TV Review: 24 - Day 3.

Warning: Here be spoilers.

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Season Three: Day 3.

Season 3 picks up 3 years after Season 2. After the cliffhanger, the main thing on your mind is "is David Palmer still alive?" And, thankfully, he is. He survived the biological virus that nearly took him out, leaving a large scar on his hand and wrist. But that only foreshadowed the coming events. The main plot this time out deals with a biological weapon threat against the United States. The season is really a basic rehash of the first season, but mixing in elements of the second. And like the previous season, this one is like two different halves, one better than the other. So which half is better?

Let's look at the character stories.




Jack Bauer

Jack is back, working at CTU. But there's more to it than that. He'd been working undercover for over a year with a Mexican family, the Salazars. And in order to keep his cover, he had to become addicted to heroin. After a body shows up at a lab infected with a super-virus, Jack takes it upon himself to try to find and stop the virus from being released on the States. At first, it appears that the Salazars are involved, but there's really more to the story, more than Jack, Tony, and a man named Gael are letting on.

Jack has a really interesting story this time around, making it more personal again. He spent a year of his life with the Salazars and even came to the point of drug addiction. It also turns out, come the second half of the season, that Jack has more involved with the plot than it first let on (as does President Palmer), and it all pretty much ties back to part of the plot in Season One. But believe it or not, the best moments of the season always involve Jack's part of the story (though it is good). Oh, and Nina Myers returns again... but she's not the main villain by a long shot.


The Salazar Family

With the Warners out of the picture (after only a goodbye phone call from Jack to Kate in the first episode), the Salazar comes in as the new family that will only be relevant for the first half of the season. The Salazars are drug cartels, with one of the brothers being in jail. Jack has to break him out and get him down to Mexico, which is where you learn a major twist in the story that I won't reveal in too much detail. Let's just say that Jack works with the Salazars to try and get his hands on the virus.

The Salazars are, for lack of a better term, stupid. Or lame, rather. I never cared for their storyline, and the brothers flip-flopped how they felt about Jack so much I couldn't remember which one was which (shows how developed their personalities were). Thankfully you don't have to deal with any of them after the halfway point, despite the entire beginning of the show being almost completely about them.


CTU

There are quite a few different storylines going on in the CTU building this season. First, there is the introduction of a couple new characters: Chloe, Adam, and Chase. Let's go in order. Chloe is horrendously annoying. She speaks her mind in all the wrong ways. It's like she's the nerd who thinks she's cool and tries to stand up to everybody who messes with her, but just continually makes an ass of herself. And despite being smart and helpful, nobody can stand her... and the more people can't stand her, the more Chloe feels the need to prove herself, which just makes everything worse. Her story in this season is basically just as a plot device, used only when things go bad electronically. But there's also a subplot about a baby that nearly goes nowhere, and the baby just disappears from the show about halfway in, despite supposedly being still there (unless I missed something).

Adam is, for all intents and purposes, Chloe's partner. Played by the ever-present Zachary Quinto (of Heroes and Star Trek fame), Adam is one of the few likable characters this season (I'll get into that later). His character starts off a bit rough, but he grows on you pretty fast. And his story is basically the same as Chloe, minus the baby. He's just there for plot purposes. He does get a bit of minor development near the very end of the season, but nothing monumental.

Then there's Chase. But I can't talk about Chase without talking about Kim Bauer. Kim is now working at CTU as one of the tech squad (in other words, she works with Chloe and Adam), given the job by her father to that she can stay safe and out of trouble--a smart move considering the previous two seasons. Anyway, Chase is Jack's partner, as well as Kim's 3-month boyfriend. There's another twist involving him, but I won't go there here. Chase is impulsive and will go to any means to prove himself. In fact, he often nearly screws things up many times, like when he follows Jack to Mexico to rescue him not knowing Jack had everything under control. And outside of this impulsiveness, he's mildly likable.

Let's not forget Tony and Michelle. Unlike every other relationship in this show, this one actually lasted more than one season. Now married, Tony and Michelle face quite a few hardships throughout the season. From Tony getting shot to Michelle getting caught up in the virus epidemic (the whole string of episodes in the hotel were some of the best parts of the season). Tony's basic story is that, while he's supposed to be running CTU now, things keep happening to put his ability to run the place into question. Michelle, being the second-in-command, doesn't have too much to do throughout the season until the second half, when her moment(s) really come into play.

