Movie Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Michael C Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar, CS Lee, Christina Robinson, Erik King, Preston Bailey
Rating: TV MA
Studio: Showtime
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: 2006 – Present
DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $37.99
I love anything to do with true crime and serial killers. If I didn’t have a family I would have highly considered a job working with the FBI. I’m intrigued by Criminal Justice, the mind of a serial killer and forensics. When I heard that Showtime would be bringing a show about a serial killer with a moral code to their lineup, you didn’t even have to ask me. I was already in! So begins my long-lasting relationship with the fair Dexter Morgan.
I loved Dexter from the very first moment the show aired. I’m one of the people who has watched this show from the very beginning. I don’t know what it is about Dexter, but he is one of the most enthralling and entertaining characters to watch on television. I can’t miss an episode of this show. It is literally THAT addicting.
I’ve seen the first season of Dexter more than once, but never as good as I see it here, in Blu Ray. The show is absolutely rockin. You see blood spattering in a way not possible on standard DVD. Dexter Morgan becomes even more vicious in high definition. This is the type of television show that benefits tremendously from a Blu Ray transfer. I’m so glad that Paramount and Showtime decided not to wait too long before releasing the Complete First Season of Dexter on Blu Ray.
The bad comes with the good here. As with everything, every little detail is emphasized on these HD Blu Ray Discs. That means that the funky lip thing that Dexter’s adopted sister Deb does, which drove me absolutely batty the first two seasons, is a thousand times more apparent. It’s modified to the tiniest detail, so her lip thing annoys even more than when watching this when the show first aired. I guess it is true that you take the good with the bad, and luckily there is far more good than bad in this Dexter: The Complete First Season Blu Ray Disc Set.
The Dexter: The Complete First Season Plot
Dexter is a television show about a serial killer named Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). It’s based on a book series about a character of the same name. Dexter may be a killer, but he has a moral code he follows. He only kills those who deserve it, in the eyes of the law. He kills the scum off the Earth who get off for crimes he knows they’ve committed. Dexter works for the Miami Police Department by day, as a blood spatter expert and handles all his kills at night.
Dexter lives in a quiet, unassuming neighborhood. His apartment is nice, but not overly indulgent. He spends most of his day going through the motions of normalcy. He spends time with his adopted sister, Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), his girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz), and Rita’s two kids, Astor (Christina Robinson) and Cody (Daniel Goldman), mostly to show that he’s just a normal guy. Of course, much of the normalcy has to be forced as Dexter isn’t exactly sure how to react around others.
We learn why Dexter is the way he is, throughout this first season. Here is a list of the 12 episodes in Season One. Each has a description of the episode. Be prepared for SPOILERS. If you’ve never seen the first season of the show in its entirety then you may want to skip to the Audio/Visual section as not to ruin the show for you.
#1.1 – “Dexter” – Meet Dexter Morgan, Blood Spatter Analyst for the Miami PD by day and torturous serial killer come evening. Dexter is perplexed when he is called to various murder scenes where the body of the victims are chopped up, but they have been drained of blood. When Dexter gets a very personal message from the murderer, he wants to know who he is and what his MO is.
#1.2 – “Crocodile” – Dexter goes to court, something he enjoys, to testify in a case. On his way back, he meets up with those in his unit at an overpass where a man appears to have jumped. The body also seems to have human flesh in its mouth. Deb is dating a mechanic and Dexter invites her to dinner with his girlfriend Rita and him. When Lt. LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) discovers the body is that of an undercover cop and she and Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) find his widow shot, the investigation gets even more interesting. In the meantime, Dexter gets more messages from the serial killer, now dubbed the Ice truck killer. Dexter chooses his latest victim and Deb finds the Ice Truck killer’s truck.
#1.3 – “Popping Cherry” – Dexter attends the funeral of the undercover cop who was working for a crime family headed by Carlos Guerrero. Sgt. Doakes plans to take on Guerrero, especially since he also murdered the woman with whom Doakes was having an affair. Dexter thinks he has found his next victim though he keeps a low profile, hanging out with Rita and the kids in his spar time. When Rita’s ex-husband Paul (who is incarcerated) leads a former friend to Rita’s to take her car, which he claims Paul owed him for a coke purchase, Dexter can do nothing, but watch. Deb is now on homicide, working on the Ice Truck Killer case, so she uses her experience working undercover on the streets to connect with women who may have seen something pertaining to the latest victim. Tony Tucci, a nightwatchman where the last body was found goes missing and all but Deb & Dexter think they have their man. Dexter looks back to when he was raised by his adoptive family and how Harry established the code of killing for him. Dexter ends the episodes by borrowing a car from the police impound for Rita.
