Dexter structures his killing around "Harry's code", a body of ethics and procedures devised by his adoptive father Harry Morgan (who was a Miami cop) to make sure Dexter never gets caught and to ensure that Dexter kills only morally wrong people. Harry also trained Dexter in how to interact convincingly with other people despite his dissociative mental illness, which Harry believed to be psychopathy, arising from Dexter witnessing the brutal murder of his biological mother, Laura Moser. As an adult, Dexter has largely escaped suspicion (with some exceptions) by being genial and generous and maintaining generally superficial relationships. However, his attachment to his foster (and ultimately adoptive) sister, Debra, his girlfriend (later wife), Rita, his stepchildren, Astor and Cody, and later his biological son, Harrison, have all complicated his double life and made him question his need to kill. In fact, in the first season, his relationship with Rita set in motion the slow but steady humanization of Dexter, progressing further with each season, as Dexter begins to experience a variety of emotions for the first time in decades.
In February 2008, syndicated (edited down to a TV-14 rating) reruns began to air on CBS. The series has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and popularity. Season 4 aired its season finale on December 13, 2009 to a record-breaking audience of 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched original series episode ever on Showtime. Michael C. Hall has received several awards and nominations for his portrayal of Dexter, including a Golden Globe. The series was picked up by Showtime for a sixth season, which was not billed as being the final season, leaving possibilities open for a seventh. The sixth season is set to start airing October 2, 2011 at 9:00pm (EST/PST). This show is rated TV-MA-L,S,V (AC, GL, GV, BN) on Showtime.
Cast and crew
Dexter characters
Besides Michael C. Hall, the show's principal cast includes Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's adoptive sister, Detective Debra Morgan, and James Remar as Dexter's deceased father Harry. Dexter's co-workers include Lauren Vélez as Lt. María LaGuerta, Dexter and Debra's supervisor, David Zayas as Detective Sergeant Angel Juan Marcos Batista, and C.S. Lee as lab tech Vince Masuka (promoted to title credits as of Season 2). Julie Benz starred as Dexter's girlfriend turned wife Rita Morgan in seasons 1–4. Rita's children Astor and Cody are played by Christina Robinson and Preston Bailey (who replaced Daniel Goldman after the first season). Erik King portrayed the troubled Sgt. James Doakes for the first two seasons of the show. Desmond Harrington joined the cast in Season 3 as Detective Joseph Quinn; his name was promoted to the title credits as of Season 4. Keith Carradine, as Special FBI Agent Frank Lundy, and Jimmy Smits, as ADA Miguel Prado, each appeared in season-long character arcs in seasons 2 and 3, respectively. John Lithgow joined the cast in season four as the "Trinity Killer". Carradine returned in Season 4, reprising his role as newly retired FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, who was hunting the Trinity Killer.
Notable appearances in Season 1 are Christian Camargo as the Ice Truck Killer, and Mark Pellegrino, as Rita's abusive ex-husband Paul. Brad William Henke had a role as amputee victim Tony Tucci in the first season as well. Margo Martindale had a recurring role as Camilla, a records office worker who was close friends with Dexter's adoptive parents. Geoff Pierson plays Captain Tom Matthews of Miami Metro Homicide. Jaime Murray portrayed Lila Tournay in Season 2, a beautiful but unhinged British artist who becomes obsessed with Dexter. Malcolm-Jamal Warner appeared as a family lawyer, and John Marshall Jones appeared as a man who murdered his wife, to be shot by Doakes. Anne Ramsay portrayed defense attorney Ellen Wolf, Miguel's arch-nemesis. Valerie Cruz had a recurring role as Miguel's wife, Sylvia. David Ramsey, who plays confidential informant Anton Briggs in Season 3, returned in Season 4, romantically involved with Debra. Courtney Ford was featured as an ambitious reporter who mixes business with pleasure, getting romantically involved with Joseph while simultaneously fishing for sources and stories. April L. Hernandez joined the cast early into the fifth season as Cira Manzon, a police "uniform" who was included in an investigation by Debra Morgan because of her hispanic descent and knowledge of Santa Muerte. Julia Stiles joined the cast a little later as Lumen Pierce, a woman who gets involved in a complex relationship with Dexter after the tragedy that culminated the previous season.
Crew
The main creative forces behind the series were executive producers Daniel Cerone, Clyde Phillips and Melissa Rosenberg; Cerone left the show after its second season. Coming off a record-setting Season 4 finale, executive producer and showrunner Clyde Phillips departed the series to spend more time with his family. 24 co-executive producer Chip Johannessen took over Phillips' post. Head writer Melissa Rosenberg left after Season 4 as well.
After the conclusion of Season 5, it was revealed that Chip Johannessen was departing the show after a single season and that Scott Buck would be taking over as showrunner from season 6.
Plot
Dexter episodes
For the seasonal plots, see Dexter (season 1), Dexter (season 2), Dexter (season 3), Dexter (season 4), Dexter (season 5) and Dexter (season 6)
Series outset
Orphaned at the age of three due to the murder of his mother, Dexter Morgan is adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan and his wife Doris. After discovering that young Dexter has been killing a multitude of neighborhood pets for several years, Harry tells Dexter that he believes the need to kill "got into" him at too young of an age, and that he believes Dexter's need to kill will only grow. To keep Dexter from killing innocent people, Harry begins teaching Dexter "The Code." In this code, Dexter's victims must be killers themselves who have killed someone without justifiable cause and will likely do so again. Dexter must also always be sure that his target is guilty, and thus, frequently goes to extreme lengths to get undeniable proof of his victim's guilt. Most importantly, Dexter must never get caught. Flashbacks throughout the series show Harry, who died several years before, instructing Dexter on how to fake human behaviour, how to cover his tracks after a kill, and even how to stranglehold a target to knock them out and capture them.
