BLU-RAY
REVIEW:
DEXTER
Season one
01/03/09
Ten minutes into the first
episode of Dexter, and I was hooked. Usually it takes a
couple of episodes, but Dexter is so wonderfully crafted
that from the onset one can’t help but become wrapped in
Dexter’s world. The first episode give you a taste of what
we are in for, a very different take on a serial killer.
While at first glance the show may seem a little formulaic,
like your standard police fare such as CSI, the show is far
from it and it develops multi-layered overlapping stories
episode after episode with twist and turns that will have
you on the edge of your seat.
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), due to a dramatic
experience at a very young age, is a man without feelings.
He fakes all of his emotions to appear normal, taught to
fake them by his adopted father Harry (James Remar), who
discovers early on Dexter’s condition. If it weren’t for
Harry’s love and understanding, Dexter would have killed
just to feel something and long ago been incarcerated.
However, Harry teaches Dexter to satisfy his hunger to kill,
he will kill but only those who deserve it. Harry, a
policemen, teach Dexter how to find and kill evil
individuals and how to remain undetected.
It doesn’t hurt Dexter’s night job, that his real occupation
is that of a forensics expert for the Miami Police
Department. He works along side his sister, Harry’s
daughter, Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), a detective.
The team is made up of Lieutenant Maria Laguerta (Lauren
Vélez) who has a mild crush on Dexter, Angel Batista (David
Zayas) a detective who is having problems with his wife,
Sergeant James Doakes (Erik King) the only officer who finds
Dexter’s behavior unusual, and Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee) who
seems to have sex on his mind most of the time and provides
most of the comic relief.
The first season focuses on the Ice Truck Killer, a serial
killer that Dexter admires for his techniques. The Ice Truck
Killer takes an interest in Dexter and begins to leave him
clues, a game that Dexter is very eager and excited to play.
Each episode of this 12 - episode season reveals a little
bit more about Dexter’s younger years and his lessons with
Harry. Each episode also reveals a little more on the Ice
Truck Killer and with each episode you can’t help but get
more and more drawn in.
The casting of Michael C. Hall as Dexter is pretty much what
makes the show so good. Who would have thought that the guy
who played David Fisher in Six Feet Under would have had it
in him to play a serial killer. But Michael, shows episode
after episode what a talent he is, as he makes his take on
Dexter simply irresistible.
I saw all 12 episode in the span of three days. Initial
seating down to just watch one episode, led me down the path
of watching all four episodes on a disc. This is the type of
series that keeps you wanting more. Watching the series on
Blu-ray is memorizing. Each disc contains four episodes that
look absolutely stupendous. Having developed a liking for
Dexter, I couldn’t help but rent the first disc for season 2
on DVD, but I was very disappointed. Having been spoiled
with how season 1 looks on Blu-ray, watching season 2 on DVD
just doesn’t do the show justice. The Blu-ray version blows
the DVD version out of the water and if you have a Blu-ray
player, the Blu-ray version is the one to own.
Granted even on the Blu-ray edition a few of the darker
scenes do look a like grainy. However, these scenes are few
and far between and most of the scenes look clear and vivid.
The audio is just as good and supplements the eerie feeling
you get when you are watching the show. The feeling and
power behind the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is fantastic. The
Blu-ray edition also has a number of features, sadly they
are only available via BD LIVE and aren’t available until
January 6, 2009 and therefore were unavailable for this
review. The BD LIVE features look interesting with titles
like The Academy of Blood - A Killer Course and Witness In
Blood - A True Murder Investigation and even features a look
at the first episode of Dexter season 3 and the first two
episodes of United States of Tara.
Review
By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Widescreen 1.78:1
1080p High Defintion
AUDIO:
English Dolby
TrueHD 5.1, Spanish Dolby 2.0
Subtitles English SDH
BONUS FEATURES:
Audio Commentary for
“Return to Sender” with Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas,
Lauren Velez, and Erik King
Audio Commentary for “Born Free” with Producers Sara
Colleton, Clyde Phillips and Daniel Cerrone
BD Live
1. The Academy of Blood - A
Killer Course
2. Witness In Blood - A True Murder Investigation
3. Michael C. Hall Podcast
4. First episode of Dexter, season 3
5. The first two episodes of United States of Tara
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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