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Dexter (TV series)
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Dexter is an American television drama series that airs on American premium channel Showtime. It is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer governed by a strict moral code who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.
On October 21, 2008, Showtime renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season, each consisting of 12 episodes.
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Dexter is an American television drama series that airs on American premium channel Showtime. It is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer governed by a strict moral code who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.
On October 21, 2008, Showtime renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season, each consisting of 12 episodes. Production is slated to begin in early 2009, with season four presumably airing late in 2009.
Production
The series premiered on the premium cable network Showtime on October 1, 2006. Dexter has received considerable critical acclaim and has won two Emmys in technical categories, and has also generated public controversies concerning its content and promotion. An edited version of the series began airing on CBS on February 17, 2008 to make up for the shortage of new content caused by the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike. Canada's CTV simulcasts episodes along with CBS, and is also airing the edited version in order to follow Canadian cable simultaneous substitution rules.
Title sequence
Dexters opening title sequence features an extended montage where ordinary day-to-day events such as shaving, flossing and preparing breakfast are used to visually evoke Dexter's darker 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", while the title music was also nominated for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" in the same season.
Crew
The main creative forces behind the series (Head Writers/showrunners) are executive producers Daniel Cerone and Clyde Phillips; Cerone left the show after its second season.
- James Manos Jr. (35 episodes, 20062008)
- Jeff Lindsay (35 episodes, 20062008)
- Melissa Rosenberg (8 episodes, 20062008)
- Marcos Siega (7 episodes, 20072008)
- Lauren Gussis (7 episodes, 2006-2008)
- Scott Reynolds (writer) (7 episodes, 20072008)
- Timothy Schlattman (6 episodes, 20062008)
- Scott Buck (5 episodes, 20072008)
- Keith Gordon (5 episodes, 20062008)
- Michael Cuesta (5 episodes, 2006)
- Steve Shill (4 episodes, 20062008)
- Tony Goldwyn (4 episodes, 20062007)
- Kevin Maynard (3 episodes, 2006)
- Robert Lieberman (2 episodes, 2006)
- Nick Gomez (2 episodes, 2007)
- John Dahl (2 episodes, 2008)
- Drew Z. Greenberg (2 episodes, 2006)
- Charles H. Eglee
Plot
Season 1
Orphaned at the age of three and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under) was adopted by a Miami police officer named Harry Morgan (James Remar), who recognized Dexter's sociopathic tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for thrill killing by giving it a constructive direction: killing people who deserve it. Most have slipped through the justice system, due to loopholes and technicalities in the law or were never apprehended.
To satisfy his interest in blood and to erase his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Although his drive to kill is unflinching (otherwise overcome by a feeling of "emptiness") Dexter is, through extensive instruction from Harry, able to fake normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially-responsible human being. Flashbacks throughout the series show how Harry instructs Dexter on the art of appearing normal, and he follows Harry's instructions as a sacred "Code of Harry." In accordance with this code, most of Dexter's victims must be killers themselves (though there has also been mention of arsonists, and child molesters), who have killed multiple times with no remorse, and Dexter must have proof that they are definitely guilty before he takes action.
Dexter has a girlfriend, Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), whom he dates in order to appear normal. Rita is psychologically damaged from an abusive ex-husband, a violent felon, and is too distraught to want to be in an intimate relationship. Dexter believes himself unable to fake emotions when that close to a person, and therefore avoids intimate relationships, making the "damaged Rita" the perfect girlfriend. Dexter hopes to keep up the facade of normality by never engaging in a close relationship with her. However, Dexter does have genuine affection for and feels comfortable with Rita and her two children, Astor and Cody.
The first season focuses mostly on "The Ice Truck Killer" - a serial killer eluding the Miami PD who is communicating with Dexter through his crime scenes. Dexter's adoptive sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) begins dating Rudy, who is revealed to the audience to be the Ice Truck Killer. At the end of the season, Rudy attempts to kill Debra, but is stopped by Dexter. Rudy reveals that he is really Dexter's brother, Brian Moser. Dexter has no choice but to kill him in order to save Debra; he makes Brian's death look like a suicide.
