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Dexter (TV series)

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Dexter
Dexter title card
Genre
Based onDarkly Dreaming Dexter
by Jeff Lindsay
Developed byJames Manos, Jr.
Starring
Narrated byMichael C. Hall
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes96 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locationsMiami, Florida (filmed in Los Angeles)
Running time45–60 minutes
Production companiesJohn Goldwyn Productions
The Colleton Company
Clyde Phillips Productions
801 Productions
Devilina Productions
Showtime Networks
Original release
NetworkShowtime
ReleaseOctober 1, 2006 (2006-10-01) –
September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22)

Dexter is an American television drama series. The series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a blood spatter pattern analyst for 'Miami Metro Police Department' (based on the real life Miami-Dade Police Department) who also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice. Set in Miami, the show's first season was largely based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), the first of the Dexter series novels by Jeff Lindsay. It was adapted for television by screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the first episode. Subsequent seasons evolved independently of Lindsay's works.

Dexter aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006 to September 22, 2013.[1] In February 2008, reruns (edited down to a TV-14 rating) began to air on CBS, although the reruns on CBS ended after one run of the first season. The series has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and popularity, although the series finale was widely panned by critics and fans. Season 4 aired its season finale on December 13, 2009 to a record-breaking audience of 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched original series episode ever on Showtime at that time.[citation needed]

In January 2013, Showtime announced that season 8 premiere of Dexter would air on June 30, earlier than the original fall/autumn date. In April 2013, following ongoing fan speculations, Showtime announced that season eight would be the final season of Dexter.[2] The Season 8 premiere was the most watched Dexter episode ever with over 3 million viewers.[3]

Michael C. Hall has received several awards and nominations for his portrayal of Dexter, including a Golden Globe award.

Plot

See also: List of Dexter episodes
For the seasonal plots, see Dexter (season 1), Dexter (season 2), Dexter (season 3), Dexter (season 4), Dexter (season 5), Dexter (season 6), Dexter (season 7), and Dexter (season 8).

Series synopsis

Orphaned at the age of three by his mother's murder, Dexter Morgan is adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan and his wife Doris. After discovering young Dexter had been killing neighborhood pets for years, Harry tells Dexter he believes the need to kill "got into" him too early, and Dexter's need to kill will only grow. To keep Dexter from killing innocent people, Harry teaches him The Code:

  • Most importantly, Dexter must never get caught.
  • Dexter's victims must be killers themselves who have killed without justifiable cause and are likely to do so again.
  • Dexter must always be sure of his target's guilt, thus he frequently goes to great lengths to obtain undeniable proof of his victim's guilt.

Flashbacks throughout the series show Harry (who died several years previously) teaching Dexter how to fake normal human emotion and social behavior and how to cover his tracks after a kill. Dexter follows The Code religiously to satisfy the "Dark Passenger" (the name assigned to his urge to kill). However, in Season 4, he hastily kills a photographer later proven innocent.

Like many serial killers, Dexter keeps a trophy of each kill: he slices his victim's cheek with a scalpel to collect a droplet of their blood, which he preserves on a blood slide. He stores his collection in a wooden box concealed within his air conditioner.

At the beginning of the series, Dexter believes he has no emotions and must work constantly to appear normal and blend with well-adjusted human beings. Dexter is typically capable of faking "normal" human emotion to a degree that he is generally invisible and unremarkable to all save those with keen insight into the telltale signs of disguised antisocial personality (i.e., Doakes, Lundy). Remarkably, people tend to gravitate to Dexter despite himself, such that he inadvertently finds himself saddled with unexpected friends, acquaintances, and even lovers. The closest he approaches the emotion of love is his "fondness" for his adoptive sister Debra. She is unaware of Harry's training but harbors lingering jealousy of the perceived preferential treatment Harry gave Dexter. In the first season, Dexter dates a woman named Rita as part of the "disguise of normalcy". Rita, subconsciously traumatized by years of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Paul Bennett, initially cannot bring herself to be physically intimate with another male. This suits Dexter, who believes physical intimacy and closeness might unveil his true personality. He is fond of (and good with) children in general, particularly Rita's children Astor and Cody. But his attachment to Debra, Rita, Astor, and Cody (and later his biological son, Harrison) complicates his double life, causing him to question his "need" to kill.

