Diary of a Dexter Newbie

Even though the television schedule is way less empty during summer than it was going back before the predominance of Cable (like AMC and SciFi) and Premium (HBO, Showtime) channels, summer still tends to be a bit of a television dry spell for me. This is good. It allows me to do things like catch up on Heroes, or even drift into a whole new show. For now, that show is Dexter. From time to time, when the big things start to develop and at season finales, I'll post on here about the Dexter journey.




I knew very little about this show going into it. I know Michael C. Hall starred as some sort of bad-guy killing serial killer, and that Darla from Angel was on it. That could be the full extent. Having just finished the pilot, here are a few, gut reactions.

• Wow. That show is dark. I mean, I knew there'd be murders and blood and guts, but Darla as a domestic abuse victim dating a man who enjoys cutting people up? D.A.R.K.
• Michael C. Hall reminds me a bit of a bizarro world Andy from Weeds. They have a disturbingly similar line delivery and easy hotness. Of course, Dexter couldn't be less like Andy... I think.
• Also, Michael C. Hall is disturbingly hot as Dexter. I didn't think I could find him attractive, per se, after Six Feet Under, and am disturbed to find this show proving me wrong. I feel like it's just cruel to put the man in those tight shirts while he butchers people. It reminds me a lot of American Psycho.
• Does the Darla-effect with Julie Benz ever go away? It's not that I think her Rita Bennet isn't an interesting, fascinating character, but every time Benz puts on her scared, frail face, I expect her to turn away from camera for a second and then come back with fangs. It just seems like a fake show of sincerty to make suckers like Lindsay feel sorry for her. I don't even think Benz herself is doing a bad job; I'm just wondering, from other Buffy and Dexter fans, will I get over this?
• I really, really liked that pilot, and I didn't really expect to. It's practically impossible to judge how a show will wear on you from a pilot (I've far too often hated pilots of great shows and liked those of shows that would quickly peter away) but I must say this one was really strong: good acting, writing, directing, and a definite unique, fascinating point of view that keeps me wanting to come back for more.

In future Diary entries, I'll go more into plot and my predictions for the future, but as for now here's a beginning to my new summer feature "Diary of a Dexter Newbie."

Fun fact for those of you looking to play along with the Dexter watching at home, it's available for free via Netflix Watch Instantly (yet another great reason to get a Netflix subscription).