Although I sit in front of the TV way too much, often to my wife’s dismay, I’ve never really watched many TV shows. As a kid I did though. I loved watching TV a lot. And not just cartoons. I watched Different Strokes, The Facts of Life, The A-Team, to name a few. Once I became old enough to drive, I didn’t watch much TV. And even now as an adult, I watch movies, but I don’t watch many TV shows. Or didn’t, until the Fall of 2006. Then two shows caught my interest. Heroes and Dexter. I am sad to say that Heroes lost me after a couple of seasons. I got tired of Peter losing his powers or trying to figure out his place in the world. And also how no one really dies. After a while everyone has made their way back. But Dexter, has managed to keep me hooked.
From the beginning, it was different from anything else I had seen. I can’t think of a TV show that revolved around an anti-hero. There has been plenty of books and movies with anti-heroes, but not many TV shows. I enjoy writing and one story I always wanted to write was about a killer that only went after bad guys. Not only did someone beat me to the punch, but it was a knockout punch. I love this show to no end. The first season had an awesome story line. The second season stepped it up a notch. The third season went in a new, but still exciting direction. But season four takes the cake.
I realize that with most shows, they start losing their touch after a while. And I have to admit, I thought maybe Dexter was starting to lose it as well. There were too many instances where I thought, how can he keep getting himself out of these situations? How can people keep letting him get away with the simplest of explanations? But I should know better than to doubt the writers of Dexter. Just when I thought I had a grip on the Dexter universe, they threw a curveball at the end of season four. The problem with that is that I was playing football, not baseball. That’s how “out of left field” this ending was. I have seen movies, or shows that made me say, ” WOW”. But this was the first time that I literally had my jaw drop. I had that cliché hand over the mouth moment. I put down my laptop, slid out to the edge of the sofa, and said outloud, “NO F&$%ing WAY.” And with my mom sitting right next to me. And I realize that people say things like this all the time, but the point I am trying to get across is that I don’t really exaggerate when it comes to how good or bad something is. I give my opinion and convey it as such. But this ending was beyond words. Everything has changed, Dexter will never be the same.
If you haven’t seen any of Dexter, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning. Every person I have suggested it to is hooked. And it will all tie together so nicely that it’ll be worth the Dexter marathons. If you started it but set it aside, pick back up where you left off. If only to see how this season ends. And that’s the best way to get the full effect. Anything less will fall short.
I hail Dexter as the best TV show I have ever seen. I promise you that I will never doubt the writers again, and I will watch this show to the bitter end. Just like some people believe that books offer far superior entertainment to movies, I felt that movies were superior to TV shows. But Dexter has proven me wrong. It has even caused me to search for a similar experience in other shows, and thanks to Dexter I now watch The Big Bang, Flash Forward, Fringe and V almost religiously. Even though V and Flash Forward have kind of lost me along the way, I love that my wife and I now have things to watch together.
–
AC
