Rating:  -
Dexter, O My Dexter! Wise, understated, committed (ahem, to various things), surprising, loyal--both Dexter Morgan and "Dexter the Third Season" do not disappoint, and always continue to dazzle with insights and reversals, with surprises and fulfilled expectations.
With the advent of Jimmy Smits, as Miami's charismatic Assistant District Attorney with eyes on bigger prizes, no matter the method, the show takes a shocking direction. Dexter takes on a partner! No, Dexter, don't tell anyone! But he does. Miguel Prado (Smits) recognizes in Dexter a kindred spirit--and I'm telling you, Reader/Viewer, you cannot guess what direction the program will go with this character and his own secrets. Like Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump, "That's all I can say about that." But suffice it to say that Smits brings to the series an exciting dimension and some over-the-top acting. He must have gone home after every shoot, saying, "Whooeee, that was fun!"
If Season One was an introductory/explanatory show, and Season Two was about Dexter developing his relationship with Rita, his girlfriend, while his sister Debra exposed her raw, but tender heart to the FBI profiler, then Season Three is about deep relationships, deep commitments all around. In some ways I like Season Three best (only with the two preceding seasons laying groundwork).
Again, trying not to reveal any secrets, I want to state that THE most significant scene in all three seasons comes in the last episode when Dexter confronts Ramon Prado in jail (Miguel's brother). Dexter was under the assumption that Miguel covered for his bad brother all his life. Dexter was about to reveal to Ramon just who Miguel was. In an act of reversal--one of several the season takes, Ramon reveals that, no, he, Ramon, covered for the dark secrets of his famous, respected brother. Dexter takes that reversal of information and does a reversal himself. My throat tightened with Dexter's extreme compassion and consideration, making the series just balloon with the power of human empathy and dignity. Quite ironic-- yes?--in the framework of a brutal serial killer, but there it is--a deeply moving moment in television history
How Dexter manages another reversal in his confrontation with the Skinner--this season's notorious front candidate for "baddest" villain, is again, a moment of television triumph. Oh, how I love this series!
Deep relationships. Deep commitments. Another impending and important moment is Dexter's proposal to Rita and her acceptance, then season-long wedding plans. Not to be excluded, Dexter's long-time police friend and friend of his father's, is the subject of several episodes, all with the intent of showing Dexter's deep loyalty and commitment. He is one caring friend.
The new sergeant gets a love interest in a most unusual manner. The old saying, Looking for love in all the wrong places, sometimes can be reversed. Sister Debra also has a new love interest--and conflict of interest with an ongoing case. Decisions about commitments must be made here, too, all adding reversals and genuine compassion to the series.
But Dexter's relationships are foremost and they do not disappoint. Nor does the series. Nor does this season. Actually, I find "Dexter, the Third Season" to be the best so far.
Rating:  -
Compared to the first 2 seasons, this one is a little bit of a let down.
The first four episodes look like something out of Desparate Housewives
instead of Dexter.... Too much family problems and not enough killing.
It's funny to see a serial killer putting up with a girlfriend who I would
have personnaly killed a long time ago just for being herself...
Maybe we'll see the nightmare of parenting in the fouth season.
The 3rd is mostly about the nightmare of a pregnant girlfriend.
Disapointing.
Rating: -
If you're a Dexter addict like me, you have to be sure and add Season #3 to your collection. If you have 3, you no doubt have the first 2 seasons as well. I'm happy to have the complete library of Dexter. If you lend these out to friends or family, you will no doubt get them addicted to the show as well.
Rating: -
advertised as "like new" however disk 1 kept skipping & stopping - found fingerpreints on the recorded side cleaned as best we could but still skipped - 2nd disk so far is O.K.
Rating: -
Given the caveat of the whole "Dexter" life story being absurdly unbelievable, it was still easy to hunker down and, once again, watch Michael Hall play his wonderfully nuanced character. For me, the first two seasons hung just barely around a 4-star rating. Hall is fantastic, but one person doesn't constitute a series. Sorry to see a star dribble away throughout Season 3. Though bolstered by an ingenious role for Jimmy Smits (as DA Miguel Prado) and complemented by the always engrossing David Zayas (Det. Angel Batista), it all was so very beige.
Maybe it's the ADHD kicking in, but the scarce plot threads seem so slim and one-dimensional, the lives of the characters as plain as a family sitcom. The intrigues have not so much depth to begin with -- they then go on throughout episodes until ending in more of a fadeout than a bang.
My big hope was for Dexter to do away with clingy lackluster Rita. That not only would have made for a great episode, but would open the door for someone to be written into the show who had maybe something a little raw or edgy or brainy. Well, that's not the way wind blew.
No big hopes left for Season 4. It would be nice if it doesn't end up some serial-killer-flavored redux of "Little House on the Prairie".
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