The sixth season of Dexter was a remarkably terrible stretch of television. I watched it live in the summer of 2011, along with the seventh season of Weeds, and the collective shittiness of both made me cancel my Showtime subscription. Two years later, after Marissa swore to me that the seventh season of Dexter was actually much better than the sixth (hey, I guess we didn't cancel Showtime after all), I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm starting that one in a few minutes, but first I had to revisit this pile. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I mean, the episodes themselves were awful, but almost comically so. And to Dexter's credit, even though it's ostensibly a murder mystery drama, it's always had a pretty good sense of dark humor. That much stayed true even during this mess.
I could go on. I could talk about what specifically went wrong this season, but why bother? Let me just leave it at this. This season's big bad serial killer was played by Colin Hanks.
Aren't you glad he's dead now though? On to Season 7!
I stopped watching Dexter after the second season (also because I cancelled my Showtime subscription). Was this a mistake? With the show moving towards its last season I'm curious whether or not I should jump back in again. Clearly there's a lot I've missed -- including not knowing that Colin Hanks was now a (apparently former) cast member. Sheridan has told me that leaving the show before season three caused me to miss John Lithgow's great performance as a villain. Still, I guess I just want more motivation than one great season to keep me moving forward. I want to know that the series in general is going to pay off.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts?
Here's my spoiler-free breakdown:
DeleteSeason 1 - Still the best season
Season 2 - Decent, but with a few cop-out moves toward the end in lieu of some potentially more interesting stuff
Season 3 - The one I have the fewest memories of. Jimmy Smits!
Season 4 - John Lithgow was stellar and there was an enormous season-ending shocking moment, so this qualifies as one of the best seasons, but nothing amazing
Season 5 - Great very early on, in the aftermath of the huge Season 4 finale, but lost steam pretty quickly. Julia Stiles!
Season 6 - Colin Hanks! Really just an awful and aimless season with a vacuum where an antagonist belongs
Season 7 - So far, pretty good, but these seasons ave always had a way of starting strong and losing steam rapidly. (I'm on the fifth of twelve episodes, I think.)
Final prognosis: The show has never been as good as it was in those first two seasons, and while the rest of it has ranged everywhere from "awful" to "deeply moving" I think it's safe to say you haven't missed one of the all time great shows on TV. Have you seen the Sopranos yet? Like, I'd much sooner give that show a try.