Dexter

I've been renting the first season of the TV series "Dexter" through Netflix, and wanted to put a big recommendation out there for those of you who may not have seen it.

This series is about a serial killer who works as a blood spatter specialist for the Miami police department. He was raised by his adoptive father, a police officer, who gave him a moral code to live by to keep him undetected. He only kills murderers and other people who've been up to something nasty (and only then if there's definite proof of their activities), not because he sees anything wrong with killing other people, but because it's a relatively safe way for him to indulge the urge. He's a reasonably functional sociopath. This of course raises the question of whether he's a bad guy because he kills people, or a good guy because he only kills bad people. I know my own answer to that question, but others might not agree with my answer, and that's what makes this fun.

The resulting series is very unique stuff. Dexter comes across as a likeable guy, even though you know he doesn't actually feel anything for anyone else and is just trying to figure out how to fit in well enough to survive. I think they stray a bit, actually, because he does seem to care for his adoptive sister at the very least. I can make a reasonable argument that his other human relationships are nothing more than cover, except for her.

Science fiction series often use an alien character to comment on the human condition, and "Dexter" does the same thing in its own way. There are scenes in this show that you simply won't see anywhere else. One of my favorites is when he's about to slit the throats of a captive married couple, but pauses to ask them for relationship advice to help him deal with his girlfriend. I also love the bit where the police call him to inspect his own crime scene, which turns out to surprise him in one very key respect.

The supporting cast is also consistently interesting and entertaining, and their characters come off very much as real people, with positive and negative aspects to their characters.

I have one disc (four episodes, I think) to go to complete the first season, and I'm looking forward to it. Very good stuff.