DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN: SEASON ONE
Starring: Patrick Gibson, Christian Slater, Molly Brown, Christina Milian, James Martinez, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson, Brittany Allen, Patrick Dempsey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Michael C. Hall
Creator: Clyde Phillips
NICK
Let's get this out of the way, Dexter: Original Sin is not Dexter. This series has a different look and tone which leads to a much campier take on the events of the original series. The cheesy schlock of it all had me at first (thanks in large part to Patrick Gibson's take on Dexter Morgan). Then as the series went on, the story became more outlandish, the actors displayed a clear inferiority to their modern counterparts, and the tie-ins began to feel forced. Gibson remains a highlight, but I’ve been saying I didn’t need a prequel before this, and that opinion was only strengthened here.
QUENTIN
In a world where Dexter doesn’t exist, I can see how Original Sin might be enjoyable (maybe). However, I don’t live in that world. I’ve seen all nine seasons of Dexter, so this prequel feels like a cheap imitation of the original series, like Lifetime’s The Unauthorized Dexter Story. The cast mostly come across as cheesy cosplayers of the original stars, while Dexter’s (Patrick Gibson) origin story was already well covered in the mothership series. Plus, the formula is 100 percent the same as before. All this leaves us with nothing more than an unabashed cash grab that fails to add anything new to the franchise.
ROBERT
Expert marketing brought me to Dexter: Original Sin as I was planning to skip it since it seemed like purely a money-making endeavor. However, I was pleasantly surprised, especially because most of the casting choices are wins, from Dexter (Patrick Gibson) to Deb (Molly Brown). It plays fast and loose with aspects of Dexter’s origin, but not in a manner that I found troublesome. Mostly, I was just excited to play in the murderous sandbox again, and hearing Michael C. Hall’s sultry narration brought me back to the glory days. Tonight’s the night… to watch.
