"Oh! You have to watch Dexter. It's so good!"
That tends to be the general consensus from people when I ask if there's a show that is essential viewing. Everyone talks about how Season 4 is amazing and it is really dark and shocking with great twists. Starting from the beginning though the show has no signs of the shocks or intelligence its fans praise it for. Ironically, after just having started watching Dexter the series concluded and was widely derided as having one of the worst endings to a TV show in history. Based on the first season I saw I am inclined to agree (almost).
Drowning in meta-ironic-oh-so-clever voiceover from Dexter himself (Michael C. Hall) the show comments on every scene as it plays out. What this does may well present us with insight into Dexter Morgan's calculating killer mind but what it fails to do is present us with any real story or character development. All the other characters seem rather flat and one-note - his sister whines and curses, the captain is careerist and the best detective is aggressive. The voiceover just commented on everything as if that is an appropriate substitute for drama. I was honestly hating the entire experience. The ice truck killer mystery (the arc of this first season) was very dully presented and the voiceover, trying to entice us in, bored me with every comment made on proceedings.
And then something happened. In the eighth episode, the voiceover dissipates and Michael C. Hall is presented with an opportunity to act, and he does, brilliantly. Taking into account Dexter is a serial killer who to mask all his urges from everyone around him he is put in the house of his newly deceased 'birth' father (Morgan was adopted at three) and his curiosity at what might make him the way he is puts him into conflict with the family around him. Hall portrays that conflict brilliantly, all nervous ticks and enthusiasm. The show from then on starts to tell stories with the characters and becomes more engaging.
The final three episodes transform too, becoming fraught and intense. Given how much the show delivers its twists in such nonchalant fashion, season one's final episode has real surprise and impact to it. The dramatic changes in how it tells its story do not make up for the disappointment of earlier episodes but it does leave you with some satisfaction and curiosity for giving Season 2 a go. Whether it's worthy of being called a great drama though still requires a lot more work on the part of the show itself.
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