REVIEW: "Hannibal" Season 1

NBC's Hannibal just wrapped its first, intensely gripping season on Thursday, and it  was quite a ride. I've mentioned a few times what "my kind of show" is, and this is an example of something that ordinarily would NOT be up my alley. Graphic murder and mutilation scenes and long in depth conversations about the nature of serial killers and mental illness is not exactly my cup of tea. In fact, the only reason I can even stomach it is because it airs on the content censored NBC- if this was HBO, forget it.

Despite the nature of the material though, Bryan Fuller is doing something different here, and his treatment of the story is why it can and does appeal to someone squeamish like myself. This is of course, based on the Thomas Harris books about Hannibal Lecter, but not yet the stuff we've already seen, like Silence of the Lambs or Red Dragon. It's set before Red Dragon takes place and acts as a prequel to Hannibal's incarceration years, when he was out in the open and still a practicing psychiatrist. Fuller and his writers have the freedom to make up his backstory, while still using familiar characters to fans of the book. He plans to eventually enter the book stories and go all the way through (given enough season renewals of course), in order to create the definitive Hannibal Lecter screen adaptation. It's a pretty ambitious plan and not totally dissimilar to what Game of Thrones is doing, but with more freedom to play around in these early pre-Red Dragon years.

And he's got quite the Hannibal to pull it off. Played previously by Brian Cox and then of course to unforgettable heights by Anthony Hopkins, here it's Mads Mikkelson who takes on fiction's most notorious serial killer. When your goal is as lofty as trying to make people forget Anthony Hopkins, this would seem to be a difficult reach, but Mikkelson instantly inhabits and creates a brand new and mesmerizing Hannibal that's all his own. He's cold, suave, charming, but sincere and serious, even underplayed, in direct opposition to the way the films portrayed him. You're drawn in by him, wondering what his game is, what his angles are, when and if he's going to strike. Mikkelson has the benefit of course, of playing him while hiding in plain sight, rather than openly taunting his opponents from behind the glass, yet his charming sociopathy wins you over in even the darkest moments. It's thrilling to see Dr. Lecter in this new and insightful light.

But I should warn that the show will definitely try your patience. It's extremely cerebral and as I said before, much of it consists of long conversations between people about the philosophy of killers and people who can think like killers. Hugh Dancy is Will Graham, the first first FBI agent to go up against Hannibal Lecter, and he's actually the true lead of the show. In this pre-book era, he tracks murderers for the FBI and is a patient of Lecter's, whose assigned task is to keep his sanity functioning while he's constantly using his Sherlock-like abilities to inhabit the minds of killers. Of course, the ever lingering question is when will the truth come out, and I'm extremely happy to say that it is not Fuller's intention to let that drag on for years and years, as he has the complete saga in mind here.

There are however, some things that annoyed me about this first season. One is the extremely over the top, gruesome nature of the murders. Not the gore itself, but more the fact that there seem to be way too many insanely creative serial killers on the loose all at once, and every time they start to track a new one whose victims are showing up in the nuttiest and most public ways possible, I couldn't help but think this kind of thing happening every single week would make national news- not just everyday humdrum. It's not as if the show is happening in a total fantasy world here, it is still the United States in present day, right? The other factor is the slight repetition of the deterioration of Will's mental state, which (spoiler alert) seems to go on to the point of ludicrousness in the way the FBI insists on keeping him there, despite his own pleas to quit and requests for help. This continues for several episodes in a row (like 6-8!) and was starting to remove me from the story at one point, but any time a narrative plot starts to bug, Hannibal shows up to save the episode and captivate your attention once again. And with the finale, it ends on such a great cliffhanging high note, that it made me want it back so much I'm willing to forgive every slight that bothered me about the season. I personally cannot wait to see Clarice Starling show up in a hypothetical Season 5 and go toe to toe with THIS Hannibal Lecter. Any votes for who should play her? Mine's Jennifer Lawrence. It's a pipe dream, but hey, we've got years to get there.