Dexter's enemies include some of the most vile criminals in Miami: the Ice Truck Killer/Rudy Cooper/Brian Moser, Little Chino, Miguel Prado, the Skinner, Arthur Mitchell/Trinity Killer, Jordan Chase, Travis Marshall, and Isaak Sirko.

At the beginning of the series, Dexter is engaged in Miami Metro's case of the serial killer dubbed "the Ice Truck Killer", who sends Dexter messages, knowing of Dexter's lifestyle as a serial killer. Later, the killer reveals himself to be Rudy Cooper, Debra's boyfriend, a prostethics doctor. Rudy also reveals that he is actually Dexter's biological brother, Brian Moser, who witnessed their mother's murder in a shipping crate. Brian wants the two to kill Debra together, but Dexter intervenes and stops Brian before police arrive at the scene. Later, Dexter traps and kills Brian, making it look like a suicide. He feels guilty for what he has done to his brother who accepted him, and knows Debra would reject him if she knew the truth.

James Doakes becomes even more suspicous of Dexter and begins to follow him everywhere. FBI Agent Frank Lundy comes to Miami to hunt for the Bay Harbor Butcher - who is in fact Dexter - after his victims' bodies are discovered. Dexter also begins sleeping with a woman, Lila, who is aware of Dexter's darkness and becomes fond of it. Dexter tries to keep everything away from his girlfriend, Rita, who also becomes suspicious of Dexter. By the end, Doakes is framed as the Butcher after discovering Dexter's secret. Dexter, despite this, imprisons Doakes within a shed in the swamp, conflicted over what to do with Doakes as Doakes does not fit the Code. Lila, however, discovers and kills Doakes to solve Dexter's dilemma. Rita and Dexter patch up their relationship, Lundy returns home, and Dexter kills Lila in Paris to avenge Doakes (due to the murder she fits the Code) and to repay her for the attempted murder of himself and Rita's children, Astor and Cody.

Dexter begins a friendship with Assistant Senior DA Miguel Prado after accidentally murdering his brother. Debra is promoted to Detective and works a case hunting for a killer known as the Skinner. Dexter soon tries to show Miguel Harry's Code, after Miguel expresses substantial interest in Dexter's pastime. Miguel, however, is unstable (unlike Dexter) and kills Defense Lawyer Ellen Wolf out of hate for her. After this, Dexter follows Miguel around, attempting to find a spot to kill him. Miguel enlists the Skinner's help. Dexter finally kills Miguel and frames the Skinner. On the night before his wedding with Rita, Dexter is captured by the Skinner, but breaks free, shattering his hand in the process, and snaps the Skinner's neck and makes it look like suicide by throwing his body before a moving police car. Dexter gets his broken hand put in a cast and attends his wedding.

Dexter moved to the suburbs to become a family man, and Rita has given birth to a baby boy named Harrison. Special Agent Frank Lundy returns to hunt down the Trinity Killer and begins working with Debra to hunt down Trinity, leading to Debra cheating on Anton with Lundy and shortly after, an unseen assailant shoots them both, killing Lundy. Dexter follows Trinity to his home, where he is surprised to discover that Trinity is a family man named Arthur Mitchell. Using the alias Kyle Butler, Dexter eventually befriends him to learn how Arthur manages to reconcile his family life with his killing urges and utilizes that knowledge to deal with his own issues. Debra discovers that Brian Moser, the Ice Truck Killer, is Dexter's brother. Afterwards, she reveals this information to Dexter. Dexter eventually captures and kills Arthur with a hammer and dumps the body. When Dexter returns home after dealing with Trinity, he finds Harrison sitting on the tile floor in a pool of blood while Rita lies dead in the bathtub, murdered by Trinity.

