GEEK THIS!

NBC's Hannibal is based on the character Thomas Harris created in his novel, RED DRAGON. You probably recognize the name Hannibal Lecter from the classic 1991 film, Silence of the Lambs, which starred Anthony Hopkins in the iconic role and Jodie Foster in the role of FBI agent-in-training, Clarice Starling. This show and the movies (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and the 1984 film, Manhunter) all share the same inspiration.

Now, I’m still working through the movies and I may touch on them later this year, but today I want to focus on the television show. In a review for Silence of the Lambs I wrote on the website Letterboxd, I ended that review stating that the movies and this TV show were different animals. That is a word of caution before you dive into this world, or even if you have already been a part of it, but haven’t sat down to watch the most recent take on these characters. They do not work with each other at all.

For a series on network television, HANNIBAL is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic and absolutely pushes the envelope on the typical formula for shows. There is plenty of gore and nudity, though it is blurred.

The story focuses primarily on the relationship of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. Will is an empath. He has the ability to essentially experience the murders that he investigates and reconstructs them in his mind. All the while doing damage to his own psyche. That is where Hannibal comes in. He is a psychiatrist who is contracted by the FBI to work with Will and his team, run by Jack Crawford (played by Laurence Fishburne). In addition to working with Will to help break down each murder, he also sees him as a patient to check on his mental health.

The show is extremely well-written and acted. It is also a good mix of drama, horror, procedural, thriller, and mystery. It’s what stood out to me when I watched the first episode. It was like nothing I had seen on TV. It was unique and Bryan Fuller, the show runner and producer, knew that. He took risks, especially making the psychology as big a character as Will, Hannibal, or any of the other characters that showed up. Some of it went over my head, which I actually loved. That gives me a reason to rewatch it.

I can't spoil any part of this show. There’s too much contained in the three seasons that I couldn’t focus on anything in particular. What I will do is talk about characters. (You knew it was coming!)

As I mentioned before, Will Graham - played by Hugh Dancy - is an empath and put himself in the figurative shoes of the killers. His ability to empathize so strongly gives him a supernatural insight into these things and impoverished the course of the show does damage to him. Will is the “us” guy. We get to feel what he feels through every moment in each episode. Even though he is the hero, there at moments when you have to wonder.

Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter is absolutely fantastic. He has this calm, unflappable demeanor throughout the entire show that is chilling. He is essentially a dead soul, but he’s interesting all the time. I kept finding myself asking, What is he thinking? What is he planning? Every single time, I was surprised. I might have even rooted for him a little? Maybe?

The only thing I remember seeing Laurence Fishburne in before this was The Matrix, but that was ages ago. His role, Jack Crawford, fit perfectly with Will and Hannibal. In fact, the opening credit sequence contains those three characters because their relationships feed off of one another. He pushes Will a little more in every episode, in spite of the toll it could take on him. At the same time, he is manipulated masterfully by Hannibal. Again, these three characters work so well together.

NBC's Hannibal is based on the character Thomas Harris created in his novel, RED DRAGON. You probably recognize the name Hannibal Lecter from the classic 1991 film, Silence of the Lambs, which starred Anthony Hopkins in the iconic role and Jodie Foster in the role of FBI agent-in-training, Clarice Starling. This show and the movies (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and the 1984 film, Manhunter) all share the same inspiration.

Now, I’m still working through the movies and I may touch on them later this year, but today I want to focus on the television show. In a review for Silence of the Lambs I wrote on the website Letterboxd, I ended that review stating that the movies and this TV show were different animals. That is a word of caution before you dive into this world, or even if you have already been a part of it, but haven’t sat down to watch the most recent take on these characters. They do not work with each other at all.

For a series on network television, HANNIBAL is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic and absolutely pushes the envelope on the typical formula for shows. There is plenty of gore and nudity, though it is blurred.

The story focuses primarily on the relationship of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. Will is an empath. He has the ability to essentially experience the murders that he investigates and reconstructs them in his mind. All the while doing damage to his own psyche. That is where Hannibal comes in. He is a psychiatrist who is contracted by the FBI to work with Will and his team, run by Jack Crawford (played by Laurence Fishburne). In addition to working with Will to help break down each murder, he also sees him as a patient to check on his mental health.

