The Emmy award-winning and Golden Globe nominated TV series
Dexter is based on the story of Dexter Morgan. Orphaned at the
age of four and harbouring a traumatic secret, Dexter (played by
Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Michael C. Hall of Six Feet
Under fame) is adopted by a officer who recognises
Dexter's homicidal tendencies and guides his son to channel his
gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way
working for the Miami Department as a blood spatter
analyst, visiting crime scenes and helping to solve murders.
However, during out of hours (and with the support of his
her), Dexter focuses on capturing the heinous perpetrators
(including a child molesting-murderer and a drunk driver with a
trail of bodies in his wake), and dispatches them with clinical
precision, thus making him a serial killer who murders serial
killers. By his own admission, Dexter is "a monster", an empty
shell who fakes all human interactions and admits to no real
feelings for anything or anyone, including his foster sister
(Jennifer Carpenter, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose) and his nominal
girlfriend (Julie Benz, Rambo), a former crack addict and
battered spouse who's as disinterested in sex as he is. There's
an explanation for Dexter's weirdness, of course, one so deep and
traumatic that even he isn't aware of it. It's gradually revealed
over the course of the season as he and the cops track down
another fellow monster whose grisly motives both fascinate and
taunt our hero, leading to a genuinely shocking and
squirm-inducing finale. This box set features all 12 episodes
from the show's first season. Extras include audio commentary on
two episodes, a featurette about real-life blood spatter
analysis, and a variety of DVD-ROM items.
From .co.uk
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An interesting and original idea that's very skillfully executed,
Dexter is never less than watchable, often quite compelling and
sometimes thoroughly riveting. As the 12 episodes from the show's
first season reveal, it's also the epitome of "high concept," a
kind of Silence of the Lambs for the C.S.I. generation.
Creator-executive producer James Manos Jr.'s title character, one
Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under
renown), works for the Miami Department as a blood spatter
analyst, visiting crime scenes and helping figure out what
happened. He has an avocation, too: during his off hours, he
tracks down some very, very bad people who for various reasons
have eluded the proper authorities. Seems his adoptive her, a
cop himself, taught the kid how to channel his dark side in a
'positive' direction and so, having captured these evil doers
(including a child molester-murderer and a recidivist drunk
driver with a trail of bodies in his wake), Dex dispatches them
with clinical precision, thus making him a serial killer who
snuffs serial killers.
But there's more--much more, as it turns out. By his own
description, Dexter is 'a monster,' an empty shell who fakes all
human interactions and admits to no real feelings for anything or
anyone, including his foster sister (Jennifer Carter) and his
nominal girlfriend (Julie Benz), a former crack addict and
battered spouse who's as uninterested in sex as he is. There's an
explanation for Dexter's weirdness, of course, one so deep and
traumatic that even he isn't aware of it. It's gradually revealed
over the course of the season as he and the cops (who include
Erik King, Lauren Velez, and David Zayas, all first-rate) track
down the so-called 'Ice Truck Killer,' a fellow monster whose
grisly m.o. both fascinates and taunts our hero, leading to a
genuinely shocking and squirm-inducing finale. Dexter can be a
bit arch, with an ironic, too-hip-for-the-room tone that get a
little old. Still, it's a safe bet that anyone who views this
first season will be salivating for the second. --Sam Graham