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Dexter season 1

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Dexter season 1
Season 1
DVD box
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkShowtime
Original releaseOctober 1 (2006-10-01) –
December 17, 2006 (2006-12-17)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

The first season of Dexter is an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in the "Dexter" series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Subsequent seasons have featured original storylines. This season aired from October 1, 2006 to December 17, 2006,[1][2] and follows Dexter's investigation of "The Ice Truck Killer". Introduced in the first episode, "Dexter", this serial killer targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies severed and bloodless. At the same time, Dexter's foster sister, Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), a vice squad officer, aspires to work in the homicide department, and Dexter's girlfriend, Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), wants their relationship to be more intimate.[3] Christian Camargo appears as Dr. Rudy Cooper and is a recurring character until the end of the season.[4]

The show's first season received generally favorable reviews from critics; it was praised as "bold, different and exciting, with a central character and performance that take your breath away" by the New York Daily News.[5] The Wall Street Journal saw "the grotesqueries of Dexter" as "not something that can easily be dismissed with the old "you don't have to watch" line", and concluded that "We do have to live among the viewers who will be desensitized, or aroused, by this show".[6] The aggregate site Metacritic scored the show's first season at 77 out of 100 based on 27 critics reviews.[7]

The season received high ratings for Showtime; the pilot episode attracted more than a million viewers, giving the channel its highest ratings in nearly two years,[1] while the finale "Born Free" drew an audience of 1.1 million viewers in the U.S.[8] On average, the season was watched by two million viewers per episode during its original run.[9] Due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild strike and encouraged by the show's critical success and high ratings on Showtime, CBS, a national terrestrial broadcast network, announced in December 2007 that it was considering airing an edited version of the first season of Dexter for free-to-air broadcast.[10] It began to broadcast it on February 17, 2008,[11] and thus, Dexter became the first program in 20 years to air on a broadcast network after being shown on a premium cable channel.[12] During the show's rerun on the CBS network in 2008, the ratings were much higher, reaching 8.2 million viewers during its premiere February,[13] giving the network its best rating in the 10 p.m. timeslot since December the previous year.[14] During its 12-week run,[15] it dropped to 7.1 million in early April,[16] and to 6.6 million during the season's finale on May 6.[17]

Plot

Dexter's principal nemesis in Season 1 is "The Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer of prostitutes who eludes the Miami Metro Police Department. The killer leaves items at the crime scene that have personal relevance to Dexter.

Debra begins dating a prosthetics doctor named Rudy Cooper. After they get engaged, Cooper kidnaps Debra and lures Dexter to the house where he is keeping her. It is then that Dexter recognizes Cooper as Brian, his long-lost brother and the Ice Truck Killer. Brian reveals the details of witnessing their mother and several other people being butchered alive by drug dealers and being locked in a cargo container for two days with the dismembered corpses. He also learns that Brian spent much of his childhood institutionalized. Brian has brought Dexter to the tied-up Debra with the intention that he and Dexter would kill her together to cement their bond and sever the ties between Dexter and his adoptive family. Dexter, displaying an affection for Debra—either learned or real—prevents her death as the police arrive and Brian escapes. After luring Brian into a trap, Dexter drugs him and kills him, making the death look like a suicide; everyone, including Debra, remains unaware of the exact connection between Dexter and Rudy/Brian. Dexter feels some regret over killing Brian, the one person who fully understood him, in order to save Debra, who he knows would reject him if she ever learned his true nature.

Harry adopts Dexter while leaving Brian to the child welfare system, where ultimately, he ends up in a mental institution for disturbed children. The first novel only implies that Harry chose not to adopt Brian because he was older and more likely to be traumatized; however, in the TV program, both Brian and Tom Matthews, Harry's best friend and former superior, state this to be true. Harry deliberately hid the details about the crime from Dexter, as well as information about his biological family.

Meanwhile, Dexter is romantically involved with Rita, a single mother whose soon-to-be ex-husband, Paul Bennett, is released from prison on parole. While Bennett is good to their children, he repeatedly (and sometimes violently), but unsuccessfully, attempts to get back with Rita. After Bennett threatens him, Dexter knocks him out, and then covers his assault by setting Bennett up to look like he violated his parole by using heroin. While back in prison (proclaiming his innocence) Bennett insists that Dexter set him up.

Cast

Main cast

Episodes

See also: List of Dexter episodes
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Dexter"Michael CuestaJames Manos, Jr.October 1, 2006 (2006-10-01)
22"Crocodile"Michael CuestaClyde PhillipsOctober 8, 2006 (2006-10-08)
33"Popping Cherry"Michael CuestaDaniel CeroneOctober 15, 2006 (2006-10-15)
44"Let's Give the Boy a Hand"Robert LiebermanDrew Z. GreenbergOctober 22, 2006 (2006-10-22)
55"Love American Style"Robert LiebermanMelissa RosenbergOctober 29, 2006 (2006-10-29)
66"Return to Sender"Tony GoldwynTim SchlattmannNovember 5, 2006 (2006-11-05)
77"Circle of Friends"Steve ShillDaniel CeroneNovember 12, 2006 (2006-11-12)
88"Shrink Wrap"Tony GoldwynLauren GussisNovember 19, 2006 (2006-11-19)
99"Father Knows Best"Adam DavidsonMelissa RosenbergNovember 26, 2006 (2006-11-26)
1010"Seeing Red"Michael CuestaKevin R. MaynardDecember 3, 2006 (2006-12-03)
1111"Truth Be Told"Keith GordonDrew Z. Greenberg & Tim SchlattmannDecember 10, 2006 (2006-12-10)
1212"Born Free"Michael CuestaDaniel Cerone & Melissa RosenbergDecember 17, 2006 (2006-12-17)

References

  1. ^ a b Mitovich, Matt (2006-10-04). "Short Cuts: Dexter Slays the Ratings, and More!". TV Guide. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  2. ^ Goldman, Eric (2006-12-18). "Dexter: "Born Free" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  3. ^ "Dexter—Episode Guide > Season 1, Episode 1". TV.com. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  4. ^ Zulkey, Claire (2007-12-16). "Dexter: Doakes is gone in a bang". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. ^ Bianculli, David (2006-09-29). "Dexter is dead on target. An avenger - and a serial killer". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  6. ^ Dewolf, Nancy (2006-09-29). "The Good, the Ugly and the Bad". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  7. ^ "Dexter (Series: Showtime, Sunday 10:00p (60 minutes))". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  8. ^ "Dexter Slays Showtime Records". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  9. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly; Gough, Paul (2007-12-19). "Dexter kills in second-season finale". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-03-20.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Szalai, Georg and Andreeva, Nellie (2007-12-05). "CBS eyes Dexter for edited broadcast". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Smith, Lynn (2008-02-17). "The slicing and dicing of Dexter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  12. ^ Stelter, Brian (2008-02-20). "Dexter Gains a Wider Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  13. ^ "Weekly Primetime Ratings (Wk OF 2/11)" (Press release). ABC Medianet. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  14. ^ Kissell, Rick (2008-02-18). "'Knight' rides back to success - Entertainment News, TV News, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  15. ^ "Dexter: Watch Full Episodes and Video". CBS.com. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  16. ^ "Fast Facts Overnight Ratings (for 4/6)" (Press release). ABC Medianet. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  17. ^ "Fast Facts Overnight Ratings (for 5/4)" (Press release). ABC Medianet. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
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