Hannibal

[polkablues]

I probably should have posted about this show while it was still airing, but at least it's already been renewed for a second season, so you can all watch it safe in the knowledge that it's coming back.

Long story short, this is the best non-cable drama on television. Bryan Fuller brings all the intelligence of his prior shows with little of the quirk; the show is unapologetically dark, deliberately paced, and almost oppressively intense. I never gave much thought to Hugh Dancy as an actor, but I will from now on. It's hard for an actor to sell mental illness and breakdown realistically without just devolving into a collection of tics, and to have to do that while shaping the character as a sympathetic protagonist is a feat. He's great. Laurence Fishburne is great. Caroline Dhavernas is miscast, but her role is small and she's getting better.

Mads Mikkelsen is a fucking powerhouse. He and Fuller made the bold but necessary choice to completely separate their Hannibal Lecter from Anthony Hopkins portrayal of him. It's as different as two performances could possibly be while still being recognizably the same character. Mikkelsen is subtle, slightly off-putting, and hypnotizing in this role. He is living proof of the power of the motion picture camera to capture an actor's internal performance with an absolute minimum of external action. As iconic as Hopkin's Lecter is, this is the Hannibal Lecter that I would want to see week in and week out over the course of a series.

Also, the show is visually gorgeous. A good drinking game to kill yourself with is to watch the pilot episode and take a shot every time you spot a visual reference to Kubrick. The level of craft that goes into this show is right on par with the top cable shows that we all love, and the fact that it airs on NBC rather than AMC or HBO (and the fact that they RENEWED it, despite weak ratings) is a great portent for the near future of network television.

Anyway, find a way to watch it and watch it. It's good shit.

[Fernando]

I ate up this show too, pretty good stuff and it's a miracle that a show as dark as this one airs on network television.

something that is also great that polky didn't mention is the music and sound samples, they fit perfect with the mood of the show.

and yeah, Mikkelsen is so great as Lecter without moving an eyebrow.


yo polka

Lecter 
Lector 

[polkablues]

yo polka

Lecter 
Lector 

Goddamnit. Okay, fixed.

[03]

so i made it halfway through episode two and was completely bored and indifferent, does it require further viewing or should i have already gotten sucked in?

[polkablues]

Tough to say. I was totally into by that point, but it does get richer as it goes along and the overarching story of the season starts taking shape.

[RegularKarate]

I'm so far behind on this site. How is shit from July still on the first page of my unread posts? Jeepers

Anyway, I loved this show while it was airing. This came out of nowhere. Great stuff! Can't wait to see where they take it!

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

My friend asked me if I wanted to start watching this with him and all I could say was "the commercialism of Hannibal has let me down" and was hesitant to watch.

The slow burn of the show is what made it. Not to spoil much, but outside of heavy hints and the fact that we know who Hannibal Lecter is via pop culture, this show doesn't SHOW us that Hannibal is killing until far into the first season's run.
Also, Eddie Izzard & Scott Thompson.

I told a friend about checking this out, and she said "I hate what they've done to bastardize the Hannibal I knew from Thomas Harris' books" so she won't watch it. To each their own, but the show goes dark and psychological in a way most network TV wouldn't risk, if that is a draw to anyone who hasn't watched yet.

[polkablues]

The show is 100 times better than any of Harris' books.

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

The show is 100 times better than any of Harris' books.

Especially the ones written knowing that a movie deal was on it's way. Hannibal Rising, I'm lookin' at you.

[MacGuffin]

[Fernando]

is anyone watching?

SPOILS S2E6

last friday's episode (6) was great, for some this show might be too theatrical (its deaths mainly) but it is slowly evolving pretty good, the clues take their time to unfold before Crawford's eyes in an interesting way even if we know that eventually Hannibal will be caught.

in this last episode Jack's eyes are finally wide open.

[polkablues]

Yeah, this show keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see the series of events that leads us to the scene teased at the very beginning of this season.

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

Show's already better than most of the movies ("Silence of the Lambs" is still a good'un)

[samsong]

michael pitt playing mason verger with the voice gary oldman did (is there a really clear description of the way he sounds in the book?) was amusing.  graham and lecter playing the long con on each other... will be interesting how they come to a head.

love the show.

[Fernando]

great season two ending .

SPOILS

Yeah, this show keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see the series of events that leads us to the scene teased at the very beginning of this season.

all that build up to that scene was worth it and while Mikkelsen is always great he was stellar in the finale.

I liked how Will mentions his memory palace which the books covered extensively and right away identifies Freddy's perfume.

SPOILS for Hannibal the book...that final scene with Gillian Anderson I guess mirrors what happened in the book, but instead is Clarice Sterling the one that runs away with him.

Fortunately, season three is a go so I guess the hunt for Hannibal has begun.


Just one more thing, Hannibal is a Chef and of course they do it on purpose but all those meals he has made look uneatable, they look like death, never tasty.