I’ve always been rather fascinated with the way the human mind works–how we learn things, how we process information, impulses, feelings, attitudes, behaviors. I think that if I hadn’t been driven by such a passion to write and pursue a degrees in English and writing, I probably would have been quite content to study psychology and try to unravel the intricacies of the human mind.
I was even more fascinated with criminal psychology, the way the minds of serial killers work, the strange methodologies behind their madess. And hell, after The Silence of the Lambs who didn’t want to join the FBI and start profiling serial killers?
So, when I first saw the promos for the Showtime series Dexter, I was immediately intrigued, and yet I never thought it was possible to actually find myself rooting for the killer. But, in this twisted TV series based on novels by Jeff Lindsay, you can’t help but to cheer Dexter Morgan on as he rids the world of scumbag filth one serial murder at a time.
Without revealing too much and ruining things for any of you who haven’t seen the show, here’s the basic premise. By day, Dexter Morgan and his sister Deborah both work for the Miami Metro Police Department. Deborah as an officer (later Homocide Detective) and Dexter as a Blood Pattern Analyst. By night, Dexter is secretly moonlighting as a serial murderer, focusing his bloodlust on remorseless criminals, murderers, rapists, and child molesters who manage to slip through the cracks and escape traditional justice–a strict code taught to him by his late adoptive father Harry.
There are a dozen reasons that I love this show. It’s well-written, perfectly cast and has a good balance of drama and dark humor. Plus, it’s one of those shows that just sort of gets you thinking. Watch a few episodes or a few seasons and you start to question the nature of good and evil, and whether those two things can be really clearly defined separately from each other. You start to think about how often our justice system manages to fail the innocents and the victims while protecting and coddling the guilty. You start wonder whether the world might actually benefit from having a few guys like Dexter Morgan around.
There would certainly be a few less Casey Anthonys and Joran Van der Sloots walking around, that’s for damn sure.
So, if you haven’t given Dexter a chance yet, maybe it’s time. I think you might just be pleasantly surprised.
Today’s 365 Project entry is dedicated to the brilliant minds that brought us Dexter. I’m counting down the days for Season 6.
Lori Romano 