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Scaretissue.com is proud to present our guest today, Harvey Gibson. Harvey is a film student living in Canada. I met Harvey on the set of Fear Clinic last year, and we spent quite a bit of time brainstorming on ideas. When not in school, he works as an educational assistant and as a tooth cobbler’s delivery boy. He also moderates the official Tumblr for the Fear Clinic movie (fearclinicmovie). You can follow Harvey on his personal Twitter (@horrorchamp) or on Instagram (@horrorchamp1408).
Harvey offered to do a write up on one of his favorite shows currently on television, Hannibal. Thanks Harvey!
With the first episode of NBC Hannibal’s second season airing recently, I have taken it upon myself to do a little write up on this refreshing television series. NBC Hannibal is set in between Hannibal Rising and Red Dragon, but in our present time (the events in the book series happened during the 80s). The TV show focuses on the main character from Red Dragon, special agent Will Graham and his particular style of crime solving, as well as the events leading up to the titular character, cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter, being arrested as the Chesapeake Ripper.
As an avid fan of the entire Hannibal Lecter series, I was at first very wary of it being adapted as a television show. Hannibal Lecter is an iconic horror/thriller character. The book series was wildly popular and spawned a handful of great movies, Silence of the Lambs starring Anthony Hopkins being the most famous of them all. Anthony Hopkins will always be my favourite version of Hannibal, but newcomer Mads Mikkelsen brings something very special to the character of Hannibal Lecter. Mikkelsen has an incredible grasp of subtlety. His portrayal of Hannibal is so on point that it is almost painful. The way that Mikkelsen carries himself, and even the smallest twitch of his facial muscles, adds so much depth to Lecter’s on-screen persona. His Lecter is very different from Hopkins’ Lecter, or even Brian Cox’s Lecter, but I think that Mads Mikkelsen plays Hannibal as he would have been during that period in his life.
The cast is quite impressive. Hugh Dancy plays mentally tortured Will Graham, Laurence Fishburne takes over as Behavioural Science Unit head Jack Crawford. Raúl Esparza steps in as the delightfully greasy Doctor Chilton. Eddie Izzard plays a fabulous killer in the show, and the lovely Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame makes a reoccurring appearance as well. David Bowie was even approached to come on to the show as a character for the second season. The supporting cast brings something special to the show as well. Dr. Alana Bloom, portrayed by Caroline Dhavernas, is a powerhouse who will not be overshadowed by her male coworkers. The forensic investigation team has been adoringly nicknamed “Science Siblings” or the “Sassy Science Team” by the fans.
Add that stellar cast to gorgeous cinematography and brilliant writing and you’ve got yourself a mind-blowing TV show. Grisly murder scenes will make gore-fans squirm with morbid glee. There is so much symbolism in the show, and everything is very deliberate. The dynamic relationships between the characters are very real and impactful. Not to mention the online fan community. “Fannibals”, we’re called. We enjoy a special relationship with the crew at NBC Hannibal. They tweet and tumblr like the rest of us, interacting with us the same way we interact with each other, and really pay attention to what the fans want. An example of their close involvement with the fan community would be how we have been treated with almost the entire cast decked out in flower crowns. (Mikkelsen, Dancy, Fishburne, Esparza) Even Winston the dog and one of the prop corpses got the flower crown treatment.
Despite everything it has going for it, NBC Hannibal was stuck in the death spot of TV, Friday nights at 10/9c. I love this show dearly and highly recommend any horror fans to check it out. I could heap praise upon this show for hours but my words don’t mean much unless people are watching. Please, go watch it for yourself, and if you enjoy it like I do, support it! Buy the seasons when they come out on DVD, and make sure to tweet and hashtag while an episode is airing! Networks are looking more and more at the feedback from social media to help make decisions about the TV shows they choose to hold on to. NBC Hannibal is a worthy investment of your time, I promise.
http://youtu.be/XVhl6WgMTGw
