I am an unabashed Dexter fan, and I was one of those who believed that the show could do no wrong. Whether it was the randomness of their humor, the amazing characters - each episode was a winner. And they brought it to that amazing crescendo in late 2009, when the Trinity killer wrapped things up in a messy fashion with Rita in the bathtub. I remember falling out of my couch, open-mouthed and with eyes glazed. If there ever was a moment where I have been rendered speechless - that was it. And that was supreme television. I truly didn't know how they could top that ... but I had faith. This was the Dexter team!
And then, came along Dexter Season 5. It was an uncomfortable beginning, since I guess no-one was really sure how much of the Dexter-ish freakish humor you could push alongside a tragic storyline. It plodded along. We kept the faith. Then Lumen popped up. I grant it to the guys - she was hot ... but still, nothing. I think it was only by episode 6 that I realized that we were half-way through the season, and nothing spectacular had happened. There were flashes of genius in episode 7, and we gleefully rubbed our hands in delight. But we were back to nothing in episode 8, then 9, 10 ... and then it hit. This was just a bad season. There couldn't be any excuses.
It was weak writing, weaker characters, and the 'spark' that had made the series what it was before was slowly, but surely ... kinda ebbing. Fans (including me) weakly threw their strength behind the show and the characters, but I think we all knew it. I didn't need to watch Dexter the next day after its airing. I could wait a day ... maybe even more.
I'm trying my best to pep myself for the next season, but somehow I just feel that once you're off the plot, you're off. TV shows CAN'T afford to have bad seasons. Because you've already destroyed a bit of those characters. There's something we now know about them which we are either repulsed, or worse - bored by, and they're going to have to make an extra long leap to get back into us.
However, Dexter is nothing compared to another show which has lately brought me to the verge of tears - of boredom. And astoundingly, its a show which never started out as being supremely intelligent television. 'True Blood', was an entertaining, fun show with enough skin, good looking people and supernatural crap thrown in to ensure eyeballs, even if they were rolling some of the time. It was impossible to ignore True Blood. And with the likelihood of a sexual encounter / head being chopped off / vampire battle / droppage of clothes happening almost every 30 seconds, it seemed like a show that knew what exactly it wanted to be - a rollercoaster ride of pure unadulterated entertainment. Season 1, 2 and 3 all seemed to be in the same vein, and so it seemed like a reliable bet that Season 4 would get in the witches, but keep the fun.
Nope. Instead they decided to populate the cast by adding a few gazillion sideshow Bobs, take attention away from the really interesting characters while stuffing them into groan-inducing subplots, make the lead character almost unbearable to watch (I would kill Sookie just for the pleasure of hearing that Southern whine slowly grow faint) and deviate from the books in ways that they never needed to.
All we can ask is - why? Why did you ruin a show that knew exactly what it was? Have all the writers been lost to dangerous dosages of V? WHERE have all the writers gone?
I'm anxiously keeping my fingers crossed for a few shows that I know are making their comeback soon, and whose earlier seasons have been nothing short of delightful. Starting with the slick and smart 'The Good Wife' with characters who are nothing short of amazing (I love you Eli Gold - I will work for free), and intelligent twists that have nothing remotely 'good wife-ly' about them. Now with Will and Alicia 'free' to take their relationship further, I am a little nervous as to how their writers will keep that wonderful tension in the show. I just hope they do.
There's 'Dexter' of course, and next year we have the return of that glorious 'Game of Thrones'. Lets hope all the writers come back to where they should be. For the viewer's sake.