I Love My Doctor!

My first foray in writing fanfiction consumed by online masses was in the Hannibal Lecter fandom.   I wrote under a different nom de plume, and at the time, all we had available was Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs (SoTL; book and film) and Hannibal the novel.  This was just before the movie came out.  We called ourselves Lecterphiles, and we were a naughty bunch that served proudly on the good ship Hannibal/Clarice.  The Good Doctor could do no wrong in our eyes, especially mine.  I was and am still here for this man.  Clarice too, but that’s for another post.

Hannibal Lecter, M.D., b/k/a “Hannibal the Cannibal” is one of the greatest characters in all of fiction.  He’s suave, smooth, brilliant, and refined, with senses keener than a bloodhound and an unmatched culinary cleverness.  He can eviscerate you with his tongue, his scalpel, and his mind.  The Good Doctor was brought to life a second time by none other than the great Sir Anthony Hopkins (the first incarnation was Brian Cox).  Sir Anthony’s performance was so perfect that he garnered an Academy Award despite being onscreen for less than twenty minutes, and the world demanded more…and more…and MORE…!

"and one...more...time...!"

You get the idea.  Anyhoo, NBC debuted a new series last month called Hannibal.  Helmed by executive producer Bryan Fuller, it is based on characters from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, and takes place some time before Dr. Lecter’s incarceration.  There is a massive playground here, as we know next to nothing about Dr. Lecter’s life during this time.  We know he killed, we know he was a practicing psychiatrist, we know he was an FBI consultant, we know he helped Will Graham with several cases…but what we don’t know are the details.  So this TV show gives us one possible set of scenarios. 

 

Dr. Hannibal Lecter has always been amazing to me; everything about him appeals to my dark side.  Sir Anthony’s flawless portrayal kicked my love up several thousand notches and I’d come to accept the fact that there would be no more of the Good Doctor post-Hannibal, since Mr. Harris isn’t writing anymore novels (at least I haven’t heard that he is; Hannibal Rising doesn’t count, for soooooo many reasons).  So when Noob told me that NBC was airing Hannibal, I was skeptical, but loved the character enough to give it a chance and I’m so glad I did.  We are seven episodes in and I have fully clocked in for this show.  It’s extremely well-done; it has a solid cast, brilliant writing, excellent music, spectacular cinematography, and it pays homage to the books and the movies, as well as other bastions of horror.  One such example is the bathroom in Room 217 of the Overlook Hotel; that malevolent entity disguised as a hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining, and another is a line from The Hulk.   Yet another is a line Dr. Lecter’s shrink (yes, he has one!) lays on him: “While I respect its meticulous construction, you are wearing a well-tailored person suit.”  ZING!!!  The ‘heads know these Easter eggs when we see/hear them, and the writers graciously sow the script with them. 

I'm mad about Mads.  He can get it.

Dr. Lecter in this current personification is played to the hilt by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and at first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Mads’ spin on the Good Doctor.  He’s smart enough to not try and re-create Sir Anthony’s masterful portrayal, as that would be ridiculous.  What Mads is doing is putting his own spin on this younger, un-incarcerated Hannibal Lecter, M.D., and it is utterly fantastic.  He’s mysterious and the audience knows what he is capable of, but the other characters don’t.  So it is fascinating and downright hilarious to see him doing it up in grand style, helping (so to speak) Will Graham and Jack Crawford search for…him…as well as other killers.  

During one particular scene, as they're tracking down an organ harvester, one of the CSIs talks about how she can track a missing ambulance using a bootleg GPS, Dr. Lecter says to Will, "This is very educational."   The inherent hilarity wrapped inside the stoic delivery is just...pristine! 

We get to see the Good Doctor dressed to the tens, working with patients, flirting, being a patient (Agent Dana Scully Gillian Anderson is Dr. Lecter’s psychiatrist), and above all else…cooking! His culinary majesty is a wonder to behold.  Mealtime is an experience; it is to be seen, smelled, touched, tasted, and heard…and to see Mads in the kitchen, getting it in, is damned sexy.  But don't take my word for it...

Dr. Lecter making love into sausage.  The stuffing is made from a human heart.

 

Here, the Good Doctor is preparing a meal that’ll make you take a deep breath.  Because it’s lungs...

 ...sauteed in wine.

This pic doesn't require a description.  Just a fan.

                           

Never mind the fact that he’s usually cooking human viscera; his meals look so fucking amazing I’d happily come for dinner, pun intended. What you hate is that the Good Doctor is always having folks over for supper, and sometimes they help him cook!  It’s completely fandamntastic!!!  I love this angle!  I love all the angles!  Fuller & Co. have an enormous playing field and they are definitely using as much of it as they can.   Play on, playas!      

                       

Dinner with the Crawfords.

 

The music might be the Goldberg Variations, but the man can dress.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of the Good Doctor…or even just good television (which is a rarity these days); I invite you to check out this magnificent show on Thursday nights at 10:00 on NBC.  Or do as I do and catch it on Fridays on Hulu.  What I’m hoping is that the show will get renewed, as it deserves to be, and what I’m hoping for even more is that it will be ready for purchase on DVD so I can watch the entire series on an actual TV set and study each episode.  Mads as Dr. Hannibal Lecter is smoking fucking brutally hawt, and I’m having dreams…which means it’s only a matter of time before the fanfics start manifesting themselves.  Y’all know how to interpret that.

Bon appetit?  Oh yes indeed!!!