'Dexter' come through despite cuts - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr. Television · 02-15-2008, 08:04 PM

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sep...700.xml&coll=1

'Dexter' come through despite cuts

Friday, February 15, 2008
BY ALAN SEPINWALL
Star-Ledger Staff

THE WRITERS' strike is over, but strike contingency scheduling lives on, which means that Sunday night at 10 we'll be treated to the bizarre spectacle of Showtime's serial killer drama "Dexter" airing on CBS.

And you know what? It works.

"Dexter," about a Miami forensics specialist (Michael C. Hall) who moonlights as a serial killer who only targets other serial killers, is one of the best dramas on television, but it's also one of the most twisted. It asks you to, on some level, empathize with and even occasionally root for an unapologetic monster -- even if, as Dexter admits, "I'm a very neat monster." The show follows Dexter as he identifies and stalks his victims, and then as he gets into a cat-and-mouse game with still another serial killer who drains his victims of their blood -- and who seems to know who and what Dexter is.

It's a show that, as I've said in past reviews, is hard to champion to the uninitiated. (Whenever I describe the premise and extol its virtues, people have a tendency to back away and make a mental note to never visit my basement.) But the edited-for-broadcast versions aren't drastically different from what aired on Showtime -- nor, more importantly, are they that much darker than most of CBS' primetime lineup.

Remember, this is the network of the "CSI" franchise and "NCIS," which are gorier on an average episode than "Dexter" (where the violence is more often implied than shown); and of "Criminal Minds," which fetishises serial killers and their methods in a way that's more distasteful than anything on "Dexter."

The edits for broadcast change much less than you'd think. Again, "Dexter" isn't a particularly violent or gory show -- in the original versions, "We usually cut away right before the violence," notes Showtime president Robert Greenblatt, who helped oversee the editing for CBS, "so there's nothing where you have to cover your eyes" -- and there was almost no explicit sexuality in the first season. (The second season, which CBS won't be airing, is another story.)

The biggest change is language, as two characters -- Dexter's adoptive sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and suspicious cop Doakes (Erik King) -- talked a blue streak in the original versions. The overdubbed versions of their dialogue are as awkward (and feature the usual volume problems) as any other R-rated show or movie being prepared for broadcast -- "You give me the FRIGGIN' creeps, you know that, Dexter?" Doakes barks in one scene, before ordering him to "Shut the HELL up and write your report already!" -- but there's nothing being fundamentally changed about the characters in the way the A&E "Sopranos" reruns make the mobsters seem oddly more wholesome.

The other major issue in the translation is time. Showtime episodes run around 55 minutes with no commercials, where the average network drama clocks in around 42 minutes or less these days. CBS is letting "Dexter" run longer than average, with each episode coming in around 47 or 48 minutes. (Not only is that better creatively for the show, but it no doubt helps cover the network for a show that some advertisers may not want to touch.)

While the abbreviated run time occasionally causes a tough edit (the two episodes I've seen were without the show's beautiful, hilarious opening title sequence, where Dexter's morning routine is photographed to make the acts of shaving, making breakfast and getting dressed look like acts of horrible violence), most of what's been cut is material that was problematic in the original versions. Dexter, as superbly played by Hall, is such a compelling character that attempts to beef up the supporting cast with their own subplots -- Doakes' boss Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Velez) jockeying for promotion; Detective Batista (David Zayas) having trouble at home -- just felt like a distraction.

"The good news is they didn't ask us to cut anything from the essence of Dexter's character," says Greenblatt. "We were able to cut little B stories. In the first season, Batista's having marital problems. It's still there, but there's half as much of it."

Watching "Dexter" with commercial interruptions and clumsy dubbing isn't the ideal way to see the show, but by trimming some of the extraneous storylines, the CBS version is at times an improvement over the original. Who would've thunk it?

rosered · 02-26-2008, 05:16 PM

Heres another positive review of CBS' premiere:

http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/...34&sectionId=2

I watched the premiere and the second episode and have yet to be dissapointed.. Wait to go CBS for handling the edits so well and yay for Dexter for getting a bigger fan base!