Grade: B

Season Trailer: 

REVIEW: Top of the Lake

Top of the Lake is an original miniseries that aired on the Sundance Channel a couple of months ago and is now available for streaming on Netflix. It was created, co-written and directed by Jane Campion, who of course is known for some great movies, such as The Piano and Bright Star, two of my favorites. Her films are always about repressed or lonely, yet intelligent women who experience sexual or spiritual awakenings. This adresses that theme yet again, along with many others, in a 7-part series that explores the effects of a misogynistic culture in a male-dominant mountainside town in New Zealand. It stars Elisabeth Moss as Detective Robin Griffin, a troubled and emotionally scarred woman who returns to her hometown of Laketop, and while there is called to work on a case involving the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year old named Tui. There are a myriad of suspects to be found in the case, including virtually all the men in Tui's family, who are abusive and reckless (Peter Mullan plays her villainous father in an electric performance), and while at work on the case, Robin's own tragic past as a victim of abuse is revealed piece by piece, as she struggles to re-connect to her childhood friends and family.

The series is an atmospheric, dark, and existential mystery, and like Rectify, another Sundance series, the lingering pace may not be for everyone and requires patience. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say if you thought Rectify was boring than this one is definitely not for you. But once again, I found this story to be rich, absorbing, thoughtful and even harrowing at times- despite its emphasis on mood and atmosphere, the show does not forget its central mystery, nor the personal ones that it sets up in later episodes. The series was shot on location New Zealand, and the cinematography is breathtaking, maybe reason enough to watch it. One of the most effective setups is to lay the backdrop of a truly beautiful, natural wilderness and expose the ugliness under the surface, which grows more violent and disturbing with each layer that is pulled off.

As for the acting, Elisabeth Moss is fantastic, and this is one of the few times where the wandering accent on an American actor was actually a non-issue for me. Maybe it helps that they gave her the backstory of having been a person originally from New Zealand, but spent at least a decade in Australia, so she has some excuse for not sounding EXACTLY like everyone else (or maybe as an American, i'm just more forgiving regarding the particular cadences of Australian/New Zealand accents). Either way, she conveys a subtle yet strong impression of a woman who's been traumatized and is deeply damaged, yet remains personally driven to resolve this mystery. I'v already mentioned Peter Mullan as the father, and the other standout is Holly Hunter as the leader of a woman's group that has set up camp in the town, and doles out what could be labeled wisdom or judgment or otherworldly advice, for all we know. It's definitely the most eccentric and mysterious role, you might even laugh when you see what she's doing here, but she does hold your attention.

Overall, I loved Top of the Lake, and hopefully it gathers up the number of Emmy nominations it deserves next month. There may be some quibbles with the ending though- so be prepared for that. I've said it wraps everything up, and it does more or less; the things that do remain unanswered can either be a source of frustration or the intent of Jane Campion to leave things open ended as a way of symbolizing big picture uncertainty. For me, it was little bit of both- and maybe that's not a bad thing.

Grade: A-

James Gandolfini 1961-2013

James Gandolfini, 3-time Emmy winner forever immortalized as Tony Soprano (The Sopranos 1999-2007) died suddenly of a heart attack today in Italy. He was 51.

In tribute, and if you want to be reminded of some of the best acting on TV ever, watch this great scene from Season 4, where Gandolfini and Edie Falco show what they can do:

RECAP: Mad Men 6x12 "The Quality of Mercy"

