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Dexter: The Books vs. The Series
Have you read the Dexter novels?
Click EasyEdit above to compare how the series departs from the
plot and characterizations in the books.
(Don't see the EasyEdit button above? Sign in or sign up.)
Click EasyEdit above to compare how the series departs from the
plot and characterizations in the books.
(Don't see the EasyEdit button above? Sign in or sign up.)
If you've read Jeff Lindsay's Dexter novels, then you're in a position to share your perspectives on how artfully and successfully the series addresses the characters and events he created in the books. Which adaptations are a service to the storyline, which discredit it?
Warning ***(SPOILERS)***
| PLOT/CHARACTER ELEMENT | HOW THE BOOKS PORTRAY IT | HOW THE SERIES PORTRAYS IT | WHICH IS BETTER? |
| Dexter's relationship with blood | Dexter can't stand the sight of blood. | Dexter seems mesmerized, almost erotically entranced, by blood. However, in the season 1 episode "Shrink Wrap", he does tell the psychiatrist that he hates blood. | The Series. Being fascinated by blood makes more sense for someone who endured the type of trauma he and his brother experienced. |
| Portrayal of Debra | Deb is described as busty with a model's good looks. She is currently in a pretty serious relationship with Kyle Chutsky, a character who is not present in the show. |  Jennifer Carpenter is tall and thin, with angular features, fair skin, and auburn hair.She had relationships with Rudy the Ice truck killer, a gym/children's book writer, and currently dating FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy. | Tie. Carpenter seems a believable relative of Dexter. Her relationship to Kyle is rollercoaster in the books where her emotions are difficult to understand. In the series we see her love grow towards Lundy and the relationship has helped her get stronger. |
| Debra | Debra is aware of Dexter struggling not to kill her, and discovers he's a serial killer. When something horrible happens to Kyle, she actively encourages Dex to use his 'powers.' | Debra is unaware of Dexter's murderous psychopathy and leans on him for everything. | The Series. Dexter can see how she deals with her encounter with Brian, and he can grow as a character with this insight. She is now also dating someone she can "count" on not to turn out to be a serial killer.. |
| Brian Moser AKA Rudy | Escapes at the end of the first novel. | Dexter kills him in the season 1 finale. | The Series. Because in the first book, the brother gets away, then is never heard from again (as of the 3rd book in the series). |
| Brian Moser AKA Rudy | In the book, described as looking nearly identical to Dexter. At one point, Dexter is unsure if he himself is not the killer. | Brian looks nothing like Dexter, takes an alias, and dates Debra to get to Dexter. | The Book. The possibility of Dexter himself being the killer was something that was lost in the series. |
| Rita Bennett | Her husband abused her, gave her diseases and beat her their children. She divorced him and he went to prison. She is also described as a fitness nut. Her husband is not seen (as of the 3rd book in the series). Marries or is set to marry Dexter. | The divorce does not get finalized until Paul is released on parole. He causes some trouble for Rita. Dexter gets him sent back to jail. | The Series. Allows the humanization of Dexter to continue as he defends his girlfriend and does her a great service by getting rid of Paul (without directly killing him). |
| Lila | Does not exist in the book. | Has a short-term extremely sexual relationship with Dexter. In that short span Dexter is very open to her and only stops short of revealing that he is a serial killer. In the end she discovers it by herself. She saves Dexter's freedom by killing Doakes, but as a result of that, she satisfied the code of Harry and thus becomes one of Dexter's victims. | This character is a great manifestation of the "devil" side of Dexter who goads him to just set himself "free". Although Lila eventually becomes a sort of semi-antagonist in the story. I go with the series on this one since I think it is a good compromise instead of following the book's concept of the Dark Passenger. It avoids turning the show onto the stereotypical pop/occult storyline. |
| Vince Masuoka | In the book, he is the closest to a best friend that Dexter has. Dexter picks him to be his best man in his wedding, and is his partner in bringing in donuts in the morning. He is described as being a "phony" human, which is the quality that endears him to Dexter. | In the show, he is a good friend of Dexter but not to the extent that is shown in the book. Also more overtly-perverted in the show. | He is a good supporting character and is similarly portrayed in the books and in the show, although the books allow him a bit more depth. |
