On Dexter

The third season of Dexter begins September 28th on Showtime.

Dexter Morgan: "I can kill a man, dismember his body, and be home in time for Letterman. But knowing what to say when my girlfriend's feeling insecure...I'm totally lost."

Staring: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz and Jennifer Carpenter

Rating:TV-14 (CBS)

There are only a couple shows on TV that I would say cannot be missed. Alongside Burn Notice, Dexter is definitely one of them and ironically, both shows take place in Miami. Weird! With this kind of trend going on, they should really think about bringing back Crockett and Tubbs. I think we owe Phillip Michael Thomas some employment after all his years of entertaining the masses. We wouldn't want him slowly going the way of the Ed Mcmahon.

In 2004, the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay appeared on book store shelves and was the inspiration, obviously, to the series. Two years later in 2006 it came to Showtime to rave reviews. The extremely dark drama/comedy centers around Dexter Morgan, a Miami blood spatter analyst who just happens to also be a sociopath. His father Harry Morgan, who adopted him when he was three, noticed the signs and did what any loving father would do; encouraged Dexter to kill in a more socially acceptable way. So, working for the police, he tracks down all those who commit crimes against civilized society and commits gruesome crimes ,against them. All the while trying to keep his hidden life a secret from his co-workers, his sister, Debra who is a homicide detective, and his unstable girlfriend Rita and her kids.

The show began airing on CBS in January 2008 amid some controversy; a couple watchdog groups saying it was a little too murder glorifying for prime time. I can see where such groups are coming from, for the show is truly disturbing, but in the end I need to disagree; not that I would let my children, if I had them, watch the show of course... The show is extremely graphic in both concept and content, but what I like is how thought provoking it is. Though I think the iTunes video game that was announced at Comic-Con may be a little to creepy.

Dexter, who has so far never harmed anyone who wasn't deplorable, isn't completely void of human emotion though and the show frequently focuses on his relationships with his family and his girlfriend and her kids, and this raising some interesting questions. You wind up questioning yourself if you really like the character for killing the dregs of society, or if you hate him for engaging in the acts he does. I find this to be one of the most interesting aspects of the show. I always feel conflicted, still not really clear on whether I like him or not. Just like Bachman Turner Overdrive.

At any rate, it is a show that will make you think, laugh, cheer and grimace all within one installment. Due to this, the great acting, conflicting emotions you encounter while watching the program, and the wonderful creepy feeling the show inspires leads me to give it 4 out of 4 Phillip Michael Thomas's.