Well, tonight seems to have finally wrapped up the mystery of Bob Benson. Turns out he was once a manservant (!!) from West Virginia and has adopted a new identity to climb his way up the ladder of success, ala Don Draper, as we all recall. Pete is once again the person who finds this out as he attempts to get rid of him after last week's encounter, by shipping him off to Duck, who reveals the truth about his background. Faced with history repeating itself, and despite veiled threats from Bob and increased harassment of his mother by Manolo (perhaps Bob's boyfriend?) Pete rather surprisingly decides to let this go and tells Bob to just steer clear of him. Of course, you never know what's behind Pete Campbell's motivations, but judging by the title of this episode, it could be that this is maybe a smidge of actual progress for his character.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Sally debacle last week, Don has fallen into his usual drunken abyss and has taken to sleeping on Sally's bed to while away his misery, ignoring Megan's attempts to engage him in the slightest conversations. When Don and Megan see Ted and Peggy at the movies in the afternoon, suspicions about the two of them are validated by their rather obvious flirtations in front of everyone at the office. Ted decides to go all in on Peggy's idea for a commercial for an account, even though it puts them over their accrued budget by no less than $35,000 dollars, and so Don decides to deal with the issue by humiliating Ted in front of said client. This invokes the wrath of Peggy, who storms into his office and berates him for what i think is the third time this season for being mean to Ted. Don is more or less right on this one, but nevertheless curls up in a ball on his couch in the final scene, duplicating his position at the start of the episode when he woke on Sally's bed.

Sally's disappointment in Don has made her decide she wants to go away to boarding school and is taken for an admissions interview by Betty, who for once is actually encouraging of Sally doing something, even if she doesn't yet know what's prompting Sally's desire to go away. While at the school overnight, Sally befriends a couple of the girls and invites her old pal Glenn to sneak over and visit. Glenn brings a pal of his own and when the guy makes an unwanted pass at Sally, he fights him to defend her honor, which secretly pleases Sally. It's a cute subplot, and always good to see the odd Glenn show up, even if this time around he seems to have grown into more or less of a normal teenager (a far cry indeed from his first creepy introduction way back in Season 1).

Well, one more episode to go- and whatever's going down next week is apparently so secret that we're not even allowed to see the chopped up, randomly intercut scenes that Mad Men previews are famous for, lest we see a person walking down a hallway for a split second and spoil the whole damn thing. See you next week, folks!

Character Notes:

Ken- the poor guy was shot in the face with buckshot in this episode and everyone proceeded to make fun of him or brush it off, even as he cried over it in front of Pete. Whatever growth Pete may have shown tonight was not extended in sympathy towards Ken, as he immediately clamored to take his place with the jerks from Chevy to increase his own importance. Poor Kenny. The one decent guy in the office never gets any respect

Megan- very little on the Don/Megan front this week, considering the fallout from last week's resumed affair with Sylvia. No Sylvia tonight either, so we also don't know if that was a one time thing on Don's part or what. No, this week just brought us more scenes of Megan trying to talk to him and being continually ignored, and i now have no clue what, if anything is going to happen in the finale, although i haven't given up my theory that Megan could still be having her own affair that we're just not seeing. It would certainly be understandable, given that everything we've seen this season tells me that Don seems to have no feelings for her whatsoever

Joan and Roger- as a side note, it occurred to me tonight as we saw the both of them for about 30 seconds each, that they seem to have had very little screen time overall this season. i know Joan had a story involving Avon just a couple weeks ago, but we've yet to see the result of that plotline, and Roger i feel we haven't seen much of since the first couple of episodes.

REVIEW: Game of Thrones Season 3

With GOT's season finale aired last Sunday, and not having been able to recap it this year, I thought i'd do a quick review of the overall season instead. Fortunately, i happen to think this was indeed the show's best season yet, and am excited to see it return next spring for what's supposed to be another great year. I say that because you can apparently predict the quality of the seasons ahead of time, at least according to those who've read the books. They all say that Season 2 was a downgrade from Season 1 because the book wasn't that great, and that this third season was going to be amazing because Book 3 is considered one of the best in the series. As annoying as it can be to hear pronouncements like that thrown out from those who love being ahead of the curve and able to tease what they "know" is going to happen, I would say as someone who hasn't read the books, that this has, at least so far, proven to be the case with the show.

