REVIEW: This Halloween season, welcome ‘Dexter’ home
Photo: Michael C. Hall returns to the role of Dexter Morgan in Dexter: New Blood. Photo courtesy of Seacia Pavao/SHOWTIME / Provided by press site with permission.
Showtime’s acclaimed serial-killer drama Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall, ran successfully for years on the cable network, and then it returned — like so many TV projects do — for an addendum series, this one called Dexter: New Blood. Now the entire show has been released in a mega box set featuring every episode from the original series, plus the New Blood add-on series.
For the uninitiated, the series follows Dexter Morgan (Hall), a blood splatter specialist for the Miami Police Department. During the day he offers his expert opinion at the scene of some heinous crimes, working alongside his detective sister Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter). His nightly exploits take him to the dark alleyways of the city where he seeks vigilante justice, dispatching his victims in a stylized, bloody manner. He’s not much of an over-thinker about his actions — in fact, he doesn’t seem to show empathy or emotion at all — but one gets the vibe that Dexter likens himself to a Robin Hood-type, only going after bad guys and ridding the world of criminals who escaped the justice system. He’s assisted by the ghostly spirit of his deceased father (James Remar), who knew Dexter was different.
Still, he’s a killer, and in the show that fact needs to stay under wraps. But as each of the eight original seasons clicks by, Dexter faces more and more mounting obstacles. There are the increasingly scrutinizing eyes of Debra, plus their colleagues at the police department, played by David Zayas, Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee and Lauren Vélez. There are also some truly evil serial killers on the loose that become the focus of Dexter’s obsession each season. Their presence is actually one of the masterful creative strokes of the series, which is based on a set of books by Jeff Lindsay; these killer characters provide each season with a new arc and an overall mission for Dexter to accomplish. He dispatches some minor characters each episode, but the seasonal serial killers escape his clutches until usually the season’s finale (and sometimes these killers, like the one played by John Lithgow, eternally escape Dexter’s obsessive scheming).
Dexter: New Blood is a love-it-or-hate-it type of affair. Many longtime fans were happy to have Dexter back on TV and wondering what he had been up to ever since the eighth season finale. Others were of the mindset that if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
The new DVD box set has a number of special features, including audio commentaries with cast and crew, cast interviews and a couple documentaries specifically on New Blood.
For those who have not followed the blood trail yet and binge-watched Dexter, this box set is a welcome treat because it’s an invitation to follow along with the Dark Passenger. There’s no denying that Hall and company created a wonderful series filled with morbid humor, stirring drama, dark twists and turns, and unexpected developments. This one is one to watch.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dexter: The Complete Series + Dexter: New Blood is now available in a DVD box set. Click here for more information.