The show is extremely well-written and acted. It is also a good mix of drama, horror, procedural, thriller, and mystery. It’s what stood out to me when I watched the first episode. It was like nothing I had seen on TV. It was unique and Bryan Fuller, the show runner and producer, knew that. He took risks, especially making the psychology as big a character as Will, Hannibal, or any of the other characters that showed up. Some of it went over my head, which I actually loved. That gives me a reason to rewatch it.

I can't spoil any part of this show. There’s too much contained in the three seasons that I couldn’t focus on anything in particular. What I will do is talk about characters. (You knew it was coming!)

As I mentioned before, Will Graham - played by Hugh Dancy - is an empath and put himself in the figurative shoes of the killers. His ability to empathize so strongly gives him a supernatural insight into these things and impoverished the course of the show does damage to him. Will is the “us” guy. We get to feel what he feels through every moment in each episode. Even though he is the hero, there at moments when you have to wonder.

Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter is absolutely fantastic. He has this calm, unflappable demeanor throughout the entire show that is chilling. He is essentially a dead soul, but he’s interesting all the time. I kept finding myself asking, What is he thinking? What is he planning? Every single time, I was surprised. I might have even rooted for him a little? Maybe?

The only thing I remember seeing Laurence Fishburne in before this was The Matrix, but that was ages ago. His role, Jack Crawford, fit perfectly with Will and Hannibal. In fact, the opening credit sequence contains those three characters because their relationships feed off of one another. He pushes Will a little more in every episode, in spite of the toll it could take on him. At the same time, he is manipulated masterfully by Hannibal. Again, these three characters work so well together.

There are a lot of other folks that pop into the show throughout all three seasons, but I don’t have time to get into them.

Last week on the show I shared a list of 12 pieces of entertainment I want to experience next year. This week I want to reflect on 2017 and share some info with you about the show.

Last week on the show I shared a list of 12 pieces of entertainment I want to experience next year. This week I want to reflect on 2017 and share some info with you.

Episode 76 Feedback

First off, though, I want to share a little bit of feedback from episode 76, “12 Things for 2018”. David Arington, who inspired last week’s episode and also hosts Helix Reviews wrote in to respond:

I just listened to your 12 Things episode and I have a few suggestions for good comics outside of Marvel  and DC. Paper Girls is a cool sci fi comic somewhat in the vein of Stranger Things (I think you may have talked about this on the podcast before, so you may have already read it.) Lazarus is a fascinating read. It’s about different factions of a future society and a class system and the lead character is nigh unkillable, so that’s pretty cool! Another one I love is Plume. This is a funny, fantasy Western, adventure series about a young lady and her magical sidekick searching for her father.

It is a Kickstarter project, and the fourth (and final I think) volume is on Kickstarter now. Also anything by Bryan Lee O'Malley is great (Scott Pilgrim, Lost at Sea, Seconds, even Snotgirl is pretty fun!)

Check them out if you want to, I know I enjoyed each of them. It was a good episode and I look forward to hear what you think about these things in the future!

Thanks for the recommendations, David! I highly encourage you to check out Helix Reviews. David has a lot of energy and is definitely excited to consume geek culture over there.

That right there is really what the heart of this podcast is: connecting with people and introducing things you geek out about with them. That’s a big reason that I started the podcast 5 years ago, to find people that were genuinely geeks and fans of anything and everything. (Yeah, if you can believe it, Geek This officially turned 5 this year. You can go back and listen to the very first published episode. I don’t necessarily recommend it, but you definitely can if you want a nice chuckle.)

So, yeah, this year was kind of big for me as far as the podcast goes, so I thought I would peel back the curtain a little and share some info that you may or may not be aware of. Here we go:

Bringing Back the Podcast

In June 2017, after a 6 month hiatus, I pulled the podcasting gear out of hiding and recorded episode 60. To be completely honest with you, I was very close to putting an end to the show. I have a Facebook Messenger group with David, Adam, and Mike - the other hosts of the podcast - and drove them nuts going back and forth on when and if I was going to figuratively and literally pull the plug. Scheduling four people to record is not an easy feat, I promise!