Astor, blaming Dexter, decides that she wants to live with her grandparents in Orlando, Florida, and she and Cody leave Miami. Dexter hires a nanny named Sonya to care for Harrison. Quinn becomes suspicious of Dexter's unemotional manner after Rita's death and recognizes the similarities between sketches of Kyle Butler and Dexter. Dexter kills Fowler, but the crime is witnessed by Fowler's next victim Lumen Pierce. After being suspended by LaGuerta, Quinn seeks the help of a disgraced fellow officer, to investigate Dexter. Lumen tells Dexter that she was attacked by a group of men and asks for his help for revenge. One by one, the men who attacked Lumen are killed by her and Dexter. Quinn and Debra become romantically involved. Liddy takes pictures of Dexter and Lumen on Dexter's boat disposing of large plastic bags, and a video of them practicing for a kill. Dexter kills Liddy and destroys Liddy's surveillance footage. Dexter learns Lumen has been kidnapped by Jordan Chase and goes after them. He overpowers Jordan, and then allows Lumen to kill Jordan. Lumen no longer feels the need to kill and tearfully admits she needs to move on, leaving Dexter distraught.

María LaGuerta is promoted to Captain after blackmailing Deputy Chief Matthews. Vince Masuka asks an attractive female student, Ryan Chambers, to become his intern, only to have to fire her when she steals the prosthetic hand from the Ice Truck Killer case and sells it on an internet auction site. Masuka quickly hires another intern, Louis Greene, and begs him to fix the problem. Greene claims he made the page the auction was on vanish, but was unable to get the hand back. Later it is revealed that Louis has acquired the prosthetic hand from the Ice Truck Killer case, which he mails to Dexter. Batista's sister Jamie has become Harrison's babysitter and starts dating Louis Greene. The Doomsday Killers (or DDK), Professor James Gellar and his student Travis Marshall seek to bring about the end of the world through killings based on the Book of Revelation. Dexter eventually discovers that Professor Gellar had been killed by Travis three years earlier and now exists only in the latter's mind. Debra attends department-ordered therapy sessions after being involved in a shoot-out. During her sessions, she realizes that she may have romantic feelings for Dexter. She goes to the church (knowing Dexter was doing forensics there) but winds up walking in on him just as he plunges a knife into Travis's chest.

After witnessing Dexter kill Travis Marshall, Debra helps him cover up the murder by setting fire to the crime scene. After discovering a blood slide at Travis Marshall's crime scene, LaGuerta investigates the Bay Harbor Butcher case, potentially tying Dexter to the case. After the end of his relationship with Debra, Quinn gets friendly with a stripper called Nadia. Det. Mike Anderson is murdered by Viktor, a member of the Ukrainian mafia. Later, Dexter kills Viktor. Debra ultimately ransacks Dexter's apartment and discovers his knives and blood slides, causing him to admit to her that he is a serial killer. Debra makes Dexter move in with her to monitor him, so he doesn't kill again. Miami Metro starts investigating Hannah McKay, Wayne Randall's former partner in crime. After investigating Hannah, Dexter intends to kill her, but ends up becoming romantically involved with her. Dexter finds Louis Greene's blood on his boat, confirming Louis is dead. Isaak, who killed Greene, reveals to Dexter that he and Viktor were lovers. The Koshka Brotherhood hire two hit-men to kill Isaak. Debra has a car accident, leading Dexter to believe Hannah poisoned his sister. Dexter gives Debra evidence incriminating Hannah on a murder, resulting in Hannah's arrest. Hannah escapes from prison. Dexter is arrested by LaGuerta for the murder of Hector Estrada (who is still alive), but is released when evidence makes it seem like LaGuerta is trying to frame him. After killing Estrada, Dexter lures LaGuerta to the shipyard to kill her, but Debra appears, shoots and kills LaGuerta.

Six months following LaGuerta's death, a mentally-shattered Debra has quit her job at Miami Metro due to her guilt over the murder. Batista returns from retirement and is promoted to the vacant lieutenant position. Miami Metro investigates a new serial killer, the Brain Surgeon. Psychopath expert Evelyn Vogel reveals to Dexter that she helped Harry create his "Code" and seeks his help, believing that the Brain Surgeon is one of her former patients. Quinn and Jamie begin a relationship. Debra and a hit-man have a violent confrontation, and she later murders him in his car. Dexter takes Debra to her house and leaves her with Vogel for psychiatric treatment.

