New series “Dexter” creates new kind of hero

Dexter Morgan is not your average police officer. By day, Dexter analyzes blood spatter at crime scenes for the Miami-Dade Police Department but by night, Dexter hunts criminals that have slipped past the justice system.

Based on the novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay, Michael C. Hall, best known for his role on “Six Feet Under”, plays Dexter Morgan. Orphaned as a child, Dexter was adopted by Harry Morgan, a well respected officer for the Miami-Dade Police Department. But Dexter has a secret –a talent and desire to kill.

Luckily, Harry was able to teach Dexter how to control his secret and channel his abilities toward more positive ends. Harry taught Dexter how to use his skills to serve justice while also teaching him how to ensure he won’t be caught. Dexter also takes a souvenir from all of his victims – a small sample of blood which he keeps hidden in a box in his apartment.

Dexter also lacks something most normal people have – emotions. Not only does he need to disguise his true nature, but he must also try to copy the emotions normal people feel. The mystery that is Dexter goes deeper than any murder case he could ever cover.

Dexter’s sister, Deborah, also knows nothing of Dexter’s double life. Deb, played by Jennifer Carpenter, works as a homicide cop along side Dexter in Miami. Though Deb is street smart, she is still new to the police force and unsure of herself. Though Deb has a good head on her shoulders for police work, she still relies on Dexter for help in cracking difficult cases.

Dexter must also keep his secret from his commitment-minded girlfriend Rita and her two children. Rita, who is recovering from a very abusive relationship, is as unsure how to act with Dexter as he is with her.

Though the series is fairly new to Showtime, Dexter has already had his share of victims. In the pilot, Dexter kills a child molester who escaped being brought to justice and in the second episode; Dexter stalks a serial drunk driver about to be acquitted of murder.

But while Dexter keeps his murders a secret, a rival serial killer has been displaying his gruesome murders all around Miami. This rival killer also apparently knows Dexter’s true identity and Dexter is left to determine how much he really knows. Dubbed the “Ice Truck Killer” for his first murders, the rival killer would cut up bodies in the freezing cold compartment of an ice truck to stop the flow of blood in his victims. Dexter must try to discover who his rival is before he exposes Dexter’s secret but so far, the “Ice Truck Killer” has managed to stay one step ahead.

On the surface, this show may appear to be just another “CSI” rip-off but “Dexter” combines a dark but appealing sense of humor with great character development to create a show unlike any other. Though “Dexter” is a new series, it already shows great potential. The exploits of pseudo-hero Dexter are quite morbid, they make for intriguing stories and even more interesting characters. “Dexter” airs every Sunday at 11 pm on the Showtime network.