I’ll admit, I was an avid fan of Dexter through the first three seasons, basically watching the entire seasons in one weekend whenever they were released on DVD or Blu-ray. Somewhere after season three I got to where I didn’t need a Dexter “fix” as many passionate fans for the show describe it, and I never looked back. I meant to get back to the series, but just never did. About a week ago, the seventh season came in for review on Blu-ray, meaning the eighth, and final season, is nearly here.
In trying to play catch up to better review and enjoy season seven, I watched a few episodes of seasons four through six, not having the means nor the time to watch them all. Sure, I spoiled a lot of plot points for myself as I got my way up to the seventh season, but I feel like I’m in good shape heading into the final season. Season seven is considered to be far more engaging than the tepid (by comparison to a typical Dexter season, anyway) season six. Many series characters return, including Dexter’s sister who finally finds out about his darker side.
As with most TV season reviews I do, I’m not a substitute for a good fan site or a TV show hub site like tv.com. I’m more focused on reviewing the quality of the content, the presentation, and the extra features — in other words, what makes this Blu-ray set worth owning? In the case of the content, I’ve made it pretty clear that even for a casual Dexter fan like myself, season seven is one of the series’ best. Given the very high quality production values of Dexter in any of its seasons, that means quite a lot. So I have no major issues with the quality of the show itself.
Not surprisingly, the image and sound quality of Dexter on Blu-ray is on par for what you would expect for such a quality show from Showtime. Images are crisp and detailed, and with the backdrop of Miami, there’s plenty of scenery to take in. The TrueHD 5.1 audio is also impactful and yet succinct. Viewers are immersed subtly and effectively.
All is well thus far, but where this release really drops the ball is in the complete lack of extra features. I do not count the inclusion of episodes of other Showtime shows as extra features — that’s promotional advertising filler. I can only assume that any extra features, be in production footage, cast and crew interviews, audio commentaries, are being saved for the eventual complete series box set, likely due out in the next 12-15 months. If you’re a patient enough fan, you should probably save your money now and just look to get that in the future anyway, but if you absolutely have to have this season on Blu-ray now, just know that there are no extra features that pertain to the series, much less the season.
With that, let’s get to the summary…