And then there's Ryan Chappelle. Ryan plays a bigger role in this season than he did in the last, and he's still a total ass. In fact, he's probably a bigger ass in this season than he was in the previous. However, there's an episode late in the season dealing with Ryan that nearly made me cry, despite my dislike of the character. I really think that shows how good this show is, capable of making you go from hating a character to really feeling for them in the span of one or two episodes.


President Palmer

Palmer's story, like a few other things this season, is a complete rehash of Season One. Palmer is up for re-election, so he's in campaign mode. There's scandal involving a psychiatrist (this time his current girlfriend), as well as Sherry being Sherry and a scandal involving a murder cover-up that can't get out to the media, all stemming from something a male relative did (this time his brother instead of his son).

I have to be honest here, Sherry is actually likable for the bulk of her appearance in this season. It isn't until after the murder cover-up stuff starts that she goes back to her old ways. But I thought prior to that, the use of her character was refreshing. David Palmer also gets slightly darker and more serious. He still tries to uphold the right thing, but he has to make some incredibly tough choices this season, putting him in that morally ambiguous area that he rarely ventures into.

But then there's Palmer's brother who he hired as his personal consultant, figuring he could trust him well enough. And the dude is a prick. I couldn't stand him and just wanted him to get fired. But no, David trusted him and needed him, so he had to stay on.

The end of his story is satisfying enough, however, leaving Palmer in a positive light. He's able to stay an ultimate good figure on the show... at least at this point.


Overall Thoughts

As I said before, this is a season in two halves. I said that the first half of Season Two was the better half. For Season Three, I have to say that the second half is the better of the two. We get away from the Salazars and start dealing with the real villain(s) of the season. Things begin to get more suspenseful, including the hotel episodes, as well as the requests that Palmer is forced to go along with if he wants the country to stay safe, not to mention the episode focusing on Chappelle. But the second half isn't without its faults, either. There are a lot of inconsistencies. The baby disappears. Jack's drug addiction just stops. Things that happen to Tony are never mentioned again (I think he collapses at one point, and at another point his wound re-opens... neither issue is ever brought back up). And I'm sure there are numerous other things I picked up on, but that I can't remember at the moment. But the season ends with one of the very rare instances of Jack showing a crack in his hard shell. The stress and emotion of the day catches up with him, and he just breaks down, and that was very nice to see there at the end. Unfortunately, I'm a little ways into Season 4 and... ugh... just... ugh.

TV Review: Dragonball Z - Season Three.

This season took way too long to get through. Why? Because Netflix started messing with me for a while, and I didn't get a new disc for nearly two weeks. It literally kept skipping over a whole chunk of DVDs, even those that weren't on a 'short wait' or whatnot. But oh well. I've gotten through them now, so I can review them.

Season 3 is a bit unlike the previous two seasons: it doesn't have the setup that the other two had. This is mostly because all of Season 2 is basically the setup for Season 3. That's why I felt that they should be considered one uber-season (much like I know a couple parts of the "Cell" season got split up). But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Instead of having to wait for episode upon episode for Goku to finish doing whatever it is he's doing and show up to the battle field, we pretty much have him from the start. And Frieza needs no introduction, as he was built up all throughout Season 2. So what we have here is an entire season of almost non-stop fighting and action.

Yet, even with a 6-disc action scene, the season still manages to do some crazy things... like put large amounts of focus on the unnecessary. Chi-Chi, for instance. Or King Kai's planet. Or Bulma. Though the Bulma scenes inevitably pay off with the (pointless) return of Captain Ginyu. And speaking of the Ginyu Force, was bringing them back into the show really necessary? King Kai eventually invites them to his little planet to face off against Tien, Chaotzu, and Yamcha to show the boys how strong they've become. Needless to say, they wipe the floor with them. But there were really just some unnecessary moments and flashes to other places.

This was especially true toward the end, and this was one of the big things I always disliked about the Frieza Saga. Frieza attacks the planet and gives it 5 minutes before it will explode, killing Goku while he escapes (he can live in space). Well, it apparently takes roughly 8-9 22-minute episodes for 5 minutes to pass. And it just gets ridiculous in one of the final episodes before Goku defeats Frieza. Frieza remembers everything he hates about Goku in a series of flashbacks. But it's not just a quick montage of flashbacks. No. It's about a half-episode long set of flashbacks wherein each scene takes about a minute to retell. It's like "We just finished watching the season... let me show the entire thing to you again... including scenes from this very episode." So you get to see a scene from that one episode about 3 times. Between that and King Kai repeatedly explaining "The planet is going to explode with Goku on it, so it doesn't matter if he defeats Frieza... he's still gonna die!" Seriously, Yamcha et al. must be idiots, because King Kai had to tell them that every single time they showed them (and they showed them often). I about laughed at one point when they ask "What's wrong?" It's like "he just finished telling you for the 50th time!"

