2008 Woodie Awards
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Bloody, brilliant 'Dexter' breathes life into CBS
TV Review
by Matt Sevits | Pulse Editor
Dexter Morgan wears a mask - not a literal mask, but a metaphorical one. To the everyday world he's a talented (if slightly odd) blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department, but by night he's a cold-blooded serial killer. And you know what? Serial killing can be a very sexy thing.
From the very start, Showtime's cult drama "Dexter," which makes its network TV debut this Sunday on CBS, flips the crime genre on its head; by featuring a killer as its main character, the show is asking audiences to root for someone working outside the law, and Dexter's position on the police force puts him in a particularly unique situation.
Despite Dexter's dark secret, it's impossible not to like him; after all, he's played by the irresistible and charming Michael C. Hall. The fact that Dexter has a moral code, one that forces him to kill only murderers, makes it even easier to accept him.
Even as he's striking down victims or playing a cat-and-mouse game with a fellow serial killer, Dexter is captivating and seductive without even trying. His actions exude a quality of necessity and immediacy - as if killing is a replacement for a normal human's primal sexual urges. Dexter even plainly states that he kills because he has to.
Amidst all the killing, "Dexter" is a compelling human drama. Dexter doesn't have emotions (or at least not to the degree that most people do), so watching him feels like watching an alien learning how to be human. His position outside the realm of typical humanity gives him a keen perspective into the human condition, allowing for a depth of insight and character development not present in most shows.
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Despite Dexter's dark secret, it's impossible not to like him; after all, he's played by the irresistible and charming Michael C. Hall. The fact that Dexter has a moral code, one that forces him to kill only murderers, makes it even easier to accept him.
Even as he's striking down victims or playing a cat-and-mouse game with a fellow serial killer, Dexter is captivating and seductive without even trying. His actions exude a quality of necessity and immediacy - as if killing is a replacement for a normal human's primal sexual urges. Dexter even plainly states that he kills because he has to.
Amidst all the killing, "Dexter" is a compelling human drama. Dexter doesn't have emotions (or at least not to the degree that most people do), so watching him feels like watching an alien learning how to be human. His position outside the realm of typical humanity gives him a keen perspective into the human condition, allowing for a depth of insight and character development not present in most shows.
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