Dexter: Cutting edge teevee

Let’s just get this out of the way right up front: Showtime’s Dexter is the best show on television. Brilliantly written, beautifully filmed, addictive. Dark, scary, hilarious. Boldly going where no television series has gone before.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a TV series in which the hero was a serial killer. Not just the main character (although I can’t think of one of those, either) — the HERO. Dexter Morgan is. Witnessing his mother’s brutal murder when he was a small child left him permanently damaged, with an inherent need to kill somebody. Yeah, we all feel like that now and then — If I could just kill somebody, I’d feel so much better! —but with Dexter, it’s a good bit stronger. He feels the need, the need to bleed.

Dexter’s foster dad, Harry, is very much part of the story line, even though he died several years ago. In a case of mind-blowingly bad judgement, Harry decided that guiding the young Dexter along a path of selective murder would be a healthier choice than intensive, long-term psychotherapy. Perhaps Harry had the same amount of luck with therapists that I’ve had. So it really isn’t Dexter’s fault he is the way he is; blame the misguided counseling of a loving father. Ironically, last season Dexter learned that rather than dying from a heart attack as he’d believed, his dad had committed suicide soon after walking in on Dexter during a slice-&-dice session. It seems Harry couldn’t live with himself after seeing the monster he’d created at work. Thanks, Dad!

Season 2 ended with Dexter on a high note — permanently rid of both psycho bitch Lila and arch-nemesis Det. Doakes, reunited with girlfriend Rita and her kids, and cleared of any connection to the Bay Harbor Butcher. Discovering the truth about Harry was liberating for Dexter, who no longers feels pressured to live by Harry’s “code.” There was no cliff-hanger, nothing to draw us back but the craving for twisted brilliance. It was enough.

Season 3 is off to a great start. Dental hygiene, murder, sex, pancakes — all in the first 10 minutes! Dexter is one of the few shows for which I step away from the computer and take a seat on the couch. Feeling the weight of responsibility (this is, after all, my debut post here on STV), I armed myself with pen and paper. I meant to take notes, I really did. Here’s what I got down:

Quinn is HAWT.

Deb Morgan needs to eat a sandwich or five.

Yeah, so note-taking during Dexter? Not gonna happen. Good thing I remember every little thing! Because just when Dexter was getting comfortable with a non-dramatic life, damned if he didn’t accidentally kill the wrong person. Intending to take out a murderous scumbag selling drugs to kids, Dexter interrupted a struggle between his chosen victim and a mystery man. Next thing he knew, he was fighting for his life, and had to kill the mystery man in self-defense. Meanwhile, the drug dealer escaped to slay again. Now Dexter is desperately trying to find something bad about the victim to soothe his guilt.

Jimmy Smits has joined the cast this season, in the role of Assistant DA Miguel Prado, a member of a prominent and highly-regarded Miami family. So far, his character is interesting and appealing, and Smits is a nice mature-eye-candy replacement for last season’s Keith Carradine. Prado and Dexter have been brought together by the investigation of the accidental murder (the victim was Prado’s younger brother), and are bonding quite nicely. I like the chemistry between them, and look forward to seeing how this plotline unfolds.

And I’m loving the screen time my two favorite supporting players — Angel Batista (David Zayas) and Vincent Masuka (C.S. Lee)  — are getting now! Batista has been promoted to Detective Sergeant, making him Deb Morgan’s boss, which is not working in her favor as much as Dexter’s ambitious sister expected. Masuka is nagging Dexter to critique an article he’s written for submission to a professional publication. There was also less screen time for Deb, who is by far my least favorite character. In fact, the only time Dexter has ever disappointed me was when the Ice Truck Killer didn’t off Deb.

In true Dexter fashion, the last five minutes of the episode delivered a punch, as Rita gasped to Dexter that she might be pregnant. The big surprise there for me was that Rita hadn’t insisted on protection when having sex with a man she believes to be a recovering drug addict — not to mention his dalliance with sleazehag Lila. Then again, Rita’s never struck me as particularly bright, which I suspect is partly why Dexter is willing to risk a relationship with her. I will NOT be pleased if a pregnancy is part of the storyline. Deeply Domesticated Dexter does not appeal.