Radio Times

• Episode 1/12 Dexter

  Dexter Morgan is one of the Miami-Dade Police Department's most talented young forensic officers, specialising in blood-splatter analysis. So it's natural that his stepsister - an officer with the vice squad - should turn to him for advice when she has to investigate the murders of a series of prostitutes. The women have been killed and their bodies chopped up, but there is no blood at the scene. For Dexter, the case couldn't be more fascinating.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 8 July 2007)

  Make an appointment to see this bracingly original US import - it's crime drama turned inside out.

  A buffed-up Michael C Hall is hypnotic as the lead in a show that makes his old vehicle Six Feet Under look uptight and monochromatic. The direction is daring, the script's crammed with gasp-inducing black comedy and even the show's fetish for flesh is sensuous and understated, where in most murder dramas it's gratuitous gore. Disturbingly good.

• Episode 2/12 Crocodile

  Dexter finds his next victim when he attends the trial of a drunk driver. He realises the man is remorseless, but his feigned tears have persuaded the jury to acquit him. Before he can put his gruesome plan into action, Dexter gets a call to examine the corpse of a police officer. Inside the victim's mouth is a piece of human flesh and it looks like the death is the work of a gangland boss.

• Episode 3/12 The Popping Cherry

  Simulating appropriate emotional responses can be tough for Dexter, who is relieved to get away from the grief-stricken funeral of murdered colleague Ricky Simmons. Not only is he struggling to look sad but he's preoccupied with thoughts of his next target, a teenage killer who is about to be released from jail after serving a relatively short sentence. Meanwhile, Debra goes under cover as a prostitute as she continues her hunt for the Ice Truck Killer.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 22 July 2007)

  Improbably, given the quality of the first two, this is the best episode yet. [Dexter's] an astonishingly rich, confounding creation, played with grace and power by the devil-eyed Michael C Hall.

  As ever, you could drown in the show's vivid design and clammy, David Lynch-esque direction. It's a delicious pleasure to watch such a wicked, complex, shocking show.

• Episode 4/12 Let's Give the Boy a Hand

  The police have announced that security guard Tony Tucci is the Ice Truck Killer, but no sooner is the news out than Tucci's severed hand turns up on a beach. LaGuerta is sent to apologise to Tucci's distraught relatives - it looks like the Ice Truck Killer has struck again. But among the gruesome debris of the crime scene there is a piece of evidence that will only have significance for Dexter.

• Episode 5/12 Love American Style

  Rita unwittingly provides Dexter with his next victim when she asks him to help trace her friend Yelina's missing fiancé. Yelina fears that her Cuban lover has been murdered by the human traffickers he paid to get him across the border. Meanwhile, Tony Tucci is alive but unable to recall anything significant about the Ice Truck Killer - until he agrees to a bizarre experiment devised by Doakes.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 5 August 2007)

  It's two episodes since Dexter last drilled a bad guy, but [in this episode] he's back, tailing a human trafficker. Nothing on telly can match the woozy, ambiguous thrill you feel when Dexter's about to kill. I recommend giving in and cheering him on.

  Meanwhile, the saga of the Ice Truck Killer deepens intriguingly. It's yet another sublime episode.

• Episode 6/12 Return to Sender

  Valerie Castillo's body is back at the scrapyard, so Dexter finds himself examining a crime scene of his own making. But he's sure the corpse was shifted by the Ice Truck Killer, who seems to be observing his every move. Then LaGuerta comes upon a young Cuban boy hiding nearby who must have witnessed what took place. Is time running out for Dexter?

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 12 August 2007)

  In the unlikely event that this show's revolutionary premise wasn't enough for you, [this episode] cruises into a still higher gear.

  As comedy gives way to pure thriller, the big story arc shifts from interesting to gripping. Dexter's a masterful crime drama - and so much more.

• Episode 7/12 Circle of Friends

  Debra and Batista are convinced they've identified the Ice Truck Killer and now they've got a body to prove it, recovered from beneath the trailer of suspect Neil Perry. Despite mounting evidence, Perry lacks the sophistication that Dexter has come to expect from his shadowy adversary, leaving Dexter feeling strangely disappointed. Meanwhile, Debra falls for plastic surgeon Rudy, who operated on one of the Ice Truck Killer's surviving victims.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 19 August 2007)

  The most brilliant thing about Dexter? The way it unflinchingly rejects the emotions and morals of average dramas. That such thinking feels plausible shows how fiendishly Dexter inveigles its viewers.

• Episode 8/12 Shrink Wrap

  When three highly successful women commit suicide, Dexter discovers that they were all seeing the same psychiatrist and decides to look into their deaths. Posing as a patient, he signs up with Dr Emmet and is surprised when the sinister shrink helps him unlock some memories from his own past. Elsewhere, Debra is too flattered to feel alarmed when Rudy asks if he can make plaster casts of her legs to use as moulds for his patients.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 26 August 2007)

  Convenient plotting mars this episode, but hang in there. It's building to a gut-ripping twist. Dexter keeps confounding expectations, in style.

• Episode 9/12 Father Knows Best

  Dexter has been led to believe that his biological father died when he was a child, so it comes as a shock to learn that he's only just passed away. Stunned that Harry could have lied to him, Dexter visits his father's home for the first time - to clear out the contents. When Debra and Rudy arrive to lend a hand, Dexter is far too distracted to notice how excited the surgeon is to meet him.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 2 September 2007)

  After last week's revelations, Dexter's marking time, but it's as neat, witty and casually shocking as ever.

• Episode 10/12 Seeing Red

  Dexter is overwhelmed by a rush of horrific flashbacks when he follows a lead to a hotel room drenched in human blood. What he doesn't know is that this is the work of Rudy - the Ice Truck Killer - who seems to be taking Dexter on a journey of discovery through his traumatic past. Meanwhile, Paul tries to get Rita charged with assault.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 9 September 2007)

  A storming episode, brimming with suspense and directed with exquisite flair by Michael Cuesta.

• Episode 11/12 Truth Be Told

  The Ice Truck Killer strikes again and this time he arranges his victim's remains in a grotesque display of dismembered body parts beneath a Christmas tree. But Dexter notices a certain carelessness about the killing that makes him think his adversary is preparing to leave Miami. In fact, Rudy is embarking on a weekend away on his yacht - and he's taking Debra with him.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 16 September 2007)

  An unbearably gripping penultimate episode. We still get those immensely cool, dark-comic touches, and there are subtle pay-offs for several supporting characters, but this series knows how to be a straightahead thriller, too, and in the main it's a breathless race against time.

  Stunning - but there's plenty left in the tank for next week.

• Episode 12/12 Born Free

  With Debra facing a barbaric death, Dexter allows himself to be lured to the house where his own mother was killed for a confrontation with Rudy. What he's not expecting is a revelation that will test his feelings for his stepsister to the limit. Meanwhile, Paul tries to persuade Rita that Dexter is dangerous and finally finds some tangible proof to support his claim.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 23 September 2007)

  The best US drama in years delivers a screamingly good finale. Even if you've guessed The Big Twist, it's a merciless deluge of surprises, suspense and startlingly vivid images that will burn into your memory. At the centre is Michael C Hall's muscly menace: his mischievous glint is what we're left with in the typically cocky, naughtily funny last scene.

Go to Series two