Lines such as “everyone’s favorite serial killer” would not have been uttered by the average person a few years ago. However, with the popularity that Dexter has reached, this tag line is well known all over the world. This has sparked a certain amount of interest in those who believe that there is a correlation between real life happenings and what is portrayed in TV shows.

Dexter is not a lone ranger in the recent trend of dark heroes on TV. We have Jack Bauer, who has gotten himself into every sort of tangle possible. We also have Dr. Gregory House, a “distinguished” doctor addicted to Vicodin. There are countless TV heroes today who, contrary to the traditional perception of heroes, cannot be labeled as good or bad. In fact, they fall in the various shades of gray that we encounter in our daily lives.

This is what people who have issues with the moral impact of TV are bringing up. These people, in spite of the fact that they are fictional, may have a way of impacting how the real person thinks and perceives things. But how real is that danger? Will a person act on his immoral tendencies because of what he sees on TV? Will the average guy go out and kill “bad” people because of watching Dexter? Will the clean guy try and get some Vicodin because House does?

Maybe. Maybe not. One thing I can say – these shows are darned good but I am not about to go out and kill all the scum I see on the streets every day.