Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

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George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Showing posts with label Patrick Gibson. Show all posts

Friday, January 10, 2025

Dexter: Original Sin 1.6: On the Strong, Non-Serial-Killer Parts of the Show

The deepest heart and strength of all the Dexter series -- including the current Dexter: Original Sin -- is of course the story of the serial-killer Dexter on the side of the angels. But I was especially struck watching Dexter: Original Sin 1.6 how good the other aspects of the narrative are, too.

Here's a list of some highlights [spoilers ahead .... ]

1. Dexter losing his virginity in that men's room, after Sofia follows him in. The truth is, Dexter's romantic relationships in all the series are very well done highlights (though I guess it's stretching things a bit to call Dexter and Sofia's relationship romantic, at least from Dexter's point of view).

2. Speaking of "romance," Harry being torn between his wife and Dexter's mother Laura is one fine piece of drama, too. The writing and the acting in the scenes with Harry (Christian Slater) and Laura (Brittany Allen) are top-notch, too.

3. Speaking of acting, Patrick Gibson as young Dexter is outstanding. He both inhabits and is growing into the Dexter we've come to know via Michael C. Hall just perfectly. (This of course is helped by Hall's voice saying the right things, with the right tone of voice.)

4. For that matter, Captain Spencer's story vis-a-vis his kidnapped son and his former wife is a powerful piece of narrative, and it's good to see Patrick Dempsey branching out from Grey's Anatomy (which I don't watch anyway -- I only know the actor because my wife is such a devotee of the hospital drama).

What I'm saying is these and just about every other aspect of Dexter: Original Sin are riveting television, and one of the reasons all of the Dexters have been right up there with The Sopranos and The Wire.

Reviews of Season 2: Dexter's Back: A Preview and Dexter Meets Heroes and 6. Dexter and De-Lila-h and 7. Best Line About Dexter - from Lila and 8. How Will Dexter Get Out of This? and The Plot Gets Tighter and Sharper and Dex, Doakes, and Harry and Deb's Belief Saves Dex and All's ... Well

See also about Season 1: First Place to Dexter

Friday, December 20, 2024

Dexter: Original Sin 1.2-1.3: "The Finger is the Message"

Paramount+Showtime was good enough to put up both the second and third episodes of the prequel Dexter series -- Dexter: Original Sin -- and the result was double all the things we enjoy about Dexter. Including at least two prime pieces of interior commentary from Dexter (the young Dexter) with the older Dexter -- voiced by Michael C. Hall -- speaking the commentary.

[Some spoilers ahead ... ]

One comes when Dexter, now working in his father Harry's Miami police unit, hears their Captain, at a press conference, comment that they had received a finger of the boy who had been kidnapped, sent to them by the kidnapper, with no other message. Dexter thinks/says in internal dialogue "that's because the finger was the message". A nice homage to Marshall McLuhan, intended or not (and I put the quote in the present tense because I wanted to emphasize the McLuhanesque quality of the line).

Dexter has another especially apt interior line -- "hello darkness my old friend" -- borrowed from Paul Simon -- and Dexter is honing his skills, managing to get back the earrings he took as souvenirs from his first killing, which Debra gave to Sophia. Here I'll say I'm not clear why Dexter is shown rebuffing Sophia's advances. The adult Dexter certainly was not immune to the charms of women. So what's the point of making younger Dexter not interested? He's too much in love with discovering he's truest love, which is murder of those who deserve it? If so, I think this aspect of the narrative is being handled a little too heavy-handedly at this point.

But it was good to see young Batista get so much story, and young LaGuerta introduced. In many ways, they were the most important characters other than Dexter and Debra, in the original series -- well, everyone was important -- and Batista comes back in the Dexter: New Blood sequel. One of the great strengths of Original Sin is how much most of the characters look and sound like their older selves that we came to know in Dexter. That applies not only to Patrick Gibson of course as Dexter, but to James Martinez as Batista. At one point in Original Sin 1.2, his voice sounded exactly like David Zayas, which made wonder if Zayas actually did that voicing.

In any case, as of the first three episodes, Dexter: Original Sin is doing one fine job, and I'm looking forward to more.

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Friday, December 13, 2024

Dexter: Original Sin 1.1: Activation of the Code

The Dexter series is back with a prequel -- Dexter: Original Sin on Paramount+Showtime -- and here's a review with plenty of spoilers:

The debut episode starts off right where Dexter: New Blood ended, with Dexter killed. Except, turns out he survived, and the ensuing Dexter: Original Sin is described by the recovering Dexter as "seeing your life flash before your eyes," as you're lying, almost dead, on your nearly death bed. Now, this was a great beginning, but Dexter's survival didn't come as a surprise to me. I already knew Dexter survived his son's bullet because I'd seen all the announcement of Dexter coming back in the flesh, not only with Michael C. Hall's voice, but Michael C. Hall on the screen, this coming summer. Advice to Paramount+Showtime: you should have kept your announcement that Dexter was coming back not only as his younger self but himself per se under wraps until this first episode of Original Sin had already aired/streamed.

And it was an excellent episode. Patrick Gibson was right on as young Dexter, Molly Brown as young Debra, and you can't go wrong with Christian Slater as the Dexters' famous (in Dexter-lore) father Harry, who taught his son the code: you can give vent to your urge to kill by killing killers who deserved to die. In this case, it's a nurse in a hospital where Harry goes to have his heart condition treated but instead is being slowly poisoned to death by the nurse. The nurse is no newbee, and her age gives young Dexter material for one of his fine patented wisecracks said to himself: my first was an older woman.

Significantly, Harry not only gives his son permission to kill Harry's would-be killer, but explicitly tells Dexter to do just that. Thus, Harry is clearly as responsible for Dexter going on this deadly course as is Dexter, and we see Harry brought to tears by this realization. Harry not only seeks and sought to protect his son, but he activated his son on his deadly way of life. Harry did this to save his own life, which is understandable, but he knows that now he'll have to live with the results.

It was also fun in this first episode to see younger versions of Batista and Masuka, looking in Batista's case and acting in Masuka's case just like their older counterparts whom we've come to love. Some new characters are also sprinkled in, and, all in all, Dexter: Original Sin looks to be one really enjoyable addition to the Dexter library on television.

And I'll see you back here next week with my review of the next episode.

"challenging fun"
- Entertainment Weekly

e-mail received from a reader:
Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom

I of course happily replied...

42 reviews of The Plot to Save Socrates!