Deeply disappointing Dexter
I'm a huge "Six Feet Under" fan. So when I saw that Michael C. Hall, the actor who played David, had a new show coming out, I was excited. (Apparently not excited enough to get Showtime or even watch it immediately when it came out on DVD, but excited nonetheless) Well, now I've watched the first disc of season one. Disappointing!
Hall plays the titular role in "Dexter," a TV show about a forensics expert with the Miami Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer. Dexter only kills the bad guys. A somewhat sympathetic killer who knows how to cover his tracks? Sounds right up my alley, no? I can't get enough of fictional sociopathy! Or so I thought.
I am an internet person and therefore know everything better than the professionals. So I have some advice for the writers and director of "Dexter."
1) Use voice-over narration sparingly, if at all
I realize this show was based on a novel, "Darkly Dreaming Dexter." Doesn't mean you have to have actors read sections of the novel aloud. As my 7th grade English teacher would say: Show, don't tell.
If you have to have your main character spell out everything he thinks and feels through voice over, then your writing sucks, the actor sucks or both. In the case of "Dexter," you have one of TV's best actors being asked to say things in voice over along the lines of "This box is empty, just like me" and "If I were capable of having feelings, I'd have them for her." What are you, 13 years old? This isn't "The Wonder Years" serial killer edition.
Hall does an amazing job of showing you the man under the facade. You can see why no one suspects he's a killer, but you can occasionally see little tells that he's faking a lot of his humanity. That is hard for an actor to do. Don't waste his talent.
For example, the line "This box is empty, just like me," came after a great series of scenes where he's bringing donuts to all his co-workers so he can be perceived as a regular guy. (The box was empty after he gave away all the donuts) It was chilling to watch him charm the records woman into giving him case files so he could cover his own tracks. Then you had to go and lame it up. "Empty just like me." Come on!
2) Do all the other characters have to be so annoying?
Dexter's sister, annoying. Other cops, annoying. Other lab techs, annoying. Dexter's girlfriend ... OK, she's really good. Besides Dexter's girlfriend, none of these characters feel like real people. Two of the actors who play other cops were on "Oz," so I know they have the acting chops. I've seen it. Is it an ironic ploy? By making the other characters unrelatable and wooden, you are putting us in the shoes of a man who can't relate to other people? No, probably it's just bad writing and bad acting or direction.
3) Why does the show look like it was filmed for CBS?
CBS cop shows have a particular cheaply made stink to them. From the bad, bluish lighting and unimaginative camera work to the uncharismatic actors and clunky scripts, CBS cop shows emit a certain stench I can smell a mile away. And you know what? Somehow you've managed to capture that despite being on Showtime and employing a few good actors.
The people who like CSI aren't the same people who will watch a show that features an exsanguinated body chopped into sections then wrapped like butchered meat. So stop looking and feeling like CSI with more blood.
Conclusion: I will give the show five more episodes to right itself. Why? Because Michael C. Hall is that good, and I find sociopathy that interesting.
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