itsmechristinaa's Blog

Critique on a Murderer

itsmechristinaa — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:54:44 +0000

Critics and reviews for Dexter season 1 amazed everyone else besides the audience. Dexter is seen as that new show that digs into a softer side of a serial killers mind. The show displays a different side to who a serial killer is, therefore showing the damaged individual they are on the inside. One particular critic stated that “this series does for serial killers what the ‘Sopranos’ did for mob bosses; showing that underneath the stereotype there is a much damaged human being. ‘Dexter is more than a crime show, it is a psychological study of not only the protagonist more humanity in general.” This compliments my own thoughts about the show because again Dexter shows the person behind the “monster” of a serial killer. Dexter is shockingly shown as a damaged man who is dealing with a problem he can’t help but use for the better. When looking up reviews for this show, everybody had nothing but good comments to leave. The show highlights the dark sides of murder and turns them into something better. With that, the only negative aspect about the show was when the question came up to move the show onto CBS’s regular television network. An uprising of concerns suddenly came about because of that uttering fact that the show does indeed highlight the dark sides about being a serial killer. Though the show is loved, concerns about the message it is sending out to younger viewers to sympathize with a murderer shows bad aspects to the society watching it for the future. Dexter is therefore thought to remain on it regular network of Showtime where the audience is selected and monitored so that thought span will not leak out. Beside that one negative aspect to the show, all reviews for this shows plot, actors, and ideas is nothing but positive and happy to have fresh idea come onto television.

The Sunshine State

itsmechristinaa — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:46:24 +0000

There had to be fresh ideas going through the creators of the show’s mind when they made the location of the show in Florida as opposed to the typical settings of New York or Los Angeles. Having the show take place in Florida brings about a sense of vibrancy to the case situations and characters. Again, Florida is not a typical place the audience has seen as a setting for these types of shows since Miami Vice. Lastly, creators of the show made a murderer the main character to again make their show different from everyone else. CSI and Forensics Files’ main focus is on the innocent and solving the crime to pick out the bad guy. In this show, the “bad guy” is the main focus therefore leading the audience to question everything about the show. Besides following an entertaining plot for each episode, they still leave the audience to question whether we should be rooting for Dexter even though he is actually one of the murderer’s himself. Florida to me ties into that whole mess because all the crazy murderer people usually come from Florida. Not stereotype the state of anything, but when you turn on the news all the crazy murders ironically comes from the sunshine state. For myself, I think the writers wanted to use that “sunshine state” idea as a starting point to have crazy crime scenes murder cases focused in this setting.

Comparison to Other Shows

itsmechristinaa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:12:41 +0000

Dexter is an interesting show just because it moves away from that typical type of cop series. Everything I thought the show was going to be about ended up being the complete opposite. The closest comparison that Dexter may have to any other shows would be to CSI or Forensic Files. Since Dexter works for the Forensic department, a lot of the crime scenes and analysis of work for each case is very similar to these other shows. The difference that Dexter makes here is that for the audience, instead of being part of the forensics team trying to solve the murder on CSI, you are actually in the mind of the person that committed it. The audience is allowed to follow Dexter’s stream of consciousness as he looks through crime scenes pointing out aspects of the murder that he would have done himself. As opposed to being behind the scenes questioning what may have happened, the audience is up close and personal to what actually happened. CSI and Forensic Files are fun shows to watch because you get to see how the team breaks down the information they gather together, how they analyze it and somehow in the end of the hour can solved the mystery. In Dexter’s case, you get to see how it was done, what thought process was put into the situation and have an outside perspective that isn’t your typical cop. Instead you have someone solving a murder that he could have done better himself.

Born Free, Episode #12

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:47:07 +0000

To quickly sum up this episode, the whole police department team is in a frantic mode trying to find Deb since she turned up missing after meeting Rudy. Dexter, while trying to find his sister, is in turn also trying to solve the mystery of his past. After searching through Rudy’s apartment through a warrant, Dexter comes face to face to a similar environment Rudy used to kill his victims as did Dexter use to kill his. The secluded porcelain lab room to kill his victims, the draws of blood kept as souvenirs and the OCD procedure to conduct each deed. To everyone’s shock in the end, Rudy’s real name ends up being Brian and his actual identity is shockingly Dexter’s biological older brother. Both Dexter and Brian went through the same experiences except Brian turned out for the worst and Dexter used his obsession for good. With Brian’s new found discovery, it allows the whole season to tie up together to make sense. The little clues left around for Dexter, the different painted fingernails, the pictures of past family memories all tie together to show that Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer indeed have that blood similarity, literally. The season finale very much tied the whole plot together putting to rest all the question marks viewers would have thought up throughout the season. I personally thought that everything was just a coincidence when it came to all these clues being left behind, but the finale puts my mind to rest to know that this was the reason behind it all. I rate this episode a 5+ and officially declare this one to be my favorite because everything makes sense now! The plot is finally complete and the story as a whole just became so interesting that I want to watch the whole season all over again.

