As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

NBC's [Hannibal]: "I believe that is called a mike drop."

AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
edited August 2015 in Debate and/or Discourse
tumblr_moo1krkNlN1rvs9wso2_1280.jpg

This is Will Graham. Former FBI agent, brilliant detective, lonely guy. He can empathize with anyone--even the serial killers he hunts.

1x01_HannibalDining.jpg

This is Dr. Hannibal Lector. Psychiatrist, brilliant chef, refined bachelor. His high-powered observational and psychoanalytical skills are second to none.

Together, they solve crimes:

459146_original.jpg

hannibal-death.jpg

screen-shot-2013-04-28-at-6-05-54-pm.png

Eventually, one may eat the other.

photo-115-1024x768.jpg

No, not like that. (Or maybe like that!)

hannibal-season-2-poster.jpg

Hannibal premieres this Thursday, April, at NBC. February 28th at 10PM on NBC.

A little more background:

Based on the popular series of novels by Thomas Harris, Hannibal is a prequel to Red Dragon, which was itself a precursor to Silence of the Lambs; it takes place during a time when Dr. Lector's extracurricular activities are still unknown, particularly to his friend and colleague, Will Graham, and Will's boss, Jack Crawford (Lawrence Fishburne). The show was created by Bryan Fuller, the creator of Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies.

The first season was astonishingly excellent: inventive, heartfelt, serious, meaningful, and exquisitely well executed on every level. Low rated but critically acclaimed, Hannibal is everything we never knew the franchise needed, and a beautiful, amazing show in its own right. It also features two of the best performances on television right now, by Hugh Dancy (as Will) and Madds Mikkelson (as Lector). If you enjoy high-quality television, you owe it to yourself to catch up with the first season (now available on DVD and Blu-Ray) and then tune in for season 2 in February.

Last season OP stuff:
Production is wrapping up now on the last episode of the 13-episode season, which is expected to air every Thursday without interruption.

Warning: the following preview is extremely graphic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=the first at WonderCon, I can say that I could not be more excited for this show. The idea of a crime procedural Lector show sounded like it would be a campy good time; instead, it turned out to be serious, moving, horrifying, and incredibly well-done. It's not a cash grab, or a rote procedural, or a black comedy; what it IS is dueling character studies wrapped in a suspense story. From the cinematography, editing, and music to the writing, casting, and direction, the show is the first successful attempt to bring the stylistic quality, character depth, and complex serialization of a cable show to a network audience. If you enjoy high-quality television--and aren't squeamish--you owe it to yourself to tune in.

ACsTqqK.jpg
Astaereth on
«13456731

Posts

  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Just want to remind people that the premiere for this is tonight, set your DVRs and such.

    The excellent and spoiler-free (with one insignificant exception) review of the pilot from the AV Club is up now.
    At once beautiful and languorous, Hannibal unfolds with the logic of a terrifying dream. Not a nightmare, per se, because the dream never grows to a place where the dreamer is physically threatened. But definitely one of those dreams where something is off, where the world has taken a turn for the worse, and everything looks to be at the wrong angle, and the dreamer simply cannot will himself awake. It’s going to have a healthy cult of detractors who will lob insults at it that it may very well deserve, insults like pretentious and slow-paced and poorly plotted. Those who are so inclined will find plot holes by the dozen in every single episode and mercilessly tear it apart on those grounds, ignoring the project’s dream logic ethos.

    They’ll also be ignoring that Hannibal is terrific, that for the viewer who can get on its singular wavelength, it’s by far the best of this mini wave of serial killer dramas and easily the best (and most challenging) new network drama of the TV season. It is a show that begins where other procedurals end, a show about the psychic toll of death, about what it means to pursue that death and what it means to be haunted by it at every turn.

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    Yeah, I'm definitely excited for this.

    14271f3c-c765-4e74-92b1-49d7612675f2.jpg
  • wirehead26wirehead26 Registered User regular
    Have they said what time period this series takes place in? Present day?

    I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!!
  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Present day, yeah.

    Anybody catch this last night? Thoughts?

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • Psychotic OnePsychotic One The Lord of No Pants Parts UnknownRegistered User regular
    Was a pretty good first episode. Lot more graphic than I thought NBC would be willing to go. I usually give new shows 3 episodes before I keep or kill on my DVR but liking what I see so far.

