They could certainly go that way. Looked like her spidey-sense was tingling when she found him in the garage.

Poor kids.

I don't know this Evan Rachel Wood creature other than that she used to date Marilyn Manson when she was all of about 2 years old and it was creepy and weird, and not in the normal, Marilyn Manson weird way, in the icky child molester, backyard compound kind of way.

She played the youngest daughter on the very excellent series Once and Again with Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as the parents, and Jeffrey Nordling and Marin Hinkle as Sela's character Lily's ex-husband and sister. ERW was electrifyingly, jaw-droppingly good; never, ever sounding false note anywhere in this drama, no matter what she was given to play, and in some key developments towards the end of the series, bringing an astonishingly subtle and transcendent change to the character, literally with some flickers of her eyes. Mischa Barton played her friend towards the end of the series and was notably wooden and false in comparison, very obvious in their scenes together, although MB is very pretty in a showy way and ERW in a different way. At the end of that series, I was convinced that ERW will win a Best Actress Oscar someday. The movie Thirteen seemed to reinforce that; she was again excellent. I think it's still true though I kind of wondered about it after the whole weird Marilyn Manson-look-just-like-Dita-Von-Teese thing. (Dear young actors: go to college like Jody Foster or Brook Shields did. Don't try to look like a 40-year old when you are 20 to try to transition from a child actor to an adult actor. Go be an kid at some safe college where you can grow up away from Hollywood and get a good edumacation to boot.)

Anyway, I mainlined the last season of Dexter over the holidays and whoa. For starters:

Y'know, I never like the machinations to keep a killer uncaught so that Dexter can kill him himself. Sympathy goes *poof*

This, in spades. This is the most uneven season yet. It's hard enough to get over that he's a serial killer, then it's the morality inside Harry's Code plus the interior dialog's sense of humor that makes us have sympathy for Dexter. They substituted "visions" of Harry instead of Dexter's droll voice much of the time, and although I'm really glad they figured out a way to keep Harry on the show, they went forward a few steps with that technique, and back one with the lack of Dexter's voice.

Then, this egotistic need to be the one to make the kill: the dreadful haste and sloppiness of his footwork in re the photographer, and all the missed opportunities to take down Trinity (Quaternary?) ... Dexter isn't all that much better than him. Okay, I suppose the one accidental killing last year (the DA's brother in the crack house at the wrong time) and the mistake this year isn't a match for the thirty-odd-year spree Trinity had. But the photographer alone puts Dexter solidly into a different category.

I have to rewatch the last episode. I got spoiled by I think EW the week before (damn them!) but after shock and gross out, my next thought was where the heck are they going with this?

In the books, Deb knows about Dexter, he and Brian square off over her tied-down body and she's awake to hear it all. So the writers have a blueprint there. Perhaps the actors want to go this route, MCH is an exec producer now and JC is his wife now. But where are they going without R? It's hard to imagine where they can go without her. She's been The Key to his "normalcy." Have to mull that over more.

Erika, enjoyed the Entourage stuff, thanks. Next up for me, after finishing what's aired so far on FNL, is the last season of Entourage. Woo hoo!

eta whitefonting

I'm jealous, though I've gotten spoiled for a few eps.

the writers claim they haven't read the books except the first 1 or 2. given what I know of the books (which isn't a whole lot), a lot has happened in the books that occurred in the series.

(shrug) maybe there really aren't original ideas out there. I was so turned off by this season of Dexter, I'm not sure I'll be back next year. Time will tell, but I really didn't like the show at all. It's like everything they established about character vanished progressively in seasons 2, 3 and was obliterated this season.

I think the shock ending of this season was a way to reset the series, to bring back the Dexter of Season 1.

With bonus kid(s). I dunno. I'll watch next season, I didn't hate this season as much as many people did (though I understand why they did), but I have deep doubts about them being able to make it work again. It's possible next season will be the last (speculation only).

Personally, I don't think there's any way the show can end except with Dexter committing suicide by cop.