I also have a couple other issues with the final episodes, including a couple major continuity problems. First of all (the smaller issue), there's a point where Vegeta and Gohan fight, Gohan gets the crap beat out of him, and Vegeta leaves. The very next episode shows Gohan perfectly fine and Vegeta just hanging out. Not only that, but Bulma then starts to hit on Vegeta (like, flirt with, not beat), after mainly being scared of and hateful toward him. Though I've always enjoyed the Bulma/Vegeta relationship, so I'm not too flustered. The bigger issue is with the Namekian dragonballs. They want to wish Goku and Krillin back (assuming Goku had died when the planet exploded) with those dragonballs, but discover that they could only be wished back to the place they died. But earlier on in the previous season, they used the same dragonballs to wish Piccolo back to life. He died on Earth, but he doesn't reappear where he died. He stays on King Kai's planet where he currently was, and they have to wish him to Namek. The continuity issue there is alarming.

There seems to be a lot of negativity here, but it's really a fun season. The action is great, though they really undermined Gohan's powers. He turns out to be one of the strongest fighters (if not the strongest) on the show, yet even with boosted ability, he's shown as mostly weak against Frieza and the Ginyu Force. But I guess that's hindsight for you. And the best thing about this season? The introduction of the Super Saiyan! That's right, Goku finally turns Super Saiyan, and it is epic. Once he does that, Frieza (mostly) gets his ass handed to him. It's great fun to watch. And I love how they use juxtapositions to show increased strength on this show (you see how strong Vegeta is, yet Frieza manhandles him... then Goku shows up and beats on Frieza, showing how much stronger Goku is than Vegeta).

Anyway, I don't have much else to say about the season. I already have disc 1 of season 4, so it won't be long before I get to my favorite stuff (the Cell saga(s)). There are a couple things to get through before that (Garlic Jr. and Androids, specifically). So, yeah.

TV Review: The Venture Bros. - Season Three.

I don't know what the difference was between the first two seasons and this one, but they apparently thought the difference included removing all censorship, which allowed them to add a whole lot more unbleeped cussing and a bit too much male nudity (with almost no female nudity).

I've heard numerous rants about this season and how it's the weakest season of the show, but I disagree. In fact, this is my second favorite season (after the second, and I liked this season better than season 1). One argument is that there's too much reliance on male nudity for jokes. I disagree. There's no more male nudity in this season than any other season. It's just that this season doesn't block it like the previous seasons.

There's also arguments that this season has way too much backstory. While it does have a lot of backstory, the whole season is far from pure backstory. There were maybe 3-4 episodes that I can recall that were really in-your-face about it. The rest I don't really recall much backstory. And if there was, they were quite subtle about it, much like any other season. And who doesn't like more developed characters?

Though I was disappointed in the little use of Dr. Orpheus in the season. He was moreso in the first half of the season than the second. And his daughter, Triana, had maybe one or two appearances, so there wasn't a whole lot of fun Dean/Triana relationship building. But I suppose I can understand it (moreso the lack of Orpheus). They don't want to go too overboard on him... then you won't appreciate him as much, I guess.

Also, one of the best focuses of the season was the ever-increasing roles of Henchmen 21 and 24 (which only makes me hate the very end of the season finale). Those two are such fun characters, and their duo dynamic is hilarious. It's especially funny when they start to realize their own 'main character-ization' and how they keep escaping death, as if they're becoming main characters in a story.

I realize I haven't really discussed the story of the season yet, so I should probably do that. Again, it picks up where the last season left off. The Monarch has married Dr. Girlfriend (whose name keeps changing now, becoming more along the lines of 'Dr. The Monarch's wife'). But a stipulation of their marriage is that The Monarch can no longer 'arch' (arch-nemesis) with Dr. Venture. So Dr. Venture gets a new arch-nemesis from the Guild: Seargant Hatred, a buff military-esque villain who is more concerned with having the destruction come when it's good for the both of them than just being a bad guy. But The Monarch won't give up... he misses arching Dr. Venture, and he tries to sneak in some arching with him when he can.