#1.4 – “Let’s Give the Boy a Hand” – Dexter and Angel (David Zayas) are investigating another murder. This time it’s a male hand and there is blood, which makes Dexter wonder if its the Ice Truck Killer. A Polaroid left at the crime scene reminds Dexter of his youth, where he was at the same beach in the picture, trying to fit in with his family. Dexter realizes the Ice Truck Killer has seen his photo album and is toying with him. The hand is confirmed to belong to the missing security guard, Tony Tucci the man LaGuerta named the Ice Truck Killer on TV. She is in hot water over this. More of Dexter’s past is revealed when he recalls various moments from his youth and his compulsion to kill. When Dexter realizes Tony Tucci is still alive, it is a race to find him before he is completely killed. In the meantime, Dexter and Rita have become intimate, something he struggles with and Angel and his wife Nina’s marriage problems are revealed.
#1.5 – “Love American Style” – Dexter is at the hospital where he found Tony Tucci, and where Deb gets all the credit for finding him. Rita gets Dexter involved in an illegal immigrant case for a friend of hers from work, Yelina. Deb is asked to help a hooker she worked with, but Doakes sends her to the hospital to wait for Tony to awaken. Dexter’s investigation into Yelina’s situation leads him to Jorge Castillo, who is behind scamming many Cubans trying to get family to Miami. When Dexter finds the body of Yelina’s fiance, he knows Jorge is behind it. When Tony wakes up it becomes clear he never actually saw or heard the Ice Truck Killer, but he does like Deb. Dexter chooses his next victim and spends a boy’s night out with Angel. Taking a drunk Angel home, he finds out about his separation from his wife. Thanks to Tony, the police manage to get a partial fingerprint of the Ice Truck Killer. Deb rewards him for it and Dexter finds a way to free some immigrants.
#1.6 – “Return to Sender” – Dexter helps Cody “bury” his dead goldfish. He notices Cody doesn’t seem to have any type of grief towards the death. It’s Astor’s birthday and they plan to celebrate. Dexter is sent to the crime scene of his latest kill. The Ice Truck Killer has brought one of his kills back to the surface and put her back at the scene. Vince (C.S. Lee), a technician who works with Dexter, notices the needle mark in her neck and believes the killer is a real pro. He later finds an animal tranquilizer in her system that only DEA agents can get. The police discover a small boy who has witnessed the entire crime and Dexter worries he is about to be caught for what he is. Flashbacks show jealousy between Deb (the biological daughter) towards Dexter (the adopted one), since Harry spent so much time with him. Rita’s ex Paul plans to come to Astor’s party now that he’s out of jail, and Dexter is freaking out when he learns the boy who saw his crime is going to a sketch artist. Luckily, things turn out for the better when it comes to Dexter.
#1.7 – “Circle of Friends” – Dexter is at the crime scene of a high school honor student who was executed by someone with experience. He’s seen wounds like this before. Angel and Deb follow a lead to a man named Perry. When they get there, he slashes their tire and escapes. The two discover he’s obsessed with the latest killings. When Rita goes to pick up her kids from school, the crossing guard has let them go with Paul, so she calls Dexter in a panic. The two wait at her house, and Paul arrives nonchalantly. Back on the scene, it is learned Perry murdered his mom. The police get the killer of the teen and Perry in custody, so Dexter goes to babysit for Rita. While there, Paul shows up and Rita is furious when she gets home. She just wants him to disappear. Rita ends up confronting him and finally gets him to sign divorce papers. When Deb visits Tucci, she falls for his doctor, who she agrees to date. They have a great date and even kiss. Dexter talks to one of the killers, a boy he tried to help, but its too late for him when he turns up dead. Dexter, for the first time, truly feels alone.
