The new bloody crime/thriller Dexter premiered on M-Net on Sunday night (4 February, after the 20h00 movie) and it's brilliant.

Dark, eerie, twisted and spine-chillingly intriguing, the show introduces a hero unlike any we've ever known before.

In case you didn't catch it, here's the lowdown on the show from TVSA's showpage for it:

Dexter is a crime/thriller drama about a forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer with his own brand of justice - he kills people he believes deserve it.

Orphaned at the age of four and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter was adopted by a police officer who recognized Dexter’s homicidal tendencies and guided his son to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way - by killing perpetrators that are above the law or who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

A respected member of the police force, a perfect gentleman and a man with a soft spot for children, Dexter's world reveals an unusual exploration into the mind of a sociopathic killer.

With an unflinching drive to kill, Dexter struggles to emulate normal emotions he doesn’t feel so that he can keep up his appearance as a caring, socially responsible human being.

The first episode outlined all this and went on to introduce a case that's being investigated by Dexter and his fellow police people that involves a serial killer who chops people up into pieces, drains their blood and uses Barbie dolls to play a deadly game of cat and mouse.

This investigation forms the main thrust of the season and as the drama unfolds Dexter embarks on chasing the serial killing whackjob from his own, similarly sicko yet very different point of view.

I've seen the full 12-episode season of the show in two non-stop, eye-popping sessions and trust me when I tell you that as the story develops the show just gets better and better. The combo of the riveting plot, writing and acting creates a multi-layered, whammingly killer TV-fest.

As Dexter helps in the search for the choppy-choppy serial killer he's forced to confront his own orphaned past and tries to piece together the puzzle as to who he really he is.

The genius thing about it is that at no point are the things he does or the conclusions he reaches cliched even in the slightest. Way too many shows take the easy way out by delivering predictable, moralistic sentiments and solutions and the fact that Dexter never does this is what grips you to the edge of your couch.

This has something to do with Dexter's perceptions of himself I think. He's such a flawed and evil hero you'd think that he's not a hero at all but as you get to know him you develop a respect and empathy for him that makes you feel oddly liberated through him.

It's not only as a result of him fearlessly killing scum-Pigs but also, he's so aware of every evil aspect of himself I'm convinced he's actually got a super-astute conscience and just doesn't know it.

He doesn't hide anything from us either so his honesty means you know every aspect of him. Also, the fact that's he so bad makes you feel as if you're a total angel in comparison. This is my best - particularly in relation to his foster father and his acceptance of Dexter as he is.

The fact that his father never judged his natural instincts but rather helped him to turn his demons into something he considers to be good, highlights what unconditional really love is - and how seldom parents and loved ones deliver it.

Obviously being a serial killer's an extreme example but as a symbol it aptly represents how cool it would be if we were more gentle and less brutally judgemental of each other generally.

The rest of the characters in the show all get up their own juicy shenanigans and between them manage to create the perfect balance of darkness and light, making a lot of what happens funny.

My fave out of everyone is Detective Doakes who's convinced Dexter's as creepy as he actually is. The hysterical thing is the way Dexter responds to him - he never gets serial-killer crazy about it but rather respects and enjoys the fact that Doakes's instincts have picked up on him so accurately.

I also really like the modern stylisation of the visual effects - the blood spatters that Dexter deciphers look like paintings, the grisly murder effects look almost real but aren't quite and the use of exaggeration and suggestion fries your brain - like that first dude Dexter killed where what happened to him wasn't shown but just implied.

And that's all I can say without giving anything away. A word of warning though - be prepared - the body-parts serial killer gets hectic.