Dexter

During this period of extreme TV-watching, I decided to try out Dexter. My father watched the first season when it originally ran, but I had no time for it, and no Showtime. As I watched the first episode, I could tell that it was going to be fantastic, and I watched the first 8 episodes, which lead up to a most important revelation, in 2 days. Sadly, I had to fly to Paris the next day (for a week), and while I was gone, my roommates started watching it on their own. I had told them what a great show it was, so they gave it a chance. Luckily, I called from Paris and found out that they were up to episode 8 and I had to beg them to wait for me to watch the rest! On the flight home, I was excited not only to get back to my apartment, but to finish up the season before going home for Christmas festivities. When I walked in the door, though I was exhausted, I sat down and we watched the next two episodes, went to sleep, and finished the season before driving home.
What a great first season! Based on the book by Jeff Lindsey, the first season of Dexter runs 12 episodes. As the season moves through the episodes, the characters are established and developed very well, and the storylines are wonderfully suspenseful.
It's an interesting idea to base a show on a serial killer, and have viewers watch the show from his point of view. Did I want him to kill his victims? Usually, the answer was yes, both because they were horrible people, and because I wanted Dexter to have his satisfaction. Which is twisted. In some ways, it reminded me of The Sopranos, or any other gangster/mafia film in which the audience grows fond of the bad guy. But how often were those bad guys making a ritual out of slicing up bodies and becoming jealous of another killer's method?