Truth Be Told, Episode #11

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:44:59 +0000

“A buried memory forgotten all these years. It climbed inside of me that day and its been with me ever since. My dark passenger.” This is very powerful opening quote to this episode considering how the last one was left. Turns out, Dexter fainted at that previous crime scene because his repressed memory has suddenly came up upon entering that room. Dexter felt uneasy in that room because when he was a baby he was placed in that similar situation. He in fact watched his biological mother die in that same type of situation which in turn may be the reason why Dexter is the way he is today. Anyways, the episode goes on trying to find the person who stabbed Angel at the end of the last episode. My standing as an outside investigator still holds up because I clearly know it was Rudy who committed the crime. Rudy of course keeps leading the audience on by allowing us to watch his latest murder to a prostitute Angel spoke to earlier that day. Rudy ends up trying to kill Angel because after talking to this prostitute, Rudy knew they were getting too close to finding out he is the Ice Truck Killer. The plot finally makes a turn around when Dexter finds out Rudy’s secrets and tries to find a way to bag him with hard evidence. The unfortunate part about this is Deb’s position because the killer is the man she is potentially falling in love with. At the end of the episode, Rudy kidnaps Deb, tells her he is the killer as well as rubbing in her face that she was too eager to fall in love with someone. Deb’s character development shows us that since childhood, she has been yearning for the attention and love from someone else. Ever since Dexter came into the picture as a child, their father has always had a special interest in him rather than her. With that, Deb seeks love in the wrong places, therefore leading her to unfortunately find love in the hands of a killer. I rate this episode a 4.5 for the same reasons I rated the last episode. The plot thickened when the murderer was revealed to the rest of the cast giving the audience a sense of ease to being that close in solving this mystery.

Seeing Red, Episode #10

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:44:02 +0000

”You actually are human you son of a bitch” was a very interesting and funny quote that came from a officier towards Dexter. A new killing has come up again and this one is drastic. It takes place in a motel room numbered 103 and the blood bath inside the room is too overwhelming. Overwhelming to the point that the police departments leading blood expert Dexter walked in and practically fainted. That quote above was said to Dexter after he fainted because until that point, not one crime scene effected Dexter the way this one did. Usually Dexter makes jokes about the crime scenes, but this one completely took him by surprise. Half way through the episode is starting to irritate me because Rudy is prancing around being friends with everyone, especially Dexter, and all this time I know that he is in fact the killer. I believe that the writers of the show purposely revealed the killed to the audience beforehand because they wanted us to be like the investigators in the next episode. As I watched this current episode, every time he comes in on a scene I look closely to find aspects where he slips and kind of reveals that he is the killer. This allows the audience to be more involved in the story because they feel like they are the only ones who know the main lead that could solve the whole mystery. All in all, this makes watching the rest of the show more interesting. This so far is my favorite episode because I knew something that the rest of the cast did not. I give this episode a 5 because it made me know a lead part about the story which engaged me into the plot even further. Liking blood and murder stories is enough, but this episode made it even more fun.

Father Knows Best, Episode #9

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:41:26 +0000

This show was the major twist to the whole story. The episode starts out with Dexter finding out that his biological father wasn’t actually dead, but has now recently died from a heart attack. On a little road trip, Dexter and Rita head down to the house that Joe, his father, has left him to clean out. To their surprise, Debbie and her new boyfriend Rudy meet them there to help Dexter out as well. From the very beginning, I never liked Deb’s new boyfriend. Yes he is a doctor and treats her very well, but his manner of character seemed very sketchy. First off, the way he talks and conducts himself around Deb has that creepy pervert feeling you see around the streets of New York. The main aspects about him that made him weird was his extreme interest in meeting Deb’s brother Dexter. He was the one who convinced Deb in making that surprise visit to see Dexter and Rita and he was the one who gave big creepy hugs upon being introduced to them. Rudy’s character all in all started off trustworthy, but led to whole different side to the story. Crazily, Dexter and Rudy seemed similar as I thought about it because Dexter works for Forensics specializing in blood while Rudy is a doctor which kind of deals with the same aspects about the human body. Both characters start their days very early and both lack their sense of feelings when it comes to sharing something important to someone else. Dexter shows this throughout the whole season while Rudy made that clear when he bypasses important questions that Deb asks him. Finally, considering the Ice Truck Killer and Dexter share some connection between them even though they never met only led me to believe that Rudy was indeed the Ice Truck Killer. Even though I thought this well into the beginning of the episode, sure enough at the end, Rudy is revealed as the Ice Truck Killer to the audience, but not to the rest of the cast. I rate this episode a 4 because they revealed who that killer really was. I didn’t give the episode a full 5 because the first half the episode was very boring because it was dragging on to the climax moment very slowly. All in all it gave character development for Rudy, but still lacked that entertainment factor for the audience as a whole.

