Like many others, I am a diehard fan of ‘Dexter,’ Showtime’s incredibly riveting show about a serial killer who only kills people who “deserve it”–child murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and the like–and somehow manages to make its title character utterly sympathetic. I never imagined it possible that I could a) fall in love with a show whose protagonist regularly murders people (and we know this, too) and b) root for a serial killer, especially him not being found out for his crimes. Just after season four finished airing, Michael C. Hall, the man who makes Dexter, well, Dexter, won the Best Actor Golden Globe and it came out that, at only 38, Hall was fighting cancer. Magnificent actor that he is, I am so gladdened to read this Sunday’s New York Times arts feature about Hall, “Newly Invigorated, Facing Adversaries,” and the fact that, as far as he and everyone else knows, he’s received a clean bill of health right as season five of ‘Dexter’ is about to begin airing on Showtime. Apparently, Hall’s father died of cancer at 39 and this fact has haunted him:””I think I’ve been preoccupied since I was 11, and my father died, with the idea of the age 39: Would I live that long? What would that be like?” Mr. Hall said last month. . .His illness had caused no changes in the “Dexter” schedule, and he had even managed to shoot a movie, “East Fifth Bliss,” in the East Village during the show’s hiatus. His hair had grown back, and the only possible sign of concern for health was his breakfast order: a lonely cup of chamomile tea. If anything, he said, he felt an extra energy after the effects of the chemotherapy wore off.” Go Dexter! I mean, Michael C. Hall. Hall has a penchant for playing dark, deeply conflicted characters, since his last major role was on ‘Six Feet Under.’ I love him most on ‘Dexter’ though–it’s the role of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see Hall alive and well and, um, taking his newest villain-victims to task when season five premieres on September 26th.Check out the season five trailer below, but warning: spoilers will follow if you haven’t yet watched the series, and the trailer itself is pretty graphic.