It's Alive! (Dexter)

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"It's Alive!"
Dexter episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 1
Directed by Tony Goldwyn
Written by Daniel Cerone
Production code201 [1]
Original air dateSeptember 30, 2007 (2007-09-30)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Waiting to Exhale"
Dexter (season 2)
List of episodes

"It's Alive!" is the second season premiere and thirteenth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter , which first aired on September 30, 2007 on Showtime in the United States. [1] The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and was directed by Tony Goldwyn. In the episode, which takes place five weeks after the first-season finale, Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King) is following Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) at all times, but when he gets his first opportunity Dexter finds himself unable to kill. Meanwhile, his sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) returns to work after her ex-fiancé Brian tried to kill her, and his girlfriend Rita Bennett (Julie Benz) refuses to believe that Dexter sent her ex-husband Paul (Mark Pellegrino) to prison in spite of the evidence in front of her.

Contents

Although Dexter's first season was adapted from Jeff Lindsay's novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter , the show's writers decided not to follow Lindsay's second novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter , in the second season. Filming of the episode began in May in Los Angeles, California, marking the show's permanent move from Miami, Florida, where the show takes place. A small crew flew to Miami to film short pieces of Dexter which were integrated into "It's Alive!" and other episodes, but the bulk of filming took place in San Pedro and Long Beach. With 1.09 million viewers, Dexter became the first Showtime series to attract over a million viewers with a season premiere. The episode received mostly positive reviews.

Plot

Since murdering the Ice Truck Killer five weeks previously, Dexter Morgan has been followed by the suspicious Sgt. James Doakes and thus cannot satisfy his urge to kill. Trying to act "relentlessly normal", he goes bowling almost nightly with his co-workers. Dexter is finally left alone when Doakes gives up and takes a night off; he pursues a blind voodoo priest named Jimmy, but finds himself ultimately unable to kill him. At a crime scene, the victim's mother pleads with Dexter to kill her son's murderer, gang lord "Little Chino". Seeing the woman's young daughter, he is reminded of having witnessed his own mother's brutal death as a child.

After leading Doakes to believe that he is bowling for the night, Dexter brings Chino to Jimmy's killing room. However, Chino wakes up in the middle of Dexter's procedure and manages to escape. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister Debra exercises incessantly and is barely able to sleep as she struggles with memories of her ex-fiancé, Brian Moser, trying to kill her. When she returns to work, Sgt. María LaGuerta expresses concern about her emotional stability. However, Debra is determined to resume her life. When she takes Dexter's girlfriend Rita out to a bar, a man recognizes Debra as the fiancé of the Ice Truck Killer. She instinctively punches him when he touches her shoulder, certain that he was trying to grab her.

Rita takes her children Astor and Cody to see the imprisoned Paul, who continues to insist that he was framed by Dexter and that his missing shoe would prove his innocence. Rita tells him that there is no shoe, despite having found it over a month ago. She later admits that she found the shoe, but refuses to acknowledge that Dexter is involved. That night, she receives a call from the prison and learns that Paul has been killed by another inmate. Flashbacks show the attempts of a teenaged Dexter to feel his heartbeat. In the present, Dexter and Debra watch a news report showing a team of scuba divers recovering thirty garbage bags from Biscayne Bay, each containing parts of Dexter's mutilated victims. As he watches, his heart races.

Production

The first season of Dexter followed the same storyline of Jeff Lindsay's novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter , the first in the series of novels on which the television show is based, albeit with many additional elements and altered characters. [2] When writing the second season, Daniel Cerone said that the writers "didn't see the opportunity in the second book" to continue on the path that they hoped to go down and chose to depart from Lindsay's second Dexter novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter . [3] Instead, they chose "to turn our biggest card up - "What if Dexter's bodies were discovered?" - and just chart that course throughout the season." [4] According to executive producer Clyde Phillips, they decided to resume the second season storyline five weeks after season one's finale "so all of the emotional resonance of what each [character] went through [...] will continue as if that were the actual passage of time, so they're still dented and rocked by what has happened." Cerone added that "The nice thing with Dexter is it's actually the lack of emotional resonance." [4] Speaking about Dexter's situation at the beginning of the second season, Hall said, "I think his world is pretty rocked. He encountered [his brother], a person he never anticipated encountering, someone who sees him for who he is, accepts him as such, and he really has no choice but to do him in ... he's still reeling from that, and any footing he's able to establish for himself is pretty much immediately pulled out from under him." [4]

