Dexter - The Complete Second Season | 
| Actor: Michael C. Hall
Studio: Showtime / Paramount
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $21.10
You Save: $18.88 (47%)
New (40) Used (13) Collectible (1) from $19.99
Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 5
Format: Ac-3, Box Set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 636 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: 892514
UPC: 097368925144
EAN: 0097368925144
ASIN: B000V86OKG
Theatrical Release Date: November 2006
Release Date: August 19, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New factory sealed. Will mail first class Postal. Ships from Georgia.
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
DEXTER is a crime drama about Dexter Morgan a man who leads a double life as an incredibly likeable forensics expert for the Miami Police Department and as an emotionless vigilante serial killer. Taught by his foster father to harness his lust for blood and killing Dexter lives by his own strict moral code - he only kills murderers who can't otherwise be brought to justice. Dexter is a killer who grapples with fitting into society while at the same time he struggles with his inability to feel emotion. The irony of Dexter's life is that he works closely as a blood splatter analyst with the very people who hunt his kind - the homicide department. Dexter's "Regular Joe" front is in full force while working alongside the ill-tempered Sgt. James Doakes who seems to be the only one to sense Dexter's more sinister side and Lt. Maria LaGuerta the head of the division who pursues Dexter sexually with as much force as she would any criminal. While his sister Debra Morgan a tough and determined cop leans on Dexter for personal advice and career advancement the closest one Dexter "connects" with is Det. Angel Batista whose similar attention to detail and taste for forensics almost mirrors his own. While sentiment and feelings elude Dexter he struggles to find a kindred spirit of sorts in his emotionally damaged girlfriend Rita who keeps him grounded in the realities of "normal" life and provides him respite from the dark corners of his mind. The series is based on the acclaimed novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay.System Requirements:Running Time: 636 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368925144 Manufacturer No: 892514
Amazon.com
Dark and sinister is the new sexy, thanks to Dexter, which in its second season has proven to be the most successful series Showtime has offered up yet. Remember how much you squirmed in your seat during the season one finale? Believe it or not, the premiere of season two felt like it could have been a season finale--because jaws were on the floor when the credits rolled. For being a supposed sociopath, Dex is pretty broken up about the gruesome events that concluded last season. The one and only person who could possibly understand him is six feet under, and it seems our unlikely hero is losing his homicidal grip. He's even having a little trouble slicing up a few of his latest victims (from a murderous gang member to a chainsaw-wielding fiend from his past). Enter Lila (Jaime Murray, Hustle), a lady with a sweet British accent and a few dark secrets of her own. She seems to accept Dex for who he really is, and he finds himself feeling relaxed for the first time in his life. In contrast, his relationship with his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) has been stretched almost to a breaking point. The problem is, he should be anything but relaxed. Someone picked a poor place to go scuba diving off the Florida coast, and came across an underwater graveyard: Dex's primo spot for dropping dismembered bodies wrapped in heavy-duty trash bags. Word about the "Bay Harbor Butcher" gets out quick, and the F.B.I. sends the best of the best, Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine, Deadwood) to work alongside the police to sniff out Miami's latest serial killer. This guy is no schlub, and Dex may have met his match. And, yes, Dexter gets to work with Lundy on a daily basis, which provides some wonderfully awkward moments. It certainly doesn't help that the intuitively paranoid Sergeant Doakes (Erik King, Oz) is hot on Dex's trail. Season two of Dexter is all about decisions. Lila or Rita? Old code or new code? Run or fight? Right or wrong? Well, one thing's for sure: When it comes to writing, casting, acting, and production, the makers of this show made all the right decisions. Michael C. Hall is simply superb as the title character. You'll never find yourself more willing to genuinely root for a serial killer. It's bloody liberating. --Jordan Thompson
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 Now all his secrets are floating to the surface December 12, 2007
C. F. Silva (Brazil)
78 out of 100 found this review helpful
The dead bodies of 18 victims are accidentally found in an underwater graveyard. The killer, who becomes known as The Bay Harbor Butcher, has dismembered his victims' bodies and wrapped all the pieces in plastic bags. Soon a task force of FBI agents and police officers is assembled to investigate the case and one of their first discoveries is that The Bay Harbor Butcher only kills other killers. If you watched season 1, then you already know who the Butcher is: Dexter Morgan. And you might also be able to tell that this story is really tense. Special Agent Lundy, leader of the task force, is brilliant and usually able to outsmart Dexter. Sergeant Doakes becomes Dexter's archenemy. He is sure that Dexter is hiding a secret and won't give up until he finds out what it is. In a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Dexter meets a beautiful and unconventional woman, Lila, who has a dark side of her own and makes Dexter feel good about himself, because she believes no one is all evil. Rita, on the other hand, isn't very happy about Dexter's new friend. New relevations about Harry will make Dexter even more uncomfortable, as if he didn't have troubles enough.
