Dexter on Showtime

like this show a lot - yes you do see plot twists coming a mile away but it's usually pretty funny and I really really like the Dexter character. Maybe that's a weakness though. I feel as if Dexter should be a bit more unlikeable than he is but he's not, not even when he was being a complete idiot last season with Lila and Doakes. mostly he just comes off as trying too hard.

the female characters on the other hand... ugh. They can't seem to write one who isn't irritating as fuck - Maria, Rita and Deb have grown on me but they still can be pretty annoying in their own ways. see also the IA chick who's currently hassling Deb.

Nobody in this show has any friends. Deb has to tell Dex about her sex life because she doesn't have any friends. It's as though they all live in a great microcosm.

love this show immensely. esp opening sequence. puurffect.

Just caught up with the show this summer, tore through it pretty fast. Season 1 was probably the best, and season 2 was probably just a little bit less good, but Doakes' angle and, surprisingly, Lila, was pretty entertaining. Season 3 OTOH was just slightly above mediocre - I place the blame largely on Jimmy Smits for being so one-note, but even so, the writers didn't really come up with anything really compelling towards the end like they did for the first two seasons. I've definitely grown to like the cast a lot, though Hall and Benz were pretty excellent from the beginning.

Also, super lame DVD extra alert - on the last season 3 disc, instead of including cast interviews, they put on two episodes of The United States of Tara. They actually weren't bad, but you actually had to put the disc into a computer so it led you to a WEBSITE to watch a streaming flash clip of the interviews, lazily edited. Pff.

Definitely enjoy the show, but I almost can't believe they're managed to stretch the premise out to (now) a fourth season.

(and yes, it quite possibly is the best opening sequence ever)

I haven't seen Season 3 yet ... it should be out on DVD soon. I loved the first two seasons ... I think I even cried a couple times.

but then I also cried when Chris Keller fell off the balcony in the final episode of Oz, so I guess I have some weird sympathy for sociopaths.

was really turned off to this show by the first ep (too grim? i dunno), then i gave it another chance & loved the hell out of the first season. never got around to watching the 2nd, though i'd like to check it out. i guess the books its based on are not so good?

never read the books but they're pretty popular in their own right and from some of the plot spoilers, it seems that they go in a slightly darker direction than the series.

season 3 was pretty terrible imo but i'm looking forward to season 4 because John Lithgow as a serial killer is just abt the greatest idea ever (though maybe they should've gone with Kelsey Grammer).

Kinda annoyed with myself for watching the pre-air of s04e01 i wont see a new ep for over a month

i mentally put this show in the same category as house, m.d. in that (a) both shows have a conventionally unlikeable and mentally unbalanced title character; and (b) both shows are dramas that are funnier than most so-called comedies.

Weird, I thought season 3 was the best one of the bunch.

Just finished the first disc of season 3, and it took me a couple episodes to get back into it. I liked 1&2 quite a bit. It's such an over-the-top cartoony show but once I accept that it gets much more enjoyable.

Also it kind of freaks me out when Dexter's voiceover says things about his personality that fit me pretty exactly, as I am not a murderous sociopath. I just really like to be quiet and alone sometimes.

Am about 5 episodes into season 3 ... kinda a let down from the previous two, though the last one is pretty hard to top. I recently watched that movie Obsessed where Idris Elba is stalked by a psycho white temp, and she just did not compare to Lila.

I have caught this series and I find it addictive. Michael C. Hall is a captivating actor.
What do you all think?

Everyone will disagree with me, but season 3 > 1 > 2. The Miguel character just kept cracking me up the whole season. Hilarious.

Could not stand Lila. Or Doaks.

I'm amazed how I fall for the will-Dexter-be-caught? dance every fucking time.

i like it too -- though i'm definitely glad they resolved this thing within two episodes instead of stretching it out. i'm sure we'll get more of these things as the season goes on, though. definitely getting a better vibe from this, so far, than season 3.

i'm not in love with the dad-hallucinations (either last season, or in their increased usage, this season)

yeah, they're definitely not nearly as good as the more comic book-origin style flashbacks from season 1 and 2

This is getting pretty bad imo. Oh no, Im really worried about guys from the neighbourhood catching me sneaking around and being suspicious and shit because Im a serial killer! So I should obvs sneak around the neighbourhood in a creepy mask and break in to someones house and wear my serial killer outfit. Duh.

