"Dexter" is the pilot episode of the American television series Dexter and the first episode overall. It first premiered on October 1, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by series creator 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 episode introduces the series' protagonist, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), 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 crew began filming the pilot in Miami, but were unable to finish due to the overlap of production with the hurricane season. In spite of a subsidy from the state of Florida, the crew moved to Los Angeles, where the remainder of filming took place. "Dexter" was watched by over one million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings in almost two years. Critical reception of the pilot was mostly positive, with praise centering on the strong acting from the entire cast, compelling story, and set design, though Dexter's narration was often criticized and some questioned whether portraying a serial killer in a heroic light was tasteful or entertaining.
In 2007, CBS announced that it would broadcast the show over the public airwaves, which sparked controversy with the Parents Television Council (PTC). The PTC did not want the show to be broadcast because it "compelled viewers to empathize with a serial killer"; in response, CBS replaced expletives, cut out bloody scenes and gave the show a TV-14 rating. The eventual premiere of the show on CBS was on February 17, 2008, and was watched by 8.1 million viewers.
Plot Dexter Morgan stalks Miami's Ocean Drive and kidnaps Mike Donovan, a local pastor. Dexter takes Donovan to a remote cabin in the Everglades, where he confronts Donovan with evidence of the latter's serial murders of young boys. After being sedated, Donovan awakes to find himself strapped to a table. Dexter collects a sample of Donovan's blood before he proceeds to kill him. After dumping the remains, Dexter narrates that he is not sure why he feels the need to kill and believes he is emotionally detached from other people. Back at his apartment, he stores the microscopic slide containing Donovan's blood in a case containing other samples. He explains that he kills according to a moral code taught to him by his foster father Harry Morgan, who, as a Miami police detective, taught Dexter to kill only those who "deserve it". Flashbacks reveal that Harry first decided to impart these "lessons" upon Dexter after discovering that the boy had been killing neighborhood pets.
Dexter is contacted by his foster sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a vice officer in the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter, a blood spatter analyst for the department, assists Debra in investigating an apparent serial killer targeting prostitutes. Dexter examines the latest victim and is shocked to find no trace of blood on the dismembered corpse. At the police station, he discusses another murder case being handled by James Doakes (Erik King), a detective who dislikes him. Later, Dexter stalks Jamie Jaworski, a murderer who escaped justice due to a faulty warrant, and breaks into his home to find evidence, confirming Jaworski's guilt. Dexter meets with his girlfriend Rita Bennett (Julie Benz), a former victim of domestic abuse; Rita has two young children, Astor and Cody. While on a date with Rita, Dexter finds another murder scene with no traces of blood, this time with the victim's head missing. Dexter theorizes that the killer murders his victims in extreme cold, explaining the absence of blood, and might be using a stolen refrigerated truck. Dexter allows Debra to pitch the theory, but their superior officer, Lt. María LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez), dismisses it.
Dexter captures Jaworski, who admits his guilt and explains that he has no remorse for his act; Dexter responds by saying he has no remorse for what he is going to do to him. After killing Jaworski, he drives to see Rita but is sidetracked when he sees a refrigerated truck. Dexter follows the truck, and the driver throws a severed head at his car. Dexter arrives at Rita's apartment, where Rita — despite previously expressing no interest in sex due to her history of abuse — expresses interest in taking their relationship to a more intimate level. Dexter feels uncomfortable and is saved when Cody gets sick next door and needs his mother to pick him up. When Dexter arrives home, he finds a doll's head glued to his refrigerator door. Inside the freezer, he finds the other parts of the doll, severed just like the bloodless bodies of the dead women. Dexter views the doll as an invitation to play, which he gladly accepts.
Production
Development Showtime began developing the series at the start of 2005, planning for it to be based on the novel by Jeff Lindsay. By February, Emmy-winning writer James Manos Jr. (a writer for The Sopranos) was on board to write the pilot script with John Goldwyn, with Sara Colleton as executive producer. By June 13, 2005, Showtime had given the show a greenlight to be aired for the next year. The premise of the episode follows the same storyline as 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.
Casting
Michael C. Hall received the script for Dexter in July 2005, after just having finished the fifth and final season of HBO's Six Feet Under. Hall was one of the few cast members not to audition for their roles; Robert Greenblatt and Michael Cuesta approached him with the script. Hall said that he didn't think "the role was created with me in mind but I think that once the pilot script emerged at Showtime, both Robert Greenblatt and Michael Cuesta independently thought of me for the role and then approached me about it."
