Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce que c'est?

The FBI believes 85% of the world's serial killers are in the U.S.A., and that 20 to 50 of them are active at any given time. I wonder if any of them watch Dexter, and if they enjoy the show. Do they feel a unique connection with Dexter? Do they have pre-orders with Amazon for the series' boxset as soon as it's available?

I didn't think much of the show when I watched it with desayuno_ingles in Brasil. We watched the sixth episode and, despite most of the plot being explained to me, I still found the show convoluted, badly acted and somewhat hackneyed. When I returned to London, I learned that Kevin and Sissy Jen had gone through a Dexter marathon, thanks to the episodes being available for free, on demand. I decided to give the show a second chance, from its start, seeing that I was unemployed and had nothing better to do all day.

Dexter comes close to being great TV. It's not quite there yet for me, but it's almost there (I'm currenly on episode 8 of the first season). The premise is brilliant: Dexter is a blood splatter specialist with the Miami police who also happens to be a closeted serial killer. However, Dexter was raised by a foster father with Nietzschean ideals, who believed his son's psychopathy could be used as a force for good, i.e. he trains Dexter to direct his bloodlust at bad people. From there, the show constantly pits Dexter against notions of good and evil in modern life. If you are a nurse who poisons patients, you deserve to die in his hands. But if you killed a boy who raped you, then it's OK to retaliate; Dexter will let you get away with murder because you fit his view of what is acceptable.

The supporting actors are the main reason why this show isn't excellent. From Dexter's stilted cop sister, to the horribly miscast Lt. Maria Laguerta, the characters vary between downright bad acting to passable work. The show would benefit from new characters being introduced after an explosion that wipes out most of the old ones. However, the bad acting could be due to first-episodes-shakiness; I'm hoping they'll get better as the show grows. Right now, Michael C. Hall plays Dexter to perfection. He's all-American charm as well as enigmatic and camp. References to the novel American Psycho, as well as a host of other serial killers in pop culture, don't go amiss. You feel for Dexter when he finally gets his chance to confess to someone that he's a serial killer. And you can't help worrying for his relationship with the perenially fucked up single mother Rita as their relationship grows. To go from being a traumatised victim of domestic violence to lover of a serial killer has got to hurt!

My biggest worry right now is that the free episodes will end soon (it was a month-long promotion for FX channel) and I will have to wait until the boxset is available. I'd rather face Dexter's chopping board then wait a whole year for my fix to be satisfied.

Dança do Siri em Londres

I was watching the BBC's 6 o'clock news, to learn more about the tube strike, when who do I see walking behind the reporter? tonight_we_fly! This was in Holborn, and judging by the speed of his steps, he was heading for the nearest pub. ;-)

Mark, in Brasil, when we walk behind a camera filming live news, we are obliged to do the... CRAB DANCE!

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Please don't forget next time.