But i'd have to give most of that credit to the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, for structuring this heavily plotted series, particularly this year, in a way that greatly improved upon GOT's tendency to sometimes suffer from being a show mostly about people moving from one place to another. As impressively acted and produced as this show is, that's been my occasional frustration since the beginning- that and the can't-be-helped structure that comes with a massive ensemble cast, in following certain characters one episode only for them to drop out of sight completely the next week, etc. With a show like this you come to like certain characters only to be given minimal screentime with them in any given episode, and it becomes something of a chore to sit through lengthy scenes with a lot more people you care a great deal less about (for me that was pretty much anything involving Jon Snow and his obnoxious idiot girlfriend this year).

But i have to say, as much as my kind of show tends to be something that arcs more towards the Mad Men-style of internal character drama, Game of Thrones really kicked it up a notch this season, especially in the second half. The last four or five episodes seemed to spur the action into high gear, with significant, even episodic events taking place in each of the last few weeks, and it really is starting to feel like we're getting somewhere. The Red Wedding, was of course the big one that everyone couldn't stop talking about, but there was also Tyrian's marriage to Sansa, Jaime jumping into the bear pit to save Brienne, and Sam's fatal encounter with a dreaded Whitewalker. Weiss and Benioff are apparently starting to add scenes in that are not from the books, and that may be working to their advantage in some ways, as i've always felt that the truly great screen adaptations are the ones that become their own entity entirely.

But here's to a great season from the Game of Thrones crew, and here's hoping they can sustain the momentum going forward (they may have to get used to coming up with their own stuff anyway, as George R.R. Martin still hasn't come out with the sixth book yet and some of the kids on the show, who started out 10 and 11 years old, are getting older by the minute and starting to look it).

Grade: A

REVIEW: Rectify Season 1

Rectify, which premiered this past April, was the Sundance Channel's first original series, and it bowed with a 6 episode season before being renewed for ten next spring. From creator Ray McKinnon, it follows the life of Daniel Holden, a man who'd spent 19 years on Death Row for being convicted of the rape and murder of his girlfriend Hanna as a teenager. Now, new DNA evidence has come to light which voids his original trial and he's released back into the arms of his extended family as he returns to his hometown of Paulie, Georgia.

That's the premise, but this show does not explicitly promise to solve the original case and find out who Hanna's real killer was- although there are some developments in that direction as the season progresses. No, this show is entirely about the character of Daniel Holden, played by newcomer Aden Young, as he re-adjusts to life on the outside after spending two decades behind bars. Young gives a mesmerizing performance as a man who's grown so insular he cannot function any other way, speaking in a slow, mannered pattern and slowly observing every detail of the world as he now sees it. He's almost otherworldly, and it's alluded to that he may have been a bit of an odd duck even before he was imprisoned. Young commands your attention whatever he's doing, whether it's playing his old video games, giving long, impassioned soliloquies as he reasons out loud, or figuring out how best to communicate in everyday settings like restaurants and stores. Flashbacks to his time in prison are equally riveting, as we see how our experiences shape us and Daniel's only life experience cannot be usefully informed to dictate his behavior in the outside world.

The series establishes a sense of place and the characters who inhabit this setting better than anything I've seen since Friday Night Lights (which is very high praise, believe me). Aden Young is the focus, but every actor in the cast is giving a detailed and sensitive performance with characters who are particular, complex, and troubled their own ways, right down to the smallest supporting turn. Abigail Spencer is perhaps the other standout as Daniel's sister Amantha, who believes 100% in his innocence and has his back against the vitriolic attacks of the town's inhabitants, but i also think Adelaide Clemons as his stepsister-in-law Tawney, deserves mention. She plays a naive and repressed born again Christian who reaches out to Daniel with what she thinks is a forcefulness of purpose, yet occasionally betrays confused intentions.

The show does not claim Daniel was completely uninvolved in Hanna's death, and the mystery remains as to his guilt or innocence, but the little bit of detail that we are gradually let in on over the course of these episodes promises to play out further in Season 2. This is a southern gothic story with a spiritual bent, and it may not be for everyone, as the lyrical pace and contemplative tone might not incorporate enough plot or action for some to grab onto. But I was completely transfixed and for me these hours flew by. It's stuck with me ever since, and I can't wait to delve back in.

