A series of brutal murders have occurred across Maryland. The murderer is referred to as the Chesapeake Ripper, a re-emerging killer that has a liking for body parts and dismemberment (and a little bit of cannibalism). The FBI is baffled, so much that they turn to an unstable professor, ex-police officer, Will Graham for help. Graham’s gift is having the ability to look at a crime scene, reset it and put it in motion on how things occurred. Each time he does, though, Graham ingests the killer and slowly starts falling deeper and deeper away from who he is, and more to who he doesn’t want to be. Oh, and, the psychiatrist the FBI assigns to keep Graham in check is Dr. Hannibal Lecter — who has some nasty secrets of his own in relation to The Chesapeake Ripper.
{media load=media,id=2285,width=720,align=center,display=inline}
Good lord, folks. If you were afraid that this show was going to take some half-assed departure from the original film material, then you are sorely mistaken. The show doesn’t hold back on murders, as you get to see wonderful things such as organs being removed from live people, bodies being burned, faces being split and the oh so wonderful vocal cords of a victim being played like a cello. Again, if you think this show holds back from the atmosphere and grotesqueness of the films, you’ll be happily mistaken.
While the beginning of the show doesn’t hold back with the brutal visuals, and almost entices people to watch just for those, to be quite honest, it seemed like the show was trying to find some ground, as it didn’t know if it wanted to go X-Files with the series (as you get to see a set of murders by different serial killers taking place) or if it wanted to develop Will Graham as the focus of the show, leading towards a bigger picture. By the fourth episode, we get a solid picture of Will Graham and an even more developed picture of the main storyline, which is carried throughout the show from this point on. Once it gets to that point where it’s on track, we understand the fragility of Will Graham and the manipulative nature of Hannibal, everything starts working — a mental tug-o-war begins between the two.
The ‘hook’ that this show requires to keep it alive, because it can’t hold up with just Will and Hannibal going back and forth, is the mystery surrounding the Chesapeake Ripper, which in Twin Peak style creates an aura of ‘everyone is a suspect’. And it really doesn’t stretch the story out to the point where it becomes thin, like Twin Peaks did. The Chesapeake Ripper keeps the relationship between Hannibal and Will fresh, as it brings out the best and worst of both characters and helps to slowly develop them into something more than just two crazy men. It simply creates enough intrigue and drama to fit the allotted amount of space that the story is given to complete itself, and its character development — very BBC productions sort of deal. Anyway, I won’t give you any specifics because you need to watch it yourself.
At the end of the first season you will be left wanting more, and it better deliver in season two.
Before we move on to the Blu-ray, let me just add that the production studio could not have gotten better leads with Hugh Dancy (Will Graham) and Mads Mikkelsen (Dr. Hannibal Lecter). They are a perfect balance to each other and they absolutely command the show, and the viewer’s attention. Mikkelsen especially brings a large amount of intrigue, and a little bit of creepiness, with his calm and methodical play as Lecter. He makes the character very approachable, while at the same time very deadly. You can see it in his demeanor, eyes and speech. He’s perfect for this role. Beyond those two, Laurence Fishburne is a fantastic Jack Crawford, a man driven to uncover mysteries and keep everyone around him on track (even when Will is way-way-way off track). Everyone else fits their roles perfectly, but these three stand out (Oh, and Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall as well).
The Blu-ray portion of this release is impressive. Set mostly in a blue tone, much like the films with the same characters, you get a very gorgeous, grossly detailed HD transfer. Lionsgate, who is doing a great job overseeing some of the best Blu-ray transfers, did a fantastic job with the first season of Hannibal on Blu-ray. Blacks, whites, blues, and reds (yucky) shine through beautifully. There are no signs of graininess and no artifacts within the picture. Again, Lionsgate is starting to gain an impressive track record with HD transfers, so it fits the motif of their own recent releases.
As for the audio, you get it in 5.1 DTS-HD and the show comes to you in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.
Finally, as for features, here’s what to expect:
– Commentary
– Hannibal Reborn
– A Taste for Killing
– The FX of Murder
– A Symphony of Slaughter
– Gag Reel
– Deleted Scenes
– Storyboards for Pilot
I know what you’re thinking after looking at this list… GAG REEL? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. As for the other features, you get a real sense of the planning that went into this show and how they pulled out a new Hannibal, how it was done properly for the television format and also you get some fantastic commentary. All of the above is really good stuff. It will certainly extend the life of the show and prepare you for the next season.