Early Cuts

Dexter: Early Cuts is an animated web series that premiered on October 25, 2009.[4] Michael C. Hall reprises his role as the voice of Dexter.[5]

KTV Media International Bullseye Art produced and animated the webisodes, working closely with Showtime for sound editing, Interspectacular for direction, and illustrators Kyle Baker, Ty Templeton, Andrés Vera Martínez, and Devin Lawson for creating distinctive illustrations. The webisodes are animated with 2.5D style, where flat 2D illustrations are brought to life in 3D space. The first season was created and written by Dexter producer/writer, Lauren Gussis. She was nominated for a Webby for her writing on the first season.

The first web series precedes the current narrative of the show and revolves around Dexter hunting down the three victims that he mentions in the sixth episode of season 1, "Return to Sender". Each victim's story is split into four two-minute chapters.

A second season of the web series titled Dexter: Early Cuts: Dark Echo, one story in six chapters, premiered on October 25, 2010. It was written by Tim Schlattmann and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack. The story begins immediately following Dexter's adoptive father Harry's death.[6][7]

Production

Exterior filming

Although the series is set in Miami, Florida, many of the exterior scenes are filmed in Long Beach, California. Many landmark buildings and locations in Long Beach are featured throughout the series.

Marketing

In preparation for the UK launch of the series, Fox experimented with an SMS-based viral marketing campaign. Created by digital advertising agency Ralph & Co, and promoted by online PR and social media agency Hot Cherry, unsuspecting mobile phone owners received the following unsolicited SMS messages addressed to them by name with no identifying information other than being from "Dexter": "Hello (name). I'm heading to the UK sooner than you might think. Dexter." The SMS-message would be followed by an email 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 would be worked into the report – the former written in blood on a wall near the crime scene, the latter added to a note in an evidence bag carried past the camera. While the marketing campaign 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, Fox 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.[8]

Cast and crew

Cast

See also: List of Dexter characters
Name Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Dexter Morgan Michael C. Hall Main
Debra Morgan Jennifer Carpenter Main
Angel Batista David Zayas Main
Harry Morgan James Remar Main
Vince Masuka C.S. Lee Recurring Main
Joey Quinn Desmond Harrington Recurring Main
Jamie Batista Aimee Garcia Recurring Main
Thomas Matthews Geoff Pierson Recurring Recurring Main
María LaGuerta Lauren Vélez Main
Rita Bennett Julie Benz Main Guest
James Doakes Erik King Main Guest

Besides Michael C. Hall playing the title character, the show's supporting cast includes Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's adoptive sister and co-worker (and later boss) Debra, and James Remar as Dexter's adoptive father, Harry. Dexter's co-workers include Lauren Vélez as Lieutenant (later Captain) María LaGuerta, Dexter and Debra's supervisor, David Zayas as Detective Sergeant Angel Juan Marcos Batista, and C. S. Lee as lab tech Vince Masuka (promoted to title credits in Season 2). Erik King portrayed the troubled Sgt James Doakes for the first two seasons of the show. Desmond Harrington joined the cast in Season 3 as Joey Quinn; his name was promoted to the title credits as of Season 4. Geoff Pierson plays Captain Tom Matthews of Miami Metro Homicide. Julie Benz starred as Dexter's girlfriend turned wife Rita in Seasons 1–4 with a guest appearance in Season 5. Rita's children Astor and Cody are played by Christina Robinson and Preston Bailey (who replaced Daniel Goldman after the first season). Dexter's infant son Harrison is played by twins, Evan and Luke Kruntchev through season 7. For season 8, Harrison was played by Jadon Wells. Aimee Garcia plays Batista's younger sister, Jamie.[9]