Dexter has followed The Code religiously to satisfy his "Dark Passenger" (the name he has assigned to his urge to kill). Like many serial killers, he keeps trophies; before dispatching a wrongdoer, Dexter makes an incision on their cheek with a scalpel and collects a blood sample, which he preserves on a blood slide. He stores his collection in a box concealed inside his air conditioner.
In the beginning of the series, Dexter states that he has no emotions, and he has to work non-stop to appear normal and blend in with the other people around him. Initially, Dexter is (with varying success) able to fake 'normal' emotions and maintain his appearance as an unremarkable friend and neighbor. He does maintain a few personal relationships early on, stating that he is "fond" of his adoptive sister Debra. She is unaware of Harry's training or Dexter's secret life, but harbors lingering jealousy of the perceived preferential treatment Harry gave Dexter. As part of his "disguise" in season one, Dexter dates a woman named Rita who is too traumatized from years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Paul Bennett, to be intimate with Dexter. This suits Dexter, who believes getting intimate will reveal his darker side to Rita. He is fond of (and good with) children in general, particularly Rita's two children, Astor and Cody. Dexter is an atheist.(revealed in the 1st episode of Season 6)
Early Cuts
Dexter: Early Cuts, is an animated web series, that premiered on October 25, 2009. Michael C. Hall reprises his role as the voice of Dexter.
KTV Media International Bullseye Art produced and animated the webisodes, working closely with Showtime for sound editing, Interspectacular for direction, and illustrators Kyle Baker, Ty Templeton, Andrés Vera Martínez, and Devin Lawson for creating distinctive illustrations. The webisodes are animated with 2.5D style, where flat 2D illustrations are brought to life in 3D space. The first season was created and written by Dexter producer/writer, Lauren Gussis. She was nominated for a Webby for her writing on the first season.
The first web series precedes the current narrative of the show and revolves around Dexter hunting down the three victims that he mentions in the sixth episode of season 1, "Return to Sender". Each victim's story is split into four two-minute chapters.
A second season of the web series titled Dexter: Early Cuts: Dark Echo, one story in six chapters, premiered on October 25, 2010. It was written by Tim Schlattmann and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack. The story begins immediately following Dexter's adoptive father Harry's death.
Title sequence
Dexter's opening title sequence features Dexter's morning routine, from waking up to leaving his apartment for work. The elements of the routine, i.e., shaving, flossing, dressing, preparing breakfast (the oranges he juices are blood oranges), and eating are used visually to evoke Dexter's sinister nature. Per television critic Jim Emerson, "The first time you see it... it tells you everything you need to know about the character."
The series won an Emmy Award in 2007 for "Outstanding Main Title Design", and the title music was nominated for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music". The title design and music were created by Digital Kitchen, the same production company responsible for the main titles on True Blood, Nip/Tuck, and Six Feet Under (also starring Michael C Hall).
In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the show’s opening title sequence ranked #7 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.
In the last episode of the show's 2nd season, the title is redone to show that it is Dexter's routine the day after his crimes are pinned on his coworker, Sergeant James Doakes. The title sequence shows Dexter's freedom after he is out from under the pressure of getting caught.
Reception
Critical reception
The initial response to Dexter was positive. The website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 for season 1 based on 27 reviews, making it the third-best reviewed show of the 2006 fall season. This score includes four 100% scores from the New York Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and People Weekly. Brian Lowry, who had written one of the three poor reviews Metacritic tallied for the show, recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety after watching the full season. On Metacritic Season 2 has a score of 85 with all 11 reviews positive, season 3 has 78 with 13 reviews and season 4 has 79 with 14 reviews. While remarking on some of the show's more formulaic elements (quirky detective, hero with dense workmates, convenient plot contrivances), Tad Friend of The New Yorker remarked that when Dexter is struggling to connect with Rita or soliciting advice from his victims, "the show finds its voice."
On December 14, 2006, Michael C. Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor in a Television Drama Series for playing Dexter. He was also renominated and won the Golden Globe Award for his role as Dexter at the 2010 ceremony. The show was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season (Showtime's first ever drama to be nominated for the award), and its star for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It won neither, losing to Mad Men and to Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston. In 2008, it won a Scream Award For Best TV Show. In 2010, Hall won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. John Lithgow won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for his role in the series the same night.
Popular reception
The third season finale on December 14, 2008 was watched by 1.51 million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings for any of its original series since 2004, when Nielsen started including original shows on premium channels in its ratings. The fourth season finale aired on December 13, 2009 and was watched by 2.6 million viewers. It broke records for all of Showtime's original series and was their highest rated telecast in over a decade. The fifth season finale was watched by a slightly smaller number of people (2.5 million). However, the fifth season as a whole was the highest rated season of Dexter, as it was watched, either on plain or on-demand TV, by more than 5 million people per week.
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