Honestly kind of feel this show would be more interesting right now if it was just Lundy and the cops going after John Lithgow, have the show be about him or something. Getting irritated at what an emotional retard they keep making Dexter, like at the start he was supposed to be a high functioning cold and calculating serial killer - he should know the things to say to people because he has it figured out, even if its just an act. Instead its like some awkward social comedy shit and for no real reason. I know hes supposed to be struggling right now but I feel its a little aimless and its no good if you're just hoping he'll get drawn in to mystery of this serial killer rather than dealing with some mundane shit.

I think you are missing the point. Yes, Dexter is losing his mojo, suburban life is interfering with his abilities, that has been apparent since the first episode of the season. The married life, the kids, those concerns are clouding his judgment. He sneaks around the neighborhood (not in a serial killer outfit, but a black one for the dark, and a mask so the kid can't tell who he is) because is trying to secure his privacy in the community. He makes mistakes that he wouldn't have made before because his priority is keeping his home life safe, keeping his family out of his affairs, not catching bad guys. I think after three seasons of Dexter beating the odds, the show is allowed a small suspension of disbelief (it's only the 3rd episode of the season). IMO this continues to be the best written show on television.

er....I meant that his priority is keeping his home life safe and keeping his family out of his affairs, not catching bad guys.

I dont think I'm missing the point, I just think it's stupid and he's not supposed to be that stupid. Kind of a stupid thing to risk, getting chased round the neighbourhood by all your neighbours, to secure yr own privacy surely. He wears the same clothes and gloves etc he uses for his killings, just adds a mask on top. Why risk getting caught like that, when it's obvious yr doing something shady when you could actually just sneak around under the pretence of neighbourhood watch? Serial killer 101 surely. His mistakes may well be legitimate because of what you say, I just dont think they're particularly entertaining and the subplots are slightly tiresome. They always have him struggle with things when it suits them because of the function of the show, he has to be more emotional than he might, which has always irked me a little.

Dont think it's ever been the greatest written show tho.

Sorry if Im tired and not much sense is getting through here, trying to avoid anything getting monstrously long

dexter is tired from babies and concussions

Even so it's still kind of weak. I read a review which nailed it, which said something like: when did this become an episode of Desperate Housewives? This is the "edgy" shit we're getting now? Especially thinking back to the "killer of the week" stuff from the first two seasons.

That said, Lithgow is great, and those parts of the story are still really entertaining. I'm wondering how they're gonna stretch out his third kill into nine episodes, and if it's at all possible that Lundy will survive this (too bad because his interactions with Dexter are still fun to watch). And because of this side, I'm pretty sure it'll still be good and better than last year, at the very least.

Deb. ;_; she's so horribly fucked-up, poor thing.

Getting irritated at what an emotional retard they keep making Dexter, like at the start he was supposed to be a high functioning cold and calculating serial killer - he should know the things to say to people because he has it figured out, even if its just an act.

I hate it when they do this too because they seem to pick and choose at random which parts of everyday interaction Dexter's good at, and which parts he isn't and it's never a consistent thing - he can flirt with trigger-happy cop just fine but small talk with the neighbours? Awkward!

the only things saving his character imo are Michael C Hall's performance (which remains compellingly sad and funny and creepy all at once) and the fact that they've made Rita even dumber than Dexter. Seriously, he might as well come out and tell her he's a serial killer - don't see how that's much worse than all the other lies she's caught him in and the lame excuses he gives her that she somehow continues to believe in (ok this week maybe not so much, but come on you know they're just making us think his marriage is in jeopardy when it really isn't).

Contrary to that episode with the community vandal, the last two episodes have really gotten back to form - especially the one with the lady cop who murdered her family, it was a throwback to the earlier seasons, really entertaining. This past episode was pretty good too, though I agree somewhat that the whole episode was just waiting for the twist at the end, I really liked Carpenter's performance, and that twist WAS good (I've really been wondering how they can keep the Trinity storyline going if he only kills three people and moves on, when we have half the season left...)

You're right about the weird confusion regarding Dexter's interaction skills, and part of why that particular neighborhood episode was so bad. I actually somewhat liked this in this week's episode though - there's definite ambiguity, on a broad level, on how much Dexter's actually feeling or just playing out the motions in reacting to everyone - is he actually becoming more of a real person, or getting worse and unsure at faking his persona due to this emotional reaction? Is it actually an emotional reaction? Not sure if this the writers have a sure grasp on this, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt in this case, and the performance is really good in any case.

