Dexter, Season 1, Episode 1, “Dexter”

Dexter is the first show, as far as I know, that has been syndicated to prime-time network television during its continuing run on premium cable. (Sex and the City, the Sopranos and The Wire have also been syndicated, but to basic cable channels like TBS.) The drama about a forensic scientist-slash-serial killer who murders other serial killers premiered on Showtime back in 2006. But due to a dearth of new programming – thanks to the late writers’ strike – CBS decided to broadcast the entire first season of Dexter beginning last Sunday. The actors had already been overdubbing their lines with sanitized dialogue in expectation that they would one day be syndicated, and the show’s producer said there was actually very little in terms of violence to cut. But that didn’t stop the Parents Television Council from issuing a knee-jerk condemnation of the show’s network debut.

If you haven’t heard of them, the Parents Television Council is, in short, the enemy. This is the organization that sponsors letter-writing drives to the FCC or advertiser boycotts when, say, someone blurts out a four-letter word during a morning show, or flashes a bit of hiney on a police procedural. They are part of the engine driving the culture of outrage and apology that pretends to shield the supposedly eggshell-like psyches of American children. But how many young children, really, are watching CBS at 10 p.m. on a Sunday? Blocking a show like Dexter wouldn’t help kids – instead, it prevents educated, informed viewers like you and me from watching a potentially enlightening and fascinating series. In reality, these morality campaigns are less about kids and more about forcing a specific viewpoint and infantilizing adults.