We Got A Sponsor

Five consistent episodes later, we got our first sponsor with Geek Fuel. I am still floored that something like this even happened. As a hobby podcaster, for a brand to email you and say they’re interested in sponsoring you… yeah, that almost never happens! I’m extremely thankful to Matt Quiett over at Nerds Domain for helping out with the logistics of that. Please go check out his podcast network, especially if you’re into role-playing games. He’s doing some great stuff over there.

Making GEEK THIS Better

This next one is a little mix of personal and podcast-related, but I won a contest and earned myself a year-long membership to Daniel J Lewis’ Podcasters’ Society. If you’re not familiar with Daniel, I like to call him my officially unofficial podcast mentor.

Last week on the show I shared a list of 12 pieces of entertainment I want to experience next year. This week I want to reflect on 2017 and share some info with you.

Episode 76 Feedback

First off, though, I want to share a little bit of feedback from episode 76, “12 Things for 2018”. David Arington, who inspired last week’s episode and also hosts Helix Reviews wrote in to respond:

I just listened to your 12 Things episode and I have a few suggestions for good comics outside of Marvel  and DC. Paper Girls is a cool sci fi comic somewhat in the vein of Stranger Things (I think you may have talked about this on the podcast before, so you may have already read it.) Lazarus is a fascinating read. It’s about different factions of a future society and a class system and the lead character is nigh unkillable, so that’s pretty cool! Another one I love is Plume. This is a funny, fantasy Western, adventure series about a young lady and her magical sidekick searching for her father.

It is a Kickstarter project, and the fourth (and final I think) volume is on Kickstarter now. Also anything by Bryan Lee O'Malley is great (Scott Pilgrim, Lost at Sea, Seconds, even Snotgirl is pretty fun!)

Check them out if you want to, I know I enjoyed each of them. It was a good episode and I look forward to hear what you think about these things in the future!

Thanks for the recommendations, David! I highly encourage you to check out Helix Reviews. David has a lot of energy and is definitely excited to consume geek culture over there.

That right there is really what the heart of this podcast is: connecting with people and introducing things you geek out about with them. That’s a big reason that I started the podcast 5 years ago, to find people that were genuinely geeks and fans of anything and everything. (Yeah, if you can believe it, Geek This officially turned 5 this year. You can go back and listen to the very first published episode. I don’t necessarily recommend it, but you definitely can if you want a nice chuckle.)

So, yeah, this year was kind of big for me as far as the podcast goes, so I thought I would peel back the curtain a little and share some info that you may or may not be aware of. Here we go:

Bringing Back the Podcast

In June 2017, after a 6 month hiatus, I pulled the podcasting gear out of hiding and recorded episode 60. To be completely honest with you, I was very close to putting an end to the show. I have a Facebook Messenger group with David, Adam, and Mike - the other hosts of the podcast - and drove them nuts going back and forth on when and if I was going to figuratively and literally pull the plug. Scheduling four people to record is not an easy feat, I promise!

We Got A Sponsor

Five consistent episodes later, we got our first sponsor with Geek Fuel. I am still floored that something like this even happened. As a hobby podcaster, for a brand to email you and say they’re interested in sponsoring you… yeah, that almost never happens! I’m extremely thankful to Matt Quiett over at Nerds Domain for helping out with the logistics of that. Please go check out his podcast network, especially if you’re into role-playing games. He’s doing some great stuff over there.

Making GEEK THIS Better

This next one is a little mix of personal and podcast-related, but I won a contest and earned myself a year-long membership to Daniel J Lewis’ Podcasters’ Society. If you’re not familiar with Daniel, I like to call him my officially unofficial podcast mentor. He’s indirectly helped me create a better show in the last five years. Being a member of Podcasters’ Society is giving...

Forget New Year resolutions! I'm going to be tackling a list of 12 things to experience in 2018.

As you well know, New Year resolutions rarely hold up after the first month of the year, if that. Instead of making a list of unrealistic goals, I thought I would steal an idea from David Arington over at Helix Reviews. OK, maybe “steal” isn’t the word I want to use. I’m adapting the idea. How’s that?

