Review thread

[DanaC]

Dexter.

Ok, I read aboutthis and thought it sounded a bit of a reach. Mainly that's because I had only skim read and had completely missed the point. I thne further missed the point when i caught a random five minutes of what looked remarkably like any other cop show.

Then i saw Michael C Hall in an interview and remembered who he was (from six feet under) and that actually he's a bloody good actor who rarely does screen work, mainly does theatre, and is highly unlikely to be in a project that doesn't have some artistic merit.

So, ok, I gave it a go. Watched the first episode and was very pleasantly surprised. Watched the second and thrid and it's now my favourite tv drama. I have to (have to!) read the books it was based on now.

It's deep, multi-levelled, beautifully written and directed, and the acting is stunning. It's dark and funny and tragic, hopeful and witty, and it gets under your skin like a good book. It demands something of its audience. It asks you to take a leap and then rewards you for doing so. It's one of the most intelligent programmes I've seen in a very long time.

The characters are 3 dimensional and varied. Structurally it is more novelistic than a serial usually is. One of the things I misunderstood about the show was its structure. It isn't a new set of the same things every week. It's an ongoing story, much like The Wire is ongoing. Much more engaging and compelling than a weekly case structure.

I'm now halfway through series two (about ten days after starting watching it) and my one fear after watching series one (that the premise wouldnt sustain across multiple series without becoming formulaic. or repetitive) has been more than allayed.

Stunning. I highly recommend anybody who hasnt seen it, watch this show. But watch it from the start, don't dip in because it builds in power and the shape of Dexter's internal landscape is important to understanding the show.