  • gjaustingjaustin Registered User regular
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Present day, yeah.

    Anybody catch this last night? Thoughts?

    I did. I was pretty apprehensive for the first 20-30 minutes and wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

    But then it got awesome. I especially loved the ending of the show. I'm definitely tuning in next week and putting this in my Hulu queue.

  • tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
    Didn't Showtime make this same show like 7 years ago and call it Dexter? Also, I recall that show having awesome amounts of T&A, which I'm sure this NBC production will lack.

    6ylyzxlir2dz.png
  • Peter EbelPeter Ebel CopenhagenRegistered User regular
    Just out of national interest (I'm a Dane stuck in Norway for reasons, good ones though!), how did you guys like Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lector?

    Fuck off and die.
  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    Didn't Showtime make this same show like 7 years ago and call it Dexter? Also, I recall that show having awesome amounts of T&A, which I'm sure this NBC production will lack.

    Its tone is very different from Dexter.
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Just out of national interest (I'm a Dane stuck in Norway for reasons, good ones though!), how did you guys like Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lector?

    He was excellent.

  • MalReynoldsMalReynolds The Hunter S Thompson of incredibly mild medicines Registered User regular
    Didn't Showtime make this same show like 7 years ago and call it Dexter? Also, I recall that show having awesome amounts of T&A, which I'm sure this NBC production will lack.

    That would be the case if the shows were at all similar.

    "A new take on the epic fantasy genre... Darkly comic, relatable characters... twisted storyline."
    "Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor
    My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!
  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Didn't Showtime make this same show like 7 years ago and call it Dexter? Also, I recall that show having awesome amounts of T&A, which I'm sure this NBC production will lack.

    Nah. Sure, it has the same "serial killer works with the police" tension, but there are major differences between the two shows (besides the stylistic ones). Dexter is usually a black comedy, while Hannibal is deadly serious (except for rare but welcome moments of comic relief). Dexter stars the killer, whereas Hannibal is essentially a supporting actor in his own show, with Will Graham taking the lead.

    Most important are the thematic differences. Dexter exults in death--it's funny, it's thrilling, it can be sexualized, it's ritualistic... it's how the character solves problems, his main drive, and much of the reason people watch the show. Death is the fun part of Dexter, and the tension comes from the idea that the death might stop (or, rarely, get the wrong person). But Hannibal does not.

    In Hannibal, death (violent death) is the problem, both the source of Will's crippling emotional torments and the monster waiting in the wings. Here death is scary, death is horrible, death is unnerving (the second episode delves even further than the first into the limits of human frailty, the malleability of the human body), and the tension comes from the dreamlike certainty that death will come again and too soon. To riff off of TVDW's pilot review, it taps into the horrors of serializing a grim murder procedural show--the awful fact that Will will still be shaken next week by what he saw last week, the awful knowledge that what he accomplished last week will be for nothing next week when some new killer emerges... In this sense Hannibal's presence in these opening episodes is not just classic Hitchcockian suspense, the bomb under the table which may go off at any moment; it is also symbolic of the palpable atmosphere of doom that hangs over the show and it's protagonist.

    Dexter, which is at heart the wish-fulfillment fantasy of middle-aged narcissists everywhere (who wish that they, too, could feel like powerful men and have secret selves that were cool instead of tawdry or banal), which not-even-very-deep down wants you to cheer for the bloodletting, ain't got none of that shit.

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • Kristmas KthulhuKristmas Kthulhu Currently Kultist Kthulhu Registered User regular
    Yeah, that pilot was pretty fuckin' good. And the AV Club's writeup of it is also spot on.

    Regarding the episode:
    I don't know what kind of black magic the creative team used to cause such a specific kind of horror when Will finds the dad attempting to murder his daughter, but my goodness they absolutely nailed it. It felt personal, visceral even, imagining that girl's feeling of betrayal, how she never knew what kind of monster one of the people she should be able to trust implicitly really was. And what he was about to do to her out of his twisted view of love.

    The camerawork was beautiful, the performances were spectacular, and if you're interested in a truly dark look at the horrors of the human mind, I couldn't recommend it enough. To the dude who offhandedly dismissed it as being the same as Dexter: don't be a ridiculous goose and watch it. Astaereth is completely correct in his assessment of the differences in tone between the two shows, and while I enjoyed the first few seasons of Dexter, if Hannibal can keep up the quality, it will definitely end up being the one with more value.

