Dexter: The Fourth Season
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, John Lithgow
Review by Brian M. Sammons
Dexter, come on, if you haven’t seen this amazing show by now then shame, shame, shame and a healthy dose of “where the hell have you been?” tossed on top for good measure. But just in case you’re waking up from a four-year-long comma today, here’s the nickel tour. Dexter is a serial killer, but one who stalks and kills other murderers. In addition to that twist, he works for the Miami Police Department as a blood splatter analyst and in between killing and forensics he has to balance friends, family, and a new baby. All the seasons of Dexter have had great stories and excellent acting, but this season took the series to a whole new level, and that’s not just the usual hyper critic hyperbole.
Season four begins with newlywed Dex trying his best to play the caring family man, not an easy task for a sociopath with almost zero human feelings and interpersonal skills, when all too soon he’s plunged into the warped world of the Trinity Killer. This new psychotic adversary is the most successful serial killer of all time and is played to creepy, truly frightening perfection by John Lithgow. The usual cat and mouse game is ratcheted up further when Dexter finds his quarry, but instead of ending things right away, tries to befriend Trinity to learn his secrets on how he’s been so successful for so long. So begins a taut deadly dance that lasts for 12 episodes and culminates with one of the best season endings in TV history.
However as great as this show, and specifically this season is, the DVD and BD package that houses it is sorely lacking. I mean everything looks and sounds great, and that’s the most important thing, but there are no special features to be found here that’s worth mentioning. Sure there are a few brief interviews with the cast, and then there are some … oh wait, that’s it. That’s all the extra goodies on Dexter you will find on these discs but hey, there are a few episodes of SHOWTIMES’ other less popular shows on here. Yay for them pimping their other TV shows and trying to pass the hour long commercials off as “bonus features”.
Dexter is so amazingly good, but these DVDs and BDs are so Plain Jane bad, so can I recommend them? Yeah, I kind of have to as the show is just too awesome to miss and these bare bones discs are the only game in town. I’m guessing SHOWTIME knows this too and therefore they don’t see the need to jazz up their flagship show, but hey, a little something extra for the fans would be a nice treat. Oh well, maybe next time. Regardless of these no thrills discs, this set is a must have for Dexter fans. As for those looking to jump into the show, this would be a great place to start.
