Dexter - Series 8 now done (US). It was the last series apparently.

[Chadruharazzeb]

Another improvement this week, definitely heading in the right direction yet still a million miles away from the classic stuff. 

[jonamok]

With two to go, UK speed, I’m loving this. It was always a ridiculous show, and this is no different, but it’s so much more fun than the latter series. Everyone is clearly having the time of their lives, especially MCH and Clancy Brown. Can’t wait to see the last two eps.

[Chadruharazzeb]

It has got better as it's progressed. Hooray! 

[jonamok]

Episode 9 was brilliantly OTT. 😄

[Bleeders]

Season final episode spoilers

Spoiler

Much more of a fitting finale than S8 was. Episode title pretty much giving a heavy nod to what will happen, but loved the callbacks to Rita, Lundy, LaGuerta, Doakes and Angel.

 

Showtime announcement on Monday morning, so expecting a Harrison spin-off with 'Ghost Dex' given the huge success of the limited series.

 

[schmojo]

I was wondering where they'd go with it, and I'm pretty happy with the way they went. 

 

Couldn't help but notice how much style this series lacked compared to the old one though. I know the location's a part of it, but apart from some big aerial shots, it was pretty drab compared to the previous presentation.

[smithstock]

Just finished this, loved it throughout - especially how it dealt with the disappointing ending last time around, whilst introducing Clancy Brown as a fantastic character, but also

Spoiler

set up a potential spin off.

 

 

However, is it just me or did I miss something?

Spoiler

What happened to the business man guy at the start, who dealt with that woman who was talking back to him on the picket line? I thought it was going to be revealed that there were two killers working in random? Where did he go? I thought he was the killer originally?

 

[Matt Defis]

Pretty much a perfect way to end it.

[Chadruharazzeb]

How have people seen it already? 

[Ry]

22 minutes ago, Chadruharazzeb said:

How have people seen it already? 

All episodes are on sky. 

[spork]

2 hours ago, smithstock said:

 

However, is it just me or did I miss something?

 

 

Spoiler

He seems to just vanish at some point from what we could remember.

 

 

[Chadruharazzeb]

2 hours ago, Ry said:

All episodes are on sky. 

 

Bugger. Not on NowTV until tomorrow. 

[Harsin]

I thought John Lithgow was meant to be in this season. There was a bunch off publicity about it. There was a 2 second flashback of his face in one second I just assumed that was from the old show, did they really get him back just for that?

[JohnC]

I'm pretty sure it was new footage. I thought he looked older anyway.

[Harsin]

Nice easy payday for him in that case at least.

[Blue]

Way too many holes to count in this series and quite ridiculous from start to finish but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was always going to be too much to hope for a return to the form of the early seasons when Dexter was believable and nuanced. 

[Chadruharazzeb]

Well this season started out pretty craply but the last few episodes were very entertaining. The last episode though just seemed to be

Spoiler

"we need to kill him off quickly, for some reason" and so had him act insanely to achieve it. He could have totally got away with everything they were accusing him of due to total lack of evidence. As soon as he killed the cop I wondered what the hell he was thinking. Plus I doubt Harrison would have been charged with anything so why he had to flee I don't know. What was the point in having Angel on his way only to never see him again?

 

Still, a much better ending than last time, but that's not much of a victory.

[Harsin]

I'm pretty certain even Lionel Hutz could have got the screws thing laughed out of court.

 

So the serial killer who had a grudge against the Chief of Police sent her a screw telling her to investigate her boyfriend and then burned down his house and another just happened to be in there waiting to be found. After that it’s the needle marks and that's circumstantial at the very best.

 

Keeping in mind this is the same prosecution service who were presented with DNA evidence from under a murder victims fingernail that matched a bloke with a sketchy CCTV'd up cell in his remote cabin that he's just stripped and cleaned and went sounds legit when he just went 'Nah, it was my dad honest'.

[jonamok]

Thought that was fantastic fun throughout. Bonkers, exciting, ridiculous. Happy with that ending too.

 

Thought MCH was absolutely superb from start to finish. The lad playing Harrison got much better as it progressed. And Clancy Brown was just fabulous.

 

It’s an easy 8/10 from me.

[SteveH]

On 11/01/2022 at 17:36, Harsin said:

I'm pretty certain even Lionel Hutz could have got the screws thing laughed out of court.

 

So the serial killer who had a grudge against the Chief of Police sent her a screw telling her to investigate her boyfriend and then burned down his house and another just happened to be in there waiting to be found. After that it’s the needle marks and that's circumstantial at the very best.

 

Keeping in mind this is the same prosecution service who were presented with DNA evidence from under a murder victims fingernail that matched a bloke with a sketchy CCTV'd up cell in his remote cabin that he's just stripped and cleaned and went sounds legit when he just went 'Nah, it was my dad honest'.

 Yeah I found all that so disappointing. Plus, he avoided being caught for years by a whole team of cops he worked with, but some small town cop works it all out from the flimsiest of clues? Nah. 