Notable appearances in Season 1 are Christian Camargo as the Ice Truck Killer and Mark Pellegrino as Rita's abusive ex-husband Paul. Jaime Murray portrayed Lila Tournay in Season 2, a beautiful but unhinged, know-it-all, British "artist" who becomes obsessed with Dexter. Keith Carradine, as Special FBI Agent Frank Lundy, and Jimmy Smits, as ADA Miguel Prado, each appeared in season-long character arcs in Seasons 2 and 3, respectively. David Ramsey, who plays confidential informant Anton Briggs in Season 3, returned in Season 4, romantically involved with Debra. John Lithgow joined the cast in season four as the "Trinity Killer". Carradine returned in Season 4, reprising his role as newly retired FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, who was hunting the Trinity Killer. Courtney Ford was featured in Season 4 as an ambitious reporter who mixes business with pleasure, getting romantically involved with Joseph while simultaneously fishing for sources and stories. Julia Stiles joined the cast a little later as Lumen Pierce, a woman who gets involved in a complex relationship with Dexter after the tragedy that culminated the previous season. In the sixth season, Mos Def was cast as Brother Sam, a convicted murderer turned born-again Christian, and Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks guest starred as Professor James Gellar and Travis Marshall who were involved in a murderous apocalyptic cult. The seventh and eighth seasons features multiple guest stars including Ray Stevenson, Jason Gedrick, Yvonne Strahovski, and Charlotte Rampling.

Brad William Henke had a role as amputee victim Tony Tucci in the first season. Margo Martindale had a recurring role as Camilla, a records office worker who was close friends with Dexter's adoptive parents. JoBeth Williams portrays Rita's suspicious mother, Gail Brandon, in four episodes of season 2. Malcolm-Jamal Warner appeared as a family lawyer, and John Marshall Jones appeared as a man who murdered his wife, to be shot by Doakes. Anne Ramsay portrayed defense attorney Ellen Wolf, Miguel's nemesis. Valerie Cruz had a recurring role as Miguel's wife, Sylvia. April Lee Hernández joined the cast early into the fifth season as Cira Manzon, a police "uniform" who was included in an investigation by Debra because of her Hispanic descent and knowledge of Santa Muerte. In season 6, Billy Brown was cast as transferred-in Detective Mike Anderson to replace Debra after her promotion to Lieutenant; Josh Cooke plays Louis Greene, a lab tech and Masuka's intern.

Crew

The main creative forces behind the series were executive producers Daniel Cerone, Clyde Phillips and Melissa Rosenberg; Cerone left the show after its second season. Coming off a record-setting Season 4 finale, executive producer and showrunner Clyde Phillips departed the series to spend more time with his family. 24 co-executive producer Chip Johannessen took over Phillips' post.[10] Head writer Melissa Rosenberg left after Season 4 as well.

After the conclusion of Season 5, it was revealed that Chip Johannessen was departing the show after a single season[11] and that Scott Buck would take over as showrunner from season 6.

Reception

Critical reception

Template:Dexter Metacritic ratings Although reception to individual seasons has varied, the response to Dexter has been mostly positive. The review aggregator website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 for season 1 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.[12] Brian Lowry, who had written one of the three poor reviews Metacritic tallied for the show,[13] recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety after watching the full season.[14]

On Metacritic, Season 2 has a score of 85 with all 11 reviews positive;[15] Season 3 has 78 with 13 reviews;[16] Season 4 has 79 with 14 reviews;[17] Season 5 has a score of 75 with 11 reviews;[18] Season 6 has a score of 63 with 10 reviews;[19] Season 7 has a score of 81 with 7 reviews;[20] Season 8 has a score of 71 with 10 reviews.[21] While remarking on some of the show's more formulaic elements (quirky detective, hero with dense workmates, convenient plot contrivances), Tad Friend of The New Yorker remarked that when Dexter is struggling to connect with Rita or soliciting advice from his victims, "the show finds its voice."[22]

On December 14, 2006, Michael C. Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award at the 64th Golden Globe Awards. In 2008, the show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season (Showtime's first ever drama to be nominated for the award), and its star for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It won neither, losing to Mad Men and to Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston.[23] In 2010, Hall and John Lithgow, in their respective categories, won a Golden Globe for their performances, on the same night, for their work in season four.

