Michael C. Hall strikes again!

One thing I have started to like about subscription channels is that lately they’ve been the safest channels to watch. You’ll never see a channel like HBO or Showtime axe a show three episodes into a season… and for that reason it’s easier to get hooked on a show. You feel safe to watch a show and get involved in it, safe to know that you’ll be able to enjoy it at least for a full season before any changes are made. For that reason among others I subscribe to the movie network, happily I might add. In Canada, the movie network pays for this country’s television rights all the big cable shows. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, and all those other great shows. They even got the right to first air Stargate Atlantis episodes which I’ve rather been enjoying lately. I also have a Digital DVR, which means I get On Demand service as well, which means I can watch new episodes of any show anytime I want, so I’m not on a schedule and can watch shows when I have time and not when the TV tells me to. Which brings me to the show which I think will be my new must see every week show…

Over the last few weeks I’ve been watching the first few episodes of the new Showtime series titled “Dexter”. To say the least I am incredibly impressed. The show’s premise alone is ballsy and you would never, ever see a show like this on network television. Dexter is very intreging crime thriller drama. Michael C. Hall (Six Feed Under) again portrays a creepy and very complex character as Dexter, a forensics blood splatter expert with one tiny flaw: he’s a serial killer. He uses his job with police to hunt down other killers who have escaped justice, and uses them to satisfy his own dark urges. Rather than hunt random people, Dexter uses what he has to lash out at other evil men and get the guys that the police are unable to lock away for one reason or another. It’s a sick twist that makes you curious to what’s going to happen next. Is Dexter going to get caught, or does the fact that he only kill bad guys make him a low priority? It’s the kind of show that can only work on stations like Showtime, and is in my humble opinion their new hit.

I’m a huge fan of Michael C. Hall. He was brilliant in Six Feet Under during it’s decent run, and again thrives here playing another interesting character, and gives Dexter an eerie sense of authenticity. I love the way they also use his childhood flashbacks to reveal only a tiny bit of character development at a time. It’s also refreshing to see a crime drama that not only works hard to avoid being formulaic and isn’t just another CSI carbon copy. The fact that Dexter is on paid television also allows the drama to develop more of its gruesome and sensual tones without worrying about boundries. What makes this show so interesting is we literally have no idea where they’re going with this cause they can literally do almost anything with it.

It’s great to see Showtime continue in its string of strong quality dramas. Dexter has become another weekly must-watch show. It’s creepy and not your basic cookie cutter crime drama. I love the fact that its on Showtime cause that means it’s success doesn’t depend on ratings, but subscriptions. Shows like this are why it will be hard for me to let go of my movie channel subscription. I love shows like this and combine that with the Video On Demand system that comes with it, I’ll work a boatload of OT to keep them. As I write this, Ethan is watching the movie ‘Doogal’ on the VOD system. He seems to like it but gets bored around the 45-60 minute mark. Lets me know that he isn’t just ready to see a movie at the theatre just yet, but will be soon.

Getting back to Dexter, if you have access to Showtime (or the movie network in Canada) I would recommend giving it a peek cause it’s a cut above the other crime dramas and so far has been brutal and cold, but in a good way. Dexter may be enacting a sort of vigilante justice, but justice isn’t his reason for killing. He kills for the same reasons his victims do — he’s compelled to. He understands that he’s different than everyone else, so he takes pains to fit in, such as dating a woman even though he feels nothing for anyone, making him a complete sociopath.

What I like most is the potential for future episodes. What would (or most likely will) happen if a co-worker — a police officer who’s trained to sniff out bad guys — or his vice cop foster sister catches on to him? It’s fairly obvious that Dexter will eventually be exposed, but will it be at the end of the series or in the middle to provide more drama? This is clearly one of the more morally ambiguous shows in television history… and it raises a lot of debate. It’s very dark, and in some ways reminds me of Nip/Tuck, only with serial killers instead of plastic surgeons. It’s definitely not for the squeamish, and also not for those who like their heroes stalwart and true. If you like your protagonists very dark, this could be the show for you…

I’m eager to see the next episode, and can get right into this one confident that Showtime will give it at least a year to catch on. No hooks after three episodes for this one… thank goodness.

Peter