‘Dexter’ Season 1: THR’s 2006 Review

‘Dexter’ Season 1: THR’s 2006 Review

On Oct. 1, 2006, Showtime premiered the Michael C. Hall-starring Dexter, a crime series that would go on to run for eight seasons and be revived for two spinoff shows. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

Of all the crimefighters in TV history, Dexter is the spookiest. That’s because he is himself a serial killer. Unlike others of his ilk, Dexter has honed his compulsion and focuses only on bad people in Miami who slip through the hands of justice. If the cops can’t catch them or they beat the system, there’s always Dexter.

Although he is the ultimate vigilante in a world with too much crime, it’s nonetheless hard to get attached to Dexter, the creation of novelist Jeff Lindsay. There’s this moral ambiguity about him because he does good by doing bad. There’s also a sense that Dexter is, deep down, a monster who could snap and reverse his pattern. That there is no easy or reflexive response to this character also is a tribute to Michael C. Hall, who is brilliant at conveying the subtle complexity of Dexter. Hall manages to project Dexter’s belief that he is mostly an unapologetic, compulsive but disciplined killing machine while at the same time revealing die character’s undercurrent of deeply disguised emotion.

Dexter, we learn in flashbacks that provide increasing detail in each episode, was adopted by street-smart police Detective Harry Morgan (James Remar), who recognized his son’s unstoppable urge to kill. So before he died, Dad taught young Dexter to focus on criminals and leave no trace of his deeds behind. That’s what Dexter calls “The Code of Harry.” “I’m a very neat monster,” he explains in one of the frequent voice-overs. It’s one of many indications that this 12-episode series is not for the squeamish.

By day, Dexter conveniently works as a blood-spatter expert in forensics for the Miami police. Although interaction with others is a chore, Dexter manages a bland but likable persona. His girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz), is perfect for him. Her ex was violent and abusive, leaving her emotionally scarred and indisposed toward sex. Only his boss, Sgt. Doakes (Erik King), calls Dexter a psycho and a weirdo, to which our hero voices no objection.

In each episode, Dexter metes out his calculated and deadly justice. There’s also a mystery that lasts the entire season involving a counterpart serial killer who essentially challenges Dexter to catch him.

Lindsay set his novel in a Miami that is less glamorous than the one typically seen in TV depictions, and director Michael Cuesta faithfully captures this vision of the city as seen through the eyes of everyday people who live there. James Manos Jr., who adapted the novel, captures its darkness and its occasional subtle humor with vivid dialogue and textured characters.

Regardless of whether Dexter wins a sizable audience for Showtime, it enhances the pay channel’s reputation for challenging fare and TV without limits. — Barry Garron, originally published on Sept. 28, 2006.