Dexter uses his calculated charm to become well-liked by all of his colleagues, with the exception of Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King), who repeatedly calls him a freak and openly accuses him of being up to something, although he is never sure what it is exactly. The tension between the two is an ongoing plot motif.
Doakes senses a connection between Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer, but is not sure what it is. He starts tailing Dexter because of his personal suspicions. Rita's ex-husband, set up by Dexter for a felony parole violation, is back in prison proclaiming his innocence, and points Rita to a clue to the truth about Dexter. The season ends with Dexter and his sister entering a crime scene, with Dexter imagining a tickertape parade for himself, complete with confetti and airplane fly-over, and the crowd praising him for his fine work "taking out the garbage" (i.e. killing those who prey on the weak and vulnerable).
In the U.S., the complete first season of Dexter was released in a four-disc DVD package on August 21, 2007. On January 6th, 2009, a Blu-Ray version was released.
In the episode "Return to Sender," an email reveals that Dexter has used the alias "Patrick Bateman". According to Dexter, he chose the name because it sounded "so wholesome, so inconspicuous". Patrick Bateman is also the name of the serial killer in the 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, as well as the film based on that novel.
Season 2
New cast members for this season include Jaime Murray as Lila, an artist who is a former meth addict and arsonist who becomes Dexters sponsor (and later his lover), Keith Carradine as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy and JoBeth Williams as Rita's mother Gail. The role of Rita's son Cody was re-cast, and in Season 2 was played by child actor Preston Bailey.
Dexter begins the season unable to satisfy his urges for over a month, due to the constant surveillance by Sgt. Doakes. When the opportunity to kill arises, he has problems executing his victims after killing his brother at the end of season 1.
To further complicate matters, treasure hunters discover Dexter's underwater dumping ground for his victims. As the police extract body part after body part from the ocean, the media dubs the killer the "Bay Harbor Butcher", and FBI Special Agent Lundy (played by Keith Carradine) is brought in to catch the "Butcher."
A cult following begins to form behind the "Butcher" when it is discovered that his victims were themselves responsible for deaths. Dexter even finds that a comic-book character, "The Dark Defender", was created in his honor where he comically states as he looks at the poster, "Nah, it's too hot to wear all that leather in Miami".
Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes more tense as she and her children are dealing with the death of her ex-husband Paul, who was killed in a prison fight. Paul's repeated suggestion that Dexter was to blame for his imprisonment eats at Rita's conscience and eventually Rita accuses Dexter of setting up her ex-husband. Dexter admits to setting up Paul, but Rita refuses to believe that Dexter premeditated the crime and assumes that Dexter is a heroin addict. He acquiesces to "having an addiction", though he characteristically allows her misinterpretation to go without clarification; in return, she vows to stay with him while he goes through the Narcotics Anonymous program. In this way, Dexter avoids responsibility for Paul's death (though he set the process in motion) and consequently maintains the rationalization that he only (directly) kills people who are murderers. Doakes continues to pursue Dexter until he encounters Dexter leaving a NA meeting. Doakes seems satisfied that Dexter's odd behavior and apparent drug use can be explained by traumatic experiences as a career police officer.
Debra continues to struggle with the trauma of her experience with the Ice Truck Killer combined with all the people recognizing her as the "Ice Truck Killer's" girl. For a sense of safety and comfort, she stays with her brother, another new source of stress in Dexter's life.