In my opinion, this season managed to be even better than season 1. Under federal investigation, Dexter's cool facade cracks and he becomes much more human. He makes a lot of mistakes and in a sense becomes a worse person. In season 1, the Ice Truck Killer was the bad guy, but in season 2, Dexter is "the root of all evil," as he himself said. When compared to honest police officers, Dexter's criminal activities look more criminal than ever. This was a nice change of perspective. Yes, Dexter only kills other killers, but it turns out that when his survival is at stake, all his masks fall and we can finally see the monster.
Best DEX yet: season 2! January 31, 2008
Mark F. Braun (Norridge, IL)
48 out of 63 found this review helpful
first, the second season does not follow the order of the books: season 2 begins where most cliffhangers end: Dexter's victims get hauled up out of the water. Dexter's sister becomes a stronger character, following the character as she appears in the book series. Given alla that, this is a crown jewel of cable TV writing: their writers are so over-the-top that they continually seem to write the next episode better than the last: no kidding; a singular reason to get Showtime.
The incidental music of both seasons are on CD with a few tracks on itunes as exclusives: get them.
Enter a lady who is clear from the first glance serious trouble and this is a spectacular edge-of-your-seat season worth watching again and again (and btw, that'd help just to take in the small stuff that gest missed on one viewing; particularly the Doakes/Dex showdown). And Dex will do something unthinkable: he chuckles. Wanna guess why? Here's a clue: Dex begins to become more human, despite his insistence that he's not quite human. Harry's Law gets an upheaval.
Now for the BOOK fans, Doakes meets some cruel cutting time in Dexter's 2nd book. In the TV series, Doakes, well, gives Dex a problem: whack a great cop who refuses to back down or surrender to him: what do YOU think Dex would do?
Kudos to a killer (sorry) cast for a job very, very well done. While the CBS edited version is still looming in the near future, ya gotta wonder how they'll work around Doakes's profanity, profuse bloodletting and pieces of weekly corpses. If CBS can pull in new fans of a PG-rated Dexter season one, imagine their absolute shock to see unedited season two with enough meatcutting madness to even freak out die-hard horrorheads like me.
No Sophomore Slump for America's Favorite Serial Killer November 19, 2007
Wesley Mullins (Kentucky)
42 out of 48 found this review helpful
Miami blood-spatter analyst and moonlighting serial killer Dexter Morgan spent the first season of Showtime's groundbreaking drama helping his police department track the Ice Truck Killer, a man who turned out to be the brother Dexter never knew. In Season Two, he helps hunt someone even closer...himself. When his Glad-bag graveyard is discovered at the bottom of the ocean, all of Miami buzzes about the Bay Harbor Butcher, the nocturnal crime fighter who litters the sea with body parts of bad guys.
The search for the Bay Harbor Butcher (and the ensuing cat and mouse game between Dexter and his colleagues) provides the overarching glue for Season Two. The middle episodes of the season feature the slippery Dexter trying to wiggle his way out of the grasp of the investigation, lead by new character FBI Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine), a professional everyman as unassuming as he is brilliant. Lundy's dedication and focus rival Dexter's and present a challenge for our hero even greater than his "game" with the Ice Truck Killer. Lundy's ritual and disciplined life of cucumber sandwich lunches and Chopin interludes clears his mind, giving him almost clairvoyance into the heart of his target.
The second principle plot centers on Dexter's new love interest, Lila. Early in the season, Dexter is able to explain away his erratic behavior to Doakes and Rita by pretending to be a recovering drug addict. His relationship with his sultry and insightful sponsor sparks tension between Dexter and his girlfriend and forces Dexter into chambers of his mind that have been closed for decades. In the arms of a troubled figure with a past nearly as dark as his own, Dexter feels understood for the first time.
