• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
  
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
  
• Subtitles: English SDH
  
• Region: A (B? C?)
• Rating: NR
  
• Run Time: 618 Mins
• Discs: 3 (3 x Blu-ray)
• Studio: Showtime Entertainment
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: August 16, 2011
• List Price: $64.99

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BestBuy.com:

Purchase Dexter: The Fifth Season on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG  thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Series

[Rating:4/5]

By now everyone knows about Showtime’s controversial series Dexter about the serial killer with the code to only kill the bad members of society, like murderers and rapists. Who would have thought that the network could actually drag such a premise out for so many seasons and keep it interesting and plausible. Well, they have, because Dexter is currently enjoying its sixth season on the network. That’s not to say that there haven’t been some precarious moments along the way – they have come very close to jumping the shark over the years, or perhaps they already have, but somehow, Dexter remains addictive.

In the fifth season of Dexter, the titular character, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) begins the season still grieving from the murder of his wife Rita and struggling with the guilt that he may have caused it. But in the usual Dexter fashion, Dexter is soon back on the job – he’s a forensic analyst for the Miami P.D. – chasing a new killer. This leads him to a mysterious woman, Lumen (Julia Stiles), whom he saves from a brutal killer, but there’s a dilemma. Lumen sees him in his serial killer mode – what to do?

Dexter actually begins a relationship with the beautiful Lumen, who soon becomes his partner in crime, while friends from the police force may be closing on finding out that Dexter is the infamous Bay Harbor Butcher.

Season 5 is another season of killing, intrigue, and implausible escapes for the benevolent serial killer with “the dark passenger,” but it remains enticing and shocking at every turn.

Video Quality

[Rating:4/5]

This is a typically solid release of Dexter to Blu-ray from Showtime. The series looks superior in every way to the cable broadcasts in 1080i with this 1080p/24 AVC encodement. Colors are rich, midtones are warm and the contrast is splendid. Shadow detail is good, but there is some slight crush. There is a lot of detail in the image, but this season seems to look just a bit softer to my eyes on Blu-ray than previous seasons. Perhaps chalk it up to artistic choices?

Audio Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

The English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is big and full with weighty amounts of low frequency response. Dialogue is clean and the surrounds are often filled with a lavish amount of atmospheric effects that capture the sounds of Miami.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3.5/5]

All the extras on here are BD-Live powered. They offer interviews with the cast members and the first two episodes of Showtime’s The Borgias and Episodes.

The supplements:

• Movie IQ – This BD-Live powered features allows in-episode access to actor bios, information on the soundtrack, and trivia.
• BD-Live Special Features:
• Episodes 1 & 2 of The Borgias and Episodes
• Interviews with Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee, Lauren Vélez, Julia Stiles, James Remar, Desmond Harrington, Chip Johanessen, and David Zayas
• Reflecting on Season Five: Julia Stiles

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

Another season, another killer to catch and run a knife through. This season of Dexter from Showtime remains solid though no longer completely surprising and often implausible.

Additional Screen Captures

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[amazon-product]B003L77GRY[/amazon-product]

BestBuy.com:

Purchase Dexter: The Fifth Season on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]

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