"Dexter" Crocodile (2006)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Michael Cuesta

Writers:

Jeff Lindsay (novel)
James Manos Jr. (developer)

TV Series:

"Dexter" (2006)

Original Air Date:

8 October 2006 (Season 1, Episode 2)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Dexter's world of police analyst by day, and serial killer by night, is rocked when he's privately contacted by another serial killer...

Plot Keywords:

Miami Florida | TV Series Pilot | Based On Novel | Killer | Serial Killer

Cast

Michael C. Hall	...	Dexter Morgan
Julie Benz	...	Rita Bennett
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Debra Morgan
Erik King	...	Sergeant James Doakes
Lauren Vélez	...	Lt. Maria Laguerta (as Lauren Velez)
David Zayas	...	Angel Batista
James Remar	...	Harry Morgan
Geoffrey Pierson	...	Captain Tom Matthews (as Geoff Pierson)
Sam Trammell	...	Matt Chambers
Rudolf Martin	...	Carlos Guerrero
Cristos	...	Norberto Cervantez
C.S. Lee	...	Vince Masuka
Richard Gunn	...	Sean
Lisa Kaminir
Christina Robinson	...	Astor

Runtime:

55 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Japan:Unrated | Japan:R-15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dexter's browsing the reports about Matt Chambers' past DUI infringements, the last page shows the title of an article in South Boston Daily claiming "Matt Rasmussen of South Boston Arrested" though the rest of the article is about Matt Brewster - a name used in Albuquerque. The article is identical to the previous one in Albuquerque Times Standard except for the first couple of words.

Quotes:

Debra Morgan: Watching ice melt, this is fun.
Vince Masuka: Stand a little closer, Morgan, and I'll melt your heart.
Angel Batista: I think he's got a crush on you, Dex!
Dexter Morgan: Huh?
Vince Masuka: Yo, I was talking to Morgan the sister. Vince Masuka only swings one way.
Debra Morgan: Yeah, from vine to vine...
Lt. Maria Laguerta: Enough! Glad to see the sexual harassment seminar really paid off.

Movie Connections:

References "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993)

Stay focused, Dex!

Only the second entry in the "Dexter" TV-show and the concept already slightly begins to weaken. There's less blood & excitement in episode two then there was in the pilot, but also the story lines start to revert to clichéd situations and the characters already start to develop towards typical cop stereotypes. The entire Miami police department is still after the Ice Truck serial killer, but he hasn't made any new moves apart from secretly contacting Dexter and challenging him to a showdown. There are two supplementary (and seemingly forced) sub plots in the second episode, namely the murder investigation of an undercover police officer and Dexter himself digging deeper into the trial of a recidivist hit-and-run felon. Completely opposite to the events in the pilot, where the camera deliberately zoomed in on the gory set pieces, the blood & splatter sequences now seem rushed and limited. The dialogs and interactions between the characters become funnier ("glad to see that sexual harassment seminar paid off") but Dexter's narrative thoughts & impressions are still whiny and a little dull to endure. If you speak Spanish, you can probably also predict the future character developments (like that of Officer Angel Batista) but I had no idea what he and the lieutenant were saying. James Remar is more clearly visible in this second episode, as Dexter also continues to have extended flashbacks about his adolescence. I hope the next installments will get much better, or at least equal the quality level of the pilot again.