As such, the story for this season feels, at least to me, more fluid than previous seasons. There is a focus on backstory, but at least it never explains why The Monarch is so adamant about hating Venture (a running joke that would have otherwise been ruined). Everybody seems to have some purpose to what they're doing this season. Seargant Hatred isn't nearly as fun as The Monarch, but I think that's the point, especially by the time we get to the payoff in the season finale.

And speaking of the season finale, as usual, it is one of the best parts of the season. If this show can do anything great, it's build up to some of the greatest finales of any show on television. Even if they have a subpar season, the finale can still manage to bring everything together and make it awesome. And after the finales from seasons 2 and 3, the season 1 finale that I thought was so epic just pales in comparison. And as usual, they end with a big twist and some unanswered questions (as well as some death). Unfortunately, this season was the newest, and I'm not sure when the next season will be airing on TV. So I'm all caught up with the show and can't wait for it to start back up again... though now I'll have to watch it one at a time instead of numerous via DVD. Lame.

Anyway, as usual, if you enjoyed the previous seasons, I'd just keep it going. You'll doubtlessly enjoy this season, as well. Though it seems this season is hit or miss with some folks, so who knows. I guess it comes down to how much you like background information. But background info or not, it's still funny in its presentation. And I don't care if she sounds like a man (or is a cartoon figure), Dr. Girlfriend is hot.

TV Review: Dexter - The First Three Seasons.

I've been putting this off for a while, but I figured I might as well get around to it. Over the last couple months, I watched the entirety of the first three seasons of Showtime's hit series Dexter. I really didn't know what to expect going in. Like everybody else unacquainted with the show, I figured it was some serious, bloody, CSI-like drama about a serial killer. I couldn't have been more wrong.

While the show does have dramatic moments, it's much more of a dark comedy than anything. It's far more about the relationships Dexter has with everybody than about killing. For those of you who have no idea what I'm even talking about, Dexter is about, well, a guy named Dexter. He's a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, which means he uses the blood at a crime scene to tell him how things went down, often helping out greatly in a case's outcome. Oh, and he's a serial killer. But not just any random serial killer. Brought up by his adoptive father Harry, a cop, Dexter was taught how to use his urges for good, as well as how not to get caught. He calls this the Code of Harry. In other words, he only kills other murderers, and he's very methodical about it.

But not having the normal emotions that would make him more human causes him to appear as an outsider at times, which means he needs to appear as human as possible. He has a girlfriend, Rita, who also has two kids from her previous husband, a guy with a drug problem that is currently in jail. He is close with his sister-by-adoption, the foul-mouthed Deb, who also works at the police station, though as a cop out to become a homicide detective. And then there are his other co-workers, including troubled detective Angel Bastista, perverted CSI Vince Masuka, Lieutenant Maria Laguerta, and her old partner Seargant James Doakes, the only person who suspects that Dexter might be more than he's letting on.

From this point on, there might be some mild spoilers (I try to be as vague as possible), but only because in talking about seasons 2 and 3, I'll obviously have to allude to information that happened in the season(s) preceding. Otherwise, I never really come out and say any of the major twists. If you don't want any kind of spoilers, you can hop on down to the "conclusion" section at the bottom of this post.


Season One

Season one obviously acts as an introduction to these characters. And you quickly get attached to Dexter and the other characters, including the meaner of the bunch (Doakes and Laguerta).

Every season does a bit of the same, but always does it in a fresh enough way that it stays exciting. For instance, every season has a main serial killer that it focuses on. It also has a second character that does some nasty things and has some kind of relationship with Dexter, and both of their stories collide at the end. Season one is the most different from that formula, though not by too much. There is a main serial killer--the Ice Truck Killer. But the 'second character' in this season is Dexter himself, which makes sense as the show has to build up Dexter first and foremost.

While Dexter is incredibly likeable as a person, he does have his darker side as a serial killer. And no matter how violent he can be to these other killers, you never want him to get caught. You're always on the edge of your seat, wondering how he's going to get out of tough situations.

As I said, this season focuses on the Ice Truck Killer, who actually has a secret connection to Dexter's past. And Dexter's past is shown quite frequently through the use of flashback, from his mysterious early memory of being a toddler in a pool of blood to his lessons with his father. Every episode is thematic, often tying in the flashbacks to the theme. Dexter's adoptive father Harry, played brilliantly by James Remar, knows what his son is becoming and teaches him how to not only hone his urges, but also teaches him methods on how not to get caught by police. And the relationship with his father and his father's code are really a central focus throughout not only this season, but the entire series (as it is ever tested, broken, and evolved).

