H is for Hannibal

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge (if you wanted), to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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One of my mentors and dear friends, Gary Braver, once told me that Silence of the Lambs was considered a perfect thriller - in structure, in creep factor, in writing style. I'd have to agree, and even suggest that Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the one of the greatest villains of all time. 

Of course, Thomas Harris' creeptastic Hannibal character is a staple in pop culture, portrayed most famously by the great Sir Anthony Hopkins. A tough act to follow.

Which is why I wondered how the new TV series, Hannibal, would fare given the iconic role would be played by Mads Mikkelsen, most known for his bad guy character in Casino Royale. Don't get me wrong - he's creepy in his own right. But can he be as compelling a Hannibal as Hopkins?

Yeah, I think he can. Though I've only seen the pilot episode for Hannibal, I'm already hooked. Mikkelsen's accent is thick, but his mannerisms, his creep factor, and his dialogue is very Hannibal worthy indeed. 

The series is a TV adaptation of Red Dragon, another near perfect thriller novel by Harris. The pilot was beautifully shot, and while I admit, not everything made sense, I've got the gist of it - and the gist is brilliant. Like Fox with The Following, NBC is taking some risks with Hannibal and bringing a bit more thriller to prime time TV.

I, for one, am pretty excited about that.

Watching Hannibal? What do you think of Mads Mikkelsen?

- Dawn