Halloweak

Saturday night. Everybody that Josh knows is out on the town, dressed in what they consider to be the wittiest costume ever conceived and constructed.

In years past, Josh is out with them. But this year, he just isn't feeling it. The whole Halloween thing - yawn.

Rewind 15 years:

I was never one to enjoy being scared. At least not in the traditional sense. Murderous dolls and zombies and vampires and Richard Simmons were scary for most kids, but not for me. Because of this 'defect', I never watched horror films. What's the point? They're so impossibly fantastic. I have so many REAL things to be scared about.

I was scared Ben Johnson was hiding under my bed, waiting to stick steroids in my feet while I slept as punishment for dropping support for him after the truth came out. I slept with my legs crossed for a more than 2 years.

I was scared that robbers would storm my house and take everyone hostage, so I kept a bag of toy guns under my bed that I deemed 'convincing' enough to look and sound real in the event I had to bunker down in my room.

I was scared that the guy who's profile I was watching on 'America's Most Wanted' was waiting upstairs, ready to 'hush' me when I found him and force me to hide him from the authorities.

See? Much more plausible, real-world fears.

Fast forward to Saturday night:

Everyone else was out getting haunted (read: blind drunk), and I was focused on the excellent finish to the Leafs/Habs game. After the game, I had to find something else to watch. There was nothing on, and I had already viewed everything on my PVR (beloved, beloved PVR). I decided to take a quick glance at TMN on Demand to see if there was anything I hadn't watched yet.

And there it was. Staring right at me. The answer to my evening lived inside six little letters:

D E X T E R

I found it! Finally! I can't believe I didn't look here sooner.

I popped some corn and hit play. The first 10 minutes made me squirmy and although I covered my eyes a few times (the old 'peeking-through-the-fingers' move), I couldn't stop turn it off (my father, however wrote it off after about 4 minutes. Patience.)

Fast forward 3 hrs:

Finished the first 3 episodes. Left me shook; frightened in a way that I hadn't been since childhood. Fuck the Halloween 'staples' of ghosts, witches, and warlocks. Monsters are REAL. And I've never seen one brought to life with the same eerie authenticity as Michael C. Hall's Dexter.

What intensity! What great writing! What excellent performances! What imagination!

It might be my new favorite show. Besides LOST, it's newly anointed as the one show I can hardly wait for each week.

And Dexter is something to be scared of. Terrified even. Because Dexter could be your neighbor. Your son's soccer coach. Your wife's best friend. The guy at Timothy's dropping arsenic into your latte.

I encourage everyone to watch it. If you can get through the pilot and honestly tell me you're not completely compelled to watch more, I'll give you your money back.

If not, I get to keep the imaginary fantasy money and use it to build my imaginary fantasy panic room to protect me from the REAL dangers that face our sick, deranged society.

Random note:

I had the good fortune to dine with the CEO of a major media conglomerate last night. When I told him I had a new favorite show, he jumped out with 'Dexter!' before I finished the sentence. Didn't even bat an eyelash. The lesson:

Everyone admires, respects this show. From stuffy execs to hopeless creative romantics. Even if you see NO personal connection to it (although whoever says this is lying, in my opinion). Even if it's not your taste - it's worth watching an episode just to appreciate the craft of impeccably-executed TV.

Personally, my favorite reason to watch is, as Dennis McGrath noted: it's a MAJOR accomplishment in writing when you can make a brutal, calculated serial killer your sympathetic protagonist.

What's your favorite reason to watch?