Not keen on a spin off with his son. Dexter is basically a sick fucker, but is very very likeable. Can't say the same about his whiney son.

[MotiVater]

I couldn't watch that kid eat for another season.

 

I did think this was worth watching though and as said, a better ending than the last one we got.

[Illyria]

Seems like I'm diverting from the general consensus on here. I thought this was dreadful and so, so disappointing. I really need to keep my expectations in check next time another revival/reboot/sequel thingy rears its ugly head.

 

I might have had too high hopes for this, what with Clyde Phillips returning and all the hype surrounding its potential or even promise of vindication regarding the abysmal conclusion of the original show. I was really into the setting as well (I love me some snowy, sleepy town Americana).

 

It started out okay, the only thing I really minded in the first few episodes was: 

Spoiler

Those jarring scenes involving Jennifer Carpenter which at my best guess were J.D. from Scrubs-like attempts at humour, or something? They just didn't work for me at all, felt completely misplaced in this show. Thankfully they stopped employing that "device" in the later episodes. I didn't mind her taking over for Harry generally, though.

 

The more the show went on though, the worse it got Really lazy writing and an ending that was as predictable as it was...dumb. Very succinctly put, I know. Honestly it wasn't all bad, but I'd rate it 5/10 at the most, maybe even just a 4. 

 

 

[schmojo]

8 hours ago, Illyria said:

Seems like I'm diverting from the general consensus on here. I thought this was dreadful and so, so disappointing. I really need to keep my expectations in check next time another revival/reboot/sequel thingy rears its ugly head.

 

I might have had too high hopes for this, what with Clyde Phillips returning and all the hype surrounding its potential or even promise of vindication regarding the abysmal conclusion of the original show. I was really into the setting as well (I love me some snowy, sleepy town Americana).

 

It started out okay, the only thing I really minded in the first few episodes was: 

  Hide contents

Those jarring scenes involving Jennifer Carpenter which at my best guess were J.D. from Scrubs-like attempts at humour, or something? They just didn't work for me at all, felt completely misplaced in this show. Thankfully they stopped employing that "device" in the later episodes. I didn't mind her taking over for Harry generally, though.

 

The more the show went on though, the worse it got Really lazy writing and an ending that was as predictable as it was...dumb. Very succinctly put, I know. Honestly it wasn't all bad, but I'd rate it 5/10 at the most, maybe even just a 4. 

 

 

 

The scenes you talk about weren't about humour, they were a manifestation of an unresolved, inevitable scenario.

 

Spoiler

A decline that could no longer be avoided, and representated the culmination of his mental illness. I think it was probably in answer to the countles viewers who asked for so long 'how is he still getting away this this on the scale he's implying, and still holding it together?'. The answer is 'he can't, and he wont'. 

 

The device stopped working as the fantasy of getting away with it and maintaining a functional life stopped working.

 

I don't think it was amazing by any means, and it lacked a lot of what drew me to the show's best, but it's a fan service move. 

[Alex W.]

They’ve announced plans for a Dexter prequel and spin-offs about multiple other Dexter characters.

 

 

I’ve not seen the revival but it sounds like they couldn’t hold together a Dexter spinoff about Dexter so I’m not optimistic.

[hmm]

On 29/12/2021 at 16:23, jonamok said:

With two to go, UK speed, I’m loving this. It was always a ridiculous show, and this is no different, but it’s so much more fun than the latter series.

 

The later seasons of Dexter were so terrible that I've never felt tempted to go back and revisit the early season(s) so my recollections are fairly distant at this point. However, was it really always ridiculous? It felt to me that was only true later on and especially during the rapid descent into self-parody during later seasons. It was definitely laced with black humour even from the start but that's not the same thing at all.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Alex W. said:

They’ve announced plans for a Dexter prequel and spin-offs about multiple other Dexter characters.

So far they've got a second season of New Blood, presumably continuing to follow Harrison. And the prequel of a younger Dexter, which will apparently also feature other serial killers of the time. Did they have a club or something? And they are considering a Trinity prequel, whose older version was played by John Lithgow.

[WibbleWorldGiddy]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Did they have a club or something?

 

An 80s spin-off called The Breakfast Serial Club would be hilarious.

 

But this all sounds terrible to be honest. Season 8 murdered any enthusiasm I felt for the show.

 

The books are terrible as well.

[Kryptonian]

5 hours ago, hmm said:

I've never felt tempted to go back and revisit the early season(s)

 

I’ve watched seasons 2, 3 & 4 a few times, those were peak Dexter

[hmm]

Sure, but it's like Games Of Thrones, having to pick a point to stop before it all begins to fall apart. The end of Dexter season 4 seems like a particularly tough point to call it a day too! Admittedly, some of Dexter is more self-contained, especially the first season, but it's still a similar problem.

 

My memory of watching it originally has season 3 as already a pretty major dip, followed by a brief return to form thanks to Lithgow, and then it was downhill all the way. The very bottom of that slope is entirely secondhand, of course.