 ©2013 NBCUniversal Media, LLC | When Hannibal was first shown I did not have access to SKY and let it fall by the wayside stored in that memory bank that gets rekindled when a show enters Netflix's roster.Now though with NowTV I have started to watch the series from the beginning.  My interest was piqued by reading The Art and Making of Hannibal: The Television Series which I have reviewed (here). The imagery combined with the way the cast and crew talked about the series captured my imagination and led me back to the TV show. |
The show is aired on SKY Living and at present there are two seasons available with Season three due to air in June in the US (UK date still to be made official at time of writing). The box set catch up though is very welcome and this is where our journey begins.
Hannibal: Season 1, Episode 1 Apéritif
| As far as opening s go this is a bit of a shocker, as we see Will Graham played by Hugh Dancy overlooking the scene of a quite brutal murder. The scene shows him as an awkward onlooker with a rather amazing talent to see the scene before it happens.This kind of visualisation is the key to understanding this first episode as it gives us a window into Graham's mind. Hugh Dancy does a great job of seeming ill adjusted to both his role as a criminal profiler and as a social animal. This helps to give Graham an issue that needs fixing, enter via the needs of Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) one Dr Hannibal played by the slightly disturbing Mads Mikkelson. |  Hannibal Series 1 Episode 01 "Apéritif" Dr Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) ©2013 NBC Universal Media, LLC |
Now most of us know who Dr Lecter is, Antony Hopkins epic portrayal in the Silence of the Lambs has led to many a parody. So the show creators waste no time in letting us know that Hannibal really is a cannibal. This is a stroke of genius from my point of view as why waste your signature character by layering him behind a mass of episodes when we all know who he is.
Unfortunately in this first episode we only get to see Lecter and Graham share a small amount of screen time but nonetheless the time they do spend together is great to watch. The way they interact as almost a teacher and a pupil feels reminiscent of Thomas Harris's original books without trying to force it down our throats. This all sets up a great investigation with a hint of luck, but the way the ending plays out shows the mark of villainy from the shows writer Bryan Fuller that has me intrigued as to the future of the show.
Unfortunately in this first episode we only get to see Lecter and Graham share a small amount of screen time but nonetheless the time they do spend together is great to watch. The way they interact as almost a teacher and a pupil feels reminiscent of Thomas Harris's original books without trying to force it down our throats. This all sets up a great investigation with a hint of luck, but the way the ending plays out shows the mark of villainy from the shows writer Bryan Fuller that has me intrigued as to the future of the show.
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