Dexter – The
Complete Sixth Season (2011/Showtime Blu-ray)
Picture: A- Sound: A- Extras: C- Episodes: B
I have been an extreme Dexter fan
from the very beginning; I named my dog Dexter for God’s sake! Season
Four (with John Lithgow) was the high
point for the series that I even said at the time
would be hard to top. Season Four was epic, cinematic even;
topping most films today in terms of the grand style, acting, and writing that
was delivered. Since that time the
seasons (5 & 6) have more or less slid by as VERY good, but not on the level of
Season 4.
Season 5 chronicled the
exploits of a group of sick men (headed by a TV personality) who tortured and
killed girls for years, that is until Dexter Morgan discovered their misdeeds
and made it his personal goal to bring them to justice (or at least his brand
of it). It was also in that season that
Dexter got a new partner and love interest in the form of Lumen (Julia Styles),
a former victim of those men. It made
for a complicated relationship that in the end ended abruptly, leaving Dexter
with mixed emotions but back to his old ways.
He was once again confident, haunted by the ghost of his past, but ready
to move forward.
As we join Dexter in Season 6 a
new serial killer is on the loose, providing fresh kills in the name of God,
making proclamations of the forthcoming apocalypse. Dexter’s sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) has been
promoted to Chief of Police after Laguerta (Lauren Velez) was made Captain; and
made Captain by not the kindest means.
Meanwhile Masuka (C.S. Lee) is trucking around a crew of potential lab
rats, one of which will get the job as his lab assistant; though clearly
everything is not as it appears. Miami is full of
interesting characters, proving that Dexter Morgan is not the only individual
with a dark passenger.
Collin Hanks and Edward James Olmos are the villains this season and
are the true stars (outside of Michael C. Hall who is near perfection). Acting in the name of God, with intentions to
save the repentant and cast all others into the flames of hell, Hanks and
Olmos’ characters setup an array of gruesome, murderous displays borrowing from
ancient Christian scripture/iconography.
Hanks and Olmos’ characters have a student/teacher relationship casting
Hank as the student carrying out every whim for his maddened mentor. Hanks’ character evolves over the season,
making him very interesting to watch; but it is Olmos who is perfect from the very
beginning bringing depth and intensity to every scene he is in, sadly he is not
in nearly enough scenes (which later is explained).
The religious angle that this season took some have heavily criticized
as the “worst season yet,” which I would not necessarily disagree with; though
after 5 Seasons of near perfection, what do you want!? This season is by no means ‘bad,’ it just
does not deliver the same quality as the previous seasons. The religious angle is actually a quite
brilliant concept, but had poor execution (no pun intended). Characters are underutilized, others
personalities have been changed too drastically, and the overall pacing of the
season is misguided as the Dexter brand
of suspense that we are accustomed to is gone.
At times I could predict what was coming all too soon, destroying the
build up.
I will continue to watch Dexter
and list it among one of the best series on television today.
Again the technical features
for the Sixth Season are in line
with Season Five. The picture once more is presented in a 1.78 X
1, 1080p High Definition with nice colors, minimal grain, and an overall well
balanced quality. The image remains
crisp, clean, clear and nearly perfect only having small issues here and there
similar to last season. Dark inky blacks
frame the image nicely as colors pop from the screen, with again no light/dark
issues to mention. Detail once more
surprises as we are treated to solid clarity that manages to highlight every
sign of the apocalypse as it hits the screen.
Grain does appear here and there but rarely and ever affects the viewing
experience. The sound remains awesome in
its Dolby True HD 5.1 format with solid bass, musical scores that set up the
atmosphere from every angle, sending chills down your spine. The dialogue again projects through crisp and
clear, no issues to mention.
The extras are somewhat lacking again as all extras are
housed on BD Live which offers viewers the opportunity to view other SHOWTIME
series, but very little else.
- Michael P.
Dougherty II