For the past couple of years, David has made a list of things he wants to experience before his next birthday. There are a total of 12 items on the list to represent the 12 months in a year. (Makes sense, right?) None of the things on the list have to be done; this is more of a wish list of movies, television, comics, and maybe even games I’d like to check out by the end of next year.

All right. This list is in no particular order, by the way.

Enough explaining. Let’s get to it!

*

Re-watching the MCU

* After the release of the Infinity War trailer, someone posted an image stating if you watch one MCU movie every week, you can get them all in before it hits theaters in May. Challenge accepted. The bonus challenge is watching them all with my wife. She’s missed most of them, but is extremely excited for Infinity War. (She’s great, isn’t she?)

*

ALIEN Franchise

* As a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch horror movies, so I’m making up for lost time now that I’m 30. Alien is a much talked-about franchise, not just in horror, but in science fiction. I’ve watched the first two films and seen Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The challenge here is to finish the rest of them. Should I throw the Predator films in here, too?

*

Begin reading a new comic publisher regularly (Valiant, Image, Dynamite, etc)

* Over the last year I’ve seen that I am stuck in a rut when it comes to reading comics and I want to break out of it. I find that my collection - physically and digitally - is 85% Marvel and 15% DC. I want to expand my knowledge of publishers and read something outside of the Big Two. What would you suggest that I start with?

*

American Film Institute Top 100

* I would love to call myself a film buff, but I’m not. I’m a fan of film, but unfortunately since starting the podcast I’ve fallen into primarily watching and anticipating superhero movies. We’re about more than that here! Over the next year I want to begin watching the AFI Top 100 movies. I see this as challenge because there are films on here that I probably wouldn’t watch otherwise. I believe this will give me a better grasp and appreciation of the film industry and what it has to offer. As an exception, though, I’m going to skip anything I’ve already seen. (Seems obvious, right?)

*

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

* For whatever reason, this keeps coming up in various movie lists I find on the internet. I know absolutely nothing about it, so it’ll be a nice surprise for me. It’s streaming on Amazon Video right now, so I’ve decided it has to be a must-watch for me in the coming year. Who doesn’t like Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, am I right?

*

The Exorcist

* I’m already terrified of Linda Blair even though I haven’t seen this. I’ll save this for a day when I don’t have to sleep for a month.

*

The Shining

* This one is a little of a cheat. I’ve actually watched part of this movie, but never finished it. (I know! Shame!) That’s the challenge in 2018: finish The Shining.

As you well know, New Year resolutions rarely hold up after the first month of the year, if that. Instead of making a list of unrealistic goals, I thought I would steal an idea from David Arington over at Helix Reviews. OK, maybe “steal” isn’t the word I want to use. I’m adapting the idea. How’s that?

For the past couple of years, David has made a list of things he wants to experience before his next birthday. There are a total of 12 items on the list to represent the 12 months in a year. (Makes sense, right?) None of the things on the list have to be done; this is more of a wish list of movies, television, comics, and maybe even games I’d like to check out by the end of next year.

All right. This list is in no particular order, by the way.

Enough explaining. Let’s get to it!

*

Re-watching the MCU

* After the release of the Infinity War trailer, someone posted an image stating if you watch one MCU movie every week, you can get them all in before it hits theaters in May. Challenge accepted. The bonus challenge is watching them all with my wife. She’s missed most of them, but is extremely excited for Infinity War. (She’s great, isn’t she?)

*

ALIEN Franchise

* As a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch horror movies, so I’m making up for lost time now that I’m 30. Alien is a much talked-about franchise, not just in horror, but in science fiction. I’ve watched the first two films and seen Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The challenge here is to finish the rest of them. Should I throw the Predator films in here, too?

*

Begin reading a new comic publisher regularly (Valiant, Image, Dynamite, etc)

* Over the last year I’ve seen that I am stuck in a rut when it comes to reading comics and I want to break out of it. I find that my collection - physically and digitally - is 85% Marvel and 15% DC. I want to expand my knowledge of publishers and read something outside of the Big Two. What would you suggest that I start with?