Shrink Wrap, Episode #8

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:22:46 +0000

“This is not a game Dexter, this is not supposed to be fun” is a quote that just came up in the show and considering I’m studying for this classes exam for this week, it just reminded me about this shows influence on its audience. This show should regularly be entertaining for the audiences, but for some reason I started to think about all the other ways people can interpret this show. First off, this show is extremely violent when it comes to the scenes people are being murdered. It clearly shows slasher’s, blood, chopping up body parts and other violent aspects of murders. In addition to that image, understanding the show sends out the message that killing is appropriate if its done to the right people. Dexter’s lack of feelings towards the murders he commits could potentially show viewers that killing is all right. Dexter perceived death and murder as a game and art considering he is fascinated with every aspect in a crime scene. The audience can take this information and start performing killing sprees with no remorse, but in my particular case, that isn’t the first thing I feel like doing after I watch an episode. Anyways besides that side note, this episode was a regular one. Perry ended up not being the Ice Truck Killer after all and Dexter finally had sex with girlfriend. Dexter finally realizes he could let go of his empty feelings about life and take a slight chance in actually letting Rita in to love. At the end of the episode we are left with a cliff hanger since the audience finally discovers that the actual Ice Truck Killer is Deb’s new boyfriend.

Circle of Friends, Episode #7

itsmechristinaa — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:34:46 +0000

This episode finally laces a face to the Ice Truck Killer that this whole show has been circling its storyline around. After close investigation and digging, they tie the killer down to a computer analyst named Perry who lives in a rugged trailer. The whole look of Perry is creepy considering he was singing an opera song when he got arrested and when they show his face he always has that creepy serial killer smile going on. The main question I had throughout this episode is why Dexter was so disappointed to find out Perry was the killer. Dexter claims that Perry is too weird to be the killer because the killer is an obvious genius when it came to the way he murdered his victims. It shocked me because I felt that the people who created this show made Perry the killer to show how compatible he is with Dexter’s character. Perry has an alternate life that he hides from the rest of the world and that is through his weird persona as a computer geek. Besides being a sick serial killer, Perry lives an odd life at home hunting animals and displaying their stuffed carcases all over his trailer. This is in turn similar to Dexter because he is also living that alternate ego by being a serial killer and that regular “good-hearted” forensic guy at the same time. Both characters clearly display their alternate egos that they hide from their everyday reality and just further show how they are very similar to one another after all. In a way, I also feel like the writers of the show made Perry the killer because they knew the audience had such high expectations for who this killer finally is.

Return to Sender, Episode #6

itsmechristinaa — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:17:00 +0000

This episode is a good follow up to the last episode because it starts with drama already! Dexter is technically in deep trouble because the Ice Truck Killer salvaged the body that Dexter had killed the night before and placed it in the same spot that Dexter committed the murder in the frist place. Dexter at the moment is freaking out because his team is going all in to put together the usual pieces to solve this murder; except the ending should be them discovering Dexter’s secret. I can’t help but laugh throughout this episode because Dexter keeps cracking jokes about him getting caught like it is a funny subject. You can clearly see how tense Dexter has become over these recent events but he still insists on making funny remarks such as, “Rita would be devastated to find out her husband is a crackhead out of jail and her boyfriend is a serial killer.” The main thing I am seeing in this particular episode is the relationship between Dexter and his step sister Deb. There seems to be an underlying competition going on from Deb’s part ever since they were younger. It isn’t exactly the typical type of competition where one is trying to be better than the other, but one just wanting to be as good as someone else. Every since they were younger Dexter and their father shared the secret of Dexter’s need to kill and them hiding that secret from Deb, caused her to think she was not as special as her brother. Thankfully the episode ends with them not pin pointing Dexter to the murder which is a relief because I honestly thought the show was going to end right there, but Dexter ended up saving his own ass. This episode kept me at the edge of my seat, but just made me question Dexter’s character because he did too much behind the scenes work to deceive his own co-workers.