Michael C. Hall from Six Feet Under stars in a killer new series

Premiering: Sunday night (Oct. 1st), 9 central, 10 eastern, Showtime
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar
Created by: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn

By ED BARK
And now for something completely different. Showtime cable's gruesomely good Dexter is a serial drama about a serial killer who kills serial killers. Surreal enough for you?

"I'm a very neat monster," says deeply scarred Dexter Morgan, who's played with an at times overly heavy narrative voice and heavier baggage by former Six Feet Under undertaker Michael C. Hall. This time he's deeply into the meticulous executions of even worse monsters. Dexter works for Miami's over-taxed police department, which is hard-pressed to solve more than a small percentage of heinous crimes. That's where Dexter comes in, even if his superiors aren't clued in. He'll bloody well take care of business without taking any prisoners. After all, the victims of Dexter's carefully executed slicings and dicings deserve to join his Dismembereds Only club. He's just cutting out the middlemen.

Hall seems born to this decidedly offbeat role. And Showtime has been reborn in the past few years with standout series such as The Brotherhood, Weeds and now Dexter. Dare it be said that Showtime is HBO's superior at the moment on the weekly drama front? Let it be said that's true, with one big asterisk. Very few people are watching, which is a shame. But what's the the Avis of premium networks to do except try harder and keep succeeding on the quality front?

Dexter begins with the title character on the prowl. He craves the Cuban food in Miami, but "I'm hungry for something different now."

Temporarily satiating him is a schoolboy choir teacher whom Dexter quickly abducts. The guy has been getting away with murdering kids, and now he's going to pay. Boy, is he ever. But the series does stop well short of the gore on parade in your basic big-screen slasher flik.

Killing has been in Dexter's blood since his boyhood. We see this via flashbacks with his foster dad, Harry (James Remar), a deceased former homicide detective who knows that something is very wrong with his adoptive son. Traumatized by a so far undisclosed childhood incident, young Dexter first admits to killing the problematic family dog. He just can't help himself. So dad tries to channel his urges, grooming him as a sort of Superboy from the dark side. If he's going to kill, then take it out on those that deserve it. Dexter has been refining his craft ever since.

The series' solid supporting cast is led by Dexter's foster sister, Debra, a cop yearning to be transfered out of vice and into homicide. The other major woman in his life is girlfriend Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), who herself has been psyched out by a brutal ex-husband. She's been uninterested in sex ever since, which "works for me," Dexter narrates. After all, "When it comes to the actual act of sex, it always seems so -- undignified."

He's instead turned on by serial killers whose expertise challenges him. And he's never been more mystified by a sadist who chops up his victims and somehow leaves them utterly bloodless for police to pick over.

"I've never seen such clean, dry and neat-looking dead flesh," Dexter thinks to himself audibly. "Wonderful."

His partners in crimesolving -- but if only they really knew -- are homicide detective Angel Batista (David Zayas), surly Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) and division boss Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez). The latter treats Dexter's sister like dirt, but seems infatuated with him. Better not push it, lady.

Tyrannosaurus Dex does have a sense of humor, though. He flashes it when Lt. Maria wonders why the killer at large would keep a severed head in the front seat of the refrigerated truck he's been using to freeze-dry victims.

"I don't know. So he could use the carpool lane?" Dexter deadpans.

The first season will keep him on the trail of this ultimate serial killer while others are apprehended and dead-ended, Dexter-style. Sharp writing and an overall off-kilter moral code in a way make the title character worth rooting for. At least he doesn't participate in the killing of an innocent museum guard, as the more off-putting protagonists in CBS' Smith did in that show's opening episode.


Dexter Morgan is an anti-hero to beat all anti-heroes, with Hall playing him to the hilt in the best lead acting of the new season. Don't try what he does at home or anywhere else, obviously. But do try Dexter at home, provided you're one of Showtime's still comparatively few paying customers. This series looks as though it will be worth the price of your submission. Showtime really is at the all-time peak of its powers, creatively at least. Would it kill a few more viewers to watch?

Grade: A-minus