The procedural crime drama has been a staple of television since those grainy black and white series that became the very first hit shows on TV. Almost always they depicted the dedicated detective, either on the police force or working as a ‘Private Investigator’, as they gathered clues bringing the dastardly villain to justice. Of course there have been a myriad of variations over the decades contributing to the unprecedented longevity of the genre’s persistence in popularity. In 2006 the premium cable network, Showtime’ broke new ground with the premier of the strangest crime drama every conceived; ‘Dexter’. Unlike the protagonists of every series that can before the main character here is a self described monster, an unrepentant serial killer. This is such a gruesome departure from the normal elements of a crime thriller that many reasonably wondered whether the series could possible attract a sufficient fan base to succeed. One thing is certain; this is not the type of show that can be aired on traditional broadcast networks. An attempt to show a Bowdlerized version on a commercial affiliate failed miserably. The nature of the series that the dark themes could only be properly explored within the context of the more mature and willing to experiment environment fostered by the upper tier of cable networks. Not only did the controversial show succeed it went on to become the flagship series of the network. The reason is simple; the series was based on the widely popular set of ‘Dexter’ novels by Jeff Lindsay. Instead of trying to merely repeat the stories from the books the series was permitted to develop along its own lines establishing its own unique voice. This also had the substantial benefit of liberating the producers and writers to follow different directions for the series keeping it fresh and innovative. This overcame the problem that accompanies most shows based on an unorthodox premise; how do you maintain interest after the audience becomes accustomed to the premise? Okay, Dexter is a serial killer but now what? ‘Dexter’ id about to begin its sixth season which means it is time to review the previous season’s Blu-ray and DVD release.

Life for Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) has been getting increasingly more complicated. It was difficult enough to balance his job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department and his nocturnal pursuits of serial killer but over the last few years Dexter has found that he is no longer just pretending to be a feeling human being, he was developing genuine emotional entanglements. Up to this point the series has been driven by the internal conflict between Dexter’s psychopathic nature and the growing tide of real human emotions. The last season concluded with his wife, Rita (Jules Benz) found dead, murdered by Dexter’s latest prey, the Trinity Killer’. This left Dexter with her two children from here previous marriage and the son they had, Harrison. Dexter’s adopted father Harry (James Remar) had instilled in him a code to make sure only reprobates were killed by Dexter and to help him avoid capture. The Code of Harry never anticipated the circumstances or feelings that were closing in on Dexter. Despite the greater police speculation about Dexter he continues on his mission tracking a particularly heinous killer, Boyd Fowler (Shawn Hatosy). Dexter finds Boyd in the middle of torturing his latest victim, (Lumen Pierce (Julia Stiles). Unfortunately Lumen is witness to Dexter’s actions. The code of Harry is conflicted; don’t leave witnesses but don’t harm the innocent. It turns out that Boyd was only the tip of the iceberg and the murders are part of the actions of a rich and powerfully influential man, motivational speaker Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller).Dexter is drawn deeper into the mystery when Lumen decides to seek revenge on her own. Once again Dexter has an unwanted apprentice complicating his modus operands. Having an attractive, young woman in his life so soon after the murder of his wife begins to arouse suspicions all around Dexter. Even more confounding to Dexter is he sees a kindred spirit in Lumen, a woman he can reveal his true nature in front of without concern that she will be repelled or horrified.

The formula that the series employs helps to ensure the audience fascination will not wane and the quality continues to be exemplary. High profile guests were used quite effectively in the FX series ‘The Shield’ attracting ward wining actors to sign on for a season long story arc. Last season made remarkable use of John Lithgow as a serial killer who is able to do what eludes Dexter; balance being a serial killer with a normal appearing family life. This became something Dexter coveted and obsessed over achieving. In this season the story explored more of the etiology of Dexter’s psychopathology. He had been bound to the Code of Harry so long that once his life was stressed by factors not covered by the Code he was on his own to figure it out. His relationship with Lumen caught him between a long suppressed need to nurture and help a weak victim and a similarity powerful need to find a kindred spirit were he can drop the pretense of his secret identity. As always the exceptionally well crafted scripts offer a fantastic platform for some of the finest examples of acting you can see anywhere. Once again Hall proves that he is among the great actors of his generation. He has such control over the nuances of body language and facial expression that drive home the strength of the emotional impact presented by the story. In each season the producers come up with an actor with the skills sufficient to keep up with him. Styles is a quiet actress typically eschewing the tabloid frenzy to take strong roles that honed her talent making her a force to reckon with in her profession. The scenes Styles shared with Hall are some of the best moments on recent television. This series doesn’t just maintain its quality; it consistently seeks to the provide the fans something that is novel and excellent.