'Dexter' is in my opinion the best show to ever exist. Every episode of all eight seasons was the best show I've ever seen.
The show began in October of 2006 and ended in September 2013. Netflix has been pumping out hit after hit series and yet 'Dexter' is still my favorite when asked. The series is a serious work of art. I was fully captivated for the ~53 minutes of every episode without getting bored. If you've never seen Dexter, it is a must watch.
Michael C. Hall, a phenomenal actor, is Dexter Morgan. He has the ability to be serious, funny, frightening, charming, charismatic, dark, etc. No matter the emotion or characteristic, he nails it. In 'Dexter', he is a blood spatter specialist for Miami Metro that has a very dark side. He's a vigilante serial killer.
It typically begins with a serial criminal that performed a serious crime when either Dexter or Miami Metro learns about it. The police begin the chase of the criminal and Dexter takes him out in a very specific ritual right before the police arrive with no trace. Part of his ritual consists of M-99 Rhino tranquilizer, a prepared room completely sealed in plastic and his very sharp cutlery that's in a chef knife bag. This iconic scene for the murders is part of the careful necessities that Dexter performs in order to cover his tracks, finishing with a dumping of the body in the ocean off of his boat named"Slice of Life".
We learn about his past throughout the series that explains why he is the way he is. The part that makes Dexter so special is that we actually love him. What?! Why would we love a serial killer? Because he's Dexter. The most ironic part is that we root for Dexter even before we fully learn about his past. It's not a show that attempts to make you feel bad for the main character and sympathize with him. Basically the opposite. I tend to think he brings out the darkness in ourselves.
Among the odd things going on in Dexter's life, he has visions of his father Harry (James Remar) that guides him towards his decisions. He's kind of like the angel on his shoulder that questions him before he decides to make a pivotal decision. Dexter also keeps a collection of slides with a drop of blood on them as his "trophies", which almost gets him caught multiple times. There's even a time in the series where all of his slides go missing, which throws him in a panicked state in fear of getting caught.
Dexter's sister, Deb Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), is the only constant Dexter has throughout the series. They work at the same place where she's a detective. Their relationship has its highs and lows as she's always one very small clue away from finding out that he's a serial killer. She's a moody character that's a low key badass, which makes the audience have a love/hate for her.
Dexter has a few relationships throughout the series and even gets married to Rita (Julie Benz). Rita is as innocent as they come and a good person. This opposite's attract relationship leads to some interesting situations. I can't say much more about their relationship without giving away spoilers, so enjoy Season 4 (the best season).
There are star studded antagonists throughout the series that include the Ice Truck Killer (Christian Camargo), The Trinity Killer (John Lithgow), The Doomsday Killer (Colin Hanks) and Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller) just to name a few.
Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) is on Dexter's ass for the first few seasons as he feels that something just isn't right with Dexter. On the contrary, Sgt. Angel Batista (David Zayas) thinks he's good at his job and not much more until later seasons.
Dexter has a son, Harrison that he truly loves. Dexter begins to fear that Harrison will turn out the way that he is, which leads him to make big decision in pivotal moments of the show.
Any show that can run 8 seasons is a success, but a mystery thriller that can run that long while actually gaining viewers is real success. The series is very difficult to solve at any point, which you still may not by the end.
The reason why I believe it's the best show of all time is the writing (Jeff Lindsay, James Manos Jr., Scott Buck, Scott Reynolds, etc.), talented actors (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Hall, David Zayas, Desmond Harrington, James Remar, Julie Benz, Jaime Murray, etc.) and constant thrill of emotions. The show concluded with it's final episode pulling in an audience of 2.8 million, the record for any show's audience of Showtime.
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