Throughout Season 2, Dexter is pursued by Special Agent Lundy, while both Debra's affection for Lundy and her confidence in her own detective skills grow. Doakes' suspicions about Dexter are revived, and he ultimately discovers Dexter's collection of glass slides containing blood sample souvenirs from all of his victims. The possibility of matching the slides hidden in Dexter's air conditioner with the bodies of the Butcher's victims sets up a climactic episode in which Doakes confronts Dexter at a drug dealer's remote cabin. Despite receiving a gunshot wound in the leg, Dexter overpowers Doakes and keeps him locked in the cage inside the cabin while he begins to frame Doakes as the Butcher after the police discover Dexter's slide collection in Doakes' car while searching for him, making Doakes the prime suspect. Lieutenant LaGuerta, Doakes' former partner, is the only one who believes in Doakes' innocence. She finds evidence of Doakes' innocence and takes it to Lundy, but he tells her that the evidence is tainted by her previous failure to report Doakes' telephone conversation to the investigation team. Lundy rejects LaGuerta's case files, though he believes she may be correct about Doakes' innocence.
Near the end of the season, Doakes escapes from the cage temporarily and is recaptured by Dexter after being threatened by two drug dealers. Dexter struggles with his life as a serial killer, thanks to revelations throughout the season regarding Harry Morgan, his foster father. Dexter learns that Harry was sleeping with Dexter's biological mother before she died and that Harry took his own life after walking in on Dexter in the middle of a murder, unable to deal with the reality of the monster he had created. With his confidence in the Code of Harry and himself destroyed and exhausted from having to maintain his "mask" for so long, Dexter plays out the possible resulting scenarios in his head of turning himself in. Dexter's events on his last day of freedom include having Deb review his will, having a final dinner with her, and taking Rita and the kids out on the boat. During the "last meal" with Deb, he realizes how much she depended on him to resolve her feelings about the murder attempt by the Ice Truck Killer and decides to continue with his original plan of framing Doakes as the "Bay Harbor Butcher."
In the season finale, Lila finds the cabin where Doakes was imprisoned and causes a propane tank explosion, blowing up both Doakes and the corpse of one of Dexter's victims and preventing Dexter from being named as a serial killer. Lila then meets with Dexter, expecting him to accept her love now that she knows his dark secret. She catches him preparing to kill her and seeks revenge by trying to kill Rita's children and Dexter. Dexter manages to save the children and escape and then exacts his own revenge on her after she has fled to Paris. In the closing scenes, Doakes' memorial service goes largely unattended, with the exception of LaGuerta, Dexter, and Doakes' immediate family. Expressing the logic of Dexter's mental world, the final words in the series are a voice-over of his thoughts on the recent events. We hear that he now considers himself the master of the techniques his father taught him. Dexter believes this combined with the fact that Harry knew himself to be wrong about the code gives Dexter the right to rewrite that code and to live his life the way he wishes. He also states that he now needs those relationships that he originally cultivated as disguises in order to fit into society, even though they make him vulnerable. He considers himself, "An idea transcended into life."
Season 2 premiered on September 30, 2007. On July 17, the first two episodes of the season were leaked on the internet, and on December 4, the last two episodes were also leaked. On November 4, 2007, the Writers Guild of America started a strike, but writer Daniel Cerone stated in the L.A. Times that Season 2 had already been completed in anticipation of the WGAs action.
The complete second season of Dexter was released in the USA and Canada on August 19, 2008. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on August 21, 2008. The season 2 Blu Ray will be released on May 5, 2009.
Season 3
Miguel Prado (played by Jimmy Smits) is a prominent assistant district attorney and old friend of Lt. LaGuerta who works with Dexter to solve the case of the murder of Oscar Prado, Miguel's youngest brother. Unbeknownst to Miguel, Dexter is Oscar's killer, an accidental killing in self-defense while attempting to stalk a murderous drug dealer named "Freebo"; and soon Miguel confides in Dexter and grows to trust him. Miguel, upon following up on a lead as to Freebo's whereabouts, witnesses Dexter with the weapon he used to kill Freebo (also the same weapon that killed Oscar Prado), but instead of reprimanding him, he hugs and thanks him, thinking that his brother is finally avenged.
Meanwhile, Rita (Dexter's girlfriend) finds out she is pregnant and Dexter finds it hard to choose when she asks whether she should keep the baby or not. After some consideration, Rita informs Dexter that she will keep the baby and raise him either with or without his help. It also takes some time for Dexter himself to cope with the idea of actually having a child (an acceptance helped by the fact that he now sees Astor and Cody as his children and therefore to be protected), and he ends up proposing marriage to Rita, which she happily accepts.
