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Dexter is an American television series based on the Dexter Book Series by author Jeff Lindsay. Produced by Showtime, the series has received multiple nominations and actor Michael C. Hall has amassed over five Emmy nominations for his role as serial killer Dexter Morgan. The show premiered on October 1, 2006.
Crew
Starring
- Michael C. Hall
Producers
- Daniel Cerone
- Sara Colleton
- Charles H. Eglee
- John Goldwyn
- Michael C. Hall
- Chip Johannessen
- Clyde Phillips
Production
Opening Title Sequence
Opening credits as seen in Episode 102: Crocodile-onwards
Dexter has since the beginning used a single title sequence, while some series (such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer) may use footage from within the season or change as the show progresses, Dexter has kept with the same intro and song much like HBO series True Blood.
The sequence was created by Digital Kitchen, a production studio also responsible for the Title Sequence for series True Blood, Nip/Tuck and even Six Feet Under (which also starred Michael C. Hall. The main title theme was produced by Rolfe Kent, in association with Digital Kitchen.
These opening credits depict Dexter Morgan's daily morning routine, showing everything that embodies his character in a neat, stylized set of actions that detail vibrant colors and themes explaining the series in a calm pace. Every morning Dexter is seen being bit by a simple mosquito, which he smacks leaving a blood spot which he just simply stares at with somewhat of a smile. After the title is shown, he proceeds to shave and fix his breakfast. Blood from a shaving cut being magnified towards the theme of the show as well as the food he prepares (from simple ham and eggs, which he slashes open to a blood orange that he juices). At the end of the sequence, Dexter pulls a shirt over his head showing that he's a normal man with deep, cold eyes carrying a dark expression but as he leaves his apartment, all that seems to disappear under a colorful, nice guy mask as he nods towards the camera walking along the outside of his apartment.
In the first episode of Season 4, Living the Dream, a self-parody of the title sequence was aired, which shows Dexter missing the mosquito, pulling on a stained shirt, and breaking a shoelace, all with skipping breakfast. At the end, Dexter is shown staring into the mirror with a baby crying in the background. The music becomes less lively, becoming slower and glum.
Music
The Original Soundtrack is produced by Daniel Licht, which incorporates a variety of themes for each character. Much of Dexter's themes play out as calm, stalking pieces while characters such as Debra Morgan are given themes that harbor somewhat of a detective feel to them. Angel Batista and Maria LaGuerta (along with Miguel Prado have a distinct Latin sound to their own themes, while the villains of the show often have a dark, malicious tone.
Dexter however isn't simply orchestrated music, rather like other popular drama series it is often greeted by multiple Mexican style music by Latino artists to fit the Miami setting. These songs usually arise during a change of settings, perhaps once or twice in an episode and almost always hint at a more "calm" period on the show.
Viral Marketing
Dexter like other popular shows often reaches out through various marketing styles in order to grab viewers and pull immerse them further in the universe of the series. One such event was the Dexter Alternate Reality Game, in which viewers would follow the trail of the dangerous Infinity Killer.
Showtime often offers other forms of media for the public to enjoy, such as the Dexter Interactive Investigation (an online YouTube-based game where players follow the trail of a serial killer in the control of Dexter Morgan), Dexter Early Cuts (an online, animated comic book showing many of Dexter's earliest kills) and Dexter the Game (which plays out some of the events of the first season on the IPAD and other products). Check out the cool WWDD Dexter T Shirt .
Plot
Season One
The first season of Dexter introduces us to Dexter Morgan, a serial killer living a double-life as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Homicide department. Viewers are given an insight into how he has perfected faking human interaction in order to appear normal, but slowly throughout the course of the season, he begins to care more about those closer to him and risks it all to protect them. This season follows closely with the first novel, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, in which a mysterious serial killer named the Ice Truck Killer (Tamiami Butcher in the novel) tests Dexter's wit and cunning which lead to a dark truth about who he is and what he's capable of. However, several key elements from the novel are replaced and changed to either eliminate characters, or keep them alive for future seasons.
Season Two
Season Two picks up a month after the events of the first season, with Dexter grieving first over the events in the previous season's finale and then coping with the fact that his own murder spree has been exposed to everyone. The killer is dubbed the "Bay Harbor Butcher" and when FBI Agent Frank Lundy joins the hunt. Dexter is put in the hot seat as he has to fight for his safety by playing this dangerous mind game with both the agent and his own homicide department. This season leads in a far different direction than the book series at this point, rather than following the story of Dr. Danco, Dexter meets a woman by the name of Lila West and becomes involved with her, thus forcing a heavy strain on his own relationship with Rita Bennett, the woman he has been seeing since the beginning of the series. What makes matters worse is that James Doakes, an already suspicious Sergeant detective in the homicide department, begins to hunt Dexter through his own resources and before long all of these stories clash together, near the end.
