Why Dexter is My Favourite TV Show

by Shannon Lintott

I feel like I would not stand alone when I say that the mass majority of television shows these days are generally stupid, slow and/or over-all boring (see also, lame). Most television isn’t out there to test you, the viewer, but rather prefers to think of their viewers as being too stupid to get what’s happening when it comes to complex plots, characters and problem solving.

These opinions are what makes Dexter one of the best television shows right now. Why Dexter is my favourite TV show? I barely watched two hours of television a week before Dexter happened. If the above facts aren’t enough for you, then let me explain why I love Dexter.

Dexter looks at what we find so dear in life and breaks it down into the pure essentials. At times the show seems to be mocking us for how simple our lives are yet how difficult we always make them to be. Dexter has a simple set of rules to follow, something that a lot of us wish we could have, and for that you start to envy him. It makes us wonder what our lives would be like if we had such a straight forward mission and concrete day to day goals. In a way, he knows himself more than most of the average population and yet he’s a serial killer.

Wait, what? A serial killer? Yes, a serial killer. And a cop, but not just any cop, a blood splatter analyst who helps bring criminals to justice. He’s a brother, a father, a friend to many and a genius amongst his colleagues. He shows us that everyone has a darkness in them but they too can find a way to use it to do good. It’s the little things that make Dexter who he is that make this show so interesting, engaging and strangely thought provoking.

Basically, when it comes down to it, Dexter forces you to question what you believe to be right and wrong. The show specifically hones in on how thin the line between good and evil is in society and morally for each individual. Dexter is a serial killer and yet you grow to like him and even to root him on as he takes down one evil doer after another. In the back of your mind you know this is not right, and the law says it’s not right, but morally our conscience battles us to tell us that what he is doing is right.

I really like watching this show for the other characters too. You can actually see each character evolving and changing through their experiences each and every season. If you go back to the first season and compare it to the newest season most of the main characters are almost completely different people because, just like in real life, six years can really change someone.  Every character reacts to one another naturally and their relationships progress realistically rather than drama being thrown in just for the sake of drama. There is such an intricate web of relationships which helps make each character feel more real and their personal problems relatable to a wide audience.

If all of this wasn’t clever enough and hard to keep balanced and strong for six glorious seasons, than the fact that Dexter is a good person who wants to change, help people and at the same time find himself, makes him the unsung hero and leader to those who are lost or helpless.

Some people find the show gory and may call us Dexter fans sick and demoralized. At times in the show you have to sort of agree with them. Yet, at the same time, if we cannot test and re-think our own beliefs than how are we to grow as individuals in such a thin and malleable society and time of life? Dexter, although just a simple television show, allows each viewer an hour out of their day to ask themselves “what would you do?”

In this time of bad television, it’s hard to put your trust in a show that wont let you down, but I promise you that Dexter will quickly become your new addiction (if it wasn’t already). A show that makes you question yourself yet allows you to grow along side its characters as they face their own demons and struggle between right and wrong is why this show has stuck around. Dexter keeps growing in fandom and, in my not so humble opinion, will be around for many more seasons.

Shannon Lintott works in production at a professional theatre company in Toronto. A recent graduate of the Ryerson Performance Production BFA program, she spends her free time exploring the internet, taking photographs, reading or writing on one of her numerous and addictive websites. The majority of her time is spent watching movies and reviewing them on her movie review blog I Like (good) Movies. Follow Shannon on Twitter.