Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

When I published my New Year's Eve list of the top ten television series this century (plus some honorable mentions), a follower on Twitter wondered why Showtime's Dexter failed to make the list. 

For those who missed the show, Dexter is a Miami-based crime/drama series which ran on the Showtime network from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013, for a total of eight seasons. 

The show starred Michael C. Hall, a very fine actor who also stole the screen in HBO's Six Feet Under. Hall's role in Dexter is much different, though, which shows his impressive range as an actor. 

Indeed, the first several seasons of the show are rather strong, at times wildly entertaining and gripping. 

However, the latter seasons jumped one shark after the next with the show unfortunately becoming a bit too campy for me to consider in the top ten or even fifteen shows this century. One extreme plot twist after the next becomes a bit too much to fathom, and the show simply lasted too long for its own good; perhaps spoiled by its increasing popularity after a few seasons. 

That said, much like Six Feet Under or Narcos, for example, Dexter is a good "popcorn" show, entertaining and above average. But I wish they would have stopped a few seasons earlier and kept the writing tight. 

To his credit, Hall's performance does not fall off at all, despite the writing obviously doing so, which reinforces how rigorous of an actor he truly is.