#1.8 – “Shrink Wrap” – Dexter and Angel are talking about blood spatter in a case where a woman has died. Angel believes its a suicide. Dexter, and the woman’s husband, don’t think that’s true. Deb’s new boyfriend, the doctor, has dropped her off at the crime scene, something notable for later episodes. Dexter heads to Rita’s where he finds Paul babysitting, but Paul isn’t supposed to be. The police are celebrating the arrest of Perry as the Ice Truck Killer, but Dexter lets LaGuerta know he doesn’t think they’ve caught the real killer. When Dexter learns the woman found dead at the beginning was a patient of a shrink linked to two other women who died, he visits the man, pretending to be a patient. The two have a cordial discussion, and Dex leaves to go place an ad for the Ice Truck Killer on Craigslist. He has another session with the doctor, because he doesn’t believe the doctor’s patient committed suicide. Perry gets special treatment from LaGuerta, who hopes he’ll talk. Dex finds out that the doctor encourages women who are suicidal to kill themselves. He stands up Rita, who stood up him to allow Paul to see the kids, earlier. Deb meets with her boyfriend, who she has kept a secret. Dexter has another session with the doctor, which reveals he was present when his birth mother died. He was splashed with her blood. This memory sends him to Rita for comfort. Dexter ends up taking care of the doctor, the truth about Perry is revealed and it is soon discovered that Deb’s doctor/boyfriend is the real Ice Truck Killer.
#1.9 – “Father Knows Best” – Dexter’s been spending the night at Rita’s, which the kids seem to be adapting to well. Angel and Doakes are driving around when they pursue a guy who is later shot. Dexter’s blood splatter results don’t agree with Doakes’ story and the two have a disagreement, which later leads to tension. Deb invites Dexter and Rita to meet Rudy, her boyfriend. Dexter doesn’t seem thrilled and is happy for the distraction when Angel comes to talk to him about Doakes. Deb opens Dexter’s mail to find out his biological dad, Joseph Driscoll has died and left Dexter the executor of his will. Dexter seems to believe he is mistaken. He does inherit a house, though. Rudy and Deb have sex and Rudy seems keen to talk about Dexter after. Rita and Dexter go to his new house. He plans to pack it up and sell it. Angel and Doakes have it out when he tells them that Internal Affairs is putting pressure on him (Angel). Internal Affairs question him and he can’t lie for Doakes. Dexter and Rita find Rudy and Deb on the doorstep wanting to help. They decide to spend the weekend packing up the house together. Dexter goes to the morgue to identify his supposed father. In Flashback, it is presumed that Harry knows his biological dad despite telling Dexter he’s dead. Back at the house, Dexter is perplexed by the lack of records for Joe. He finds out that their DNA matches and Joe is Dexter’s dad. Deb gets upset when Dexter seems to care how Joe died, since he believes he was murdered. Doakes and LaGuerta talk about the true reason behind the death of the man Doakes killed. Things no longer look grim for Doakes. Dexter and Rudy get rid of Joe’s ashes and have a semi-heart to heart. Back at home, Rita is attacked by Paul, but she escapes with the kids. Rudy returns to kill the neighbor of Joe’s who knows he visited Joe before his death, something that could lead to Dexter finding out he’s Joe’s murderer.
#1.10 – “Seeing Red” – When Dexter is sent to a crime scene with so much blood it’s saturated, he’s brought back to a painful time in his childhood. He’s remembering the moment that triggered his penchant for killing. Rita is charged for hitting Paul over the head with a baseball bat, defending herself against Paul’s attack. He decides to sue her for custody of Astor and Cody. When Dexter finds out, he decides to take Paul out, by planting drugs on him. Of course, that doesn’t mean he intends to kill him, just temporarily remove him from the situation. Deb is jealous of the relationship Rudy is forming with Dexter and the two have a fight about it. When Angel is out with Vince at the bar, he notices a prostitute who may be associated with the Ice Truck Killer. She points him n the direction of Rudy. Captain Matthews and LaGuerta continue to disagree about everything pertaining to the handling of the Ice Truck Killer case. She wants to solve it and he cares more about how the police station looks.