Throughout Season 3, Debra starts working more seriously in order to earn her detective shield, but due to an untimely commentary on her part she is cut off from the Freebo case and starts working with a new partner named Joey Quinn to investigate a serial killer with the habit of skinning his victims while alive (labeled "The Skinner"). She also starts a relationship with Anton, one of Quinn's confidential informants who starts working with her. However, Yuki Amado, a female Internal Affairs officer, starts pressuring Debra to give her information on Quinn, promising to help her become a detective in return, but Debra refuses to cooperate, despite Yuki's claims that Quinn cannot be trusted.
A notable change from previous seasons is the increased use of fantasy scenes with Harry, Dexter's foster father. Harry offers guidance, ideas, and guilt. This differs from the earlier seasons' use of flashbacks to illustrate Dex's past.
As Dexter and Miguel cooperate to conceal Freebo's true demise from everyone else, the duo end up becoming close friends, as do Rita and Miguel's wife Sylvia. While the Prados assist Rita during a medical emergency, Miguel searches for Dexter, who was on a cruise ship killing a victim suggested by Miguel, who realizes that Dexter committed the murder. Miguel praises Dexter for killing another murderer and offers his aid in the future. Trying to discourage Miguel, Dexter proposes a risky operation to free an infamous Aryan Brotherhood leader, who continues to commit crimes while inside prison, in order to kill him. Miguel agrees with the idea and the plan succeeds (despite the alarm sounding during the escape), and Dexter starts to recognize Miguel as his first and only true friend, to the point of inviting him to be his best man at his wedding.
Camilla Figg, an old friend of Dexter and his family, is dying of terminal lung cancer and asks him to end her suffering, which he (who had never purposely killed an innocent before) reluctantly agrees to do. On the occasion, Camilla reveals to Dexter that she knew that his brother was the Ice Truck Killer and congratulates him when he confesses to her that it was he who killed Brian.
Miguel and Dexter's partnership takes a new step when Miguel offers to be the one to kill their next target, a former football player turned gambler who in order to pay his bookie commits murders on the bookie's behalf. With some reluctance, Dexter accepts, and after preparing the trap and teaching him the basics of his "code", he witnesses Miguel killing the victim without hesitation. However, the next day, Ellen Wolf, a defense attorney and old courtroom adversary of Miguel's, goes missing, and Dexter, suspicious, proves to himself that Miguel killed her. After some investigation, Dexter also discovers that Miguel has been manipulating him since the beginning and never trusted him at all.
While the relationship between Dexter and Miguel begins to unravel, so does Miguel's marriage when Sylvia begins to suspect that Miguel is having an affair and confides her fears to Rita, who in turn confides in Dexter.
Dexter and Miguel then begin to dance around in a game of who has leverage over whom as the police investigate the death of Ellen Wolf. This game of leverage ends with Dexter realizing that Miguel cannot be allowed to run loose any longer (at which point Dexter decides to kill him using the Skinner's Modus Operandi) and with Sylvia, convinced that Miguel is having an affair with Lt. LaGuerta after seeing them leaving LaGuerta's house together, ordering him out of the house. Miguel helps the Skinner escape and evade police custody in return for his agreeing to kill Dexter.
Striving to discover the truth about Ellen Wolf's death, LaGuerta ends up obtaining evidence linking Miguel to the crime, while Miguel himself discovers that LaGuerta was investigating him, and decides to kill her, but Dexter realizes it beforehand and captures him while he was looking for her. Before killing Miguel, Dexter confesses to him that he was the one who murdered his younger brother Oscar.
After Miguel's body is discovered, he is immediately identified as a victim of the Skinner, just as Dexter planned. But Miguel's other brother Ramon is still suspicious of him. After pointing a gun on Dexter during a dinner with Rita he is captured by Angel and Debra and during a visit to him in prison, Dexter helps him to put his demons to rest offering advice and personal relation to Ramon's life.
