Dexter on CBS: Go for it?

When originally presented on Showtime in October 2006, this pilot was one of the strongest I had seen in a while. The show only got better from there and its second season, despite having a few flawed subplots, was equally impressive. Out of all the Showtime offerings currently airing on the network, this one makes the most sense as an import to CBS because it contains strong language that can easily be edited out and scenes of graphic violence which can be cleanly shortened. The result does feel rather choppy, with certain scenes jumping unexpectedly to avoid showing too much violence, and this was not a show made to be presented with commercials. In one scene, he is talking and pretty much just stops as the commercial comes on. The language is not a big deal, save for one character whose representation is completely shattered by the censorship – Doakes. He is not nearly as menacing as he is in the original version, and at one point his swearing is re-edited to “mother lover”. While the plot itself is fairly intact, I would recommend that anyone who wants to get into this show rent the DVD of the first season for the pure, unadulterated version. This is not like NBC rerunning USA or SCI FI programs; “Dexter” was clearly made for cable and should remain there.