Hannibal (1 Viewer)

The premiere is scheduled for Thursday April 4th at 10PM. I'm curious enough about it to tune in at least for the first few episodes. I have a feeling it will be more fully baked than The Following, but I could be wrong. The only other thing I know is

This and Orphan Black are already in my scheduler...

Early reviews have been very positive - praising the writing and acting. Have to admit I am surprised. Out of the new serial killer themed shows: Bates Motel, The Following, and Hannibal, I had Hannibal pegged as being the poorest of the bunch.

My interest level and anticipation has gone up considerably in the last week.

Three episodes in, I'm ready to drop "Bates Motel" but I'll give this one a chance.

I'm very excited to see Bryan Fuller doing a show set more or less in the real world. The overly produced nature of "Pushing Daisies" really turned me off. I'm going to DVR it, though, because I don't want to have Hannibal Lecter on the brain right before bed.

I've learned to love The Following, in spite of the fact that the good guys made out to be idiots. Cult I'm still watching sort of. Bates Motel turned me off with the graphic scene in the pilot. As for Hannibal - I'm worried about the gruesome factor. They're hanging all of their advertising on the cannibal side of the story. There's a new Facebook app that puts you and your friends "on the menu."

Yeah, I think it's going to be too much for me to handle.

EricSchulz said:

Three episodes in, I'm ready to drop "Bates Motel" but I'll give this one a chance.

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Same here.. love the kid, but the rest of the show is a horrible mess for a plot, it just doesn't go together.

I'm interested in Hannibal, though the idea of Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall) playing a straight FBI agent makes me laugh out loud.

I wonder how Hannibal survives Elementary and Scandal.

Wow. Pretty intense! I'm curious to see where they take this... I hope there are some good story arcs and not just a "crime of the week" approach.

Based on the previews, it looks like the first case will have some repercussions through the season. Which is good, because things felt a bit rushed. I wanted to know more about the psychology of Garrett Jacob Hobbs, but I guess that had to make way for establishing characters and Graham's own pathology. Mads Mikkelsen makes a pretty imposing Lecter, not just mentally but physically. The disturbing part about Anthony Hopkins playing the role was his unassuming physical presence. With this version of Lecter I immediately know I wouldn't want to get into a fight with him, but that's a less chilling kind of fear compared to the unpredictability of Hopkins' version. I'm interested to see what Mikkelsen does with the part, but I had a hard time understanding some of his dialogue because of his accent.

It makes a lot of sense for Graham to be on the Autism spectrum. Past versions of the character in Manhunter and Red Dragon just said he was talented without further explanation, but with the increased awareness of Asperger's it gives it some grounding. I don't know how he was presented in Harris's novel.

Overall, it was a strong start. Pretty dark for network TV and it will be interesting to see how far they push the censors.

This was pretty well done. I hope they continue to push the boundaries of network TV as far as the darkness goes. If they do, this may end up being the show everyone hoped "The Following" would be.

The ratings were only ok. I think they'll need to pick up if this show is to have a future.

Quentin said:

This was pretty well done. I hope they continue to push the boundaries of network TV as far as the darkness goes. If they do, this may end up being the show everyone hoped "The Following" would be.

The ratings were only ok. I think they'll need to pick up if this show is to have a future.

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Was actually pretty decent. Didn't care for his "meals", but it is Hannibal Lecter so should have seen that coming.

Hope it makes it. Always liked "Body of Proof" and it has survived poor ratings several times, so this does stand a chance.

I'm definitely intrigued with Hannibal after watching the premiere. Out of the three serial killer shows - Bates Motel, The Following, and Hannibal - I had Hannibal pegged as the poorest of the lot. So this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Byran Fuller has done a great job building off of the source material and David Slade turns in another superior directing effort. Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy do great turns as Hannibal and Graham. The two are hypnotic to watch. The fact the show is using the cable model of 13 episodes bodes well.
You have to wonder how long they can sustain Graham's stamina in maintaining stability in parallel with Hannibal going undetected. I would be happy with 1 or 2 seasons of this. Any longer and it will inevitably decline.
Where the show bests the other two is showing the price that violence costs.

I have to think they catch Hannibal or at least expose him this season. At this pace, Hannibal would break Graham if they didn't catch on to him quickly.

You could have them catch or expose Hannibal this season, and next season they could be tracking him down and/or using him from within his cell a la "Manhunter" and SotL. We've all seen how great a character Hannibal is, even behind bars.

Grab a copy of the pilot script.

The overly produced nature of "Pushing Daisies" really turned me off.

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The "overly produced nature" of Pushing Daisies is what turned me on to it.

Cameron Yee said:

I'm interested to see what Mikkelsen does with the part, but I had a hard time understanding some of his dialogue because of his accent.

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Same here. I almost had to turn on the TV captions to be sure of what he said.

Huh. Freddie Lounds has been womanized....Another solid episode as Hannibal works his way into Graham's psyche. I'm also glad that the Jacob Hobbs case is not shut per se and more is being revealed about his motives through his daughter.Strangely I'm not as interested in Mushroom Man and am fine too see him be this week's serial killer red shirt.The food juxtapositions are rather knowing winks by the writers. I find them kind of humorous actually, but they might do well to use them sparingly lest it reach the level of a drinking game cliche.

Very true Cameron. I mentally flinch every time Hannibal has someone over for dinner. Really thought Hannibal was going to so something with the reporter too.

I also agree about liking how the Jacob Hobbs case continues to affect Graham instead of just being a case of the week.

Lou Sytsma said:

Very true Cameron. I mentally flinch every time Hannibal has someone over for dinner. Really thought Hannibal was going to so something with the reporter too.

I also agree about liking how the Jacob Hobbs case continues to affect Graham instead of just being a case of the week.

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I'll refrain from a spoiler here, but if you've read "Red Dragon" you will know what happens to Lounds. Of course, that was a male Lounds so I suppose all bets are off and the show can change anything it wants. I like this woman Lounds. We'll have to see how she plays out.

Lecter is a gourmand and a gourmet cook - so, I enjoy the scenes of him cooking and/or enjoying his meals. They need to be mixing in a few non-humanized meals so that not every cooking scene is him preparing a victim.

This show has really impressed me over these 2 episodes. I wasn't expecting squat, so perhaps it is lowered expectations. But, I'm in for the remainder of these 13 for sure.