Our Father (Dexter)

Last updated

"Our Father"
Dexter episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 1
Directed by Keith Gordon
Written by Clyde Phillips
Production code301 [1]
Original air dateSeptember 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The British Invasion"		Next →
"Finding Freebo"
Dexter (season 3)
List of episodes

"Our Father" is the third season premiere and twenty-fifth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter , which first aired on September 28, 2008, on Showtime in the United States. [1] The episode was written by Clyde Phillips and directed by Keith Gordon. In the episode, which takes place several months after the second-season finale, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) mistakenly kills an innocent man but forms a friendship with the man's brother, well-known assistant district attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits). Dexter's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), meanwhile, has turned over a new leaf in her life and is determined to become a detective.

Contents

To carry the remainder of the third season, Dexter's writers introduced Miguel as a new character so that his relationship with Dexter could serve as a "central arc". In order to allow them to explore Dexter's psychological and emotional reactions, the writers revealed Dexter's girlfriend Rita Bennett (Julie Benz) to be pregnant. They also had Dexter kill an innocent person to develop the ongoing theme of rebellion despite initially rejecting the idea of Dexter killing "somebody who doesn't deserve it". Filming of the episode began in early June in Los Angeles, California at Sunset Gower Studios, though a small crew flew to Miami, Florida, where the show is set, to film short pieces of Dexter, which were integrated into "Our Father" and other episodes. The episode brought in 1.22 million viewers, an improvement from second season's premiere and finale, and attracted mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Several months after the deaths of James Doakes and Lila Tournay, Dexter Morgan's life has returned to normal. He looks up a drug dealer, Fred "Freebo" Bowman (Mike Erwin), whom he believes to have killed two female college students. Pretending to want to buy heroin, Dexter visits Freebo's house, where he sees his girlfriend Teegan Campbell (Jelly Howie). At night, he returns to the house and finds Freebo fighting with another man (Nick Hermz). When the man attacks Dexter, he stabs and kills him in self-defense. Dexter flees, shocked about breaking his father Harry's "code" and killing an innocent person.

Dexter is called to the scene the following day and discovers that the man was Oscar Prado, the brother of prominent Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado. Miguel seeks an explanation and consolation from Dexter and invites him to Oscar's wake. Dexter attends, leaving his sister Debra alone on their dead father's birthday. He begins to question Harry's code and whether his loyalty is necessary. At the Miami-Metro PD, Det. Angel Batista is promoted to sergeant. Det. Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington), recently transferred to the department, is being investigated by Internal Affairs. Sgt. Yuki Amado (Liza Lapira) asks Debra repeatedly to keep an eye on Quinn, but Debra declines even when she discovers that "snitching" may earn her a detective's shield.

Debra discovers from one of Quinn's informants, Anton Briggs (David Ramsey), that Oscar was a drug addict and in Freebo's debt. However, after Debra loudly divulges the information in Miguel's presence, Lt. María LaGuerta asks Batista to remove her from the case. Batista puts her on the case of a "Jane Doe," who Dexter recognizes as Teegan. Meanwhile, Dexter's girlfriend Rita craves chocolate pudding and, recalling the last instance, realizes she is pregnant.

Production

Jimmy Smits joined the cast because Miguel was dissimilar to his previous roles Jimmy Smits by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Jimmy Smits joined the cast because Miguel was dissimilar to his previous roles

Dexter's writing staff began meeting in March 2008 to brainstorm ideas for the third season's storylines. [2] Writer Clyde Phillips said that, when the writers decided to open season 3 with the revelation of Rita's pregnancy, "we were thinking about how it would affect Dexter psychologically and emotionally to create a life when he has spent most of his adult life taking lives." [3] They chose to introduce Miguel as a new character with the intention for his and Dexter's relationship to be "the central arc of the season", according to Hall. [4] Smits was the only actor who was considered for the role of Miguel. Smits was not initially interested in joining the cast, but after Phillips explained Miguel's dark side to him, Smits accepted the job offer because it was an opportunity to play a character dissimilar to any he had played before. [5] He said, "They promised upfront that this was really going to challenge me, that it would be stuff that I haven't done before, and they've really given me a shot. They've delivered the goods." [4] In regard to Dexter's abandonment of Harry's Code, Hall said that "That need to rebel is a real engine for what unfolds this season." [4] Smits was hired to appear in ten of the season's twelve episodes. [6] [7] When asked at the beginning of the second season whether there was any possibility of Dexter killing an innocent person, show runner Daniel Cerone said that by not doing so, they were "protecting the character". He thought that it was "very important for the show that he does kill people who deserve it". [8] Phillips said that "We don't want him knowingly killing somebody who doesn't deserve it out of impulse or something, but we have explored the notion of his having killed someone without properly vetting that person and perhaps making a mistake." [8]

