Dexter – The Second Season (Showtime Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: A- Extras: D Episodes: B
Just like
any good serial killer, Dexter: The
Second Season returns for more; but this time on Blu-ray.
As mentioned in the DVD previous DVD review, Season
Two of Dexter starts where Season
One left off with Police Sgt. Doakes keeping a watchful eye on Dexter
(Michael C. Hall), to the point where Dexter is not able to fulfill his urge to
take justice into his own hands and kill. Eventually the righteous serial
killer has the opportunity to kill, but in the end can’t seal the deal and take
a life. Early in the season a crew of treasure hunters find where Dexter
has been dumping his ‘victims’ for years and the FBI gets involved to bring the
‘Bay Harbor Butcher’ to justice.
Unexpectedly,
however, a cult following of the ‘Bay Harbor Butcher’ grows in popularity as it
slips out that the ‘victims’ themselves were murders and criminals.
Dexter life becomes disrupted as tensions rise between him and his girlfriend
Rita after her ex-husband (Paul) is killed in a prison fight; Dexter setting
Paul up in the first place. Dexter’s seemingly controlled world takes
another blow as his sister moves in with him, still not over the events from
the ‘Ice Truck Killer’ incidents of Season One. Dexter’s undying
passion to control the chaos that he finds necessary takes the series in a
tailspin that is full of suspense, cliff hangers, and all new issues.
Just as Dexter takes two stabs forward, he gets one stab back.
It is
amazing (because it doesn’t happen often), but this series just gets better the
more you watch. I don’t even mean season
too season; the series actually improves as you rewatch episodes. The viewer starts to notice the genius behind
the writing of each interlocking episode; as well as the brilliance behind the
character Michael C. Hall has created.
There is a constant aura surrounding the series that can not be
explained; it is explosive all while being eerily somber. Everyone should expect even greater things
from this masterfully executed serial killer series
The image
and sound on this new Blu-ray set are fantastic and live up to the same great
quality that was presented with the Season
One Blu-ray release (if not even slightly better). The picture is presented in a 1.78 X 1 1080p
AVC/MPEG-4 encoded image that slashes its way to the top with vivid colors,
dark inky blacks, solid textures, and an image that simply leaps off the
screen. There is a bit of grain in the
image at times (intended or not), but with the cavalcade of bright hues in the
Miami backdrop the bits of grain here and there are negligible. The sound is a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround
Sound that gets the job done as it uses the full speaker range sparingly for
the musical scores and few surprising ambient noises. Most of the series is dialogue based so the
full speaker spectrum is not utilized, but the sound all comes across as crisp,
clean, and fluid.
Extras on
Dexter are once again disappointing
and only offers a few BD Live features that allow the viewer to watch other
Showtime series like United States of Tara or some Podcasts that are a yawn for
sure. Is Showtime really going to be
hosting these BD Live features forever or will we find our Blu-ray Extras
obsolete in a few years?
Overall, Dexter: The Second Season is a must
have for any fan of the series as it is a clear upgrade from the DVD
release. There are no extras
disappointingly, but the picture and sound quality alone are worth the upgrade. This is a series that keeps getting better,
so adding Dexter to your Blu-ray
collection is a definite no brainer.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
