Dexter

Eine sehr originelle Serie, mit ihr kam frischer Wind, und trotzdem gehört sie für mich persönlich nicht zur absoluten Spitze. Um eine Abhängigkeit zu entwickeln, fehlt ihr etwas. Ich habe darüber nachgedacht was, vielleicht kommt das daher, dass mir nicht eine Figur besonders sympathisch oder durch irgendetwas nah ist. In Prison Break habe ich Mahon, in Lost Sawyer, in 24 Hours Tony Almeida, in den Heroes Peter Petrelli, doch in Dexter niemanden. Witzig ist Sergeant Doakes, bei dem ich mich vor Lachen wegschmeiße, aber die anderen sind blutlos, uninteressant, und die Hauptfigur des Dexter Morgan ist eine absolut irreale Person. Trotz all dieser Kleinigkeiten hat mir die erste Staffel gefallen, und ich beabsichtige, dieser Serie treu zu bleiben. (18.01.2009)

Serie 1: Eine kleiner, netter und süchtig machender Betrug am Zuschauer, der zwar schrecklich radikal aussieht, doch eigentlich werden hier nur unter Zuhilfenahme schwarzen Humors viele etablierter Klischees verlacht. Dexter ist bei weitem nicht annähernd eine so dunkle Figur, wie er es gerne wäre, und eigentlich entspricht er recht gut den Erwartungen des Publikums und wagt sich nicht an die dünne Grenze der Ethik - unweigerlich klingt somit viel problematischer als sein Toben in dem Fall Doakes "Nachkriegs"-Rache an dem haitianischen Verbrecher aus. Wer möchte denn schon diesen entzückenden Liebling beurteilen wollen (den Teddybär, wie ihn meine Freundin umbenannt hat) den richten? Dexter hat mich in der ersten Staffel amüsiert, und zwar trotz der relativ frühen Enthüllung, wer denn der Ice-Truck-Killer ist und wie es sich mit ihm und der Hauptfigur verhält. Das Gefühl einer zu sehr in die Länge gezogenen Socke kompensieren hier exzellente Schauspieler und vielleicht sogar die noch besser geschriebenen Nebencharaktere. Und ich habe Dexters Familienleben in der Tat redlich genossen. Ich möchte ja gar nicht sagen, dass man aus dem Charakter eines mordenden Soziopathen mit dem Ruf eines perfekten Kerls nicht mehr herausholen können hätte, jedoch was die Schöpfer daraus gemacht haben, passt und macht Spaß. (13.09.2010)

The first episodes were slightly above average, but over time it turned out to be an affair to which it’s not difficult to develop an addiction. There’s simply no other series as good, with such a sophisticated psychology and at the same time so masterfully strumming the dark side of the human soul. Review of the final season: it should be said that this is the weakest season. The screenplay is clueless, clumsy, with nonsensical random situations, with even more nonsensical plot twists, and with a logic that has more holes than a Swiss cheese. But then came the final episode, which at least partially corrected the dull impression, when the resolution of Dexter's and Debra's fate got a fantastically emotional charge and was the most logical and only right one (although if I were in the creators' shoes, I would’ve been even more uncompromising). It's admirable how believable the psychological development of Dexter was throughout the series, which has maintained (with some rare exceptions) a continuous quality that many competing TV series could only envy. (28.09.2013)

At a time when the word "series" is becoming almost an annoying concept, from the depths of inconspicuousness comes a stylish blockbuster that is three levels above its contemporaries. Dexter - the absolutely divine Michael C. Hall - will wrap anyone interested in his adventures around his finger with his cynically black-humored look into the soul of a cold-blooded killer who wears a police badge around his neck. The series then radically changes its image after this brilliant maneuver into a detective story that will make the viewer taut as a string, to reveal, piece by piece, more secrets, the discovery of which not only brings no relief but also, through its subtlety, leaves the audience in a state of total consternation, from which it only wakes up when the credits of the last episode roll. After the end of the first season, I can safely say that in the current flood of series, Dexter is among the very best! There are certainly things to criticize in the subsequent seasons (the predictable crime storylines, underdeveloped characters, lapses in logic), but Dexter's reflections on life (the fantastic flirtation with religion and faith in the sixth season) are simply incredible and keep pushing the series forward. Unfortunately, the final eighth season is something that shifts the series into the science fiction genre, written by the screenwriters of a family soap opera. The development of the main character was fascinating until someone rubber-stamped the creators' approval of Dexter's lobotomy. (21.12.2006)

Dexter definitely isn’t like the classical crime shows there were so many around at the time when it aired. Of course, it isn’t, it was supposed to be different and it was. And that was the very reason why I started watching it. However, I stopped after season three because I was no longer enjoying it and it took another five years before the series was over, which forced me to get back to it and finish watching it, so that I could post an objective review here. I have to admit that I was really excited about Dexter. Finally, there was a show that was original and unconventional. It doesn’t happen often that you would root for a serial killer, but so be it. But as time went on, I kept noticing the show was pretty repetitive. It was no longer original. In the end, I have to say that the series ended quite well. I’ve seen better, but also much worse series finales. And this will definitely be one of those I will never forget, which is good. You can clearly see that everybody has only one karma. I don’t want to spoil it for you so I will leave it at this. I think that a four-star rating is pretty appropriate. If it was a bit shorter, I wouldn’t mind at all, but it’s clear that the authors were forced to drag it on a bit. (29.01.2014)