I've been too busy to do any real beauty related business in the last few weeks, but I thought it'd be fun to do a little rant about one of the shows I've been obsessing over instead.
I've been watching Hannibal since it started airing last month and instantly fell in love. When I heard it was going to be a Bryan Fuller project, I swear my little heart stopped and I had to force it to get going again. I was a HUGE fan of Pushing Daisies and loved the style and beauty of the work he did to make every shot as gorgeous as it possibly could be on that show.
It was incredibly sad and frustrating when the show was cancelled after the 2nd season. Critics and fans all agreed it was a masterpiece, but too unique and thoughtful and AWESOME for the average TV viewer. (Yes, that's my opinion with obvious spite, but whatever...moving on...)
So hearing that the man who brought me one of my favorite shows was now going to do a serial killer drama... it felt like a match made in heaven. My only concern is that the same thing will happen to Hannibal that happened to Pushing Daisies. It doesn't hold back at all artistically, once again every single shot is artwork, and I swear to God food has never been filmed to look so freaking beautiful, which is wonderful because no matter what, the beauty is tarnished in your head because you KNOW that isn't rabbit!!!
But regardless of how original and well done a show is, Pushing Daisies made it clear if the masses don't jump on board, the show will tank.
Hannibal isn't without flaws. The writing does at times get a little over the top and some of the dialogue gets so dramatic you find yourself giggling because it passes the line in to silly, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Don't psychoanalyze me. You won't like me when I'm psychoanalyzed." It helps break the tension when needed to give you a breath of fresh air considering you're watching a show about serial killers and cannibals.
All in all though I've been incredibly satisfied with the show. The acting is great, Mads Mikkelsen is a PERFECT Hannibal Lector and though Hugh Dancy's American accent gets a little wonky here and there, you still love him in all his awkward, overdramatic glory. The only character who seems particularly out of place is Lawrence Fishburne as Jack Crawford. Why is he so bipolar? Why can't he do anything himself? And WHY does he go to dinner at Hannibal's like...EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!?
Lastly, the crimes so far have been awesome. From a Minnesota Man kidnapping college girls to eat them for dinner to a guy growing mushrooms off corpses, the killers are definitely unique, twisted and really fun to watch. You absolutely have to have a love of things morbid and creepy to enjoy this show, but that should be obvious from the title alone. If there's Hannibal in it, it's going to be f$#%d up. Don't be one of those people that turns on the show and gets pissed that it's violent and scary. Well duh...
I definitely recommend this show to EVERYONE, because I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it does well and gets a 2nd season cleared. I'm a HUGE fan of the horror genre, and though the doors have opened considerably in recent years to networks becoming more accepting of darker content, it's still a struggle to get the masses on board and for a show to succeed when broadcasting violence and scares for our viewing pleasure.