TVSquad

(S0408) "Born in blood, both of us." - Dexter on his and the Trinity Killer's creation of their "dark passengers"

Dexter and the Trinity Killer aren't the only ones on the show who have been paying back their anger for the pain the world has dealt them. The audience is in on the same game.

We've been sitting through weeks of boring and dry subplots about secret affairs and office romances that we couldn't care less about if we were actually one of their co-workers. But now we've been rewarded for our patience with some seedy and very interesting details about Dexter's main prey, the Trinity Killer, a man held in a very weak cage of despair and anger.

(S04E05) - "If anyone has ever deserved to be on your table, it's this son of a bitch." - Harry to Dexter

Shows like Dexter are like Heinz Ketchup, good things come to those who wait.

The last few episodes, well, weren't the best of the season, maybe even of the series. They interspersed bits and pieces of the Trinity Killer's true identity with a bunch of dry and pointless plots surrounding the rest of the characters from Batista and Laguerta's closed door relationship to Quinn's "back door" policy with his nosy reporter girlfriend (not that kind sickos).

But it's finally starting to pay off with this week's episode. Some of those dull plotlines have brought together what appear to be some much needed closure and we finally learn another piece of the Trinity Killer's picture and it's starting to look like a Normal Rockwell as opposed to a blood-spattered Jackson Pollock.

(S0401) "Who knew life could get so ... unsimple?" - Dexter Morgan

Moving an unsuspecting serial killer to the burbs sounds like a pitch for a UPN sitcom. "What happens when a wacky serial killer moves into the wackiest suburban neighborhood in the wackiest town in America? You've got 'A Real Cutup.'"

Instead, this is where we find loveable ol' Dexter Morgan, played by Michael C. Hall, at the beginning of the fourth season of Showtime's most popular Sunday night drama that isn't all drama. It still plays heavy on the complex emotions and relationships that make Dexter's life so interesting, but it also features shimmers of laughter as Dexter tries to juggle the life of a father, wife, blood spatter expert, and avenging serial killer without relying too much on one device or character.

The promos for the new season probably made you think, as did I, that Dexter would go from kill room to kill room with a baby slung across his torso in a cute little mini rubber smock and welding mask.

The introduction of a baby into the plot is usually a sure fire sign that a television show has jumped the shark with a pair of Acme rocket powered water skis.

But things are different for a twisted little space of pay cable called Dexter. The mere thought of putting a cute, adorable and affable little tyke into the mix sounds like something that would inspire the furious typing of a thousand angry Parents Television Council members' Selectric typewriters.

The latest addition to the Morgan clan is just a small addition to the newest season of Showtime's seriously macabre drama. It doesn't overtake the show and turn its serious moral tone into something ridculously psychotic like Three Madmen and a Baby. It's just one of many obstacles the world's most huggable serial killer has to deal with to feed the John Pinette sized appetite of his mysterious "dark passenger," and it's not all dark and drenched in blood.

Last April, TV Squad reported that Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were dating. Dexter dating his sister? The scandal!

I've got to give props to the couple, though ... they got married on New Year's Eve and managed to keep it a secret until yesterday. You think that's a coup, then get a load of this: Reuters reports that the couple dated for about a year and a half before marrying, yet the story of them dating only broke last April. So in this day and age of Hollywood gossip, they managed to keep their relationship a secret for almost a year, if Reuters is accurate.

So is it that the public is somehow respectful of serious actors, and awards them their privacy? Does the public -- and the media -- reserve their obnoxious invasion of privacy for the celebs who thrust themselves into the limelight, through either their bad behavior or the roles they choose?

Regardless, let's quietly extend our congratulations to the happy couple, both for their marriage and the fact that they were able to date and marry in private, with the kind of respect everyone deserves.

The Saturn Award nominations are in, and many popular sci-fi and fantasy shows made the cut. Returning favorites like Lost, Heroes, and Dexter were recognized by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, as were newcomers Pushing Daisies and Journeyman.

With seven nominations, Lost is ahead of Dexter and Heroes, which received five and four nominations, respectively. Heroes was the big winner last year, taking home awards for Best Network Series as well as acting awards for Masi Oka and Hayden Panettiere. Both actors received nominations this year, along with co-star Greg Grunberg.

(S01E12) What an absolutely spectacular show. It's going to be a shame if Michael C. Hall doesn't get the Golden Globe because he certainly deserves it. It's funny because at the beginning of the season I said I was going to have a hard time picturing him as anything other than part of the Six Feet Under ensemble. Now that season one of Dexter has come and gone, I can't imagine how Hall ever played the role of David Fisher for five seasons because this is the show I associate him with. He owns this role.