I found an interview by Tim Goodman (SF Chron's excellent tv critic) with MCHall in TG's The Bastard Machine blog, taped Sept. 28, '08, so, just after the wedding. MCH says they never expected the show to go on forever (TG inserts joke about Law & Order), because, really, where can they go? Dexter either gets caught or gets rehabilitated.

I don't think there's any way the show can end except with Dexter committing suicide by cop.

Or this. That would work.

TG publishes his top 10 list of shows in the Chron, and puts his long list in the blog. Dexter is #22. He's giving it all kind of credit because people are watching it, which, gee Tim, aren't you above that? But he clearly likes the entire cast. The B story with Batista and LaGuerta *was* terrific. So was the story with Quinn, too. The hunting CIs story was handled well too.

I'm jealous

Of what?

Dexter getting rehabilitated would be a good real-life end to his killing spree (insofar as this story coincides with RL at all) but it would be a bad end to the series. The story has taken care to make Dexter a character we can allow ourselves to like and cheer on. The whole point of this show is to make us root for the serial killer. If he ends up in prison, then he loses. That's a huge letdown; we want him to win. If he ends up ridding himself of his murderous urges and becoming a normal guy, it invalidates the whole premise, that Dexter is at heart a killer (as opposed to just somebody who decides to commit a lot of murders, but doesn't have that irresistible urge to do so). If he just goes on killing until he's 95, dying alone in a nursing home, whispering the truth to a priest with his last breath, well, that's really the preferable option, but storywise it's more whimper than bang.

Killing himself in graceful acceptance of defeat once he realizes the jig is up is another option, but why go out quietly? If he's caught and he has to choose between death and prison, we know he'll choose death. Why end his life by his own hand when he can make another hand do it? He's spent his life manipulating people, controlling events to his advantage, he should go out the same way: forcing the cops to shoot him.

Aw, hell. I feel a fanfic coming on.

I probably won't get to see Entourage Season Six for a while, Java. I thought I wrote that in my post, but I guess I just thought I wrote that in my post. I mean, I got spoiled a few times, but then I quit looking, cause, hey, it's Entourage, and doesn't really stand up to *all that* much scrutiny. Kind of like the pretty bubble you can't look at too closely before it pops. ION, Tim Goodman and I used to have an e-mail correspondence while "The Wire" was still on.I doubt he thinks about my end of it, though, unless he is stuck for a column and needs to pretend to be working feverishly over lunch. I remember he was surprised I mentioned that Jimmy McNulty is hot, but, duh, Jimmy McNulty is hot and doesn't wear that many clothes around his shithole apartment.No, that isn't *why* I watched it, although that is why it was hard to be as hard on Stringer Bell as my brain occasionally demanded. Wanting to sniff someone does dim your moral outrage at them. I don't think I wrote that to Goodman, but if I did, that's probably why the e-mails stopped.

probably won't get to see Entourage Season Six for a while

Aha. Maybe I can help. I'm watching it now, and it's quite enjoyable. I do like these boys. (I had one of those awful normal diagnostic tests that involves anesthesia this morning so I am forced! to stay home and hang out. Ditto yesterday.)

Are you watching Dexter, erika?

I will try to focus more on going over the season that aired but right now, I keep wanting to know where they are going. Have to whitefont: As a practical matter, what will happen to the kids? I'm guessing custody will automatically roll over to Dexter as the spouse. But, did R have a will? Do Fla. statutes provide for spousal custody in the case of intestate death of the sole natural parent? How will the parents who just took them to Disney World fit in? R made a point of saying that even though her ex was an ass, they were terrific grandparents. Are they going to send Cody and Astor off to live with the grandparents, but follow the "born in blood" theme with Dex (and perhaps Deb as sister) parenting the baby. What's his name? Anderson? Harrison? Maybe their out for the rehab option is that Dex is forced into therapy for Harrison and kind of goes through it himself, something like that. Deb knows about the bloody container, she'll draw the parallel also, there won't be any way for Dex to avoid therapy. end whitefont There was an excellent yuletide last year? year before? on the theme of the therapist/Dexter, in that Dex goes through with it, safely. It was terrific. In that, he rehabs, then Deb is shot and he's very alone.