Dexter: The Fourth Season [Blu-ray]

Unfolding with tragic inevitability, Dexter's fourth season is a taut game of cat and mouse between Dexter (Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall) and Arthur Mitchell, "a very special kind of monster," unnervingly portrayed by John Lithgow in his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning performance. Whoever guest stars in seasons to come has a very hard act to follow. (Never mind all the blood, Mitchell's greeting, "Hello, Dexter Morgan," from the episode of the same name, will disturb your sleep.) But let's not forget Hall's consistently cutting-edge work. The Dexter saga has a rich back-story and mythology, but for those new to the series and lured to this season by Lithgow's justly celebrated performance, season 4 is a good place to start, because it represents something of a new beginning for Dexter himself. Married at the end of season 3, he is now dreaming of "having it all" as a husband and father, trying to juggle the demands of his job as a Miami Metro Police Department blood-spatter analyst, his new family, and his other calling as a serial killer. But he is more conflicted than ever. His new baby keeps him up nights, and the normally precise and methodical Dexter finds himself exhausted to the point of making mistakes in court. "Who knew life could get so unsimple?" he asks early on. Dexter and Mitchell are not the only characters harboring secrets. Some we can mention (Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta and Detective Angel Batista are in a relationship), but others we dare not even hint at (the episode "Hungry Man" has a doozy of a cliffhanger revelation). As the season unfolds, an incognito Dexter insinuates himself into Arthur's life and discovers disturbing parallels in their lives. Meanwhile, now-retired serial killer hunter Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine), who nearly uncovered Dexter's identity back in season 2, returns to ask for his help in catching the Trinity Killer. His reappearance upends the life of Dexter's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a homicide detective and Lundy's former lover. Debra has also been digging into the past of her late policeman father Harry (James Remar) and learns more about her twisted family tree. Disappointingly, interviews with Hall, Lithgow, and other cast members can be accessed only on a PC, but the DVD does contain episodes of Californication, Lock 'N Load, and The Tudors. --Donald Liebenson