  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Second episode starts nowish. Be curious to hear your thoughts.

    Personally I felt like this may have been even better than the pilot. The case of the week may be a little thin, but the murders themselves are absolutely gruesome in a very Seven kind of way, honestly horrific in terms of the limits the human body is pushed to. I also like that they pulled the trigger on this particular case of the week twist, because it was going to happen eventually, and this is a good way of keeping the serialized pressure on the show.

    Also, even more than the pilot, the last scene here really defines what the show is going to be about in terms of the conflict between these two characters. And it ends on a great conversation (taken from Silence of the Lambs--the book, not the film) and an absolutely killer line.

    What'd you guys think?

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    The second episode had everything snap into place. The pilot was amazing but it still felt clunky as all pilots do. It shows how skilled the cast and crew are that they've succeeded in nailing the series down in the second episode, instead of a few.

  • FrankiedarlingFrankiedarling Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Lovely 2nd episode. I will be following this show with great interest.

    In other news: Mushroom People!

    EDIT: As a fashion guy, I feel I have to point out that Hannibal's suits are fantastic. His ties, not so much. But his suits are gorgeous.

    Frankiedarling on
  • gjaustingjaustin Registered User regular
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Second episode starts nowish. Be curious to hear your thoughts.

    Personally I felt like this may have been even better than the pilot. The case of the week may be a little thin, but the murders themselves are absolutely gruesome in a very Seven kind of way, honestly horrific in terms of the limits the human body is pushed to. I also like that they pulled the trigger on this particular case of the week twist, because it was going to happen eventually, and this is a good way of keeping the serialized pressure on the show.

    Also, even more than the pilot, the last scene here really defines what the show is going to be about in terms of the conflict between these two characters. And it ends on a great conversation (taken from Silence of the Lambs--the book, not the film) and an absolutely killer line.

    What'd you guys think?

    I've always found the second episode of a series to be a better example of what it'll be like.

    So still great!

  • Mike DangerMike Danger "Diane..." a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Oh hey, someone did make a thread for this! I thought the pilot was a little clunky but otherwise good, and the second episode was even better. I'm pleased that they haven't gone crazy (yet) with teasing stuff from the books/movies besides little things (the Goldberg Variations, Hannibal's talent for drawing, Will Graham and boat engines). Dancy is great as the world's biggest bundle of nerves, and Mikkelsen seems to be channeling that creepy grace that Anthony Hopkins had.

    Second episode:
    The killer showing up at Lounds's hotel was a genuine OH FUCK moment, and one of those blindsidings that I wish more shows would do.

    I really hope this sticks around, but I've heard the ratings aren't good. It's my understanding that Bryan Fuller said on Twitter that (future episode spoilers)
    he has a plan for the show where Lecter would be identified and captured at the end of season 3, and that season 4 would be an adaptation of Red Dragon (with the killing of the couple from the beginning of the pilot being one of Francis Dolarhyde's earliest murders)

    Speed edit: Heh. Went to IMDB and saw that all of the episode titles are cooking terms (Apertif, Amuse-Bouche, Potage, etc.)

    Mike Danger on
    Steam: Mike Danger | PSN/NNID: remadeking | 3DS: 2079-9204-4075
    oE0mva1.jpg
  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    I'll update the thread with crucial 2nd episode ratings when they become available. In the meantime though, smart money says it'll be fine; NBC literally has nothing else to replace it with. Added to that, 13 episodes have already been produced (even if for some reason they don't air, we'll see them at some point). It's also a show that's half paid for by international financing (a Canadian studio), so it's cheaper for NBC to order more episodes than it would be if they were footing the whole bill.

    Overall I think it's likely that Hannibal will get renewed. It may not be doing very well ratings-wise, but that's probably partially due to it being one of the last new shows to premiere this season in a crowded field (The Following is also a serial killer show, and Bates Motel is also a serial killer prequel show). I suspect it might open better if they can line it up at the start of next season, give it another big marketing push. Hopefully word of mouth on the show being one of the best two or three new shows this season will get around as well and start to push the numbers up.

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • GyralGyral Registered User regular
    The wife and I watched the pilot twice and caught the second episode last night. We don't watch a lot of TV, but this is one we will make time for. We both enjoyed the performances, cinematography and how the story was presented.