Lithgow continues to be fantastic, too.

Guys, this weekend's episode had the single most terrifying moment I have seen on Dexter.

worse than nude lithgow?

Terrifying in a different way.

Agreed. Best episode of the season so far.

Episode was fantastic. Probably the most terror we've seen in the show in ages, if ever, like Mordy says. I'm initially having a dreadful reaction to the huge twist in the last scene, but let's see how that plays out...

Yeah I thought this was the best episode in ages until the very last scene too.

They might be overdoing the last-minute plot twists this season a bit - there seems to be one every couple of episodes now.

Is there a way to watch this online?

god john lithgow is creepy. this show has gotten so much better since the awful start of the season.

in other news, deb still can't catch a break. girl seriously needs a happy storyline. although knowing this show, that prob means she's gonna end up with quinn. :/

her performance has definitely been the best since the first season, though! i am afraid they're going for her hooking up w/quinn as you say, though. still - such a great season.

Yeah. Definitely better than the last two seasons.

I can't believe it's over this Sunday.

fucking FUCK. devastating finale.

OK, I did not see that coming at all. HFS

: o

wow ;_;

really really did not see that coming. damn.

The final is indeed awesome, fucked up, kinda inevitable and fitting.

Apparently he has Hodgkins but is in recovery. (My mom had nit too. It has a very high recovery rate.)

After watching the whole season, I believe I have traced the shark jump moment to when...

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER Lundy gets killed. SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

huh - to me that's exactly when the season turned around and got good!

I felt like taking that tension out of the show just deflated all of the subplots. it was a great moment, but the result was that it flattened everything out. there were so many uninteresting and unrelated subplots pursued after that episode, like they just didn't have enough story to fill up 8 more episodes. every time they showed that reporter, I cringed and rolled my eyes. the Laguerta/Batista story was second rate melodrama. I can only hope that the crazy events in the finale lead to a more interesting show as opposed to a more dramatic one.

MORE SPOILERS FOLLOW...

My idea for the next season would be to skip forward about five or ten years, with Dex an addict in recovery, raising his kid (assuming the other two kids just went to the mom or the ex's parents) and faced with something either too sweet to pass up, or being toyed with by some evil genius.

Do people who don't want ***SPOILERS*** actually read the thread?

The will-Deb-find-out? twist will probably be next season's long arc, with the usual killings thrown in. Actually, with the S3 ending it'll be more of a will-the-department-find-out arc.

Dexter Producer: Showtime Wouldn’t Let Us Kill Dexter

The Dexter series finale enraged many fans for many reasons; chief among them was the fact that Dexter lived — and became a logger? — despite having driven his boat into a hurricane. "How about that finale?" said Dexter producer John Goldwyn at the NYFF premiere of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty this weekend, when we asked how the writers decided on that ending. "They won't let us kill him," he told us. "Showtime was very clear about that. When we told them the arc for the last season, they just said, 'Just to be clear, he's going to live.' There were a lot of endings discussed because it was a very interesting problem to solve, to bring it to a close. People have a relationship with Dexter, even if it doesn't have the size and the ferocity of the fan base for Breaking Bad. But it has a very core loyal following." Yes, and a mostly disappointed one.

Inevitable. The IP must be fed

‘Dexter’: Showtime Revives Serial Killer Drama As Limited Series, Michael C. Hall & Clyde Phillips Return
https://deadline.com/2020/10/dexter-showtime-reboot-limited-michael-c-hall-clyde-phillips-1234597514/

I guess that's why Showtime wouldn't let them kill him. Can't imagine a revival not sucking

Boooooooooo. Why

Maybe they got tired of seeing the show reduced to a footnote for one of the worst series finales of all time.

Forgive the thread spam, but I wanted to note that this show's 2021 season is nominated in the ILX TV poll, with voting ending this weekend:

ILX's Best Television of 2021 Poll / VOTING AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD / Voting Ends After January 31, 2022

If you like this show and you'd like to see it have a good showing in the poll (running in February) all you need to do is submit a ballot including it and your other favorites (3 minimum, 25 maximum, ranked by your favorite to least favorite) to forksclovetofu at gmail. It'll take five minutes; get to it!