What I'm Streaming: NBC's Hannibal (2013)

Momma Told Me: Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Last month I featured Mr. Selfridge in our What I'm Streaming series. I was longing for Downton Abbey, of which Season 4 was released to Britain on DVD just a week ago, and I have already finished. I have since finished the 2013, first season, and picked up watching the currently airing second season with much anticipation from week to week. In general, I find it hard to consume (the perfect term for today's selection) a show in a standard season's session. Once I am hooked, I want to watch the entire series from end to end. Sometimes that is not entirely possible, but, thanks to modern media streaming, I can search out and 'taste' new shows in large chunks once they have aired. After previewing the pilot for NBC's Hannibal, last Winter, I was tickled to see the entire first season show up on Amazon Prime.

Do not mistake my previous streaming selection as any indication of whether you may or may not like Hannibal.  While you likely know of the blockbuster silver screen series, and novels, of the same name, this show is nothing like the pompous and period based Mr. Selfridge. What can I say, I have an eclectic taste in programming. Playing on societies love for crime dramas and an eerie curiosity of the macabre, Hannibal takes place in the namesake's younger days, when Dr. Lecter aided as a forensic psychologist for the FBI alongside (equally) main character and FBI criminal profiler, Will Graham. Those who are fans of the novels will recognize Graham's character from the Red Dragon novel which has been cited as the series' inspiration.

To be candid, you should have a strong stomach to consume this series. While I often require Jay to pause episodes of Bones, while we are eating, Hannibal takes the cake. The obvious cannibal element is quite prevalent in the background story of Lecter's exploits, and even in the sub story which runs parallel to the first season. Every episode a different series of murders is investigated, and in most cases, the killer revealed. The murders are arguably inventive, and a big draw to tune in, but the creative way in which character Graham places himself into a re-imagining of each of the crimes will set even the most conditioned viewers on edge.

Perhaps one of the aspects of this show I find most intriguing, alongside the criminal profiling and rich psychological build of the main characters, is the small touches put into Dr. Lecter's character. His passion for food is prevalent within the series and an almost cheeky stab at viewer's perception. We must always remember the beautiful spreads of food are most certainly not animal derived. And yet, the viewer is drawn into the multiple layers of Hannibal, who seems dangerously likable in the field assisting with crimes, and channeling profiler Will's unique talents. Hannibal is certainly not for everyone, but those who find themselves intrigued will be glad to know they can stream the first season now, just in time for the second season's premiere late this month!

What Daughter Says: Don't watch more than you can stomach- but, if you're in the market for a horror based series that ties in the crime-solving FBI angle, Hannibal is for you.