| Biological Father | No reference is made to him still being alive, only a retreat to his house to pack things up. | Rita, Debra, and Brian end up helping Dexter pack up his belongings. Brian used this event as an excuse to get closer to Dexter. | The Series. This episode allows for further development of the Rudy/Brian character, and shows the first meaningful interaction between him and Dexter. |
| Angel Batista | Works in the Medical Examiner's Office. In the book he is called Batista-no-relation since that is how he introduces himself. In the book he is a sort of consistent extra and is never really involved. | Works as a homicide detective. Having marital problems. In the show he is one of Dexter's closest co workers, if not the closest. | The Series. It gives Dexter a friend on the force. Plus Batista's problems allows him to be a foil for Dexter on how "humans" deal with life. |
| James Jaworski | One of Dexter's victims. Dexter's Dark Passenger is roused by the Tamiami Butcher and he rushes to kill James, a janitor, who kills runaway girls. Dexter is interrupted and has to flee before disposing of the body. | James is a valet that shoots and distributes snuff films. He murders Jane Saunders in one of them. Dexter completes his murder without interruption. | Tie. In the book Dexter tries to clear his head and has to deal with the possibility of being discovered. In the series they cleverly deal with the same issue in "Love American Style," but also tie it in with the Ice Truck Killer. |
| Tony Tucci | Does not exist in the books. | Victim of the Ice Truck Killer and is originally suspected of being the Ice Truck Killer. Brian amputates Tony's limbs and leaves him for Dexter to finish. | The Series. Another way the series establishes the connection between Brian/Rudy and Dexter. |
| Sgt. Doakes | Suspects Dexter of something but teams with him to catch Dr. Danco, a deranged killer from Doakes' military days. Doakes ends up being the Dr.'s final victim, though he does not die. In the book his name is Albert Doakes. He eventually comes back with prosthetic hands and feet and no tongue. | Suspects Dexter of something. Gets suspended from the force after Dexter goads him into assaulting him in front of the entire homicide department. In the show his name is James Doakes. He also finds out and actually witnesses firsthand Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher. He eventually gets killed in an explosion caused by Lila. | The Series. Doakes is great as an antagonist to Dexter, and also seems to have his own dark secrets to deal with. |
| Cody & Astor | At the end of the second book Dexter has a realization of what Cody is when he remembers the time he and Cody went fishing and Cody had plunged the knife in deep and twisted, smiling. When confronted Astor explains, Cody does the killing of the neighbors dog and she helps to get rid of the body. They are also eventually revealed to have their own Dark Passengers, especially Cody, and Dexter takes it upon himself to set them unto the Harry Code. | There seems to be no hint whatsoever that either Cody or Astor have and social issues, other then the fact that that they never smile. Rather then kill the dog off with the kids, the TV show has Rita find a home for it. The 2nd episode of season 2 at the funeral home, Cody asks Dexter if he will be his dad now. Dexter responds with a cynical smile. | The Book. This is no contest, the book gives us an excellent story arc that allows us to see Dexter's transition from the disciple into the master. He has refined the code and now used it to help safe his pupils from sharing a similar fate as his brother. In the series the kids are very young, hence there isn't much of a storyline with them. |
| The Dark Passenger in Dexter | In the book, Dexter feels the restlessness within himself when he has not satisfied his Dark Passenger's blood lust. He speaks of it often, to the reader. Dexter seems to have another personality as his dark side in books 1 and 2. The recognition of other people who have the same type of Dark Passenger seems almost psychic in the first 2 books. In book 3 the Dark Passenger was revealed to be an ancient, evil spirit. | In the show Dexter's dark passenger is not mentioned until episode 10 of season 1 and is first described in episode 3 of season 2 where Dexter briefly describes how he feels, saying he feels alive when his dark passenger takes control and how the dark passenger is all he has. | The Book. In the novel the Dark Passenger is a constant force in Dexter's life, something he hears and feels in the back of his mind at almost all times, rather than it being a passing annoyance that only comes out from time to time. Although the revelation that the Passenger was an evil spirit greatly throws out a lot of realism and credibility to the Dexter persona in that he is just a plain person without the Passenger. Hopefully the show will not take this direction. The character in the show is a Dexter struggling with his own mind, and is much more interesting than a Dexter just being a vessel for a supernatural being. sixstringseraph: i think the book is taking a turn towards a fantasy genre while the show is maintaining a more realistic/humanistic perspective, so depending on which view you prefer, the book and the series are tied in--how well they developplots based on each perspective. |