The third season finale on December 14, 2008 was watched by 1.51 million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings for any of its original series since 2004, when Nielsen started including original shows on premium channels in its ratings.[24] The fourth season finale aired on December 13, 2009 and was watched by 2.6 million viewers. It broke records for all of Showtime's original series and was their highest rated telecast in over a decade.[25] The fifth season finale was watched by a slightly smaller number of people (2.5 million). The show was declared the ninth highest rated show for the first ten years of IMDb.com Pro (2002–2012).[26] The seventh season as a whole was the highest rated season of Dexter, watched by 6.1 million total weekly viewers across all platforms.[27]

Awards

Main article: List of Dexter awards and nominations

Dexter has been nominated for 25 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning 4), in the category of Outstanding Drama Series 4 times in a row, from 2008 to 2011, and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (for Michael C. Hall) 5 times in a row, from 2008 to 2012. It has also been nominated for 10 Golden Globe Awards (winning 2) and 12 Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning 1).

Broadcast

In Serbia, Dexter is broadcast on FOX Crime, and it is offered with both English Audio and Serbian subtitles. In France, Dexter is broadcast on Canal+ and it is offered with both English and French audio.[28] In India and Pakistan, Dexter is broadcast on STAR World.[29] In Portugal, Dexter is broadcast on the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP [30] and on the cable TV channel Fox Portugal [31] both in its original version with Portuguese subtitles. In Thailand, the series is broadcast on True Series.

Criticism

U.S. broadcast

When U.S. network CBS announced in December 2007 it was considering Dexter for broadcast reruns over the public airwaves, the Parents Television Council (PTC) publicly protested the decision.[32][33] When the network began posting promotional videos of the rebroadcast on YouTube on January 29, 2008, PTC president Timothy F. Winter, in a formal press release, again called for CBS to not broadcast the show on broadcast television, saying that it "should remain on a premium subscription cable network" because "the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn't get discovered.[34] " 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.[35] Following Winter's press release, CBS added parental advisory notices to its broadcast promotions, and ultimately rated Dexter TV-14 for broadcast.[36] The show premiered on February 17, 2008, edited primarily for language and scenes containing sex or the dismemberment of live victims.[37] The PTC later objected to CBS broadcasting the final two episodes of the first season in a two-hour block starting as early as 8 p.m. in some time zones.[38]

Association with actual crimes

Several comparisons and connections between the TV show and its protagonist have been drawn during criminal prosecutions. Andrew Conley said the show inspired him to strangle his 10-year-old brother.[39] In an affidavit filed in Ohio County court, police said Conley stated that he "watches a show called Dexter on Showtime, about a serial killer, and he stated, 'I feel just like him.'"[40]

In Sweden, a 21-year old woman known as "Dexter-mördaren" (The Dexter killer) or "Dexter-kvinnan" (The Dexter woman) killed her 49-year old father by stabbing him in the heart.[41] During questioning, the woman compared herself to Dexter and a picture of the character would appear on her phone when her father called her. In July 2011, she was sentenced to seven years in prison. [42]

In Norway, Shamrez Khan hired Håvard Nyfløt to kill Faiza Ashraf—Nyfløt claimed that Dexter inspired him and he wanted to kill Khan in front of Faiza, similar to the television series, to "stop evil".[43]

Prosecutors compared Christopher Scott Wilson to Dexter when they charged him with the February 2010 first-degree murder of Mackenzie Cowell.[44]

Mark Twitchell

Main article: Mark Twitchell

Association was established between Twitchell, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, during his first-degree murder trial, and the character of Dexter Morgan. After weeks of testimony and gruesome evidence presented in court, Twitchell was found guilty of the planned and deliberate murder of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger on April 12, 2011.[45] Twitchell, an aspiring filmmaker, had adopted the persona "Dexter Morgan" on Facebook and made a movie that was similar to how Dexter operates.[46] Prosecutors alleged that Twitchell had begun a secret double life inspired by Dexter.[47] Twitchell wanted to reenact the life of Dexter Morgan, and after writing a script for a Dexter movie, began posing as a woman online interested in having affairs with married men.[48] Detective Mark Anstey of the Edmonton Police Service was quoted as saying, "We have a lot of information to suggest he definitely idolizes Dexter," and Twitchell had posted a Facebook status stating that he believed he had "way too much in common with Dexter Morgan."[49][50]

Other media

DVD/Blu-ray releases

Video game

A video game based on Dexter developed by Icarus Studios and based on the events of season one, was released on September 13, 2009. It is available for the iPhone platform in the iTunes App Store. The game was released on the iPad on October 15, 2010, and on PC on February 15, 2011. The cast and crew of Dexter have been very supportive, with some of the cast providing full voice work for the game, including Michael C. Hall. The game has received many positive reviews, including an 8.0/10 from IGN. No additional content for the game has been released or announced as planned. Plans to release the game on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 seem to have been cancelled, as there has been no recent information regarding expansion of the game onto these platforms.