Season Three
By Season Three, it's clear that the series is going far away from the novels (which is pleasing for fans so that they don't know what's going to happen next) when Dexter encounters Miguel Prado, DA for Miami and a curious character in his own right. When a turn of events leads Miguel into becoming close friends with Dexter, great risks are taken to insure whether or not Miguel should be allowed close enough to Dexter's secret life. Meanwhile, sister Debra Morgan who survived the Ice Truck Killer and assisted greatly in trying to capture the Bay Harbor Butcher is now working with Detective Joey Quinn to investigate a new string of murders connected to a man known as The Skinner. This season also sees Dexter rekindling his relationship with Rita, to the point of proposing marriage to her, and leaving her pregnant with child.
Season Four
Season Four brings Dexter into a new light when he is given his own child by Rita, Harrison Morgan. Now playing the role of husband, father, friend, hard worker and serial killer, he finds himself quickly strained by the overload and this causes some problems as the fatigue grows on him. Eventually however a new problem arises as an old serial killer has returned from over 30 years ago, the Trinity Killer. When old nemesis Frank Lundy returns and suddenly sister Debra Morgan becomes injured in an onslaught, Dexter works to discover who this killer is and put him to his own form of justice. This season introduces John Lithgow to the cast as Arthur Mitchell, a long-surviving serial killer who has been at it for over 30 years. When Dexter meets Arthur, he battles with himself over killing him or sparing him to learn how he too can manage his own life in comfort. He soon learns though that there is more to Arthur than meets the eye, and this puts everything he is at risk.
Season Five
Season Five picks up directly where Season Four left off, in the tragic conclusion of the previous season finale Dexter now has to cope with the consequences of his own delayed actions to deal with Arthur Mitchell. Now left alone to care for his son while stepchildren Astor and Cody Bennett move in with their grandparents, Dexter is faced with a new problem - overcoming the grief and guilt that changed his life forever. Along the way he meets a mysterious woman named Lumen Pierce (played by actress Julia Stiles), held captive by a group of rapists that have tortured and murdered women to satisfy their needs. Feeling obligated to help Lumen where he could not help his wife, Dexter begins a hunt for each of these men until he begins to clash with dangerous adversaries such as Cole Harmon and the inspirational speaker, Jordan Chase. But things aren't so straight forward, Joey Quinn who has harbored a suspicion of Dexter since the previous season now begins investigating deep into his life to try and find out more about what Dexter truly does in the dark. He enlists the help of a dangerous cop named Stan Liddy (played by Peter Weller, best known for his role as Robocop), who ends up discovering more than he should. Meanwhile sister Debra Morgan ends up in a relationship with Quinn, which rises and falls as she works through a new set of murders in the Santa Muerte Case which tests her skills and her morality.
Season Six
Season Six aired on October 2, 2011, the series sees Dexter returning to his roots, now with his son at two years old he finds himself examining religion as a possible trait to pass onto his boy (rather than the Dark Passenger that has for so long lived inside him). As he progresses in his search, he meets Brother Sam (played by rapper and actor Mos Def), an ex-con turned holy man who befriends Dexter and the two discuss redemption through faith in higher power. At the same time, Miami is plagued by a new serial killer dubbed the Doomsday Killer (DDK) who performs ritual kills based on the Doomsday Tableaus, and was originally believed to be Professor James Gellar (Edward James Olmos), a religious professor from the University of Tallahassee. While this happens, Debra has been promoted to Lieutenant and deals with the stress of her new position, while also discovering that she may have feelings for Dexter. Dexter pursues Gellar's apprentice, Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks), who appears to be a reluctant accomplice to Gellar, only to be found to be the real Doomsday Killer, suffering from a split personality of light and dark, mirroring the two sides of Dexter's own dark passenger. After Travis attempts to kill Harrison, Dexter killed Travis, who had succumbed completely to his darkness, inside the church that acted as Travis' hideout, plunging a knife into him, seconds before Debra walks in to see the kill.
Season Seven
Season 7 picks up immediately where Season 6 left off, with Debra discovering Dexter killing Travis Marshall. Dexter tells her that he discovered Travis at the church and killed him after he threatened Harrison, and Debra reluctantly helps to make Travis' death look like a suicide, before eventually discovering that Dexter is indeed a serial killer, and Dexter is forced to explain himself. Meanwhile, a Ukranian crime syndicate boss, Isaak Sirko (Ray Stevenson) is in Miami looking for the man who killed one of his subordinates, who was in fact Dexter. Debra comes to terms with Dexter's being a killer, and vows to help him with his problem before realizing that his tendencies may sometimes be a good thing. At this time, Dexter becomes infatuated with Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), a serial killer without a dark passenger, who accepts Dexter as both a man and a killer. In a third plot, Laguerta discovered Travis' bloodslide at the church and becomes convinced that the Bay Harbor Butcher was not Doakes and is still alive and active.
Episodes
- Main article: List of Episodes
Dexter has a total of 96 aired episodes. Each season runs for 12 episodes, starting usually near the end of September or the start of October, and midway through December. The episodes run on the Showtime network every Sunday, about 8PM Eastern/7PM Central and run for approximately 50 minutes with no commercials.
Differences with the novels
- Main article: Differences between Dexter Novels and Series
Videos
