Wednesday, May 28, 2008

what I have been up to lately


sorry for not posting much the last few days. I have been busy... life, Mr. Mom, cooking, job search, etc.

However, I have also been busy with every spare moment finishing 2 seasons of the ridiculously compelling Showtime program Dexter. You may have heard of the show, about a serial killer working as a blood splatter expert for the Miami PD that only kills murderers. It is that good. Plus, I am sucker for procedural drama and serial killers (although I abhor violence onscreen and refuse to watch horror films).

I had seen 1 or 2 episodes a few months ago and loved it. Then we found it was part of our free on demand schedule. I watched the first episode with Kristi and the subject matter (pitch black dark but humorous) caused her to tell me to watch it alone. However, listening from another room proved too much for her and the storyline drew her in (and the acting, which is THAT good). So, for the past week we have been watching a couple of hours per day (most days) with 1 or 2 days of 3 episodes. We should be done tonight or tomorrow with the first 2 seasons and can begin our relatively TV free summer life once again... of course, season 3 begins in September.

Watch at your own risk!

5 comments:

Mike Murrow said...

agreed. i have been netflixing it. can't wait for the third season to come out on DVD.

it is really really good.

Anonymous said...

Mike said: "although I abhor violence onscreen and refuse to watch horror films"

Is it just me or does this seem a little...inconsistent? Haven't seen the show myself. You seem to be saying that violence is okay as long as the acting and story line are good.

DJ Word said...

murf,

it might help to watch before passing judgment. of course, that is just my style.

I think that using the word "although" I was admitting to the idea that it could be seen as slightly inconsistent. Although, I understand that we all have places in our lives that we practice a bit of inconsistency. I am one that admits to such things (Which I was doing in this post).

Look to the left of my header, you will see that I admit inconsistency on this blog (the wendell berry quote).

the show is not "horror" It has much in common with procedural police dramas, but there is a violent aspect of it. it is not glorification (which I hate) or justification (which it questions continuously).

It uses violence to ask very interesting questions about human nature, good and evil, ends justifying means, etc.

I have talked about such subjects before.

Look for my posting called Can a Pacifist like the Departed for more on this subject (august 29, 2007). I have also talked about similar subjects on April 10, 2007; April 8, 2007.

I hope that helps you understand where I am coming from.

Thanks for commenting.

Anonymous said...

Just to clarify I wasn't passing judgment because as I admitted I haven't seen the show (I think I might try it - I like good dialogue and it's pretty rare). I was just asking the question.

Thanks for the response. If I get around to checking out some episodes I'll do a review.

My wife and I got into "24" the same way...

DJ Word said...

murf,

the comparison to 24 is most appropriate. both characters are in the midst of heavy crises because they feel compelled to do things that are reprehensible, including murder because they belief their actions are warranted for the "greater good."

to watch either is to confront many of the same questions regarding violence, murder, ends and means, etc.

In fact, I had to stop watching 24 season 1 due to the intensity of the program. I cannot justify watching nay longer due to some of the positions the show seems to take regarding torture, etc. I can see a person making a similar distinction regarding Dexter.

Of course, Dexter is much less intense (though no more/ less set in reality) and much funnier with a much more appealing lead character and more development of those characters (hard to do in 24 hour period).