THE WIRE is the greatest show ever.

[Tailback U]

My problem with Dexter is that it;s still on TV. If it was smart, it would have done what Breaking Bad is doing and flesh out an entire story over the length of the show and understand that there needs to be an end. Breaking Bad is unpredictable. Dexter is possibly the most predictable show on TV.

Everything that happens with Dexter is the same, season by season. Dexter being Dexter. Introduce new antagonist. Slowly bring Dexter into antagonist's plans. Keep Dexter a step ahead and behind the killer simultaneously. Pretend Dexter is in danger. Kill antagonist. Rinse and repeat.

The show is terribly predictable. They've done all they can do with the show. Move on. Michael C Hall is an incredible actor and he is wasting himself with continuing on with this character. They've forced the show to rely on the villain in order to determine the quality of the season. Dexter will always be Dexter, the bad guy, on the other hand, has brought the show down in its awful seasons.

The "story" isn't what makes the show entertaining, Dexter's psyche and the inner conflicts that Dexter faces is the main focus of the show. Who he is after or trying to kill is almost irrelevant.

How he is going to balance trying to be a normal family man with his desire to kill people is the real story. Last season was about religion and how a serial killer might think when it comes to religion, how he is going to raise his child in terms of faith/god/etc.

It wasn't really about who he was after as much as it was about religion. Each season is about another psychological conflict that Dexter faces. That is what the show is about. It's not just about a guy who kills people.

 

[Buzzman]

It's still a good show. Your main gripe is that it has gotten silly and over the top unrealistic, but it's just as unrealistic as Breaking Bad, really.

Shows about serial killers are going to be pretty silly, they have to be.

And there's no way they'd be able to keep making the show better, there's only so many storylines you can run with and they've already used the best possible ones. No way can they top season 1 or the Trinity Killer season, so it's bound to disappoint eventually.

I'm still intrigued by the character's psyche, that's why I still like the show, even though it has gotten downright silly.

Another show I really liked was Homeland. Very realistic and well done, great acting, etc. I'm really interested in seeing how the series goes, it has the potential to be something amazing if they do it right.

And obviously, Game Of Thrones is the best thing on TV right now.

Just because a show is realistic doesn't make it good, otherwise primetime networks would rule the world with all their formulaic crap.

Dexter is a POS show now. Its boring, repetitive, and both seasons had some pretty crappy villains. The first few seasons worked well because it was still fresh, the protagonist was usually good and you will still learning about Dexter. When the show gets stale and the villains get crappy, you actually realize how shitty the side characters are on the show. Dexter might take the cake as the worst supporting cast in a tv show. Nobody brings anything good to the show. Even in its earlier seasons. The show still could be good if they actually wrote something worth a damn but they are lazy and with ratings at an all time high, they see no reason to stop.

Breaking Bad on the other is pretty realistic for the most part ( though I love the over the top awesonemness each season has had), but that's not what makes it great. What makes it great is the continuity it stayed with, the characters it has developed, and that their choices all of consequences. The consequence part is pretty big because Dexter used to be extremely OCD about his method and his choices, but these past seasons, he just does w/e he wants whenever he wants to do it.

BB and Dexter couldn't be any more opposite of each other.

 

[Tailback U]

Just because a show is realistic doesn't make it good, otherwise primetime networks would rule the world with all their formulaic crap.

Dexter is a POS show now. Its boring, repetitive, and both seasons had some pretty crappy villains. The first few seasons worked well because it was still fresh, the protagonist was usually good and you will still learning about Dexter. When the show gets stale and the villains get crappy, you actually realize how shitty the side characters are on the show. Dexter might take the cake as the worst supporting cast in a tv show. Nobody brings anything good to the show. Even in its earlier seasons. The show still could be good if they actually wrote something worth a damn but they are lazy and with ratings at an all time high, they see no reason to stop.

Breaking Bad on the other is pretty realistic for the most part ( though I love the over the top awesonemness each season has had), but that's not what makes it great. What makes it great is the continuity it stayed with, the characters it has developed, and that their choices all of consequences. The consequence part is pretty big because Dexter used to be extremely OCD about his method and his choices, but these past seasons, he just does w/e he wants whenever he wants to do it.