02-15-2008, 08:04 PM	#1
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	'Dexter' come through despite cuts http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sep...700.xml&coll=1 'Dexter' come through despite cuts Friday, February 15, 2008 BY ALAN SEPINWALL Star-Ledger Staff THE WRITERS' strike is over, but strike contingency scheduling lives on, which means that Sunday night at 10 we'll be treated to the bizarre spectacle of Showtime's serial killer drama "Dexter" airing on CBS. And you know what? It works. "Dexter," about a Miami forensics specialist (Michael C. Hall) who moonlights as a serial killer who only targets other serial killers, is one of the best dramas on television, but it's also one of the most twisted. It asks you to, on some level, empathize with and even occasionally root for an unapologetic monster -- even if, as Dexter admits, "I'm a very neat monster." The show follows Dexter as he identifies and stalks his victims, and then as he gets into a cat-and-mouse game with still another serial killer who drains his victims of their blood -- and who seems to know who and what Dexter is. It's a show that, as I've said in past reviews, is hard to champion to the uninitiated. (Whenever I describe the premise and extol its virtues, people have a tendency to back away and make a mental note to never visit my basement.) But the edited-for-broadcast versions aren't drastically different from what aired on Showtime -- nor, more importantly, are they that much darker than most of CBS' primetime lineup. Remember, this is the network of the "CSI" franchise and "NCIS," which are gorier on an average episode than "Dexter" (where the violence is more often implied than shown); and of "Criminal Minds," which fetishises serial killers and their methods in a way that's more distasteful than anything on "Dexter." The edits for broadcast change much less than you'd think. Again, "Dexter" isn't a particularly violent or gory show -- in the original versions, "We usually cut away right before the violence," notes Showtime president Robert Greenblatt, who helped oversee the editing for CBS, "so there's nothing where you have to cover your eyes" -- and there was almost no explicit sexuality in the first season. (The second season, which CBS won't be airing, is another story.) The biggest change is language, as two characters -- Dexter's adoptive sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and suspicious cop Doakes (Erik King) -- talked a blue streak in the original versions. The overdubbed versions of their dialogue are as awkward (and feature the usual volume problems) as any other R-rated show or movie being prepared for broadcast -- "You give me the FRIGGIN' creeps, you know that, Dexter?" Doakes barks in one scene, before ordering him to "Shut the HELL up and write your report already!" -- but there's nothing being fundamentally changed about the characters in the way the A&E "Sopranos" reruns make the mobsters seem oddly more wholesome. The other major issue in the translation is time. Showtime episodes run around 55 minutes with no commercials, where the average network drama clocks in around 42 minutes or less these days. CBS is letting "Dexter" run longer than average, with each episode coming in around 47 or 48 minutes. (Not only is that better creatively for the show, but it no doubt helps cover the network for a show that some advertisers may not want to touch.) While the abbreviated run time occasionally causes a tough edit (the two episodes I've seen were without the show's beautiful, hilarious opening title sequence, where Dexter's morning routine is photographed to make the acts of shaving, making breakfast and getting dressed look like acts of horrible violence), most of what's been cut is material that was problematic in the original versions. Dexter, as superbly played by Hall, is such a compelling character that attempts to beef up the supporting cast with their own subplots -- Doakes' boss Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Velez) jockeying for promotion; Detective Batista (David Zayas) having trouble at home -- just felt like a distraction. "The good news is they didn't ask us to cut anything from the essence of Dexter's character," says Greenblatt. "We were able to cut little B stories. In the first season, Batista's having marital problems. It's still there, but there's half as much of it." Watching "Dexter" with commercial interruptions and clumsy dubbing isn't the ideal way to see the show, but by trimming some of the extraneous storylines, the CBS version is at times an improvement over the original. Who would've thunk it?
	__________________ Sonny

02-26-2008, 05:16 PM	#2
rosered Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 20, 2006 Location: Washington, D.C. Posts: 342	Heres another positive review of CBS' premiere: http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/...34&sectionId=2 I watched the premiere and the second episode and have yet to be dissapointed.. Wait to go CBS for handling the edits so well and yay for Dexter for getting a bigger fan base!