    Two things we discussed last night:
    1. The writers have nailed the script for Hannibal. I can hear these same lines being delivered by Hopkins in the movies.
    2. My wife noted how certain locations, like Hannibal's office have an older design (like interior design from the early 80s). We discussed that this could be an intent to have locations fell real (not all homes are modern in design). It just felt like a nice, real touch.

    25t9pjnmqicf.jpg
  • SaurfangSaurfang Registered User regular
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Just out of national interest (I'm a Dane stuck in Norway for reasons, good ones though!), how did you guys like Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lector?

    I love Mikkelson. In some ways, I like him better than Hopkins (at least post-Silence of the Lambs). His take on the role is understated, as many have remarked, but he also manages to exude a supreme, unassailable confidence, and, when he needs to, an almost affable good nature.

    I agree with @Mike Danger about the
    scare when Stammetz shoots the cop in front of Lounds. It was so satisfying because of the genuine surprise it generated and the fact that it wasn't a "cheap" scare, like the old cat fake-out present in so many horror films.

    You can really tell this is a Bryan Fuller show when you look at the costume and set design. There's so much red--the screen is almost blood-soaked--and yet it doesn't seem cartoony.

  • Captain TragedyCaptain Tragedy Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    In the final ratings, this week's episode actually went up a tenth to 1.7. Next week when CBS is back with new episodes will be probably be the big test, but a new show going up in its 2nd episode is good news, and by NBC's standards, a 1.7 is in "easy renewal" territory.

    Captain Tragedy on
  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    How's Scott Thompson in this? I was really curious about seeing him in a serious role, but haven't had a chance to see this yet.

  • Captain TragedyCaptain Tragedy Registered User regular
    He really hasn't made much of an impression either way so far. He's barely been in it (at most, I'd say he's been in 5 minutes of the first two episodes combined) - he pretty much just appears at a crime scene, rattles off some dialogue about the body, and that's it. His character may get more development down the line.

  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User, Moderator mod
    le chiffre!

  • JoshmviiJoshmvii Registered User regular
    This show is what I thought The Following might've been before watching the pilot. So far, the writing and acting has been phenomenal. Dancy and Mikkelson have played the roles fantastically, and I actually really like that they changed Crawford and Lounds' characters from how they were portrayed in the books.

  • Captain TragedyCaptain Tragedy Registered User regular
    Here's something I just found out about - this episode puts "Hannibal" in the same "Bryan Fuller-verse" as the rest of his shows:

    The blonde woman at the pharmacy says her name is/was Gretchen Speck-Horowitz, who was a recurring character (played by the same actress) on Wonderfalls...

    Wonderfalls had a character named Marianne Marie Beattle, who later appeared in Pushing Daisies...

    and Pushing Daisies had Ned in get a temping job through the Happy Time Temp Agency, which is where George worked in Dead Like Me.

  • Loren MichaelLoren Michael Registered User regular
    The second episode worked really well. I wish this was on HBO though, so they wouldn't be limited to a killer of the week.

    a7iea7nzewtq.jpg
  • GreeperGreeper Registered User regular
    Hot dang I just watched this on hulu and it's good.

    I also do like that Fuller is saying he isn't afraid to retread Red Dragon and beyond if the show gets that far, perhaps it won't fall into absurd stagnation.

  • yotesyotes Registered User regular
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Just out of national interest (I'm a Dane stuck in Norway for reasons, good ones though!), how did you guys like Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lector?

    He's pretty good at doing Lecter, I'm just completely irrationally bothered because his accent is a total mess that I can't place, it just... ugh. He sounds like me, a weird non-specific northern European dude, I'd prefer it if he sounded like Hopkins.

    He also looks too much like Mika Häkkinen. I like Mika, I don't want to associate him with cannibalism.

    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • JoshmviiJoshmvii Registered User regular
    The second episode worked really well. I wish this was on HBO though, so they wouldn't be limited to a killer of the week.

    Network dramas are not limited to not being able to have good, long arcs that aren't just episode of the week stuff: See Friday Night Lights, Lost, etc. just for recent examples. I'm the first to admit that drama is done better on cable networks(not just subscription like HBO, but FX, AMC, etc.) but the broadcast networks can do drama right too. I don't think this show is going to be a killer of the week type thing. I mean, even from episode 1 to 2 Graham still spent most of ep. 2 dealing with the fallout of what he did in ep. 1, so it's not like they were totally independent of one another anyway.