Production was scheduled to commence in late May, [9] but was delayed until early June. [10] A small crew flew to Miami with Hall and, according to producer Sara Colleton, filmed "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", before returning to the show's permanent sets at Sunset Gower Studios in Los Angeles. [11] [12]

Reception

"Our Father" brought in 1.22 million viewers, a 20 percent improvement on both the second season's premiere and finale, and Showtime's highest-rated drama season premiere since 2004 when Nielsen Media Research began compiling their ratings for premium networks. [13] [14] In the United Kingdom, the episode was the ninth most-watched program in its timeslot with 194,000 viewers and an audience share of 1.2 percent, a significant decline from "It's Alive!", the second-season premiere. [15]

"Our Father" received mixed reviews from critics; some thought that it was dull, though Smits' performance received widespread critical acclaim. Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger said that he was "frustrated" by the episode despite not finding any faults with it, writing, "I can't help thinking that I've seen as much of Dexter Morgan's world as I need to." [16] Matt Fowler, writing for IGN, thought that the revelation of Rita's pregnancy was "an interesting development, but not necessarily something that instantly catapults me to the edge of my seat" but that Smits as Miguel could improve "even [a] great [show] like Dexter". [1] The Australian 's Stephen Romei felt that, with the beginning of the third season, "Dexter has gone from an eight to a six" on a scale of one to ten, saying that the show "has lost its edge" with the hypocrisy of Dexter being a supposed sociopath despite holding several relationships. [17] Los Angeles Times critic Claire Zulkey was "not sure yet whether [the third season's changes are] good". [18] Ray Ellis of Blogcritics felt that "the series has settled into a state of complacency" and could not "escape the feeling I've seen this before". [19] On the other hand, the San Francisco Chronicle 's Tim Goodman wrote that "the whiff of normalcy for Dexter" gives viewers "a magnificent tease" and likened the fast-moving plot to "the urgency of brilliance". [20] TV Squad critic Debra McDuffee was "pleasantly surprised by Smits" and said that, thus far, "season three is a good one". [21] TV Guide 's Paula Paige, who was "thrilled" to see Smits join the cast, said, "What the Dexter season three opener lacked in explosive excitement, it certainly made up for in Jimmy Smits." [22] Daniel Fienberg, writing for Zap2it, said that the combination of Hall and Smits was "as good as TV acting gets" and that, in comparison to the second season's opening, "the show's creative team appears to have done it again". [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dexter Morgan</span> Fictional character from the Dexter book and TV series

Dexter Morgan, also known as The Bay Harbor Butcher, is a fictional serial killer and the antihero protagonist of the Dexter book series written by Jeff Lindsay, as well as the television series of the same name. Dexter is mainly portrayed by Michael C. Hall in the original series and by Patrick Gibson in Original Sin.

Dexter (<i>Dexter</i> episode) 1st episode of the 1st season of Dexter

"Dexter", or "Pilot", is the pilot episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter and the first episode overall, 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.

Born Free (<i>Dexter</i>) 12th episode of the 1st season of Dexter

"Born Free" is the twelfth episode of season one and first-season finale of the American television drama series Dexter, which aired on December 17, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode also aired on May 4, 2008 on CTV in Canada; on May 14, 2008 on FX in the UK; on September 28, 2008 on Channel Ten in Australia; and on March 21, 2011 on STAR World in India. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, and was directed by Michael Cuesta. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, the season featured many differences to the original source, mainly in the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer". The episode received critical acclaim.

"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. 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 is following Dexter Morgan at all times, but when he gets his first opportunity Dexter finds himself unable to kill. Meanwhile, his sister Debra returns to work after her ex-fiancé Brian tried to kill her, and his girlfriend Rita Bennett refuses to believe that Dexter sent her ex-husband Paul to prison in spite of the evidence in front of her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Bennett</span> Fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay

Rita Ann Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later wife of Dexter in both media. Portrayed by Julie Benz, Rita was a series regular in the first four seasons. The character made her last television appearance in 2010; she was a special guest star in Dexter's season five opener entitled "My Bad". The character appeared in seven of the eight Dexter novels.

"The Damage a Man Can Do" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on November 16, 2008 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Scott Buck and directed by Marcos Siega. In the episode, assistant district attorney Miguel Prado asks Dexter Morgan for his assistance in killing a murderous gambler. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister Ofr. Debra Morgan finds her boyfriend and informant Anton Briggs to be missing after she tells him that he is no longer legally obligated to work for her.

<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. Starting with this season, the show no longer adapts the Dexter novels. The season premiere "It's Alive!" 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%.