But the show doesn't merely focus on Dexter and what happens with him. All of the other characters are fleshed out, as well. Angel Batista comes from a broken marriage, his wife having left him with their daughter. Deb really tries to come into her own, though unknowingly gets a bit of help from Dexter in the shadows. Rita grows from meek and damaged to strong and forward, much to Dexter's chagrin. He likes her because she's "as damaged as him," and also because she is troubled about sex due to her previous husband. But when she starts to grow and get over her fears, Dexter starts worrying that if they have sex, she'll see him for what he really is, since he has difficulty showing emotions in the easiest of times.

Overall, the first season is really strong, getting you attached to all of these characters and their lives. It has some pretty decent suspense (not nearly as much as the second season, though), and answers all important questions while leaving things open enough to continue on with the show. Some damaged characters grow stronger (Rita), while stronger characters grow damaged (Deb). And it leaves it open with some good cliffhangers for the next season.


Season Two

Season two starts with everything falling apart around Dexter. Deb is an emotional basketcase because of what happened to her the previous season, and she's now living with Dexter. Rita breaks up with Dexter because she thinks he's a drug addict like her previous husband (which he goes along with, as it's better than telling her he's a serial killer). James Doakes is stalking him everywhere, trying to figure out his secrets and his connection to the Ice Truck Killer. Dexter is having trouble killing when he's not being stalked due to the emotional destruction that came with the previous season. And on top of all that, his underwater graveyard of mutilated bodies is found by divers, starting a new case for a massive serial killer dubbed the Bay Harbor Butcher. So he has to always keep one step ahead of the police, as well as Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine), an genius and expert brought in to take charge of the case.

Of course, this time around the main serial killer is Dexter himself, and he has to do everything he can to keep calm and get rid of any and all evidence that can lead people to him. And not all of that is easy with Doakes constantly on his tail. And his emotions run crazy as he can no longer fall back on Rita unless he goes to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and gets a sponsor.

Which he does, though that turns bad. Enter the 'second character that does bad things' for the season. She's a British bombshell named Lila, and not only is she his new sponsor (bringing a jealous streak into Rita), but she really gets Dexter. She's like his therapist, and he can go to her any time he feels the need to kill to try and get over this addiction (though, of course, she doesn't know he's a killer... but their metaphors for internal struggle work for both drugs and murder).

Everything in this season goes from bad to worse, but in a good way. Dexter just can never seem to catch a break. Everything he does blows up in his face. And then he starts to realize that maybe Lila wasn't the best person to get into a relationship with. The suspense is incredible this season. I would literally be sitting up, grasping my pillow to my chest, eyes wide and glued to the television, never knowing what was going to happen next.

But the relationships between characters are still center in the story. Deb grows a relationship with Lundy, who is a really fun character. The fierce love triangle between Rita/Dexter/Lila is intense. The relationship between ex partners Laguerta and Doakes peaks, with Laguerta constantly trying to keep Doakes above water, while Laguerta does what's necessary to regain her Lieutenant position that was lost at the end of the previous season. Angel's love/family life is still mentioned here and there. Vince Masuka is still typically the joker of the lot.

But the best relationship of the season was that of Dexter and Doakes, especially within the last 5 or so episodes. You see a whole other side of Doakes, and you really have no idea what's going to happen next between them. You know something has to happen to either Dexter or Doakes, and you really don't want anything bad to happen to either one. It's a major internal confliction. But as the show is, indeed, called Dexter, you're always relatively sure which one is gonna come out on top. You're just never sure how.

Dexter's Code of Harry is also questioned as Dexter learns more information about his adoptive father that really makes him wonder how important the code actually is. It's really interesting how they build on the character of Harry, even though he's dead and never physically seen in the present.

Overall, season two is incredibly suspenseful, head-pounding, and full of OMG! moments. It builds on season one with the depth of its characters and the depth of its story. Though it never forgets the characters like some other shows on television do. It gives equal time to both character and plot. But it's a much heavier, and maybe even darker season than the first or even third. But great all around.


Season Three

Season three changes some things around. It is seen by many fans as the first slump in the series (and all series' have a slump at some point), though while I can see where some of their comments are coming from, I overall disagree. After the incredibly dark and heavy second season, the third season lightens up a bit and focuses on the future.

