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'Dexter' doesn't belong on CBS; Showtime is appropriate place

March 9, 2008 12:16 am

AS A PIECE of dramatic fiction, I don't have trouble with a show like "Dexter."

Indeed, the series that follows a police forensic expert, who is a serial killer in his off hours, has won its share of awards for the way it's crafted and acted.

It's star, Michael C. Hall, does an amazing job bringing this chilling character to life, even making the audience empathize with this deeply disturbed young man.

It originally aired on Showtime, which made perfect sense.

If you want that sort of content, you have to go out of your way to get it, paying extra each month.

And once you subscribe to the premium channel, it's relatively easy to block viewing of that channel and others by anyone of tender years.

But when its creators jumped at CBS' need during the writers' strike and the show began airing on the broadcast channel Sunday nights at 10, it became a different kettle of fish.

My first question: If "Dexter" was right for CBS' Sunday night lineup, why wasn't it there already?

Why did it take the shortage of any new material, courtesy of the writers strike, to bring the show whose main character is a serial killer to its weekly lineup?

I'm not big on censorship or precluding artistic creation just because it doesn't fit what everyone accepts.

But there's also a line that feels right between shows that belong on a broadcast network, and shows that don't.

Thankfully, the different types of networks, from pay cable to premium channels, have provided a place for edgier shows to exist.

Again, consumers have to make a special effort to get these channels.

In other words, if you are curious about a show like "Dexter," where a demented mind rationalizes the systematic killing of people he thinks deserve it, you can subscribe to Showtime to watch it.

These days, with video on demand, you can even watch the show at a time when you know younger eyes aren't around.

I have watched the show on a regular basis, though after half of the first season I just lost my desire to see whom he'd kill each night, and how.

But when I heard the show was coming to CBS on Sunday night, the spot where movies that were sometimes family-oriented once held sway, it was a little hard to believe.

Yes, they've trimmed a bit of language and some of the more gruesome images here and there.

But you can't trim the dark nature and evil spirit at the heart of this drama.

And no matter how well it's done, the show to me remains an offering that does and should have a specialized audience.

One made up of folks who can seek the creatively done show when they want.

The same way they do with a host of shows on HBO, Showtime and other networks.

I go back to my original point.

If this was the perfect show for CBS on Sunday nights, why wasn't it already there?

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that's why the writers strike brought the dark and often grim show to CBS on Sunday night.

Something tells me that it will soon enough be found, once again, only on Showtime.

A spot where it fits much better.

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com