BB and Dexter couldn't be any more opposite of each other.

Breaking Bad is pretty unrealistic. A chemistry teacher turns into a drug dealer and is taking out cartels with a two bit petty high school drop out as his side kick. Please.

Not only that, but the characters and acting are not all that great. Jesse is a horrible character, totally unbelievable and ridiculous, and a pretty shitty actor to boot.

They do have some good actors and characters and it is a good show, but it's hardly realistic. I do enjoy the show, but I don't like how people put it on this pedestal as if it's flawless.

Like I said, I don't really watch Dexter for the villains. I don't even think the show is about that when I think about the show.

I agree that the show should have ended a season or two ago but I'll continue to watch it because I want to see how they end it.

 

[BrntO4Life]

Also - Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire cannot be touched in terms of quality TV right now.

Nothing comes close, but I think Showtime is on the right track with Homeland, and Starz too with Boss.

*cough*Eastbound and Down*cough*

But you already knew this. I'll forgive you for forgetting.

 

[Buzzman]

I agree that the show should have ended a season or two ago but I'll continue to watch it because I want to see how they end it.

Thats the only reason anybody is still watching it. They already but 6 seasons in why stop now.

But they process in which Walt became a Meth cooker is entirely plausible. Its not like he turned into some kingpin overnight. They took entire seasons advancing him to his current position.

 

[Tailback U]

But they process in which Walt became a Meth cooker is entirely plausible. Its not like he turned into some kingpin overnight. They took entire seasons advancing him to his current position.

No, it's not. If something like this happened in real life he, and his dumb shit joke of a partner, would have been killed immediately.

It's laughable to think that the entire premise of the show is realistic. Family man chemistry teacher turns into meth cooking drug lord.

Oh by the way, his brother in law is a DEA agent.

Riiiight.

 

[Palooza]

LOL @ arguing realism with a fucking television show. If any show was realistic it would be boring as fuck.

Aaron Paul being a shitty actor? Are you kidding me? His transformation from Season 1 to the final episode of the last season is unbelievable. Jesse Pinkman is one of the best characters on TV.

Dexter, on the other hand, has had ZERO character development since it started, Dexter included. You say it's all about him trying to balance a family and being a serial killer. HILARIOUS. They killed off Rita and got rid of the kids for a reason -- NOBODY CARES ABOUT DEXTER AS A FAMILY MAN. The show runners know this. His son is just a tool to reel in idiots like you thinking Dexter is balancing some kind of life. He pawns his son off on the babysitter whenever he needs without any problem. There is no balance. He makes time for his son when he can, being a serial killer comes first, every time.

Dexter pretends to have inner conflicts so the blatant predictability doesn't seem as so. He continues to kill people, in the same formula created in season 1, and he has not changed. What's the point of inner conflict if he chooses the same route over and over again?

DEXTER IS TRYING TO STOP KILLING PEOPLE! BUT OH NOES, THE 6TH SERIAL KILLER IN AS MANY YEARS IS HAUNTING THE INCOMPETENT MIAMI METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT. WHAT EVER WILL HAPPEN?!

Can you honestly believe that something would ever happen to Dexter? No. Never. There are plenty on times you think to yourself in BB "omg, wtf is going to happen here? Walter White is so fucked." In Dexter it's more like "Wow, Dexter's in danger? Wake me up when he's killing someone again"

 

[Buzzman]

No, it's not. If something like this happened in real life he, and his dumb shit joke of a partner, would have been killed immediately.

It's laughable to think that the entire premise of the show is realistic. Family man chemistry teacher turns into meth cooking drug lord.

Oh by the way, his brother in law is a DEA agent.

Riiiight.

They did almost get killed. But Walt isn't a dumbass and killed them before they could kill him.

 

[Palooza]

Can we also mention that Breaking Bad is well acted, well written, has some of the best cinematography on TV and is actually pretty funny at times. Where Dexter is poorly acted, has no character development, is TERRIBLY written, some of the worst characters on TV, is shot like a cheap porn and has zero humor.