  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    yotes wrote: »
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Just out of national interest (I'm a Dane stuck in Norway for reasons, good ones though!), how did you guys like Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lector?

    He's pretty good at doing Lecter, I'm just completely irrationally bothered because his accent is a total mess that I can't place, it just... ugh. He sounds like me, a weird non-specific northern European dude, I'd prefer it if he sounded like Hopkins.

    He also looks too much like Mika Häkkinen. I like Mika, I don't want to associate him with cannibalism.

    I'm glad he didn't do a Hopkins' retread. He needed to make the character his own and Lecter can be more then what Hopkins did with him, and even then his impression wasn't the first - that was Brian Cox in Manhunter.

  • yotesyotes Registered User regular
    I'll admit I've never seen Manhunter and wouldn't have known about it if it hadn't been mentioned in a half sentence in the used beat-up copy of Red Dragon I read a while ago. It looks like it wasn't the most popular movies, anyways (the 76th highest-grossing film of 1986, according to wikipaedo). Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs was the reason that Hannibal Lecter is a well-known name.

    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    yotes wrote: »
    I'll admit I've never seen Manhunter and wouldn't have known about it if it hadn't been mentioned in a half sentence in the used beat-up copy of Red Dragon I read a while ago. It looks like it wasn't the most popular movies, anyways (the 76th highest-grossing film of 1986, according to wikipaedo). Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs was the reason that Hannibal Lecter is a well-known name.

    So? Every actor playing a role, including one made famous by other people, deserve the freedom to have their own spin on the material. Mikkelsen is very talented and delivered with his performances. It'd also make the good characters look like idiots for not realizing Hannibal is a psychopath like Hopkin's rendition was like. They know he's a bit "off" not that he's a serial killer hiding in plain sight.

    Harry Dresden on
  • SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    I only glanced at the OP, but Hannibal looks a bit like Steve Buscemi.

  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    Isn't Lecter Eastern European? At least that's what I thought but I haven't seen Hannibal Rising in forever and haven't read the books.

    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    edited April 2013
    Mulletude wrote: »
    Isn't Lecter Eastern European? At least that's what I thought but I haven't seen Hannibal Rising in forever and haven't read the books.

    The only book I read was Hannibal and it was enjoyable. The movie adaption wasn't a good. I'd like to see what Fuller can do with the premise.

    Harry Dresden on
  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    Watching the pilot. I really like the way both Will and Hannibal are being played.

    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
  • mojojoeomojojoeo A block off the park, living the dream.Registered User regular
    Wife and I gave this a spin. A few things.

    A). This is slow character study stuff. Well acted. Not action packed but very good.
    B). The amount of violence is pretty shocking for network tv but I get it- they need ratings so its getting looser.
    C). It is not following the bad guy of the week formula exactly thus far. The story spills over the story flowed vs here's a self contained hour.
    D). Scott Thompson in a serious role. I love it to death. Kids in the hall for ever.

    The Hannibal characterization is spot on. Will... I'm a little Leary of. "Super autism" powers is a lil odd. but he is very similar to the brilliant characterization of will in man hunter by the second episode.

    The tattler reporter is 'free range rude.' She had better watch her self.

    Chief Wiggum: "Ladies, please. All our founding fathers, astronauts, and World Series heroes have been either drunk or on cocaine."
  • Mike DangerMike Danger "Diane..." a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered User regular
    Mulletude wrote: »
    Isn't Lecter Eastern European? At least that's what I thought but I haven't seen Hannibal Rising in forever and haven't read the books.

    Yeah, he's Lithuanian.

    Steam: Mike Danger | PSN/NNID: remadeking | 3DS: 2079-9204-4075
    oE0mva1.jpg
  • MulletudeMulletude Registered User regular
    I like the interactions between Hannibal and Will.

    I don't like so much the group dynamic of the people they have working the evidence (and the fact they are always the same people) and whatnot. Kinda feels like CSI there.

    2 episodes and pretty good so far.

    Will definitely keep watching.

    XBL-Dug Danger WiiU-DugDanger Steam-http://steamcommunity.com/id/DugDanger/
Sign In or Register to comment.