I wouldn't suggest it if you feint when seeing blood or guts, but it is one of the most well acted series in a long time. Picture an excellent HBO series without the profanity and gratuitous nudity.
Not only is the acting superb, but its take on mental illness is well done.
I am extremely pleased it got picked up for a second season.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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I read the novels back in 2000 or so. Really liked them. A shame that Thomas Harris never had more novels in him. Saw all the major films too, so I'm quite familiar with the Lecter stories. Still, the show looks promising, especially Mads Mikkelsen as Lecter.
Posts: 668 | Registered: Aug 2010
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Mads is EXCELLENT as Hannibal. He brings such a genuine charm to Lecter that its believable that so many characters place their trust in him. He even charms the us as the audience even though we know exactly what kind of monster he is.
I'm a huge fan of the show and was a nervous wreck when it was looking like we wouldn't get another season.
Bryan Fuller is doing a wonderful job of balancing an adherence to the source material while filling in gaps and expounding upon small little mentions from canon. The first season is largely inspired by a few short lines from the book which Fuller has used to create a rich backstory.
I agree that the show has an HBO vibe. I find myself constantly surprised by its presence on NBC. The show has an intelligence and pacing style that we're not used to seeing in prime-time cop shows.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Shanna: I agree that the show has an HBO vibe. I find myself constantly surprised by its presence on NBC. The show has an intelligence and pacing style that we're not used to seeing in prime-time cop shows.
If I believe this, I'll watch the show. I couldn't get through two episodes of Homeland (which is actually on Showtime), because of the pacing problems. The show was so unconfident in its character development, that it had to telegraph "powerful moments' practically halfway through an episode, and it just kept repeating things over and over again- the kind of snail-paced story development you'd expect from a show that had to contend with a 24 episode schedule and a lowest-common-denominator audience.
I'm just too spoiled with HBO to ever trust a network to do anything interesting again. I'd love to be proved wrong, though.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Shanna: I agree that the show has an HBO vibe. I find myself constantly surprised by its presence on NBC. The show has an intelligence and pacing style that we're not used to seeing in prime-time cop shows.
If I believe this, I'll watch the show. I couldn't get through two episodes of Homeland (which is actually on Showtime), because of the pacing problems. The show was so unconfident in its character development, that it had to telegraph "powerful moments' practically halfway through an episode, and it just kept repeating things over and over again- the kind of snail-paced story development you'd expect from a show that had to contend with a 24 episode schedule and a lowest-common-denominator audience.
I'm just too spoiled with HBO to ever trust a network to do anything interesting again. I'd love to be proved wrong, though.
I haven't seen Homeland so I can't compare.
I have AVClub.com to blame for my giving the show a chance. Here's their review of episode one after receiving the first five episodes as screeners. Aperitif
They hit on all the key things I love about the show from the cast to the emphasis on character development and of course, the absolute gorgeous visual quality of the show.
And then it was exciting to watch the show take all those elements and just continue to build on them. The final episode is an incredible piece of television. Hannibal had a few missteps but it was one of those times when I'm looking at the faults and going, "yep, still prefer it to 90% of anything I've seen on television."
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