Even toned-down, 'Dexter' is edgy, engaging

To borrow a phrase from Buffalo Sabres play-by-play man RickJeanneret, Michael C. Hall is "scary good" playing a forensicsexpert who doubles as a serial killer in the bizarrely entertainingShowtime series, "Dexter."

Hall was so good that the Television Critics Association gave himan award last summer for outstanding achievement in drama.Unfortunately, only about 5,500 cable households in Western New York-- representing less than 1 rating point -- watch "Dexter."

That's about to change now that the 12-episode first season ismoving to Showtime's bigger broadcast brother, CBS, on Sunday (10p.m., WIVB-TV) as part of a strategy to blunt the impact of the just-concluded writers' strike. It is the first premium cable drama tomove to network TV.

Of course, the move from an edgier pay-cable network withoutrules to broadcast TV has led to some behavior modifications forDexter. The CBS version sets an unofficial record for the use of theslang word "freakin'." Occasionally, the modifications provokeunintentional laughter, as when a nemesis calls Dexter a "motherlover." The violence has been toned down as well, with most of itleft to the imagination.

Naturally, the conservative Parents Television Council ishorrified at the idea that the show will be too graphic and makeHall's character heroic. Other than a few scenes involving a knife,the CBS version of "Dexter" isn't any more grisly than many episodesof the popular "CSIs."

Though the modifications can be laughable, they haven't severelyimpacted the overall dry, gallows humor tone of the Showtimeversion. However, the pacing doesn't seem as quick as it is in manybroadcast dramas, which often end 10-minute segments on an importantmoment. Still, most of my September 2006 review of the Showtimeversion holds up.

Hall, who played the gay undertaker on HBO's "Six Feet Under,"stars as Dexter Morgan, a blood-splatter expert for the Miami PoliceDepartment who had a messy childhood. Dexter is a real-cut up inmore ways than one.

When he isn't solving cases, delivering doughnuts to cops toingratiate himself or relaxing on his power boat, named "Slice ofLife," Dexter is dishing out vigilante justice to criminals whooutsmart the system. In other words, Dexter is a sociopath who is onthe warpath against people who may be even sicker than he is.Needless to say, a serial killer isn't your ordinary protagonist.Who in their right minds would root for a sicko like this?

But that's what makes it so intriguing. You may hate yourself forliking "Dexter," but it is hard not to because his narration is sopainfully honest, funny and self-aware.

"I'm hungry for something different now," Dexter tells theaudience before we meet the first victim he dissects and Dexterconfesses to being devoid of human emotions.

"I feel like I fake them all," he says. "I feel like I fake themvery well."

He is right. He's snowed just about everyone, including hissister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a cop who looks to him forguidance; his boss, Lt. Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez), who looks athim longingly; his damaged girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz), who looksto him for emotional support; and the homicide detectives who lookto him to discover clues. James Remar also stars in flashbacks asthe cop who adopted Dexter and eventually put him on his career andafter-hours path.

The only one who sees through Dexter is an angry Sgt. Doakes(Erik King), who gets the creeps dealing with Dexter and doesn't gettaken in by his doughnuts or charm. Dexter also is being toyed withby a serial killer, dubbed the Ice Truck Killer, who plays aseasonlong game with him.

Based on the book "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay, theseries is augmented by the rhythms and picturesque aspects of Miamithat balance the character's own dark, comical and psychologicalrhythms.

The narration allows Dexter to express his opinions on a varietyof subjects, like a talk show host. At one point, he acknowledgesthat he doesn't understand sex because "it always seems soundignified." It's a strange admission coming from a guy who killspeople and engages in gallows humor after his triumphs. After onefuture success, he dryly notes: "One less amateur filmmakerpolluting the Internet."

The off-beat "Dexter" marches to the beat of its own drummer. Itwon't be for everyone. In fact, I can't envision it attracting alarge audience on CBS, which already has too many crime dramas. Butif you're looking for something dark and different, it may slay you.

The idea is that even the most normal-looking people havesecrets. Like Dexter. In an interview almost two years ago, Hallmade comments that seemed to anticipate the concerns of the ParentsTelevision Council.

"I think the show very much aspires to a moral ambiguity," Hallsaid. "Dexter is a cowboy that wears, like, a 10-gallon gray hat. Ithink people should be torn. I think it fosters a sense of conflict.'Oh, my God, I'm rooting for someone who is doing something that I,along with pretty much everybody else, would, on paper, suggest isreprehensible.' "

e-mail: apergament@buffnews.com

-----

>TV Review

Dexter

10 p.m. Sunday

WIVB Channel 4

Review: Three stars (out of four)