[EveningStar]

Miscellaneous Ping List

[ClearCase_guy]

The Romans has gladiators. We aren't there, but we do love blood and gore as entertainment.

Also: there is a widespread belief that our justice system is broken and that the guilty are not punished. Many folks wish that street justice would return so that right-minded people could just "take out the trash". Long-term, that lack of faith in the judicial system is quite damaging.

[LanPB01]

The Dexter books are clearly comedy, and I expect the series will lean more towards dark comedy than attempting to portray Dexter as a hero.

[highball]

Much ado about nothing. This isn't on the public airwaves, no innocent children will stumble upon it: if you want to see it, you have to pay for the channel and bring it into your house.

Besides, vigilante stories are nothing new - even Batman used to kill criminals who fell through the cracks. Maybe this is a more gruesome treatment, but it's not a new idea.

The only real question is if the series is good or not. I don't have Showtime, so I can't speak to that.

[ichabod1]

Like any lecturing cultural commissar, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle demands that "anything as daring and original as this should be trumpeted to the masses if it indeed does cross a social line." Television is always, always about "testing the boundaries of what's acceptable." It is "the ultimate challenge -- providing grown-ups with difficult fare."

That's just fricking insane.

[kms61]

I saw the series premier of Dexter over the weekend. Interesting show. The guy is hardly portrayed as a hero, and the point is made repeatedly that he's not a good guy.

I don't know if I'll watch it again, but it held my interest for an hour. At any rate it's on cable and easy to avoid if you don't like that sort of show.

[sandbar]

I've often fantasized about becoming a sex offender serial killer.

[GOPJ]

Most of Hollywood's killers go after innocent women and children. This is a step up from that...

[BerniesFriend]

Not this Dexter..my kids will be devastated..

[CajunConservative]

I don't know I liked the show myself.

[lesser_satan]

bump

[isom35]

I liked it (there is also a mini-OZ reunion with 3 castmembers from that show in support here). Humor includes Dexter trying to "fit in" by buying and passing out donuts to fellow cops.

[Killborn]

Two points.

Killing bad guys is one thing. But dismmeberment and mutilation?

Also, in Dexter's list of bad guys are prostitutes. They don't deserve to be killed. Ergo, he's one of the bad guys.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Its sickening premise makes a hero out of a sadistic serial killer

I question the premise of this premise.

I watched the premier, and it does not make a "hero" out of the character Dexter. He is a sick man.

[redgolum]

Like the Boodock Saints?

[x]

He's right about America's love affair with serial killers, but that's been going on for some time. But that's been going on for some time, and this show isn't even a drop in the bucket.

The question now is whether oversaturation will make America lose interest or whether serial killers will be a permanent fascination.

Maybe gays should be the ones complaining, though. That nice David Fisher is now playing a serial killer. That's sure to cause some confusion.