However, on the night before his wedding, Dexter is captured by the Skinner, and manages to break free by taking advantage of a moment of distraction by him, but breaks his hand in the process. After some fighting, Dexter manages to snap the Skinner's neck and make it look like suicide by throwing his body before a running police car. Dexter gets his broken hand put in a cast and attends his wedding. He admits to himself that his wedding vows "to be the best husband and father he could be" were absolutely true.
The season ends with a few minor cliffhangers. The first is the picture of Dexter's birth mother lying on top of Debra's desk. It is unsure if Debra will find out that Harry was having an affair with Dexter's mother and if she can tie it all together. Also, Dexter realizes that Rita lied about being married twice before and doesn't understand why she would conceal this, albeit he does come to the conclusion that everyone has skeletons in their closet. These are both possible storylines for the respective characters in the upcoming season. The outcome of Miguel's murder investigation, along with any leads pointing to Dexter, is still unknown. The character and backstory of Quinn, including the internal investigation, has not been fully developed and there may be question marks about him. The final scene of season 3 is Dexter and Rita sharing their first dance as a husband and wife while a few drops of blood leak from Dexter's cast onto her dress, likely metaphor for how his dark and secret life could be a stain in their life together.
Season 3 starts in the UK on Friday 24th April at 10.00PM on FX
Cast
Main cast
Special guest stars
Critical reception
The initial response to Dexter was positive. The website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 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 two poor reviews for the show, recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety after watching the full season. On the CNET Networks website TV.com, Dexter has an overall rating of 9.1/10.
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.
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 actor Bryan Cranston, respectively.
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 premium channels in its ratings.
U.S. broadcast controversy
When CBS announced in December 2007 it was considering Dexter for broadcast over the public airwaves, Parents Television Council (PTC), publicly protested the decision.
In preparation for the broadcast premiere of Dexter on CBS, on January 29, 2008 the network posted promotional videos on YouTube. The next day, the PTC for a second time called upon CBS to withdraw plans to broadcast the show. PTC President Timothy F. Winter issued a news release stating "We are formally asking CBS to cancel its plan to air the first season of Dexter on its television network. This show is not suitable for airing on broadcast television; it should remain on a premium subscription cable network. The biggest problem with the series is something that no amount of editing can get around: the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesnt get discovered." Winter went on to quote CBS President Leslie Moonves' post-Columbine comment: Anyone who thinks the media has nothing to do with [increasing violence in society] is an idiot. Winter called on the public to demand local affiliates pre-empt Dexter, and warned advertisers the PTC would take action against any that sponsored the show.
Following Winter's release, CBS added Parental Discretion advisories to its broadcast (but not the YouTube) promotions. CBS rated Dexter TV-14 for broadcast. The show premiered on February 17, 2008 with minor edits, primarily for language, and with scenes involving dismemberment of live victims cut away. Scenes involving sex were also taken out of the broadcasts. The PTC has also objected to CBS broadcasting the final two episodes of the season in a two-hour block starting at 9:00 P.M. (Eastern/Pacific Time Zones), which translates to 8 P.M. at the Mountain and Central Time Zones, a time it is concerned about a high likelihood of children watching the show.
Viral marketing controversy
In preparation for the UK launch of the series, FX experimented with an SMS-based viral marketing campaign. Unsuspecting mobile phone owners received unsolicited SMS messages identified as being from "Dexter," with no other identification or originating phone number. The SMS messages contain the following text, referring to the phone owner by name:
- "Hello (name). I'm heading to the UK sooner than you might think. Dexter."
Some time later, an email is received directing the user to an online video "news report" about a recent spree of killings. Using on-the-fly video manipulation, the user's name and a personalized message are worked into the report the former written in blood on a wall by the crime scene, the latter added to a note in an evidence bag carried past the camera.