Grade: A

Trailer: 

EMMY WATCH: Critic's Choice TV Awards

Ok, so ahead of the Emmy nominations on July 15, there are basically two precursor awards for the television season  (not like the Oscars, where there are now a million precursors that usually determine the winners before the show ever airs). There's the Television Critics Association (TCA) that's been around since the 80's, and there is now the much newer Broadcast Film Critic's Choice TV Awards, which started handing out prizes in 2011. They had their third annual ceremony tonight and since precursors are becoming more important every year, it's worth noting the winners, as they may or may not end up shining a light on certain Emmy contenders. Here are the results for the major categories announced tonight:

COMEDY

Supporting Actress: Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) & Eden Sher (The Middle) (tie)

Supporting Actor: Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) 

Actress: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) 

Actor: Louis CK (Louie) 

Series:The Big Bang Theory

DRAMA

Supporting Actor: Michael Cudlitz (Southland) 

Supporting Actress: Monica Potter (Parenthood) 

Actress: Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) (!!!!!) 

Actor: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) 

Series:Game of Thrones & Breaking Bad (tie) 

MOVIE/MINISERIES

Supporting Actor: Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story: Asylum) 

Supporting Actress: Sarah Paulsen (American Horror Story: Asylum) 

Actress: Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake) 

Actor: Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra) 

Movie/Mini:Behind the Candelabra

As you can see, most of my excitement is reserved for Tatiana Maslany, who not only won here, but also secured a TCA nomination today and could very well win that too. I still think it's too much to hope for Emmy recognition, but given how incredible her performance is, if the critics keep pushing her through and people actually watch Orphan Black, she may be too much to ignore. If she did somehow pull off a miraculous nomination she's got the episodes to easily win- she's that good. No real surprises in the other categories, although this sudden critical love for The Big Bang Theory is kind of interesting. I'm thinking it's in response to its massive ratings and pop culture prominence, which keep increasing every year, and that could very well spill over into Emmy love as well. Michael Douglas begins here what will be his complete and very deserving sweep of the TV awards this season, and likely dominance in the Movie/Mini category for Behind the Candelabra as well. And here's hoping Elisabeth Moss can win her category for Top of the Lake, where she was SO good, and since she'll likely never win for Mad Men, it could easily be seen as a consolation prize from voters. And for what it's worth, I do expect the Drama Series Emmy this year to probably be between Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, so this result hints toward that coming as well.

Newsroom Trailer

The first trailer for the upcoming season 2 of The Newsroom is out. Aaron Sorkin's political drama is back July 14

RECAP: Mad Men 6X11 "Favors"

Well, let's get to the big reveals right off the bat, shall we? First up, Sally. My request for more of her last week was answered in abundance tonight, as Sally and her friend stay at Don's, and the teenager who's already seen and been through more than she should have is finally the woman to catch Don in the act.

Sylvia re-enters the picture in this episode, with her 18 year old son Mitchell, who's been drafted and about to be called up. In response to Arnold's request for help, Don embarrasses himself by bringing up the subject in front of the GM clients, so Ted volunteers to pull some strings with an International Guard buddy of his, on the condition that Don stop his internal war against him and come on board with his attempt to bring joint clients into the firm. Don is of course, doing this to get back into Sylvia's good graces, and it ends up working perfectly. Except for the part about Sally sneaking into the Rosen's apartment while Sylvia and Don are going at it to retrieve the love note for Mitchell her friend had slipped under the door. This leads to Don running after her to no avail, getting wasted in a bar, and coming home to kiss Megan and accept Arnold's gratitude right in front of her, which is too much for Sally to take, as she lashes out at him and flees to her room. Don weakly and pathetically attempts to tell Sally through her door that she didn't see what she thought she saw and that it's complicated. Sally is at first angry, but soon slips into grief and acceptance all in a few moments as she leans against her door and resignedly accepts her father's explanation. It's a knockout scene from Jon Hamm and little Kiernan Shipka, who's shown over and over again how good she is with difficult emotional material. But questions of course remain: How will Sally take this going forward? Is she going to stay quiet about it? Is she going to continue to meekly accept her father's rather terrible excuses and lies (first the robbery of their apartment weeks ago, and now this). We don't know yet, but here's my plea for the remainder of the season- can the Don/Sylvia affair be dead now, please, for good? Despite Linda Cardellini being very effective in this part, she's been my least favorite Don floozy ever, and i'd be more than happy to see her go.