Hall was in New York City and thinking of going back to theatre work, and had no intention of returning to television so quickly. However, he changed his mind after reading the script, because he was "intrigued by the macabre mix of dark humor, chilling violence, and a unique central character." He also said that he "realized it was a big commitment and certainly appreciated that coming off of Six Feet Under" but said that he "couldn't pass it up". Lindsay was initially against casting Hall, based on seeing him on Six Feet Under, but after he saw Hall speak one line of the script, Lindsay changed his mind, describing Hall as "absolutely perfect" to portray Dexter. To prepare for the part, Hall read various books on the psychology of serial killers, read transcripts of interviews with serial killers, and spent time with the head blood-spatter analyst at the Miami precinct. He also watched people in New York restaurants to get a feel for what it would be like to stalk them.
Julie Benz was given a copy of the script in 2005, and was asked to audition for the part of Rita Bennett. She was surprised she was asked to audition, because the script was "one of the best pilot scripts [she] ever read." She also read for the part of Debra, and joked that she would have auditioned for Dexter's role had she been able to. Benz had been a "disgustingly huge" fan of Michael C. Hall from his role in Six Feet Under and she said in an interview with Vanity Fair that "I was such a fan of his from Six Feet Under, to the point where my cell-phone ring was the show’s theme song. I had to change it once I got cast!". The script was also presented to James Remar, who auditioned for the part of Harry Morgan, because it was a character he "really related to" and had waited for most of his life to play.
As a former police officer, actor David Zayas was immediately interested in the role of Sgt. Angel Batista. After appearing in Oz for a season, Erik King, was looking for a "different" acting chance, he "loved" the character of Sgt. Doakes, after reading the script. South Korean actor C. S. Lee, who has a recurring role on the show as forensics specialist Vince Masuka, was asked for the part after Dexter producers recognized him in guest parts on Spin City, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Sopranos. Lee accepted the part because of the "fantastic" writing. By September 15, Jennifer Carpenter had joined the cast to play the part of Debra Morgan. Carpenter had enough time before her audition to read the Dexter books, but admitted that she "didn’t exactly see myself in the books. I knew that it was going to be a TV show and that it had the potential to go for five to seven years, so I tried to make Deb as similar to me as possible and to bring out the parts of myself that were like Deb. I think that may have helped in the audition and it has certainly helped sustain such a long run with one character." She also stated that she enjoyed cursing on television, but found it hard to stop it creeping into her real life. In June 2006 Geoff Pierson was cast as Cpt. Matthews.
The series stars Lauren Vélez as María LaGuerta, David Zayas as Angel Batista and Erik King as James Doakes, all previously starred in the American HBO television drama series Oz.
Filming, editing and cinematography
Filming of the episode took place in Miami and Los Angeles. Shooting began on the first episode on September 18, 2005. The network took advantage of the Florida Film Commission incentive program which provided a 15% rebate of all money spent in Florida on the production (which was up to $2 million) to encourage film and television production in the state. The incentive was first launched in 2003, and was refunded by the state legislature for 2006 with $10 million, its largest budget to date. President of Entertainment at Showtime, Robert Greenblatt said "I've always felt that location is a strong starring character and adds to the success of many shows."
The crew originally wanted to shoot the entire pilot in Miami, but during the first two weeks of filming, three hurricanes went by: Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Since further filming was to take place during the hurricane season, and it was not possible to get insurance, the crew was forced to move elsewhere. Though the state of Florida offered a US$450,000 subsidy, the Dexter crew relocated to Los Angeles. Executive producer Sara Colleton explained that the filming crew tried to create a different version of Miami in Los Angeles, that differed from the "glossy look" Miami has in CSI: Miami and Miami Vice. "Dexter" was shot in HD; cinematographer Romeo Tirone said he experienced some difficulties because HD "sees everything." As opposed to Dexter's "disturbing" environment, Tirone tried to give Rita's home a "warmer, safer, happier place" with "a dark side to it," doing so by letting more light come through the windows. Editor Elena Maganini was contacted by episode director Michael Cuesta after he saw her previous work with director John McNaughton; Maganini had previously worked on a serial killer movie entitled Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Michael Cuesta said that when he met Elena he "...thought she had great instincts, was relaxed and didn’t pretend to know exactly who this character was. " He said that "...that, and all her work with John McNaughton, helped convince me to bring her onto the pilot. She’s done serial killers; she’s done noirs. She gets that world. "