Practically Perfect (10 Oct. 2010)

Dexter is still off duty recovering from recent events. He enlists Debra's help to find a nanny for 10-month old Harrison and finds the perfect candidate. Having childcare in place allows ... See full summary »

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writers:

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

Stars:

Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Desmond Harrington

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael C. Hall	...	Dexter Morgan
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Det. Debra Morgan
Desmond Harrington	...	Det. Joseph 'Joey' Quinn
C.S. Lee	...	Vince Masuka
Lauren Vélez	...	Lt. Maria LaGuerta (as Lauren Velez)
David Zayas	...	Sgt. Angel Batista
James Remar	...	Harry Morgan
Julia Stiles	...	Lumen Ann Pierce
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Sonya
Shawn Hatosy	...	Boyd Fowler
April L. Hernandez	...	Off. Cira Manzon (as April Hernandez Castillo)
Raphael Sbarge	...	Jim McCourt
Vanessa Bell Calloway	...	Crisis Counselor
Adam Harrington	...	Agent Walker (as Adam John Harrington)
Juan Carlos Cantu	...	Fauzi (as Juan Carlos Cantú)

Storyline

Dexter is still off duty recovering from recent events. He enlists Debra's help to find a nanny for 10-month old Harrison and finds the perfect candidate. Having childcare in place allows him to focus on getting rid of serial killer Boyd Fowler, the dead animal sanitation worker. His first attempt doesn't quite go as planned. He's also in for a major surprise. Angel Batista's bar fight with a fellow officer who made disparaging remarks about Maria Laguerta takes a life-threatening turn. Brenda enlists the aid of a Spanish-speaking uniformed officer, Cira Manzon, in the beheading case. Most of the police think the now dead husband was responsible for killing his wife but Debra develops a new theory, one that subsequent events seems to prove correct. Finally, Quinn contacts the FBI with information about Kyle Butler, the Trinity Killer's friend.

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Plot Keywords:

nanny | composite sketch | roadkill | shopkeeper | tranquilizer dart | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Goldwyn Productions, Colleton Company, The, 801

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of this episode may be a reference to Mary Poppins. The movie is mentioned in this episode which centers on finding Harrison a nanny. Mary Poppins was self described as "Practically perfect, in every way."

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Goofs

In the ride-along scene when Dexter is getting into the yellow truck with Boyd Fowler, Boyd's seat has a wooden bead seat cover on it. 5 seconds later it's not there.

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Connections

References Mary Poppins (1964)

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Soundtracks

"Callate"
Written by Bob Mair, Nick Vincent and Luis Rivera
Performed by Cash El Principe
Courtesy of Black Toast Music

User Reviews

Twisted and intense story, exciting arcs, inaccurate morality, bottoming "BatisGuerta", refreshing humor, The cliffhanger

The X-Files had its monster of the week, Dexter has its monster of the season. When the first leaf of autumn fell I anticipated a new nemesis for our wicked serial killer but even after Hello Bandit I wasn't sure about it. But with a powerless Dex it seems the writers have found a refreshing way to slice up their words. Indeed like in Hello Bandit the story featured a few twists that should definitely put viewers on the verge of their seats. From the dead animals cleaner to Quinn's obsession all arcs are exciting. They all developed in perfect sync, including the one involving Deb and her new female partner. However I can only question her morality considering what she said about a corpse. She should know better after what happened in season 3. I can't even believe Jennifer Carpenter read her lines without reporting the issue to the writers ! An other issue was the return of the Batista-LaGuerta mumbo jumbo. I naively thought that it would end with their marriage but they're back for more. This time we had to endure a scene that exceeded a minute ! To tell the truth I dozed off. It was just painless and dead boring. Moreover we need more Masuka ! He was so funny toying in Dex's lab last week. But it was a minor con as the humor was dominant for once. I guess it's the best way to picture how tragic his life has become. An other element that stroke me was the bloody appearance of the guest star name in the opening credits. Be prepared for the unpredictable as its first scene was a first for the show !