"Dexter" Season 1 Review

Recently I started watching the show "Dexter" which began in 2006. "Dexter" is a great example of the many literature to TV adaptations that now exist on television. Needless to say, "Dexter" is a wonderful show. In terms of story, the first two seasons have been fantastic. It has all the necessary twists and turns that one would expect from a show about a serial killer who only kills other murderers. The main character, Dexter, is also an incredibly well developed one, whose past is not only a mystery to the audience, but himself as well.

Some complaints I have with this show are with the supporting characters. I feel as though some of them are not very complex or well developed, and they are acting the way they are because that's how the show needs them to act. LaGuertta, the Lieutenant is one of these characters and so is Dexter's girlfriend. However, I do feel like this improves immensely later on in the second season, which I'm currently watching. Other than that, there is not much I would change.

The show uses some unique elements to present itself as one of those cinematic television shows (which is a direction I hope more and more shows start to go in; "Game of Thrones", "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", "The Walking Dead"). The story is narrated by Dexter, which gives us some deep insight into the mind a serial killer. Narration isn't something you typically see in TV ("Scrubs" comes to mind, but not much else), and it really gives the drama and narrative some extra depth and humor as we can hear what he really thinks about the current predicament, or how emotionless he feels with his girlfriend. The lack of censorship that Showtime provides also adds a level of realism to it; the bodies are gruesome, the language is vulgar, and the blood, well, there's lots of it. All of these things add to the experience overall and make "Dexter" one of my favorite new shows.