Dexter–my god, what a brilliant show this is. The premise is simple: It’s about a serial killer who only kills bad people. He works as a bloodspatter expert in the forensic lab, so he works closely with the cops. His adoptive father–a cop–taught him to become the man he is, how to control his "dark passenger."

I’m going to heap praise on the show now, but am going to try to keep it spoiler-free, so you should feel free to read this. I mention this no only to allow spoilerphobes to relax, but also to apologize for being somewhat vague.

Based on the books of Jeff Lindsay, the first season of Dexter closely mirrors the events of the first novel, making some key changes along the way, and making drastic improvements with each change. You read that right–they changed it, but actually made it better. The refinements to the characters, the twists added to the plot all work brilliantly. And the books are pretty damn good to begin with, so to say that the show is even better is really saying something.

The second season continues the show in fine form, though here it makes a drastic departure from the novels, or rather disregards the second book in the series all together and blazes a completely original path. And man, what a path! The primary plot thread of season two is genius–it makes perfect sense within the scope of the show, and yet allows it to veer in a different direction from season one, so that two is not merely a different variation on one. My only real complaint about season two is the actress who portrays Lyla–her character is great, and the plot threads connected to her are another stroke of genius, I’m just not thrilled with the actress who portrays her.

And oh my god–the most recent episode, "Resistance is Futile"…wow. I mean, wow! I’m getting chills just thinking about it. There are so many great details about the show that I’d love to point to to explain and prove how great it is, but I’d much rather you just trust me and allow yourself to experience it fresh.

If you’re not watching this show, you must start as soon as possible. The first season is available now on DVD; the second season is in progress, airing every Sunday on Showtime.