*

American Film Institute Top 100

* I would love to call myself a film buff, but I’m not. I’m a fan of film, but unfortunately since starting the podcast I’ve fallen into primarily watching and anticipating superhero movies. We’re about more than that here! Over the next year I want to begin watching the AFI Top 100 movies. I see this as challenge because there are films on here that I probably wouldn’t watch otherwise. I believe this will give me a better grasp and appreciation of the film industry and what it has to offer. As an exception, though, I’m going to skip anything I’ve already seen. (Seems obvious, right?)

*

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

* For whatever reason, this keeps coming up in various movie lists I find on the internet. I know absolutely nothing about it, so it’ll be a nice surprise for me. It’s streaming on Amazon Video right now, so I’ve decided it has to be a must-watch for me in the coming year. Who doesn’t like Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, am I right?

*

The Exorcist

* I’m already terrified of Linda Blair even though I haven’t seen this. I’ll save this for a day when I don’t have to sleep for a month.

*

The Shining

* This one is a little of a cheat. I’ve actually watched part of this movie, but never finished it. (I know! Shame!) That’s the challenge in 2018: finish The Shining.

*

Fargo

* I started watching the Fargo TV series earlier this year (still in progress), but realized I hadn’t taken the time to watch the movie it’s based on. Apparently it’s great. We’ll find out!

*

Mr Robot

In the latest installment of the DCEU, Zack Snyder brings Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg together to take down Steppenwolf before he can bring an end to human civilization.

In the latest installment of the DCEU, Zack Snyder brings Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg together to take down Steppenwolf before he can bring an end to human civilization.

The general consensus of Justice League has been, “It was better than I expected” and “Not a great movie, but not terrible.” I don’t have an opinion that differs from those thoughts. While walking out of the theater, those were the exact thoughts I had. Sorry. I enjoyed Justice League much more than Batman v Superman, so that’s a plus!

This movie picks up not long after the events of BvS and it is highly evident. Black flags draped over buildings, huge newspaper headlines, in some ways, though, it was overkill for those of us that sat through the previous film. It also gave away a big moment that came later.

Snyder suggests through these visuals that the world hasn’t been the same since Superman died. While that might be true, there isn’t a good portrayal of the chaos that he wants us to believe is going on. We only see something is wrong when Batman encounters a parademon in Gotham City. Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio don’t give us a reason to care that the world is in danger, outside of this movie’s villain

Speaking of our villain, I have to say that he is biggest glaring issue with Justice League.

Sure, Steppenwolf was going to take over the world, but he didn’t really have the presence you’re looking for in a villain. I didn’t have a reason to be worried about who he was. In fact, his comic book origin is much more impressive. There should have been more of a play at bringing Darkseid into the DCEU, too. Granted, that would feel like a rip-off of Marvel bringing in Thanos, but it would have at least gotten us excited for what is planned. (And to top it off, making him a 100% CGI character was a terrible idea.)

Now that I’ve started talking about characters, it’s time to examine who we got in this movie.

Batman

The idea that Batman needed to put together a team of meta-humans seemed lost. Did Superman sacrificing himself in BvS really affect him that much? If so, it wasn’t that obvious to me. It served the general plot, but it was hollow. I happen to like Ben Affleck’s portrayal of the character, but I do have to agree with the opinion of Ben DeBono from The Sci-Fi Christian: he has nothing to do in this movie. Yes, he assembled the team and felt the need to sacrifice himself (which was not needed, period), but that was it. He was there to bring in people who were unfamiliar with the rest of the team.

Wonder Woman

I know a lot of people raved about her solo debut into the DCEU, but I wasn’t blown away. It was the best movie so far in the franchise and it did a good job introducing her while showing the strength of women. It just wasn’t a fantastic film. That said, I really do enjoy the character of Wonder Woman. For me, she’s the real glue that holds this movie’s team together. I vote she’s the leader and I really hope Gal Gadot returns to the role.

Aquaman

Aquaman is the first character in the film that we don’t get to meet beforehand. That, unfortunately, makes character development difficult. (That’s also an issue I have with the next two heroes.) While I haven’t seen Jason Momoa in much other than his stint as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, I did enjoy the majority of his depiction of Aquaman. The worst parts were the “surfer dude” persona that seemed to seep in every once in awhile. I’d like to see an Aquaman solo film to flesh out the character more, though.

The Flash

Obviously he was written to be the comedic relief for the movie.