That's My Dog!

From this...

Michael C. Hall is like a unicorn. Mystical and mysterious, one glimpse of him in any show or movie can make you believe in magic, roads made of peppermint, and a world with flying cars. Seriously, the man just exudes this incredible level of acting that only a few performers ever reach, and anything you can see him in is a treat.

I've always known him as Dexter, but was familiar with his role on Six Feet Under as the walking contradiction that is David Fisher. Yesterday I decided to start watching that show again. I started it a year or so ago but never finished, and yesterday seemed like as good a time as any to plod down that trail. Before I did, I took a trip over to Wikipedia, curious to know what episodes Michael C. Hall really got acclaim for. I like doing this, because it allows me to build up my expectations for a certain episode without spoiling details.

From what I read, I got the impression that a certain episode called "That's My Dog!" from the fourth season of the show was a really strong piece of work for him. Figuring I could always go back and watch in order, I decided to cheat a little, go directly to that episode, and watch it. 

What followed was one of the most intense viewings of my entire life. If you are unfamiliar with the plot of "That's My Dog", in the middle of the episode David sees a cute young guy standing by a car on the side of the road, seemingly stranded. Thinking he's going to be a good Samaritan and help the guy out, and perhaps flirt a little as well, David picks up the hitchhiker. They seem to get along and enjoy each other's company, when out of nowhere the hitchhiker punches David and forces him to get cash from an ATM.

..to this...

David spends the rest of the night driving the hitchhiker around town at gunpoint looking to score drugs, being generally terrorized for the duration of the episode. He's beaten, forced to smoke crack, and put through hell. The hitchhiker makes no freaking sense at all, telling stories that turn out to be lies, calling David his best friend in the world only to followup that comment with a death threat. David can never tell when his captor is delusional or coherent, as he seems to blend in and out of both states at a whim.

Just like David, the plot is hijacked. They never go back at any point and followup on stories that had been building in the first part of the episode. Over half of the episode is suddenly dedicated to this one particular point of view, and it is unique and nerve wracking. By the end of the episode, I was watching it through my hands. The terror does not feel staged, scripted, or anything typical of television.

...to this.

Going into the episode, I thought I was going to have a hard time remembering that this was not Dexter Morgan on my screen, the stoic but lethal serial killer. That wasn't the case, however. Michael C. Hall is a natural in his art, a master of submerging so far into a character that you forget that he is an actor. Dexter is nowhere to be found in David, and vice versa. I think he would have moved me to tears in these scenes if I wasn't so caught up in the drama, absolutely convinced that if I moved, something bad would happen to David. That's how close this episode got for me. The fourth wall was extended to surround me in my little economy apartment. I could feel the gravel under my legs and smell the gasoline poured over David's face.

That's good television, my friends. Not everyone knows how to do it like that these days, but plenty of shows still try. It's those shows we should be tuning into, not reruns of Jersey Shore. I promise you, as spiky as they may make their hair, none of them are unicorns.