The twentieth TV show: #748 Dexter
At this point I'm just over halfway through the second season of Dexter. Where, I understand, the show really gets good, until it takes a dive after the fourth season. We'd started Dexter before, but never got around to getting too far in it, so this gave me a good reason to catch up and keep watching.
And the second season certainly steps it up. There's more depth to the characters and it plays more to their strengths. It's not as much about a murder of the week as it is about the way they make it through their life while focusing more on the cat and mouse game. There's just as much actual risk.
And that's where it's interesting. Despite everything he does, you don't want Dexter to be caught. He kills the bad guys, making him more ambiguous. Michael C. Hall brings his best to make the character both charming and frightening, effortlessly blending the two, making you hate and love him at different points. On the other hand, early on some episodes feel too limp to make it work and you can see why this is not a plot you couldn't drag out. I know how the series ends, and looking at it I can see why it would disappoint. Similar to Breaking Bad, while your partially root for the main character, he also needs his comeuppance, and at its bad the series flirts with it, with minor setbacks and last minute victories that make it far more interesting than smooth sailing through.