While the marketing campaign had succeeded in raising the profile of the show, it proved unpopular with many mobile owners who saw this as spam advertising aimed at mobile phones. In response to complaints about the SMS element of the campaign, FX issued the following statement:
- "The text message you received was part of an internet viral campaign for our newest show
Dexter. However it was not us who sent you the text but one of your friends. We do not have a database of viewer phone numbers. The text message went along with a piece on the net that you can then send on to other people you know. If you go to you will see the page that one of your friends has filled in to send you that message. Therefore I suggest you have a word with anyone who knows your mobile number and see who sent you this message. For the record we did not make a record of any phone numbers used in this campaign."
Missing person case
Connections have been suggested between the TV show Dexter and an ongoing murder charge against filmmaker Mark Twitchell in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On December 3, 2008 he pleaded not guilty to the charge of first degree murder of 38-year-old John Altinger, whose body is still missing. Twitchell was writing a film script which included plot lines similar to Dexter's clandestine murders. Det. Mark Anstey of the Edmonton Police Service was quoted as saying "We have a lot of information to suggest he definitely idolizes Dexter." Three months prior to the alleged murder of Altinger, Twitchell had posted on his Facebook status that he claimed to have a lot in common with Dexter Morgan. Twitchell's preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for October 5, 2009.
Dexter's kill count
| Episode | Kills | Victim | Slide | Method | Reason |
|---|
| 101 | 2 | Mike Donovan | X | Power saw | Killed 3 boys | | Jamie Jaworski | X | Meat cleaver | Killed Jane Saunders in a snuff film | | 102 | 1 | Matt Chambers | X | Knife to the heart | Repeated fatality drunk driver | | 103 | 1 | Nurse Mary (flashback) | X | Knife to the heart | Overdosed patients and tried to OD Harry; Dexter's first kill | | 105 | 2 | Jorge Castillo | X | Knife | Coyote who drowns illegal Cuban immigrants who cannot pay him | | Valerie Castillo | X | Knife to carotid artery | Jorge's accomplice | | 106 | 3 | Alex Timmons (flashback) | X | Chainsaw | Sniper | | Gene Marshall (flashback) | X | Surgical saw | Arsonist | | Cindy Landon (flashback) | X | Power saw | "Black widow" who killed her husband(s) | | 108 | 1 | Dr. Emmett Meridian | X | Power saw | Encouraged patients to commit suicide | | 112 | 1 | Brian Moser | - | Dinner knife to slit throat | Ice Truck Killer | | 202 | 1 | Little Chino | X | Knife to the heart | Gang hitman | | 203 | 1 | Roger Hicks | X | Knife to the heart | Killed two women | | 204 | 4 | Robert Thacher (Bay Harbor Butcher investigation) | X | Unknown | Murderer | | Marcus White (Bay Harbor Butcher investigation) | X | Unknown | Killed parents | | Oscar Sota (Bay Harbor Butcher investigation) | X | Unknown | Kept guns in the walls (Implies that the guns were somehow used to kill innocent people) | | Joseph Sapeda (Bay Harbor Butcher investigation) | X | Unknown | Unknown | | 206 | 1 | Ken Olsen | - | Knife to the heart | "Bay Harbor Butcher" copy-cat killer | | 208 | 1 | Santos Jiminez | X | Chainsaw | Killed Dexter's mother, Laura Moser, with a chainsaw | | 30 | 46 Slides | | Found by Doakes | 16 slides previously accounted for | | 210 | 2 | Jose Garza | - | Hand saw | Murderer | | Juan Rinez (flashback) | - | Unknown | Killed prostitutes | | 211 | 2 | Esteban Famosa | - | Snapped his neck | To protect himself and Doakes | | Teo Famosa | - | Shot | To protect himself and Doakes | | 212 | 1 | Lila West | - | Knife to the heart | Murdered Sgt. Doakes; attempted to kill Rita's children | | 301 | 1 | Oscar Prado | - | Knife to the heart | Tried to kill Dexter | | 302 | 1 | Fred "Freebo" Bowman | X | Knife to the neck | Killed 2 sorority girls | | 303 | 1 | Nathan Martin | - | Strangled | Pedophile stalking Astor | | 305 | 1 | Ethan Turner | X | Knife to the heart | Killed his wives | | 306 | 1 | Clemson Galt | X | Knife to the heart | Killed Jenna Kendrick | | 307 | 1 | Camilla Figg | - | Poisoned key lime pie | She asked Dexter to help her die as she was terminally ill. | | 311 | 1 | Miguel Prado | - | Strangled | Murdered Ellen Wolf, planned to kill Maria LaGuerta | | 312 | 1 | George King (The Skinner) | - | Broke his neck | Self-defense; King captured Dexter with the intent to kill him | | Total | 62 | |
Notes:
Doakes steals Dexter's slide case while he is killing Santos Jiminez.