<i>Dexter</i> season 3 Drama series

The third season of Dexter premiered on September 28, 2008, and ended on December 14, 2008. "Our Father", the season premiere, attracted 1.22 million viewers in the United States, making it Showtime's highest-rated drama season premiere since Nielsen Media Research began compiling ratings in 2004. The season finale "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?" attracted 1.5 million viewers. Season three was watched by an average of 1.1 million viewers a week.

<i>Dexter</i> season 4 Drama series

The fourth season of Dexter premiered on September 27, 2009, and concluded on December 13, 2009. The series was renewed for a fourth and fifth season in October 2008, with each season consisting of 12 episodes. The show's writers convened during February and March 2009 to brainstorm ideas for the fourth season, and filming was scheduled to begin in June 2009. In May 2009, Showtime announced that John Lithgow would guest star in all 12 episodes as Miami's latest and deadliest serial killer, and Keith Carradine would return as Lundy. The fourth season focuses on Dexter attempting to find his way to balance his family life, the birth of his son, and his "extra-curricular" activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Give the Boy a Hand</span> 4th episode of the 1st season of Dexter

"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.

"About Last Night" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 33rd overall episode of the series and was written by Melissa Rosenberg from a story by Scott Reynolds, and was directed by co-executive producer Tim Hunter. It originally aired on Showtime on November 23, 2008.

"Finding Freebo" is the second episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 26th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, and was directed by Marcos Siega. It originally aired on Showtime on October 5, 2008.

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is the third episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 27th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Scott Buck, and was directed by John Dahl. It originally aired on Showtime on October 12, 2008.

"All in the Family" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and was written by consulting producer Adam E. Fierro, and was directed by Keith Gordon. It originally aired on Showtime on October 19, 2008.

"Turning Biminese" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 29th overall episode of the series and was written by producer Tim Schlattmann, and was directed by Marcos Siega. It originally aired on Showtime on October 26, 2008.

"Sí Se Puede" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 30th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Charles H. Eglee, and was directed by Ernest Dickerson. It originally aired on Showtime on November 2, 2008.

"Go Your Own Way" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and was written by producer Tim Schlattmann, and was directed by John Dahl. It originally aired on Showtime on November 30, 2008.

"Do You Take Dexter Morgan?" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the third season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 36th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Scott Buck, and was directed by Keith Gordon. It originally aired on Showtime on December 14, 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fowler, Matt (September 26, 2008). "Dexter: "Our Father" Review". IGN . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  2. ↑ White, Cindy (April 17, 2008). "What's In Store For Dexter?". IGN . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ Ahlborn, Kate (December 23, 2008). "Serial Murder by Committee: Planning a Season of Dexter". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Strauss, Gary (September 26, 2008). "'Dexter' aims for emotional development". USA Today . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ Lyford, Kathy (December 11, 2007). "Dexter Q&A: "Dexter is so hungry for human connection"". Variety . Archived from the original on April 4, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ Catlin, Roger (June 5, 2008). "Smits to Dexter". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ Schneider, Michael (June 5, 2008). "Jimmy Smits joins cast of Dexter". Variety . Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  8. 1 2 Goldman, Eric (July 17, 2007). "Dexter Gets Ready for Another Killer Season". IGN . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ Layne, Staci (December 14, 2007). "Jennifer Carpenter Talks Dexter". Horror.com. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  10. ↑ Samuels, Clark; Weeks, Chris (June 5, 2008). "Jimmy Smits Joins Killer Cast of Dexter". People . Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  11. ↑ Ahlborn, Kate (October 24, 2008). "Q&A: Dexter Executive Producer Sara Colleton". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  12. ↑ Buckman, Adam (November 25, 2007). "Killer 'Dexter'". New York Post . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  13. ↑ Mittovich, Matt (October 2, 2008). "Ratings:d Dexter Slays Last Season's Premiere". TV Guide . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  14. ↑ Weprin, Alex (September 1, 2008). "Dexter Premiere Draws New Blood". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  15. ↑ Wilkes, Neil (April 27, 2009). "New 'Dexter' draws 194,000 for FX". Digital Spy . Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  16. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (September 28, 2008). "Dexter, "Our Father": Killer cravings". The Star-Ledger . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  17. ↑ Romei, Stephen (January 22, 2009). "Getting blunt after all that slicing and dicing". The Australian . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  18. ↑ Zulkey, Claire (September 29, 2008). "'Dexter': Another view to a kill". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  19. ↑ Ellis, Ray (September 29, 2008). "TV Review: Dexter - "Our Father"". Blogcritics . Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  20. ↑ Goodman, Tim (September 26, 2008). "'Dexter' takes a stab at normalcy". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  21. ↑ McDuffee, Debra (September 28, 2008). "Dexter: Our Father (season premiere)". TV Squad . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  22. ↑ Paige, Paula (September 29, 2008). "Our Father". TV Guide . Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  23. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (September 28, 2008). "PremiereWatch: 'Dexter'". Zap2it. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2009.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.