Dexter – The First Season (Showtime Blu-ray)

 

Picture: A-     Sound: A-     Extras: B-     Episodes: B

 

 

Dexter, a killer series that is hacking its way to the top.  When I first reviewed Dexter: The First Season on DVD, I was intrigued by the premise, but after fully absorbing the murder and mayhem I realize how breathtaking the series truly is.  Dexter Morgan is a sick, twisted, and utterly deranged individual; but you can’t help but like him.  You know his actions are wrong and yet you watch as he narrowly escapes disaster in each blood splattered episode.

 

There is an aura about the series unlike any other.  It is the way it is written, filmed, and acted all combined into an intriguingly gory mess.  In an almost surreal manner the episodes are hazy as if the viewer is in a dream (or nightmare for that matter).  Things never seem to add up and yet all the events are concurrently believable.  The cast of characters are insanely self indulgent, each with their quirks and brand of shallowness to make them seem overly self deprecating.  Maybe that is the best way to describe Dexter, it is an insult or a slap in the face if you will.  Dexter is a figurative slap in the face to the morals and virtues that we all hold true, but on some level the fragility of life wants us to just give into what we want and need without having to worry about the ethical glue that we are told holds us all together.  Dexter: The First Season is a nice start to a series that only gets better; if you didn’t catch Dexter the first time around now’s the time to experience the icy chill of Blu-ray.

 

To read more of this reviewer’s opinion on Dexter: The First Season please refer to the link below:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6033/Dexter+%E2%80%93+The+First+Season

 

 

The technical features on this new television on Blu-ray set are refreshingly solid.  The picture is presented in a 1.78 X 1 Widescreen (just as on DVD) with a 108p AVC MPEG-4 transfer that certainly takes the series visual presentation to the next level, leaving DVD far behind.  The pictures color is vivid as the blood red pops from the screen and every color in between projects with a pristine shine.  The image is insanely crisp, clean, and clear with fine, inky blacks and an almost sterile white projection that gives the series its odd appeal.  The picture is nearly perfect, but grit and grime in certain instances holds it back as do certain contrast issues, but overall very well done.  The sound is presented as a crisp Dolby TrueHD track that fills the soundstage with Dexter’s creepily suiting music, distinct ambient noises, and witty dialogue.  The sound is clean and balanced rounding off the thoroughly enjoyable visual experience.

 

The extras are nothing new, save a few audio commentary tracks transferred from DVD that are still interesting and relevant.  There are Blu-ray exclusive features that are accessible via the internet (though this reviewer did not explore them) that include The Academy of Blood-A Killer Course, Witnessed in Blood-A True Murder Investigation, Michael C. Hall Podcast, First Episode of Dexter Season Three, and Two Episodes of the United States of Tara.

 

Overall, Dexter is a series that only gets better the more you watch and Blu-ray remains a format that only will stand to impress further with time.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II