All slides made after Episode 207 are not included in the 46 slides of the Bay Harbor Butcher Investigation.
Differences from novel
The first season of Dexter is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. However, there are numerous differences, ranging from extra subplots to rearrangements and modifications of elements from the source material. An example of a minor change is that, in the books, Dexter is fluent in Spanish while in the show he only seems to know a few words. The biggest change is the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer", called the "Tamiami Butcher" in the novel. Also, in the books Dexter's sister's name is spelled Deborah instead of Debra on the show. In the novel, Dexter is led to believe that he might be the one committing the murders, due to a series of strange dreams that connect him to the murder. The final clue is a blurry photo, taken from surveillance footage, of a man who resembles Dexter at a crime scene. After the "Tamiami Killer" kidnaps Deborah, Dexter finds and confronts him. It is subsequently revealed that the killer is actually Dexter's nearly identical long-lost brother, Brian, who, like Dexter, witnessed their mother's brutal murder. In the television series, Brian is introduced under the fake name Rudy, a prosthetist who becomes Deborah's boyfriend. Dexter hesitantly kills Brian instead of letting him escape, Deborah does not discover her brother's secret, and LaGuerta is not present at all in the confrontation. In the novel, Dexter and his brother are nearly identical, whereas the actors playing the two characters are distinct from each other in their looks.
The novel is narrated exclusively from Dexters point of view and focuses mostly on his pursuit of the "Tamiami Butcher". This helps the reader relate even without understanding the Miami specific lingo and street names, including Tamiami. The series expands on the minor characters roles with subplots not present in the original, such as Angels rocky relationship with his ex-wife. Another addition is the inclusion of Ritas abusive ex-husband Paul. In the show, he becomes a full-fledged supporting character who professes love for his children, but nevertheless still treats Rita violently. Some of the supporting characters are changed. Detective LaGuerta is named Migdia in the novel and Maria in the show while Doakes' first name is changed from Albert to James. The character of Camilla Figg in the novel is a young lab tech infatuated with Dexter, while in the television series, she is an older woman who once worked with Dexter's father. She is the records supervisor and has a more maternal relationship with Dexter.
In the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dexter references his urge to kill as being controlled by a "Dark Passenger", and when in his killer trances he tends to refer to himself as "we" or "us". In the first season, only one reference is made to the "Passenger", as Dexter stands at the scene of Angel's stabbing by Brian, an event absent in the book. In the second season, the writers explain Dexter's urge to kill as his "Dark Passenger", and make multiple references to it throughout the season. Much of the second season had little to do with the second novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter, although they both shared a subplot concerning a suspicious Doakes following Dexter, both concluding in Doakes being 'taken care of' by another killer to prevent Dexter from breaking his moral code. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Doakes is tortured and dismembered (his hands, feet and tongue are removed) by Dr. Danco, an ex-military interrogator/torturer, and returns in the third novel albeit in a much different state; he is unable to speak coherently and is fitted with prosthetic limbs. The Showtime series has Doakes being blown up by Lila, Dexter's psychopathic ex-girlfriend. She appears in none of the books.
The character of Dr. Danco was picked up again in the TV show's third season, as the character George King (the Skinner), who is also an ex-military interrogator/torturer from South America and also captures Dexter without realizing his true nature.
