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Show:		7.0
Picture:		6.0
Sound:		6.0
Extras:		5.0
Score:		6.0

Director(s):	Keith Gordon • Marcos Siega • Michael Cuesta
Writer(s):	James Manos Jr., Jeff Lindsay, Melissa Rosenberg, Scott Reynolds
Starring:	C.S. Lee • David Zayas • Jennifer Carpenter • Jimmy Smits • Julie Benz • Michael C. Hall • Lauren Velez
Genre:	Crime Thriller • Drama • Television
Website:	http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.do
Release Date:	August 18, 2009

List Price:	DVD - $34.99
Amazon:

Ah, to be in love. And a serial killer. Dexter's third season may not have reached the fervor of the original, but it’s safe to say it was the most hyped season of television Showtime has ever produced. With their “campaign” ads for Dexter modeled after the Barack Obama posters and a gamut of recognizable magazine covers altered for Dexter promotions, it was hard not to know the third season of Dexter was underway. So what was all the fuss over? Jimmy Smits made an interesting balance for Michael C. Hall’s Dexter, but in no way does it measure up to the expectations Showtime created.

Dexter’s life is a pool of blood circling a drain. His job is about blood. His secret life is about blood. And now his private life is too – Rita (Julie Benz) is pregnant with his child. With the new pregnancy comes a new set of social expectations from Dexter. No longer can he take unexplained jaunts into the night to soothe the calls of his dark passenger. Rita’s hopes for a future with Dexter steer them towards a “couples” friendship with Miguel (Smits) and Sylvia Prado (Valerie Cruz). But marriage isn’t the only force pushing Dexter and Miguel closer. Miguel and Dexter’s lives seem to intersect at a great many points. Their new “friendship” as Miguel calls it, places Dexter’s code of isolation in question. Could his father Harry (James Remar) have been wrong all this time? Is Dexter doomed to keep his secret from everyone? Or has he found in Miguel someone who understands his dark need?

As a character, Dexter elicits different reactions from different people. Some consider his character an anti-hero – but a hero all the same. Others think of him as little more than the serial killer he hides from everyone else and watch the show waiting for the come uppance they’re so sure Dexter will receive; after all he’s a murderer, there’s no way Showtime’s going to let him live in the end right?! Right!?! The character and the series have gone through clearly thematic evolutions as the series has progressed. The first season was the establishment of the character and the discovery of Dexter’s past. The second had Dexter move beyond his past and into his present where he dealt with the effects of his need and how it could ultimately sabotage all aspects of his life. The season took his one supporter for his habit and left him alone, once again. Season three gives him yet another friend, but not to help him embrace his desire, but to help recognize how it could so easily go wrong.

Miguel’s bloodlust gives viewers an insight into just how bad a character Dexter could have been. Yes, we’re still arguing there’s a good side of serial murder, but what helps the third season is the presence of direct comparison. There’s no question that Dexter plays on the darker side of the black-and-white moral spectrum, but being forced to acknowledge the different shades of gray (or black) puts the Dexter series in a new light.

Beyond the story of Dexter, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) and Detective Quinn (Desmond Harrington) find one of their cases in jeopardy when the paperwork of a paid informant (David Ramsey) is apparently non-existent. The season’s drama cuts out a lot of the key players of past seasons and puts the focus squarely on Dexter, Debra and their worlds. The story of Maria Laguerta (Lauren Velez) and Angel Batista (David Zayas) takes a backseat and Masuka (C.S. Lee) all but vanishes from the story entirely, which is horribly unfortunate.

DVD Bonus Features

The extras on the set are less for Dexter and more for Showtime. After interviews with different cast members, which are fun but far too short, you can watch two episodes from The United States of Tara (first season) or The Tudors (third season). The first show is painful to watch, but the episodes of the Tudors are a nice taste of the fantastic show. Finally, there are a few passages from the original Dexter books by Jeff Lindsay, which are easily worth reading. Try ‘em out., but be warned that the plots are vastly different.