michael C. Hall, Daniel Licht) – 1:07 "Conoci La Paz" (Beny Moré) – 3:03 "Uruapan Breaks" (Kinky) – 2:21 "Flores Para Ti" (Raw Artistic Soul featuring Rafael Cortez) – 5:16 "Blood" (Hall, Licht) – 0:59 "Con Mi Guaguanco" (Ray Armando) – 7:12 "Perfidia" (Mambo All-Stars) – 2:37 "Sometimes I Wonder" (Hall, D.Licht) – 0:29 "Born Free" (Andy Williams) – 2:25 "Dexter™ Main Title" (Kinky) – 1:41 "Escalation" (D.Licht) – 2:09 "Shipyard" (D.Licht) – 2:03 "Deborah Loves Rudy/The House" (D.Licht) – 3:12 "I Can’t Kill" (D.Licht) – 2:21 "Voodoo Jailtime" (D.Licht) – 2:58 "New Legs" (D.Licht) – 2:01 "Photo Albums" (D.Licht) – 3:22 "Courting the Night" (D.Licht) – 1:22 "Hide Your Tears" (D.Licht) – 1:36 "Wink" (D.Licht) – 2:08 "Astor’s Birthday Party" (D.Licht) – 2:00 "Epilogue/Bloodroom" (D.Licht) – 3:44 "Blood Theme" (D.Licht) – 2:25 "Die This Way" (D.Licht, Jon Licht) – 3:55

Samples

Awards

Wins

2006

• AFI Awards – TV Program of the Year – Official Selection
• IGN – Best New Show
• IGN – Best Actor – Michael C. Hall
• IGN – Best Villain – The Ice Truck Killer
• IGN – Best Character – Dexter Morgan
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series – Julie Benz

2007

• Emmy – Outstanding Main Title Design
• Emmy – Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
• IGN - Best Storyline
• IGN - Best Television Program
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series – David Zayas
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama – Michael C. Hall
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Television Series, Drama
• Saturn Awards – Best Actor in a Television Program – Michael C. Hall
• Television Critics Association – Individual Achievement in Drama – Michael C. Hall

Nominations

2006

• Golden Globe – Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama – Michael C. Hall
• IGN – Best Television Program
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama – Michael C. Hall
• Satellite Awards – Outstanding Television Series, Drama

2007

• Emmy – Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Drama
• Emmy – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
• Golden Globe - Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama – Michael C. Hall
• Saturn Awards – Best Supporting Actor in a Television Program – James Remar
• Saturn Awards – Best Supporting Actress in a Television Program – Jennifer Carpenter
• Saturn Awards – Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• SAG – Male Actor in a Drama Series – Michael C. Hall
• Television Critics Association – New Program of the Year
• WGA - Episodic Drama - any length - one airing time Dark Defender
• WGA - Best Dramatic Series
• Peabody Award - Announced April 2, 2008

External links

• Dexter at Showtime
• Dexter at itv.com
• Dexter at Metacritic
• Dexter at IMDb
• Brendan Bernhard (September 29, 2006). "Blood Relative". New York Sun. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)