#1.11 – “Truth Be Told” – The Ice Truck Killer kills the woman who gives him up to Angel. It’s Christmas time in Miami and he leaves her at the Santa’s Village for Dexter and the rest of the police to find. Doakes realizes that Dexter isn’t just an oddball. There is something much darker going on with him. Fueled by his anger over Dexter’s handling of the blood spatter on the case Internal Affairs was investigating, Doakes makes it his personal goal to find out who Dexter is and what he is up to. Dexter’s investigation into the Ice Truck Killer case reveals the connection the two share. It involves the death of his mother, in 1973, the blood bath where Dexter himself was covered in blood and the discovery of him by a detective named Harry Morgan. Matthews makes LaGuerta his scapegoat in the Ice Truck Killer case and she loses her position. Rudy proposes to an ecstatic Deb, who still doesn’t know his true nature. Paul is back in prison, thanks to Dexter, and Rita takes the kids to see him. Meanwhile, Angel is in the hospital recovering from a stabbing. He’s surprised when his estranged wife visits him. Rudy’s true colors show when he abducts Deb.
#1.12 – “Born Free” – The entire season comes to a head when Deb is abducted by Rudy, the Ice Truck Killer. Paul tries to convince Rita that Dexter did this to him, by planting drugs on him, but Rita doesn’t believe him. Paul claims he only wants to keep her safe. Dexter follows a set of clues to find Deb, who is being tortured and tormented by Rudy. Dexter ends up finding them and the two discover their true connection. Rudy has set Deb up for Dexter to kill, and the two go head to head in the ultimate showdown of serial killer vs. serial killer.
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Audio/Visual:
I am the proud owner of the previous Dexter sets that have been released. These sets offer a fair quality and I never complained because everything showed up just like it did when watching the show on television. However, now that I have seen them on Blu-ray it’s like an entirely new experience. Dexter and his nefarious activity has never looked so nice. Dexter is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio with a 1080p, MPEG-4/AVCp transfer. It can only be described as beautiful. It’s shocking to see blood look so pretty on screen.
When Sweeney Todd was reviewed we commented on what an amazing transfer it had and how gruesome things looked. The death scenes truly looked amazing on the Todd transfer. Dexter isn’t as fascinating as that transfer, but it does come close. The colors are good, the disc is mainly clean and clear, and there really is not much to complain about. My main complaint would be with the opening scene, which offers some blur and too much of a washed out feeling to keep me truly satisfied. The rest of the episodes are truly magnificent though and they look fantastic.
Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 is used for the audio for Dexter and it’s never sounded better. You end up with a cleaner, clearer, and more crisp soundtrack. The sound effects shine, the dialogue never causes a problem, and the music sounds great. I never noticed a problem with the audio, at all. In addition to the main English track there is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track in Spanish, as well. Subtitles are included in English.
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Bonus Features:
There are two audio commentaries available on the first season of Dexter. It should be noted that these are for two separate episodes and not two complete commentaries for the whole entire season. The first commentary is available for episode, “Return to Sender.” Fans of the show should enjoy the first commentary as it includes actors Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Velez, and David Zayas.
It seems the only thing missing here is Michael C Hall. It’s a good commentary. You can tell everyone gets along, so it’s fun and informal more than anything. The other commentary is for “Born Free” and includes the producers. The purpose is mainly to talk technical and discuss the season finale. Again, it’s not bad though the first commentary is far superior.
There is a few other features that are utilized through BD Live. You can enjoy new features, such as, an interesting podcast with Michael C Hall and “The Academy of Blood – A Killer Course.” The previous feature, “Witness in Blood – A True Murder Investigation” is also included. This feature looks at blood splatter and how it’s included in a real investigation. Other than that you have the season three premiere of Dexter and two episodes from United States of Tara.
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Bottom Line:
I love Dexter. It’s one of the best shows on television. I highly recommend upgrading to Dexter: The Complete First Season on Blu Ray if you already own this set in its standard release form. The blood flies across the screen in a way I can’t describe. You just have to see it. Dexter kills with such heightened emotion due to the High Definition. You can see every tiny pixel on the screen as it bursts out from it, coming to life. Dexter: The Complete First Season on Blu Ray is highly recommended and well worth the purchase. If you’ve never checked Dexter out on Showtime, you need to watch it. Then you’ll want to own this set.
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Technorati Tags: Dexter, Season One, The Complete First Season, Blu-ray Review, Michael C Hall, Showtime, Original Series, Serial Killer, Dexter Morgan
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.
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