Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: August 18th, 2009
MSRP: $57.99
As season three begins, Dexter accidentally kills an “innocent” man. Innocent as in not the person Dex was planning on killing. He is, quite understandably, upset by this.
It turns out that the deceased is (or rather was) the brother of Miguel Prado, the district attorney and a player in Miami politics. Dexter does some snooping to learn about the man he killed and soon finds that he was not exactly a choir boy. Miguel finds out about said snooping and confronts Dexter. Dexter, also the blood spatter analyst on the case, spins a tale about wanting to know more about the man who died so tragically. Miguel buys it and takes a liking to him. Despite Dexter’s attempts to distance himself from Miguel, they develop a friendship. The fact that Miguel’s wife bonds with Rita makes it even harder for Dexter to push Miguel away. As time goes on, Dexter starts to confide in Miguel and feels that he is no longer along in this world, that Miguel accepts him for who he is and does not judge him.
The introduction of Miguel had me very excited. The evolution of the relationship was quite fascinating as Dexter seemed to almost take Miguel under his wing and Miguel’s wife bonded with Rita. Sadly, the relationship seemed to conclude a little too quickly and ultimately was not unlike the conclusion of season two. It seems like every season, Dexter has found somebody that he has a bond with, only to have to take action to stop their own dark side. It is as though the writers feel that they need to end each season with Dexter showing his humanity, as if we are going to forget the dynamics that have been established thus far.
In my mind, the best thing would have been to sign Jimmy on for two seasons, Establish the relationship in the first season and have things crumble in the second. Done right, it could have been amazing.
But the season was not without redeemable qualities. Rita continues to shine and Deb’s relationship with Anton was very fun to watch. While the show certainly focuses on Dexter, they have done a decent job continuing to flesh out the supporting characters. Another strong point is Dexter’s continuing exploration of his past. With each piece, he becomes more of a person, using his own judgment and relying less on Harry’s rules to guide his life.
Video:
Dexter is presented in 1080p with a ratio of 1.78.1. I have said this before, but the lush Miami setting looks gorgeous in HD. Dexter is one of the shows that does not need effects to make the BD a worthy purchase. The plants, Batista’s shirts, the blood…all of these really stand out.
Audio:
The sound is delivered in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound. Everything sounds fine, there really is not a whole lot of heavy lifting for the system to do. A nice job is done mixing the music with dialogue.
Once again, I must call out Showtime/Paramount for being grinchlike in regards to extras. We are hosed once more. With a show as popular and unusual as DEXTER, why can’t some time be spend examining the evolution of the characters? How about talking about the unlikely success the show has had? There is NO excuse for the continuing refusal to provide us with a more substantial collection of featurettes. What we do get must be accessed via Blu-ray live. Many don’t have players with that ability and I am betting the contain won’t be available a couple years down the line.
As I said, it was the weakest of the seasons, but even the weaker moments are better than much of the dramas on television today. Fans of the show won’t be too disappointed with the overall quality. Michael Hall continues to excel in one of televisions most fascinating roles.
Order season three of DEXTER on Blu-ray.
Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from MYSELF, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