| The Books vs. The Series | The first Novel was terrific and the author really created some top-notch new characters. Excellent writing coupled with innovative and creative story arcs make all the books excellent reads. | The series realizes it has a one-hour show to produce once a week and is also written by a team of specialized and creative people. They have a visual medium to work with you can actually feel some actors sexuality sizzle, such as the LaGuerta character. | Tie. The books tell a deeper and more intricate tale where we get a much better sense of Dexter and the Dark Passenger, while the series takes us on a visual ride through the dark world of Dexter Morgan, allowing us to process and organize the language and integrate using the visuals into a cohesive portrayal. |
| Killing Rituals | Dexter habitually wears a white silk mask, uses white trash bags, and even sometimes paints the walls white where he kills. Dexter uses a syringe (with Father Donovan -Darkly Dreaming Dexter chapter 1 -page 11) but seems quite fond of using 50 pound test fishing wire to garrotte his victims. | Dexter sometimes obscures his face though usually doesn't and he prefers black hefty bags The virtual opposite of the book, Dexter relies primarily on the syringe to immobilize his victims. | Depends, Visually the series has a better approach, although Dexter not covering his face can lead to problems as covered in the series, it also makes sense to allow him to not obscure his "hunting" senses. The book develops the dark side of Dexter more by showing how he loves to exercise his complete control over his victims when he is capturing them or getting them ready for the killing. |
| Sequence of events | In the 1st book the Ice Truck Killer (Tamiami Butcher) throws the head at Dexter's Car then they find the body with a mirror from the truck at the Hockey Rink (the head in the book belongs to the body in the goalie net). Afterwards the Barbie doll appears in Dexter's Refrigerator with the mirror a link to the hockey rink body | In the series the situation with the head occurs, then the Barbie doll with mirror but it neither is directly associated or part of the body in the hockey rink. In the series they use the frozen fingertips to link with the Ice Truck which does not occurs in the book. | Visually the series changed some things because we have to remember these are 2 different mediums to convey the story. Some things in the book would not have translated as nicely on screen, plus the timing of the story is also slightly different leading to alterations, in all though a great job. |
| Disposal of Victims | Dexter disposes of the bodies in different ways. He admires another killer for disposing of his victims in the Gulf Stream. | Dexter disposes of his victims by using his own boat and dropping the victims in the bay. | The Book. Dexter is much smarter in the book about disposing of the bodies (except for a spur-of-the-moment killing or two). The series Dexter takes a huge risk using his own boat for the victims and dropping them in the same area. |
| Body Count | Forty-one, not including book 3. | Forty-six as of Something About Harry, not including his brother. | Either: Although the series has a slightly higher body count it is not significant enough to make a real difference. |
| Beer | Dexter didn't like beer very much and didn't really start drinking until Book 2 and it was lite beer. | Dexter seemed to quite enjoy beer favoring craft beer. | The book: As much as I like beer and the idea of drinking beer, I think that drinking beer and enjoying it makes him seem more human. Plus, alchohol can dull the senses and make a person careless, which any self respecting Serial Killer cannot have in his life. |
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| nall | This is a terrible injustice to the author and creator of Dexter... (page: 1 2) | 37 | May 19 2008, 7:46 AM EDT by dexgal | |
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Thread started: Dec 17 2007, 6:38 AM EST
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This whole comparison is skewed and was obviously done by someone in charge of the shows marketing. Still it's kind of a let down that they would go so far as to insult and belittle Jeff Linsday. Personally i found the books to be an excellent read and with many more turns in the storyline to keep me interested. This article is way off though, whoever wrote it bashes the author for taking 'cheesy' plot twists, then a few lines down he bashes him for being too bland and not doing enough with the story.
