Maybe Showtime’s letting the world know there would be another season of Dexter forced the creators into a revisionist frenzy that led to a perfunctory and dull wrap-up of everything. […]
By Elaine B All three seasons have featured the theme of Dexter seeking validation for his acts. First there was the acceptance by his stepfather dominating Season 1, along with the tragic attempt to reach out to a young killer and help him find his own code, ending with that marvelous moment when Dexter imagines how the people of Miami would cheer if they knew that he had brought down the Ice Truck Killer. In Season 2 there are the times his face light up when his future mother-in-law and occasional news commentators say that the city should give the […]
By Elaine B All the action in “Sí, se puede” (a nice election week tie in, sí?) left me feeling a bit drained. In this case, ” Yes we can” means that Miguel turned out to be a perfect sidekick, even game for taking out white supremacist Clemson Galt. Naming Clemson, who is already in a maximum-security prison, as his next victim, Dexter hoped to dissuade Miguel from wanting to engage in some male bonding over a killing table. Unfortunately for Dex, Prado is an adrenaline junkie who figures out a way to get the swastika-tatted Clem out of prison […]
By Elaine B A caveman walking the beach in the comic strip B.C. saw a clam walk from one pile of shells to another. “Clams have legs!” the caveman proclaimed. In the next window, in a dialogue balloon, one of the clams said, “Now we have to kill him.” What follows is a series of clam-attempted homicides that Dexter would likely find terribly amusing. But there is nothing amusing about the situation our antihero finds himself in now. By the end of episode five, Dexter is aware that Prado had set him up by pointing him to a killer who […]
By Elaine B First off, hooray to Showtime for realizing what a gem they have with this series and renewing it for another two years! This kind of support is always welcome by series writers because they know they keep a few loose ends at the close of the season, and long-range planning is always good whether you are plotting murder or merely murderous plots. That being said, do you ever get the feeling that you are going to wind up really, really disappointed in this season of Dexter? Not because of anything that has happened so far, but because […]
By Elaine B Dexter coming to grips with fatherhood, as well as the shortcomings of his own father, created a killer episode. Any who worried that thoughts of a bouncing baby Morgan would soften Dexter were happily disappointed. Because, of course, impending fatherhood is stressful, and Dexter has such a unique way of dealing with stress. And if imminent daddyhood didn’t have Dex sharpening his scalpels, there’s his new best friend, Miguel Prado. Prado is clearly the head of his own family, confessing to Dexter over shots of rum that his father was narcissistic drunk with such a high opinion […]
By Elaine B Has anyone else noticed that this is not the only Showtime series to throw a baby into the plotline to mix things up? First there was Weeds, where a child in the womb has likely saved pusher mom Nancy Botwin’s life since the one thing her druglord lover likes more than money and power is family. And there is also rumor that Californication will be taking the same path in the new season. It’s not Karen, mind you, at least according to actress Natascha McElhone. She told me her pregnancy did not figure into the plot while […]
By Elaine B I begin by noting that I have faith in the writers of the freshest most cutting-edge drama on television. But my faith was sorely tested at the end of the Season 3 premiere by the sudden plot twist that has a clearly besotted-by-Rita-and-kids Dexter suddenly contemplating that he will become a father in actuality rather than just a sort of informal doughnut-carrying dad. For Dexter, who has always had father issues of his own, as well as a strong tie to his adopted family, becoming a father could be a step on the path to finding his […]
By Elaine B Recently, I commented that Swingtown would be so much better if it were on Showtime. Now I am not so sure. Tuning in to my DVR’d premiere of Billie Piper trying to be sexy, I found myself longing for Elizabeth Berkley in the smarmier and far more entertaining Razzie award-winning film Showgirls. What’s wrong with Call Girl? Well, almost everything. First off, in spite of her perky voice-over narration (the best thing about the premiere), Belle is … Not. Very. Nice.
One of the interesting “facts” about history is that it is subject to plenty of creative editing through the ages. As an example, if you were a petty lord in King Henry’s court, would you be discussing the sexual exploits of your lusty young monarch in any but the most glowing and polite terms? Doubtful, particularly since Henry, having been driven to distraction and possibly madness by the lovely Anne, is acting a bit like a loose cannon — at least he does in the opening episode of this season’s Tudors and the action has only just begun. (Spoiler alert […]
© 2023 Channel Guide Magazine