In other news, the mystery of Bob Benson has finally been revealed! Or has it? We learn tonight in no uncertain terms, that Bob is in love with Pete, as he makes a pretty clear pass at him in his office. Pete is of course, unsettled by this, and we don't know where it's headed from here, but I have just one question. Really, Bob? Pete? Ok, so he's gay, that was one of my early guesses that i now wish i hadn't abandoned, but Pete? Of all people, i really can't see what the attraction could be, especially to explain the intense level of Bob's devotion, as he spells it out for him. But we'll see where this goes, as there could very well be more to the Bob Benson mystery in the next couple of episodes.

Finally, Peggy is relegated to being the comic relief tonight, as she battles a rat in her apartment, and is subjected to a terribly awkward conversation with Pete's mother about her attraction to the Spanish nurse Pete hired on Bob's recommendation. This does however, lead to a scene between Pete and Peggy for the first time in many years (i'm pretty sure it's been since season 2), where they actually seemed like friends. Pete claims a closeness between them and observes that Ted is in love with her, much to Peggy's delight.

So even though all my predictions have been wrong so far, I just can't help myself and I'm going to close with one more: as soon as Sally came back to the apartment I knew she was going to see something but I immediately assumed Don was too obvious and that it was going to be Megan having a surprise affair. It didn't happen, but since I still think something momentous will happen in Don and Megan's relationship, I'm now throwing that out there as a possibility. She claimed to be calling her agent in a random scene in this episode, but something about her demeanor was suspicious. What do you think? Could that be the twist?

REVIEW: Orphan Black Season 1

BBC America's Orphan Black is a Canadian series created by Graeme Manson & John Fawcett, which just finished its run last week, and if you've never heard of it (which was me until about two weeks ago) I am highly recommending it- find it, and watch all ten episodes now, because boy am I hooked.

Tatiana Maslany plays Sara Manning, a troubled orphan with a rap sheet, who returns home to Toronto after a year's absence, only to stumble across her doppelganger on a train station before said doppelganger jumps off the platform and kill herself in front of her. Don't worry, this happens in the first five minutes of the first episode and serves as the jumping off point to the show, so I haven't spoiled anything yet. The event serves as the catalyst to a web of cloning conspiracy that Sara finds herself caught in the middle of, and every episode of this first season was in equal parts entertaining, creepy, funny and suspenseful, with an absolutely fantastic performance in the title role. The show plots its surprises and revelations to unfold at perfect intervals, while never sidestepping the intersecting personal lives and emotional turmoil of each character targeted by the nefarious villains in the shadows and at the heart of the conspiracy.

But a show with this setup depends on the star's ability to play multiple versions of herself, and i really can't say enough about Tatiana Maslany here, who has the opportunity to create at least 5 fully distinct characters with different accents, manners, attitudes and styles, and interact with several of those people simultaneously, even occasionally impersonating someone who's actually impersonating someone else. As hard as that would seem to pull off, she completely knocks it out of the park in a way that would grab the attention of every awards body if this show was on any network besides BBC America. But since it is, and also since it's part of a sci-fi genre that's routinely ignored, I won't count on that to happen- but trust me, this is the best performance I've seen on TV all year- she'd be a breakout star if this was on ABC or FOX. So check out Orphan Black, it's addictive- Season 2 comes back in Spring 2014 and I've already marked my calendar.

Grade: A

Here's the trailer: