A Serial Killer a Cut Above the Rest

We weren't sure we could ever imagine Michael C. Hall as someone other than David Fisher, Six Feet Under's uptight, yet sexy mortician. But his turn as serial killer Dexter Morgan on Showtime's Dexter, out soon on DVD, has us convinced: the man can do anything he wants with a scalpel.

Wry, confident, and blessed with immaculate stubble, Hall gave one of last season's best performances as a serial killer trained to kill other serial killers by his adoptive father. When he growled, "Normal people are so hostile," in the pilot episode, we were hooked. By day he's a blood spatter expert for the Miami Police Department, by night he rights the wrongs of extra wily criminals by slicing them up. He's like a superhero – only totally psycho.

The appeal of the show – based on Jeff Lindsay's popular crime novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter – also comes from the instantly addictive storylines. One week Dexter takes on a lethal drunk driver who refuses to stop drinking, the next week he busts a psychiatrist who messes with his patients' meds and minds. And all season long he plays cat-and-mouse with the notorious Ice Truck Killer, who seems to know Dexter better than he knows himself. We spent weeks wondering: who's going to kill whom first? More than anything, Dexter turns the notion of the traditional cop show on its head. CSI, see you later. There's a new sheriff in town.

Dexter, Season One is available on DVD August 18. (The second season premieres on Showtime September 30.)