With filming beginning on May 21, 2007, [3] "It's Alive!" marked the permanent relocation of production from Miami to Los Angeles. Five episodes of the first season were shot on location in Miami, which Cerone said was "a bigger hassle than it was worth". [5] Showtime programming chief Robert Greenblatt said that "It just became impossible, production-wise, to shoot the whole show [in Miami]", [6] because of the overlap between Dexter's production window and Florida's hurricane season, making property insurance costly. [7] A small crew flew to Miami with Hall and filmed, according to producer Sara Colleton, "a lot of pieces—not just Dexter walking in and out of his door or car, but also scenes that we know we'll need and can use", which the writers then worked into the episode and others. [7] For the episode, Biscayne Bay was substituted with a set in Los Angeles, [6] while most on location scenes were filmed in and around San Pedro and Long Beach, California. [5]

Reception

"It's Alive!" brought in 1.09 million viewers in the United States, [8] making Dexter the first Showtime series to attract over a million viewers with a season premiere, [9] while an additional 414,000 people watched the late-night encore. [8] The ratings were 67 percent higher than the series pilot and 40 percent above the first season's average. [8] The episode attracted 471,000 Australian viewers on its first free-to-air broadcast. [10] In the United Kingdom, the episode drew 348,000 viewers, an increase of 50,000 from the pilot. [11] Production sound mixer Patrick Hanson and re-recording sound mixers Elmo Ponsdomenech and Joe Earle, received a Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Award nomination, in the category Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour), but lost to the sound mixers of the Lost episode "Meet Kevin Johnson". [12] [13] Stewart Schill, the editor of "It's Alive!", received an Eddie Award nomination for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television. [14] However, the eventual recipient of the award was Sidney Wolinsky, for The Sopranos . [15]

The episode was positively received. Writing for Variety , Brian Lowry called the second season's opening "a bloody winner" and said that Hall's performance "remains a towering achievement". [16] IGN's Eric Goldman thought that the episode's biggest problem was "having to follow up such a great first season", but called "It's Alive!" "a solid episode". He praised Dexter's flashbacks and Dexter and Debra's storylines, though he said that Doakes' following Dexter was "ridiculous" and that LaGuerta's overhearing Lt. Esmee Pascal's private conversation was "a bit contrived". [1] Keith McDuffee of TV Squad "love[d] the flashbacks to a young Dexter and living Harry". Regarding the episode's end, he wrote that "just as Dexter's heart beats out of his chest, as does ours." [17] Paula Paige, writing for TV Guide , said that the episode "made for some exciting, heart-pounding fear" and called the discovery of Dexter's corpses "a fantastic storyline". She commended Benz for "develop[ing] her character, Rita, into a person instead of just the shell of one she appeared to be". [18] Blogcritics ' Ray Ellis commented, "If ['It's Alive!'] is any indication, Dexter's second season looks to delve deeper into the psyches of its characters. It certainly sets up a number of plot complexities [...] and new devices that offer a myriad of new developments." [19] The A.V. Club critic Scott Tobias stated that "the writers have done a solid job setting the table for season two". [20]

Related Research Articles

Dexter Morgan Fictional character from the Dexter book and Showtime television series

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"Dexter", or "Pilot", is the pilot episode of the first season television drama series of the same name, which premiered on October 1, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by developer James Manos Jr. and directed by Michael Cuesta. It was based on the opening of the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. The pilot introduces the series' protagonist, Dexter Morgan, a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst with a double life as a serial killer. While solving murders in the Homicide division, Dexter also spends his time hunting and killing murderers and criminals who have escaped the justice system. The pilot introduces the "Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer who targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies dismembered and bloodless, and the rivalry that develops between the killer and Dexter.

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Rita Bennett Fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay

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<i>Dexter</i> (season 1) Drama series

The first season of Dexter is an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in a series of the same name, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Subsequent seasons have featured original storylines. This season aired from October 1, 2006 to December 17, 2006, and follows Dexter's investigation of "the Ice Truck Killer". Introduced in the first episode, "Dexter", this serial killer targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies severed and bloodless. At the same time, Dexter's adoptive sister, Debra Morgan, a vice squad officer, aspires to work in the homicide department, and Dexter's girlfriend, Rita Bennett, wants their relationship to be more intimate. Christian Camargo appears as Rudy Cooper and is a recurring character until the end of the season.

