Hannibal : Apéritif

Episode 1

Bryan Fullers new drama based off of the character of Hannibal Lector.

The show will revolve around the blossoming relationship between Hannibal and Will Graham.

As a big fan of Hannibal (and the wonderful actor Mads Mikkelsen) I have decided to give this episode the "first episode blog test". Just like Karneval this will be an introduction into the series the normal way (via first episode) and by the end of the blog I'll let you know if I'll see the series to a end!

I have big hopes for the series as Mikkelsen is one of my favorite actors and Bryan Fuller is a very talented man.

***SPOILERS***

We start the episode off with Will Graham at a crime scene. A women lies dead on the floor. He closes his eyes and when he opens them again he is able to take away the present and see the past through the eyes of the killer.

This scene is a wonderfully written scene and the best way to introduce this series, it is something different, something special, like Sherlocks working out scenes. In this one introduction you already feel obliged to carry on.

It turns out that the killer has tampered with the phone and heard the wives conversation with the security people.

We then flash to the F.B.I academy and Graham holding a lecture on the murder case. We then get introduced to Special Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne). Crawford asks to "borrow" Grahams imagination on a case. 8 abducted girls.Graham points out that this isn't about all the girls but only one of them the "golden ticket".

Crawford talks Graham into coming to visit the latest girls family with him. After asking them about the cat that their daughter was meant to come and feed he quickly realizes that the house is a crime scene.

Entering her bedroom they find her body has been replaced onto her bed. Dead.

Graham finds a dog on the side of the street and takes him home and cleans him up. Seriously this dog is adorable, he calls him Winston. He has about 5 other dogs... I love dogs.

Anyway in the middle of the night he dreams that he is lying next to the girls dead body that slowly gets lifted into the air, he wakes up in a cold sweat and cuddles up into towels (never thought of that will have to remember it!)

There is a brilliant scene with Crawford getting firm on Graham in the toilets. He basically forces Graham to tell him what he believes. He doesn't sexually assault them, he kills them slowly and putting her back was an apology because he couldn't "love" her properly.  Now that itself is a point for the series as it is the perfect reasoning for Grahams character and just for Hannibal in general.

"Fear is the price of his imagination" now that is a quote that could go for anyone with a vivid imagination! Everyone I know that has a good imagination lives in more fear then people that don't.You imagine creepier boogey men!

The killer had taken her liver out and put it back in, the apology would have been he couldn't eat her liver as she has liver cancer.

Cue our introduction to Hannibal.

Crawford comes to see Hannibal, brilliantly played introduction as Crawford comes to the wrong door and Lector sends him to the waiting room to... Wait. Hannibal is played wonderfully, polite and rude in the same breath. The first meeting of Graham and Hannibal is quite funny to be honest, Crawford brings Hannibal into make a profile on Graham and that is what he does. But Graham knows that from the first moment and gets tetchy about it. You can see that the relationship is going to be something special.

We then flash to the next found victim, perched on a deer head in the middle of nowhere. Whilst they talk about the organs that were cut out we see Hannibal preparing those exact same organs. It seems there is a copy cat, one who is doing this for a reason and another who isn't...

It is one thing Hannibal eating things but when he gives Graham food..... Hannibal keep your habits to yourself boy! And the way he watches him eat it, very Hopkins like. It might be the best "bonding" scene since THAT scene in a submarine with a certain Mr Warner.

Whilst Graham figures out who the killer is (there was metal particals in the girls clothes which lead them to a building site) Hannibal phones the man to let him know that they are onto him. Naughty Hannibal! Also love the way he picks up the phone with a tissue and taps the keys with his knuckles.

When they get to the house the man has killed his wife? Slit her throat and it was very nice of him to be dumping the body out the front door as Graham comes along. Inside the house and he has a knife to his daughters throat, his golden ticket. Graham doesn't even think about it he just shoots him.

At the end Graham goes to see the victim and finds Hannibal already there asleep in the chair next to her.


A good first episode, intriguing. It wasn't like Karneval that hooked me right away but that is a totally different thing anyway. It is something that I will carry on watching, it is interesting and you wonder where they will take all this.

The acting was really good, the only problem with things like this is usually the acting lets any story they have down, but not so here. Mikkelsen is wonderful as Hannibal keeping little quirks whilst having the perfect face to play him as well. The rest of the cast were just as good, the guy playing Graham was wonderfully lost and Fishburn is always a pleasure to watch in anything.

The story was good, it wasn't the BEST story and it wasn't like it was a weak story to introduce characters. If you didn't know who these characters are before watching it you still don't know much about them now. There wasn't much information at all about the characters, but then the whole story was weak. When I say weak I don't mean bad I just mean when you look back on it there was no memorable moment, no real turning point. It just kind of plodded along bringing in the characters in a leisurely fashion and making sure to make it clear that Lector isn't a good guy.

Saying that there is a charm to it, maybe brought out by the acting, maybe because you could see the strength the story COULD have had, but just a tiny bit of charm that makes you want to watch another episode. That is the important thing. If it left me cold this would be the only blog with a warning not to watch as it was boring. But it wasn't. It was interesting, Graham in particular made it interesting, seeing how he works things out (as I said like Sherlock) makes you want to see what else will happen.

I think my only real disappointment (because a weak script as long as it is acted well like this one ISN'T a disappointment) was that the killer died. Yeah we have Grahams thought process and he is meant to be right but it would be nice to actually see Graham or Crawford TALK to the man and hear it from him.

One last word. We aren't going to be treated to Hannibal feeding Graham every week are we?

I'd really recommend giving this episode a go! I'll let you know on episode 2.