Of Dexter and Sociopaths

To keep my 'blog entries about TV shows' thing going (at least for one more week), I decided to pick another show that I quite enjoy. I'm not a fan of it in the same way that I love Heroes or Doctor Who, because it's not that kind of show. It's suspenseful, and there are no special effects or particularly funny moments that make you want to watch over and over. It's an intelligent show, full of murder, sociopaths, plot twists, and suspense. The acting is brilliant, and the story is even better. I'm talking about Dexter.

The show started in 2006, the first season being loosely based off of Jeff Lindsay's book 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter.' If you click here, you can go to the official site for the books. I've read that first book... it's written very interestingly. There's a lot of dark humor, and the author obviously did a lot of research on sociopaths before writing it. The character, Dexter Morgan, even seems a little off while you're reading it. It's really quite brilliant.

Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan)

The show follows the life of Dexter, who is a sociopathic serial killer. Going by a 'code' his adopted father Harry set down when he was young (Harry knew Dexter would have these urges to kill because of his past; Dexter's mother was murdered violently in front of him), Dexter only kills criminals, other killers, that the law couldn't convict because of a lack of evidence. Because Harry was a police office, he also taught Dexter how to flawlessly cover his tracks, and so Dexter remains undetected and uncaught, even keeping a day job with the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.

With such a complex character, of course you've got to wonder who they would choose to play him. Who could pull of playing a sociopath? Acting like a person who has to act out every interaction their entire life, trying to seem natural, but just a little off-center? The actor that was chosen to play Dexter is Michael C. Hall, and he has won 5 awards for his portrayal, including a Golden Globe. Here's a link to his IMDB page, where you can view his awards, nominations, and other information.

Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan)

Opposite him as another main character is Debra Morgan, Dexter's adopted sister (in the book, her name is Deborah Morgan. There seems to be no apparent reason for the name change). She's played by, oddly enough, Michael C. Hall's wife, Jennifer Carpenter. But they're very comfortable with each other, and the brother/sister dynamic comes across. They started dating and got married after the show started - I'm not sure if they knew each other beforehand or not. Here's an article with some fan's reactions to the pairing.

The series usually features a new character each season that ends up dying and/or being a threat to Dexter's secret identity. These characters have been played by a range of actors, including names like Jimmy Smits and John Lithgow, most recently. Here is a link to an interview with Smits about his character, Miguel Prado, and another link here to an interview with Lithgow about his, Arthur Mitchell (aka 'The Trinity Killer'). Both draw some interesting parallels and conclusions about their characters and the series.

The premiere for season 5 of this show is this Sunday on Showtime, and frankly, I can't wait. The series was going to be cancelled because Michael C. Hall was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. But he is now in steady remission and us fans are thrilled to have him back as America's favorite serial killer!