Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Showtime Entertainment & John Goldwyn & Clyde
Phillips Productions & The Colleton Company
Blu-ray: Paramount/CBS Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: A
Runtime: 10 hrs.
Chapters: 12
Size: 50 GB
Case: Standard Blu-ray case, w/ flip-page
Release date: August 18, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: AVC
Audio:
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Dub: Spanish Dolby 2.0.
Subtitles:
English SDH
Extras:
• BD-Live 2.0 features:
• Dexter by Design – Book Excerpts
• Interviews with Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer
Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas
• First 2 Episodes of The Tudors, Season 3
• First 2 Episodes of United States of Tara, Season 1
The Film:
See also my
Blu-ray
reviews of Dexter
Seasons One &
Two
As we learned in Season One, by day Dexter Morgan (Michael
C. Hall) is a blood-spatter forensic analyst for the Miami
Metro Police. By night, he "takes out the trash" as he
refers to his decade long obsession as a vigilante serial
killer. Dexter's fascination with the processes of death and
killing began early but he's found a way to live with his
peculiarities. In one of Dexter's many flashbacks we find
him in a close-up discussion with his adoptive father, a
straight-arrow Miami cop (James Remar), about the morality
of killing domestic animals and how such a propensity could
lead to targets higher up the food chain if not checked.
Dexter is quick to point out to us the downside to his
special gifts: he truly is disconnected from feeling. His
sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is a competitive,
foul-mouthed undercover vice cop when we first met her in
Season One, but was promoted to
homicide detective as Dexter helps her with his "hunches"
about her various investigations. With Debra, as with
everyone else, he goes to some pains to keep the truth about
himself secret. Nevertheless, Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) is
certain something is up with Dexter and shadows him
relentlessly after the close of Season One.
In Season Two Sgt. Doakes obsessively increases his
surveillance of Dexter, certain he's up to something
nefarious. Rita (Julie Benz) confronts Dexter about what him
and her ex-husband, who did not survive prison. Dexter
maneuvers with a false admission that he is an addict, which
leads him to a 12-step program and the equally crazed Lila
(Jaime Murray). Elsewhere, the accidental discovery of
Dexter's private burial ground brings on the feds in the
person of superstar Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine.)
Season Three finds Dexter back on his game. In the first
episode, he stumbles upon an altercation between his
intended victim and an unexpected visitor. His intended
escapes, but the new guy turns on Dex who must kill him or
be killed. This unnerving turn of events is made all the
more problematic when it is learned that the man he killed
is the brother of respected Assistant District Attorney
Miguel Prado (the awesome Jimmy Smits). Not satisfied with
this unsettling revelation, the season promotes the
relationship: Dex finds and kills Freebo, his original
intended victim, but Prado discovers Dexter with blood on
his hands. Slowly, Dex permits Prado into his life with
startling results. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Rita
discovers she is pregnant – a situation that evolves into
new considerations for Dex that will occupy him for the
remainder of the season.
With Doakes gone, the season spends more time with Angel
Batista (David Zayas), who is soon promoted to Sergeant,
making him Debra's boss. More significant is the aftermath
of his finding himself "busted" by an undercover cop posing
as a hooker. Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Vélez) finds herself
between an old friend, Prado, and the possibility of a new
one – a crusading defense attorney (Anne Ramsay) out to
discredit Prado.
Debra really comes into her own this season. In the first
season she was the girl in distress at the hands of her
boyfriend. In the second, she finds herself a better class
of boyfriend, but is still disappointed. In this season, she
finds love in an expected and compromising place. Her foul
mouth, so completely opposite of her brother's unrevealing
utterances, is in everyone's face. I can't imagine another
actress who seems so utterly comfortable in the language.
I can't say for certain, not having watched every show on
television, but Dexter may very well be the smartest comedy
presently on air. It's not just the situations, which are
the stuff of 18th century chamber comedies, but Dexter's
incessant one-liners, followed by the faintest glimmer of a
facial reaction to his own observations. These are not
knee-slapping, roll on the floor moments - unlike every line
said by and to forensic expert Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee) - but
a relentless series of some the most droll writing you'll
encounter this side of Oscar Wilde. To copy so much as a
single one would be to cheat you of the moment of discovery
– yet, the series is eminently rewatchable, mainly for the
writing.
Dexter's trademark thinking out loud is invested with more
texture this season with ever increasing appearances by his
father in fantasized dialogues (replacing the flashbacks of
the first seasons) about the dangers of letting others into
his life. Harry warns Dexter, yes, but he is also supportive
of Dex's strengths – strengths Dexter is not confident he
has.
What makes Dexter as a series so seductive is that it
manages to describe the process of personality
deconstruction for the audience in the context of darkly
humorous thriller. What I find so gratifying is that the
writers appear to agree with my theory of personality
development, which is that personality is something we come
into the world with, and that life events, rather than shape
the personality, are merely filtered by it. The appearance
of growth or maturity is, therefore, the destiny of the
personality if given the opportunity. Dexter, the series,
takes its time to let us into the internal working of
Dexter's mind as he himself comes to terms with what he is
and what he can be.
Image:
9/9
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
Do my eyes deceive, or is this season's Dexter better
looking on Blu-ray than ever before – and by no small
degree! Just about gone is that fine fuzz that I observed in
Season One; nor is there any fringing or artifactual residue
that I was aware of. Moral values may be ambiguous in this
series, but they are nonetheless strongly and passionately
articulated, just as is the
photography: The lighting in most scenes is highly stylized
with a strong key light and competing subsidiary lights. At
times there is nothing in the high values but your screen.
Blacks, on the other hand, are strong. Skin tones, taking
into account occasional filtration, is spot on. High
contrast and eye-popping color saturation is the order of
the day.
Audio & Music:
8/8
As with the Season Two Blu-ray, the default Dolby TrueHD is
solid and clear, though more understated than previously. As
I wrote for the previous seasons: Starting with its moody,
spicy rhythms over the credits Daniel Licht sets the stage
for sex and blood. Whenever this noirish music is projected
into the surrounds with its warm, pulsing caress, we know
that sex and death are not far away. I say "sex" but that is
usually implied rather than portrayed. The music provides a
kind of transitional cover on the way to the latest homicide
scene or Dexter's more graphic forensic work. Dialogue is
perfectly staged and focused in the center, while Dexter's
inner monologue is just enough larger to distinguish it from
the rest, just as Harry's conversations are yet another
acoustic space. This is a show whose effects are largely
atmospheric and ambient. They seemed almost "invisible"
until I turned off the surrounds
and discovered what I was missing.
Operations:
7
Menu operations are clearer than Paramount's previous
Blu-ray editions of Dexter. Initial loading takes us
directly to the main menu, which is simplicity itself. A
Play All function with individual episodes, but no
accessible chapters (even though there are chapters.)
Extras:
4
With each successive season, there have been fewer extra
features on disc and an increasing number on BD Live. This
trend has reached its ultimate conclusion with all the
features now found on the Net. I didn't check them out, but
they look promising. I'll give the score the benefit of the
doubt and take off points for the inconvenience.
Bottom line:
9
If you can accept the notion of a killer as the "hero" of a
continuing series and appreciate and perhaps take solace in
the peculiar moral ambiguity that is the soul of Dexter, you
are in for an amazing roller coaster ride, and a few
admissions to the fun house and its distorting mirrors.
Paramount's Blu-ray of Dexter Season Three appears to be
even better than before in every way. Except for having to
go off-disc for the extra features, what's not to like!
Major Thumbs Up.
Leonard Norwitz
August 6th, 2009