Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer shows where critics are leading the audience -- into complete moral obtuseness. Storm finds Dexter adorable, in his adorably murderous way: "He's a depraved killer, but you feel like reaching out and tousling his hair, and saying: 'It's OK. You're doing your best.' It's a strange feeling, but one that helps make Dexter one of this season's best new series." People magazine declared that the dismemberer Dexter is "sexy."
To underline how most of our TV critics could compete in a contest called "Sick and Sicker," let's line them up in their capsules of compliments.
"Fiendishly excellent." -- Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe.
"Fiendishly intelligent." -- Maureen Ryan, Chicago Tribune.
"Fantastic, fascinating, creepy, charming and gruesome." -- Doug Elfman, Chicago Sun-Times.
"Gruesome and gripping, laced in bloody, dark humor, this macabre gem ... (features) an oddly likeable vigilante serial killer." -- Matt Roush, TV Guide.
"A warped show, don't get me wrong ... easily the best drama in Showtime history." -- Alan Sepinwall, Newark Star-Ledger.
An impressive contender for sickest TV critic is Diane Werts of Newsday. "Dexter" is a "creepily surreal and acidly amusing portrait of a thoroughly modern hero." When Dexter marvels at the beauty of killing prostitutes and draining all of their blood out cleanly, Werts marvels right back: "Murder as performance art in contemporary America -- well, why not?" Werts concludes the show is "kinky, and cool, and vile, and mesmerizing, a deliciously dark and droll portrait of a serial killer helping his Miami police employers clean up the streets."
For the record, it should be noted that not every TV critic has been wowed. Adam Buckman of the New York Post found the premise "bothersome." Brian Lowry of Variety knew the series was designed to wow critics, but he said the shtick was "not working."
But the best response -- the one that gives you hope -- was Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald. He granted that the artsy series was a "perverse pleasure," but also insisted on not getting moral motion sickness. The series presents "a universe in which murder is virtuous as long as it's committed within the confines of a rigid but self-imposed code. Of course, that's just what Osama bin Laden does, and it's a good bet that (actor Michael C.) Hall's breezy cheer could make Osama seem likable, too."