The Code of Harry is pretty central in this season's plot, as it begins as Dexter gets into a self-defense position and kills somebody he didn't research first. Therefore, he didn't know if the guy he killed deserved it or not. But it turns out that the victim is the little brother of Assistant Defense Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits). Think of him kind of like Harvey Dent. He's very popular, but also quite controversial in some of his methods.

Strangely enough, though, Miguel and Dexter form a friendship... Dexter's first real friend. And, obviously, Miguel is this season's 'second person who does bad things'. Because as it turns out, Miguel is a lot more similar to Dexter than Dexter even realizes at first. Though as their friendship continues, the Code of Harry is pushed to its limits, especially as Dexter continues to question his father. And the funnest part of the season is the 'battle of wits' between Dexter and Miguel that comes in later in the season.

One of the biggest changes made in this season is in regards to Harry. In the past two seasons, Harry has been the giver of advice in the past, brought in with flashbacks. But this season has removed the flashbacks completely. Instead, it toys with Dexter's sanity as Harry shows up in hallucinatory fantasies acting somewhat as a corporeal conscience, where the two characters talk to each other about what to do or not to do. And often with Dexter ignoring him.

Though the biggest complaint of the season, and the one I do agree with to an extent, is the 'main serial killer' of the season, The Skinner. Whereas the previous main serial killers have been the forefront of the plot, The Skinner seems to take a backseat to the relationship between Miguel and Dexter. It feels more as if The Skinner plot, at least until the climactic episodes, is just something that's going on in the background.

But this is also where I disagree with the complaints. When you look at the season as a whole, the formula was mostly dropped, wherein there is a difference between the main bad guy and the secondary character. In this instance, Miguel Prado basically acts as both, which really adds to the dichotomoy of Dexter with and without the Code of Harry. But as they did include The Skinner, I agree that they could have added a bit more depth to him, as he really wasn't that exciting (again, until the climactic episodes).

Again, though, like the previous seasons, the relationships are vital. I've already mentioned the relationship between Miguel and Dexter. But the one between Dexter and Rita is at an all time high (and low) as we soon discover that Rita is pregnant. And of course, Dexter has to deal with questions like "What if the kid turns out like me?", "Do I marry Rita?", and "Does this mean I have to leave the sanctity of my apartment?"

The show also amps up the screen time for both Angel and Vince Masuka, giving them bigger side stories. Angel shows his troubled side, but also moves on with a new girlfriend. Vince Masuka is finally shown as more than a jester, realizing that people might dislike him and wants their respect as friends.

But there's also a new character in town, too. A detective named Quinn, whose past is pretty sketchy, and who gets on Deb's nerves quite often. Though if anything could have been worked on a bit this season, it would be the whole Quinn thing. Nothing is ever explained with any finality, and the whole subplot against him just kind of disappears at one point and is never mentioned again. Regardless, he's a good character.

Then there's Deb. I'm hoping because of how season three ended that season four won't introduce another love interest. It seems that every season Deb gets a new love interest, only for him to leave in one way or another by the end. Though I liked the one this season, I'm hoping he'll be the last new guy, at least for a while.

Overall, season three isn't nearly as suspenseful as season two, but it's still good (and had one of the saddest episodes ever... the 'easy as pie' episode for those who have seen it). Though it really leads you to a place that makes you wonder where they're going to go with it in season four. I seriously hope they do something with Rita, because that woman is starting to get a bit on the annoying side. She was a great character to start with, and I know she had come from this damaged marriage, but they're taking her character in such directions that make me wish they'd focus more on one of the other characters.


Conclusion

As a show, Dexter is brilliant. It has a great cast of characters, superb acting, and amazing writing. It's funny, sad, suspenseful, and dramatic all at the right moments. For those of you worried about the blood factor, it's really not that bad. In fact, with only a few notable exceptions, CSI is probably more gruesome than Dexter is. And if you're wondering how a serial killer can be fun, likeable, and even lighthearted, this show gives a prime example.

It's all about the characters and how they deal with their everyday lives while mixing in a bit of serial killer action (either hunting one or being one). It quickly became one of my favorite shows on television, and I highly recommend it to fans of dark comedy and/or serial killer stories. And they couldn't have casted anybody better for Dexter than Six Feet Under's Michael C. Hall.

Long story short? Brilliant show.