<i>Dexter</i> (season 2) Drama series

The second season of Dexter premiered on September 30, 2007, and ended on December 16, 2007. "It's Alive", the season premiere, attracted 1.01 million viewers in the United States, making Dexter the first Showtime series to attract more than a million viewers with a season premiere. The season finale, "The British Invasion", attracted 1.4 million viewers, making it the program's most-watched episode until the airing of the season three finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?". Including digital video recorder (DVR) usage, season two was watched by an average of 2.4 million viewers on a weekly basis through 11 full weeks, outperforming season one by 21%. The season received universal acclaim from critics, and was praised as "one of the best shows on TV this decade" by the Chicago Sun-Times, while Variety considers Hall's portrayal of the title character as a "towering achievement, one that eclipses the show's other shortcomings and rough patches"; the aggregate site Metacritic scored the season at 85 out of 100 based on 11 reviews.

"Let's Give the Boy a Hand" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter. It premiered on October 22, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Drew Z. Greenberg and directed by Robert Lieberman. The Ice Truck Killer starts leaving body parts of his latest victim at locations related to Dexter's childhood, making him confront his dark personal history. Meanwhile Rita confronts a neighbor with a noisy dog that is keeping her children up at night. Lieutenant LaGuerta seeks to comfort the mother of the latest Ice Truck Killer victim and the pressure on Sergeant Doakes escalates when Guerrero's associates begin following him.

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María LaGuerta Fictional human

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Crocodile (<i>Dexter</i>) 2nd episode of the first season of Dexter

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"Seeing Red" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on December 3, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Kevin R. Maynard and was directed by Michael Cuesta. In the episode, the Miami Metro Homicide Department team investigate a blood-soaked crime scene, where blood spatter analyst Dexter Morgan is confronted by a repressed memory of a traumatic incident from his childhood. Meanwhile, Dexter's girlfriend Rita Bennett is charged with assaulting her ex-husband Paul Bennett and risks losing custody of their children, while Det. Angel Batista investigates a hunch that the Ice Truck Killer has an amputee fetish.

"An Inconvenient Lie" is the third episode of the second season and fifteenth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on October 14, 2007 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Melissa Rosenberg and was directed by Tony Goldwyn.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Goldman, Eric (September 28, 2007). "Dexter: "It's Alive!" Advance Review". IGN . Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  2. ↑ Ward, Kendra (September 29, 2008). "'Dexter' book series similar to TV". Washburn University. Archived from the original on October 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  3. 1 2 Goldman, Eric (March 8, 2007). "Paley Fest: Dexter". IGN . Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  4. 1 2 3 Goldman, Eric (July 18, 2007). "Dexter Gets Ready for Another Killer Season". IGN . Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  5. 1 2 Meltzer Zepeda, Dana (July 16, 2007). "Dexter's Move West". TV Guide . Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  6. 1 2 Claustro, Lisa (July 17, 2007). "'Dexter' No Longer Shooting in Miami". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Ahlborn, Kate (October 24, 2008). "Q&A: Dexter Executive Producer Sara Colleton". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  8. 1 2 3 Mitovich, Matt (October 3, 2007). "Dexter's Ratings Are Bloody Good". TV Guide . Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  9. ↑ Lafayette, Jon (October 2, 2007). "Dexter Debut Is Showtime's First to Draw 1 Million Viewers". TV Week . Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Seven - Daily Ratings Report" (Press release). Seven Network. February 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-25.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Brooks, Greg (July 9, 2008). "Dexter viral boosts ratings". Broadcast . Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  12. ↑ "Complete 2008 Nominations List". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  13. ↑ "2008 Creative Arts Emmy winners" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 13, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  14. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (March 3, 2008). "Editors unveil their Eddie noms". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  15. ↑ "Patton Oswalt hosts the 2008 Eddie awards". Monsters and Critics. February 19, 2008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  16. ↑ Lowry, Brian (September 26, 2007). "Dexter". Variety . Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  17. ↑ McDuffee, Keith (September 30, 2007). "Dexter: It's Alive! (season premiere)". TV Squad . Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  18. ↑ Paige, Paula (October 1, 2007). "It's Alive". TV Guide . Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  19. ↑ Ellis, Ray (October 5, 2007). "TV Review: Dexter Season Premiere: "It's Alive"". Blogcritics . Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  20. ↑ Tobias, Scott (September 30, 2007). "It's Alive". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2009-02-21.

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