BUT-BUT-BUT, DEB SHE CURSES, THAT'S FUNNY!

Also, Walter White would never use "Patrick Bateman" as an alias. So. embarrassing.

 

[Palooza]

They did almost get killed. But Walt isn't a dumbass and killed them before they could kill him.

Walter White is a genius manipulator. Dexter is superhuman and trained by the guy who took over Raiden's role in Mortal Kombat II.

 

[chazmaniandevil]

Can we also mention that Breaking Bad is well acted, well written, has some of the best cinematography on TV and is actually pretty funny at times. Where Dexter is poorly acted, has no character development, is TERRIBLY written, some of the worst characters on TV, is shot like a cheap porn and has zero humor.

BUT-BUT-BUT, DEB SHE CURSES, THAT'S FUNNY!

Also, Walter White would never use "Patrick Bateman" as an alias. So. embarrassing.

 

[Palooza]

Image tags FTW!

 

[Tailback U]

Hey, Dexter has some great cinematography!

Anyways, I'm not trying to turn the thread about the greatest show on TV into a Breaking Bad Vs. Dexter discussion.

BB is a better show. I like Dexter for other reasons than who the villain is or how Dexter is going to kill him and get out of trouble. However you slice it, it's still one of the more interesting and entertaining shows that's been on TV over the last decade, and it's worth recommending to some looking for a new show to get into. Not at the top of the list, but still on it.

 

[Palooza]

Hey, Dexter has some great cinematography!

Anyways, I'm not trying to turn the thread about the greatest show on TV into a Breaking Bad Vs. Dexter discussion.

BB is a better show. I like Dexter for other reasons than who the villain is or how Dexter is going to kill him and get out of trouble. However you slice it, it's still one of the more interested and entertaining shows that's been on TV, and it's worth recommending to some looking for a new show to get into. Not at the top of the list, but still on it.

Dexter has terrible cinematography. It looks like your grandmother's pornos.

 

[BrntO4Life]

I'd have to agree with Palooza here. Dexter's soft, high contrast photography reeks of 90s Playboy videos where the chicks were naked on beds in farm fields and shit.

 

[chazmaniandevil]

i understand breaking bad is a great show, but saying dexter is an awful show is laughable at best.

 

[SethMode]

i tried watching this once before. i got about 4 shows in and stopped. it just didnt have any appeal to me. it seemed boring....but i downloaded it again today and want to find out what it is that i am missing.

Just power through the first season man. It's tough, but it does pick up towards the end. It's the weirdest season of the series in my opinion (although a lot of people think that about season 2) because it seems to literally pick up in the middle of a book. The whole show is a slow burn in general, but the first season is all about paying attention to EVERY tiny thing, and that builds the characters, and then each season just builds more. It took me a couple of tries to really plow through season 1, but once I got to about episode 7 or 8 (it's a pretty significant situation in whatever episode it is, you'll know it) and I was hooked from then on.

Also, one of my favorite weird little things about Omar is something small: his trench coat. That shit is AMAZING and literally looks like something Robin Hood would wear. Can you even buy a jacket like that somewhere?

I wish I liked MMO's, because I always kind of thought a Wire MMO would be awesome where you could pick which "rung" of the street ladder you would want or which "rung" of the police force you would want. And Omar would basically be a non playable character that roamed the streets. You could be a Bodie-like character and get your shit jacked by Omar, and have to take news to your "guild" and report it to a Stringer-like character who would send more muscle to your corner, etc...etc.../nerd in all ways possible.

 

[Swarley]

Starting episode 1 right now.

 

[SethMode]

i understand breaking bad is a great show, but saying dexter is an awful show is laughable at best.

I don't think that Dexter is an awful show overall, but in comparison to what it was, it's awful by those standards. It's just too formulaic now. Dexter used to be appointment viewing. Now it's appointment viewing so that I don't miss Homeland.

 

[BrntO4Life]

i understand breaking bad is a great show, but saying dexter is an awful show is laughable at best.

Dexter is absolutely an awful show now. It was awesome in the beginning, but if you still find it awesome then you just don't mind plot regurgitation.