In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter discovers that Cody and Astor share Dexter's need to kill and he helps them by teaching them the code of Harry. In Season 3, Miguel Prado finds out about Dexter's secret instead, while Cody and Astor are oblivious.
Other media
DVD/Blu-ray releases
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Content |
|---|
| The Complete First Season | Region 1: August 21, 2007
Region 2: May 19, 2008
Region 4: Feb 14, 2008 | 12 | 2 Audio Commentaries by the Cast
The Academy of Blood: A Killer Course!
Witnessed in Blood: A True Murder Investigation
N Technology
2 episodes of Showtime's Brotherhood | | The Complete Second Season | Region 1: August 19, 2008
Region 2: March 30, 2009
Region 4: August 21, 2008 | 12 | 2 episodes of Showtime's Brotherhood (second season)
Via E-Bridge Technology
2 episodes from The Tudors (second season) & Californication | | Blu-ray Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Content |
|---|
| The Complete First Season | Region 1: January 6, 2009
| 12 | The Academy of Blood: A Killer Course!
Witnessed in Blood: A True Murder Investigation
One free HD episode download of Dexter season 2
The first 2 episodes of the new Showtime series United States of Tara | | The Complete Second Season | Region 1: May 5, 2009
| 12 | Podcasts
Featurette: "Blood Fountains"
Featurette: "Dark Defender"
One episode of the upcoming Showtime series Nurse Jackie
One episode of the new Showtime series United States of Tara |
Video game
A video game based on Dexter was announced on March 4, 2008, to be developed by Marc Ecko's game development company, which previously developed the controversial urban graffiti game Getting Up. "Dexter is the extremely rare TV show with enough layers of action and tension to translate perfectly into a compelling video game," said Marc Fernandez, Vice President of Marc Ecko Entertainment.
More info was released at the San Diego Comic-Con, revealing that the games would be released exclusively on the iPhone, via iTunes, and that the games would be episodic.
Later on, it was revealed that the game would also be released on PC, and that if the game was successful, a next gen release was possible.
Soundtrack
The music from the Dexter TV series was released August 28, 2007 on the album Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series. It is produced by Showtime, and distributed by Milan Records. The album is also available online on the iTunes store. The iTunes release includes five additional bonus tracks from Seasons 1 and 2.
Awards
Wins
2006
- AFI Awards TV Program of the Year Official Selection
- IGN Best New Show
- IGN Best Actor Michael C. Hall
- IGN Best Villain The Ice Truck Killer
- IGN Best Character Dexter Morgan
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series Julie Benz
2007
- Emmy Outstanding Main Title Design
- Emmy Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
- IGN - Best Storyline
- IGN - Best Television Program
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series David Zayas
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama Michael C. Hall
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Television Series, Drama
- Saturn Awards Best Actor in a Television Program Michael C. Hall
- Television Critics Association Individual Achievement in Drama Michael C. Hall
2008
- Saturn Awards Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
- Scream Awards - Best TV Show
Nominations
2006
- Golden Globe Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama Michael C. Hall
- IGN Best Television Program
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama Michael C. Hall
- Satellite Awards Outstanding Television Series, Drama
2007
- Emmy Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Drama
- Emmy Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
- Golden Globe - Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama Michael C. Hall
- Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Television Program James Remar
- Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Television Program Jennifer Carpenter
- Saturn Awards Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
- SAG Male Actor in a Drama Series Michael C. Hall
- Television Critics Association New Program of the Year
- WGA - Episodic Drama - any length - one airing time Dark Defender
- WGA - Best Dramatic Series
- Peabody Award - Announced April 2, 2008
2008
- Emmy - Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series - Michael C. Hall
- Emmy - Outstanding Drama Series
- Emmy - Outstanding Art Direction - Tony Cowley, Linda Spheeris
- Emmy - Outstanding Cinematography - Romeo Tirone
- Golden Globe - Best Television Series Drama
- Golden Globe - Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama Michael C. Hall
- WGA - Best Dramatic Series
External links
at Showtime at Metacritic
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