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| DeborahAnn | I don't think they are really comparable. | 1 | May 19 2008, 12:36 AM EDT by sharksmile | |
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Thread started: May 16 2008, 3:15 PM EDT
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What captured my attention was the actor playing Dexter. He is what makes the whole thing mesmerizing, and not just because I'm partial to red heads and he's cute. He just nailed the part and made it magic. I have all three of the books, and I have red them all. I also watched both seasons of the show. I ordered all the books after I watched the 2 seasons of the show. I enjoyed the books, but if I had to choose it would definitely be the show for me. When I read the books, I was slightly disappointed. They didn't give me the same feeling. I like part of the plotting better in the book, and some of it on the show. Jeff Lindsay gave us a wonderful fresh character and Michael C. Hall brought him to life and made us love him.
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| Inato | Book 4 Speculation | 9 | May 10 2008, 1:23 AM EDT by lunalovesdexter | |
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Thread started: Jan 24 2008, 6:06 PM EST
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I thought it was about time we had one of these.
It will be called Dexter by Design but what will it be about? We still will have him trying to get Cody squared away. Which will be more difficult now that he has killed someone. This is obviously be one of the conflicts, but what I would find interesting if Brian returns and finds Dexter playing mentor with Cody. This results in the two brothers' playing tug of war with Cody's future. Which path will Cody choose and how will Dexter deal with his brother's presence? Will he hide him? From whom? Deb? |
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| ZizzyB23 | What Jeff Lindsay thinks of Season Two | 5 | May 2 2008, 11:59 AM EDT by dextrous | |
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Thread started: Dec 19 2007, 4:17 AM EST
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I've been having this thought for a while now: I wonder what Jeff Lindsay thinks of season two of Dexter?
I know he's praised season one and deeply approves, but now they've almost completely changed most of the characters from the novel (for better or for worse) and I was just curious to know if Jeff Lindsay approves. Would he even admit if he was dissatisfied? I've never met him, but I've thought of writing a fan letter and asking, but does anybody even do that anymore? Would he respond? If I had to predict what he'd say... I think he'd be happy with where the show is going. From interviews I've read and things I've watched, he seems really nice, and I know he gave Showtime full access to do whatever they want to his characters, so I guess he couldn't get mad at them. But I just can't help but think that the books are so much darker than the series that Jeff might think the series is becoming to soap-opera-y. I mean, in the books, Dexter still feels no real emotion (and in the third book postulates that he does not even WISH to feel them), and still hasn't really stated that he even likes Rita all that much (sure he likes the kids, but she's still just sort of his disguise). I imagine he might protest over what they did with Harry Morgan. In the books, Harry is Dexter's savior essentially and Dexter was always able to count on him for guidance, while in the series... well we all know he sort of becoming a jerk and then committed suicide like a pathetic jerk. |
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| MonAmourMalade | Book v. Series | 2 | Dec 25 2007, 8:21 PM EST by dexgal | |
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Thread started: Nov 29 2007, 4:50 PM EST
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I like both the book and the series equally. You can never expect a movie or TV series to be exactly like the book. It's always 'based' more than anything on the book rather than an actual visual representation of the book. I liked the book better in the fact that Dexter seems to have a 'student' in Cody, rather than just being by himself like he is in the series. I wish that they had kept the kid (I forgot his name) that murdered the guy who raped him then killed himself later on when he was back in jail, because you could tell how excited Dexter had been realizing that he had someone to teach.
I think the series needs someone to find out about Dexter and does NOT want to kill him (i.e. Doakes). Or they need to off one of the main characters. I'm not sure how the series is going to go in (if there is) a 3rd season, but I'm quite interested. It's good, at the least, that they still reference back to the books and get small ideas to throw in here and there. |
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