Alternative reality game

Showtime launched Dexter Game On during Comic-Con in July 2010. It was a promotion that relied on community involvement. Part of the user's involvement required the user to use the SCVNGR application available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms to complete treks around the five cities the game was available in. The final trek lead to a kill-room where the "Infinity Killer" had recently claimed a victim. A link was found in the room to a (fake) company called "Sleep Superbly", which began an extensive Showtime-maintained alternate reality game that continued until Dexter's fifth season premiere.[59]

The alternate reality game involves players working cooperatively together to help catch the "Infinity Killer" and identify his victims. A number of other characters help. During the game, players communicate with the "Infinity Killer" among many others. The game spans Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, etc. as well as countless unique sites created for the game. There are even phone numbers players can call. The characters and companies are controlled by real people, adding an extra realism and ability for intelligent conversation. In order to maintain a realistic feeling in the game, Showtime does not put their name or advertisements on most sites and pages created for the game.

Soundtrack

Main article: Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series

The music from the Dexter TV series was released on August 28, 2007 in 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 Season 1 and 2.

Gary Calamar, whose company, Go Music, also provides non-score music for True Blood, House and Men of a Certain Age, music supervises Dexter (along with Music Coordinator Alyson Vidoli). The opening title theme was written by Rolfe Kent, and the score is composed by Daniel Licht and orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese.

Merchandise

EMCE Toys has planned the release of action figures based on the series.[60] Dark Horse Comics released a 7-inch bust of Dexter Morgan in March 2010, as part of its Last Toys on the Left series,[61] and released a Trinity Killer Bobble Head in April 2010.[62]

A Dexter board game created by GDC-GameDevCo Ltd was released on September 30, 2010.[63]

There is also a variety of items available from Showtime, including t-shirts, blood slide key rings and coasters, pens made to look like syringes of blood, an apron, mugs and glasses, posters, and even bin bags.[64]

Comic book

Marvel Comics will release a monthly Dexter series in July 2013. The comic books are written by creator Jeff Lindsay and drawn by Dalibor Talajic.[65][66]

See also

References

  1. ^ Andy Ruddock (September 21, 2013). "Vale Dexter, the serial killer who changed the face of TV violence". The Conversation Australia. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  2. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 18, 2013). "Dexter's Done: Showtime Confirms Season 8 Will Be Long-Running Drama's Last". TVLine. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  3. ^ "'Ray Donovan' Delivers Showtime's Highest-Rated Original Series Premiere Ever + 'Dexter' Breaks Premiere Viewership Records". TV by the Numbers.
  4. ^ "Dexter Animated Webisodes, Stills, Trailer". Dread Central.com. October 8, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  5. ^ "Showtime Creating Dexter Prequel as Animated Webisodes". TVWeek.com. July 24, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "Showtime Launches Second Season of Dexter Early Cuts (press release)". thefutoncritic.com. October 25, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  7. ^ "Watch Exclusive Dexter Webisodes, Dexter Early Cuts Dark Echo". Sho.com. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  8. ^ "Dexter Text Message discussion". Designate Online. August 10, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  9. ^ http://tvline.com/2013/02/05/dexter-season-8-cast-aimee-garcia-promoted-series-regular/
  10. ^ Bryant, Adam (December 15, 2009). "Dexter Showrunner Departs the Series". TV Guide. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  11. ^ "Big Change Behind the Scenes for Dexter". December 16, 2010.
  12. ^ "Dexter: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  13. ^ "Dexter". Variety. September 27, 2006. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008.
  14. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 1, 2007). "Looking forward, some no-no's for the New Year". Variety.
  15. ^ "Dexter: Season 2". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
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Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Dexter (TV series).
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