"Dexter" Goes Broadcast
Monday, January 7th, 2008
As has been hinted, CBS will replay edited versions of Showtime's "Dexter," starting Feb. 17.
The full announcement is after the jump. But let me express some deep reservations here.
The shifting of premium shows to broadcast or basic cable (as has been the case with "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," among others) inevitably requires the editing of content, and that changes the tone, the style, the very essence of the show. (IT can also add commercials to shows that were not meant to be seen that way.) When, for example, I hear from readers who are watching "The Sopranos" on A&E, I try to persuade them that that's not the way to watch the show. They need to see it as originally made, whether via HBO itself or on the DVDs containing the entire series.
I am not a big fan of "Dexter," but on principle it should be spared the trimming that will go with its journey to broadcast. Sure, CBS is looking for something fresh as the strike drags on. And the people who saw "Dexter" on Showtime are few in number. So there is an argument to be made that a broadcast-size audience might then be drawn to Showtime, thus keeping "Dexter" alive (and making Showtime, a corporate sib of CBS, more healthy). But that's not enough of a claim to justify artistic heresy.
