Sunday, October 7, 2007

Watching TV Redux, or How Showtime's Serial Killer Slayed Me

Sunday

9:00 Dexter (Showtime)
So while Network television is great (see my notes on ABC's Pushing Daisies, NBC's 30 Rock or even CBS' How I Met Your Mother) I have always wondered what those crazy kids at Cable were up to - I never really got into The Sopranos or even Six Feet Under (I do enjoy watching Nip/Tuck every once in a while). Which is why I figured that for my 'Watch with Manuel' segment I should include something that hails from the Cable world: enter Netflix. Yes, now that I (finally) joined I was able to browse through and found Dexter's season 2 premiere on their 'Watch Online' must-sees. And so, I watched it. An hour later I was in love with a serial killer. Or maybe just with Michael C. Hall. Yes, that's less creepy - it's all in his voice, which the show uses as a voice-over and an inside to his thoughts and motivations: who knew a serial killer could be so devoid of life, lacking in normal social skills and psychopathic in nature? Okay, I think I answered that question myself. Just as with Nip/Tuck I am always awed by the anesthetization of something gory and bloody. I am the kind of person who looks away during those surgery shots in ER, but I can never turn away from the screen when Julian is doing a nose-job, and I find myself enthralled with Dexter's killing techniques.
So for those of you who don't know Dexter (America's favourite serial killer): when he was a boy Dexter saw his mother brutally murdered, developed a psychopathic nature which his foster-dad nurtured to do good (only kill bad people, he learns): see? Dexter is a hero and a villain. It is all very beautiful - add a romantic interest (Buffy's Julie Benz), a sister and a distrusting cop who he works with (and a season-long serial killer-nemesis) and that sums up the first season. This season begins with Dexter unable to kill. It's just emptiness he feels now - killing fills a void he cannot otherwise alleviate. It's like taking alcohol from an alcoholic, or money-mongering from Fox. I won't spoil the details of the episode, you just need to know that it is quite a ride and it is quite a feat (mostly due to Michael C Hall's performance) for any show to make you care about a serial killer.

Favourite part of the show: "Let's this be a lesson for you" - from a white serial killer to a blind black voodoo serial killer. No irony.

2 comments:

Rebecca Abernethy said...

hey, so after the post a few days ago about "leave a comment!" i think you should do the same for me! i have a blog as well, mainly for friends from home/people who have moved away which includes YOU. i would love to get comments from someone other than my most devoted reader, my friend chelsea.

i also cleverly finally got my blog to link to my profile, for your navigational needs.

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