Okay Dexter fans, pitch this show to me.

[SmootsDaddy89]

I need a new show to get in to, and Dexter is one of the shows at the top of my list. So tell me why it's better than all the other shows out there.

[God]

It is really good but overrated. I'd recommend Breaking Bad and Six Feet under first.

[Zod]

Great characters, story line, murders, titties

[Brokenbad]

I need a new show to get in to, and Dexter is one of the shows at the top of my list. So tell me why it's better than all the other shows out there.

Great show! Its a good tale of balancing desires and obligations all the while appearing to be a normal man and not a serial killer. The main character is smart, but does make alot of mistakes as he gets comfortable. It is my favorite show. The way Dexter is portrayed hooks you into wanting to know if he will ever change the way he is and makes you wonder why the hell he is the way he is about certain things.

[Mesmer]

Season 1: Awesome

Season 2: Awesome

Season 3: Gay

Season 4: Awesome

Its pretty good.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. I'd say you have to have an appreciation for outstanding acting, brilliant writing, gritty tension, and swings from left field. The episodes are not stand alone, and anyone not watching them in serial fashion starting with episode 1, season 1 is doing themselves and the show a disservice. Its one of the few shows that not only gets better each episode, but generally each season, with the 3rd being widely considered the low point. Not that it was bad, just not the quality of the other seasons.

There's only one show I would put above the first two seasons of Sopranos, and Dexter would be it.

Six Feet Under might be better than Dexter, had it been worth watching after the first two seasons. Same with Sopranos.

But the show is very cerebral, and not immediately rewarding. At times it can be downright painful waiting for the next episode, but I enjoy chewing over an episode of Dexter for a week before watching the next.

IMO there has never been a better drama on network, cable or pay channels.

But it just might not be your kinda show.

EDIT: I liked 3rd season better than the 1st, and I thought season 4 was the best of all, with 2 being somewhere between 3 and 4. I'm one of the few people that liked the 3rd better than the first, but that's mostly because the actors had matured into the characters and the production was slicker. I think the story was tighter and written better than the first season. There's one thing I really didn't like about the first season, and it still sticks to me everytime I watch it. I think they revealed the Ice Truck killer (not that it wasn't already pretty obvious) two episodes too early in that season and that kind of spread the climax out and weakened it.

[Delhommey]

It's better than average for sure, but there are several shows better out there. It's a bit too formulaic for me, and from what I've seen (made it halfway through season two) they bend over backwards to make sure Dexter remains a hero in your eyes.

One of the great things about shows like Mad Men, the Sopranos or Brotherhood (vastly underrated) is they never let you fall in love with the main characters. That what was so good about the British Office and Eastbound and Down, just when you think you can start you can care about David Brent or Kenny Powers, they do something stupid and selfish that disgusts you.

Dexter is quite good, but I wish the show had more teeth and made Dexter to be a character a true monster that you can't stop watching.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

I dunno, I thought Tony Soprano was well humanized, and easy to empathize with despite the character. Now Ralphie...there was a character that was absolutely unlikeable, and then for one moment, the Sopranos made him the most sympathetic character on the show when his son was injured. Sort of like Big Pussy. Hated him to death until he said "I...I need to sit down for a minute."

Yeah, halfway through season two isn't doing yourself or Dexter any justice. What you see as 'jumping through hoops' is usually very tightly woven plot devices where the the real meaning isn't revealed until the season winds up. Watching a season and a half of Dexter then panning it would be like me watching 20 minutes of the Godfather and then saying there are several better movies out there.

Dexter is anything but formulaic. The first season, sure. That's why I like the first season the least. Everything else was good, but the plot was a bit linear.

[SmootsDaddy89]

The episodes are not stand alone, and anyone not watching them in serial fashion starting with episode 1, season 1 is doing themselves and the show a disservice.

Honestly, that's the only kind of show I really enjoy.

I'm going to give Season 1 a download now and see how I like it.

[Starscream]

You won't be disappointed. The first episode hooks you in.

[Jeff L]

Most series have their good and bad shows... I have never really seen a bad episode of Dexter.

Six Feet Under is also an excellent series to get into... Weeds too!

[Porn Shop Clerk]

I think the hatred towards Lila is pretty universal though. That whole storyline was kinda bad with the rehab and other retardation. But everything else about Season 2 was a powder keg.

[Mesmer]

I need to catch up on all the older goodness of HBO/SHO. Like I've never seen more than the first few episodes of six feet under. While we're at it, since this is Nerdvana and we do whatever the hell we want..

Porn Shop Clerk.. what else would you recommend in this same kind of discussion?

[Porn Shop Clerk]

There's not much to recommend to fans of Dexter. Everything else is gonna seem kind of shallow. Most everything that could be brought up is dead, like Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rome...

HBO's Song of Ice and Fire might rule the world next March tho. That's definitely a show to keep your eye on.

Most serial dramas just aren't fleshed out enough for me.

On a related note, Julie Benz is playing a bitch stripper on Desperate Housewives sometime or another. Not that I care, I hate the bitch.