Dexter's "improvements" in rehab, coupled with the relentless investigation of him by Doakes causes a reduction in body count for Season Two. Just as Season One established the winning formula of building a 12 episode serial plot accentuated with weekly self contained subplots with payoffs, Season Two also has small stories to keep the viewers entertained as the search for the Butcher continues. The difference between Seasons One and Two is that these small plots don't always involve Dexter killing someone. Season One almost had a reality-tv consistency with Dexter "voting someone off the island" each week. But sometimes Season Two episode plots are about his relationships with Rita, Lila or Doakes.
This is part of the more human Dexter presented in Season Two. His conscience gets to him a few times; he underestimates one of his victim's strength and then walks into a trap; he routinely gets outsmarted by Lundy; and he's unable to control his feelings toward Rita and her kids. He's come a long way from the unemotional science project of the first season. The extra dimensions to his character and a season-long plot that amazingly trumps the edge-of-your-seat plight of Season One's Ice Truck Killer are only two reasons why the series has improved since its sublime debut season and now fills the void left by The Sopranos as television's finest hour.
Are Dexter's days finally numbered? April 5, 2008
Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States)
39 out of 45 found this review helpful
I didn't think the second season of "Dexter" could even come close to to the brilliance of the first season, but I was wrong. Instead of the Ice Truck Killer, Season 2 begins with the Miami P.D. hot on the trail of another mass-murderer dubbed as the Bay Harbor Butcher. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) already knows the identity of the killer right off the bat, because it happens to be him. The FBI is brought in to help investigate the case, and Dexter is under pressure to stay off the radar and figure out how to get himself out of this huge mess.
Season 2 introduces some great new characters, including Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine) and the mysterious Lila (Jaime Murray), a woman who interferes with Dexter's relationship with Rita (Julie Benz). Meanwhile, La Guerta (Lauren Velez) pulls some very dirty tricks out of her hat in an effort to get her job back, and Dexter's relationship with Doakes (Erik King) escalates and is finally put to the ultimate test.
There are some exciting twists and turns in Season 2, but everything wraps up very nicely at the end. I have no idea what will happen to Dexter in Season 3, but I can't wait to find out!
 Darkly dreaming Dexter getting a little duller. April 3, 2008
Anthony Hand (Dublin, Ireland)
31 out of 44 found this review helpful
After a blistering first series, I felt that much of the second series of "Dexter" was a bit of a letdown. The basic premise of the series, which I am not going into here, is very solid and allows the viewer to be concerned about the central character (which in itself creates the weird scenario of rooting for very dubious guy indeed), but before long we are introduced to the very irritating character of Lyla Turney. This is where the interesting central premise of the show gets eclipsed somewhat by a cheap soap-opera-like "which girl will Dexter end up with" type narrative that is, quite frankly boring.
The main fault of season 2 is that the producers have seen fit to add in some Hollywood sex (in the first season he couldn't really do it), some soap-opera plot devices and have chosen to give Dexter more human emotions. This is a bad move, as by humanising Dexter too much, it tends to make him less interesting. The charm of the Dexter series is that the viewer becomes attached to a guy who is essentially a nutter (albeit with a somewhat justifiable moral code). But as this gets eroded, I felt that that my interest was being eroded too. To a point where there was considerable time between my viewing of episode 7 and episode 8. In contrast, I watched the first series in two sittings. There were times in season 2 that was just waiting for Dexter to kill someone...anyone.
I do recommend the second season though, don't get me wrong. It has a good central story, mostly good acting and returns with all the strong characters from the first season and develops them somewhat further. The only problem with the secondary characters is with Debra's unrealistic relationship with her new boyfriend. It's ok, but I felt her character could have been developed in a much better way, especially after her experiences in the first series. Again, the result is very soap-opera and made me tune out to a degree.
The best character (other than Dexter) is James Doakes and he returns in the second season too in one of the more interesting subplots of the series that has a great conclusion.
The bottom line is that Dexter Season 2 is just not as good as the utterly brilliant season 1 (which was simply the best thing on TV for a long, long time).
But for about 8 episodes, I felt myself continually losing interest rapidly. However, by episode 9 or so, I was hooked again and the season builds to a great finale. So much so, that I cannot wait for season 3.
What I would like to see in season 3 is a little more ambiguity from Dexter, certainly I want to see more of his serial killer exploits...and a little more blood'n'gore for good measure.
|
|
|
