Among the more critically acclaimed network shows over the past few seasons has been the NBC series Hannibal. Developed by Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls creator Bryan Fuller, the series, which follows the titular character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Mads Mikkelsen, began its third season roughly three weeks ago, to the excitement of many. Now …
There is a lot of very evocative scoring in this episode, referencing the repeated imagery of broken glass and distorted reflections. A tinkling, percussive sound is particularly prominent in the scoring for Will’s mind palace therapy session with Hannibal, Will’s discovery of the firefly-surrounded fountain, and Will’s presentation, to himself, of his tableau, Chiyoh’s prisoner adorned with broken glass wings. Along with this light sound, the fountain scene mimics the buzzing of the insects and as Will walks down to the dungeon, a rainstick stands in for the sound of water that the prisoner is allowed, his only connection to the rest of the world.
“Primavera” ended with a stunning surprise, Will standing in the catacombs under the Norman Chapel and, upon sensing Hannibal’s presence, offering his forgiveness to Il Mostro.
A crime procedural drama set in Los Angeles (sometimes called Boomtown) that is unlike any other show in it’s genre, in that within each episode a crime is investigated and told through the unique perspective of the individuals surrounding the felony, i.e. the criminals, the victims, the policemen, the detectives, the lawyers, the media etc. The story unravels as vignettes, with character title card chapters revealing that character’s side of the investigation. At best, the individual chapters serve as self contained and complete narratives that feed into the main narrative. At worst, a character chapter would break the momentum of the episode.
A far cry from the sweeping romance of “Antipasto”, “Primavera” returns viewers to Will Graham and the horror of the Red Dinner, which he relives as he lies in his hospital bed.
“Mizumono”, the tour-de-force finale of Hannibal season two, left fans wrecked, the two year arc of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter’s relationship reaching its inevitable climax as Will, Abigail, Alana, and Jack lay bleeding out in Hannibal’s home while Hannibal strode off to start his life anew.
As a classical musician, I can’t help but be influenced in my interpretation of Hannibal by its amazing score and soundtrack, composed and compiled by music supervisor Brian Reitzell. I’ll be reviewing Hannibal season three for Sound on Sight and along with each review, I’ll be writing up a few notes (or this week—thanks to the sheer volume of music—many, many notes) on the episode’s scoring and soundtrack choices.
NBC has given a series order to three new half-hour comedies to insert into their lineup for the 2015-2016 television season. The channel has handed out series orders for the Mark-Paul Gosselaar-starring People are Talking, the Patrick Warburton-starring Crowded, and the America Ferrera-starring Superstore. People are Talking is created by DJ Nash, whose last series, Growing Up Fisher, was …
Within a week ahead of the annual TV Upfronts, NBC has come right out of the gate ready to announce three new series that they will be ordering for the upcoming 2015 Fall season. According to The Futon Criton, NBC has given series orders to three new drama pilots for Chicago Med (a direct spinoff from Chicago Fire), a new Greg Berlanti mystery thriller series called Blindspot and an additional medical drama titled Heartbreaker starring Melissa George.
Over the years, the rise of DVD and streaming services have given many viewers a new option to watch shows, which in turn has led to audiences choosing to wait for a season’s release in its entirety before they decide to catch up with it. This has led to numerous shows finding an audience following …
It supposedly started with ’nothing to tell’. Though, as it turns out, there was a lot to tell. A group of six friends had enough to tell in order to create a pilot episode to a show that was quickly picked up by NBC in 1994. Over the next ten years, Friends became one of the …
This week, Parks and Recreation, created by Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, will finish its seven-season, 125-episode run. With that conclusion not only comes the end of one of television’s most rewarding series in the past decade, but the end of its main character’s long, memorable arc.
It seems more and more apparent that television can’t think of anything new. They just keep digging into films and remakes for new shows. Oh, wait. That may be everyone. Deadline reported on Tuesday that the late Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski’s limited series, The Decalogue is set to get the remake treatment at NBC. The …
Even though it is riddled with plot inconsistencies and even some slasher film/supernatural show cliches, Constantine starts to find itself as a show in its final three episodes as it embraces being a mythology lite, episodic show with a few season finale reveals and plot threads that could expand its universe and heighten the threat level of the Rising Darkness from being a silly name that occasionally, almost does something bad every other episode. But its biggest strength going forward is its small, morally ambiguous ensemble cast that really benefited from showcase episodes like “Quid Pro Quo” (for Chas) and “Angels and Ministers of Grace (for Zed and Manny) down the stretch. If it continues (either on NBC or as SyFy’s Hellblazer), Constantine has a solid foundation with these characters and actors along with sense of atmosphere and setting in most episodes.
Excavating through the vastness of television history to feature programs from broadcast past that were critically maligned and/or lost on the way to home video.
Michael Pitt, who played Mason Verger in NBC’s Hannibal, is leaving the show, according to TVLine. Joe Anderson (Across the Universe, The Divide) will continue the role of the sociopathic heir of a meat-packing dynasty who is full of himself for the third season. Some SPOILERS for Hannibal Season 2 follow, as well as descriptions of some …
“The Saint of Last Resorts” breaks the mold of a lot of previous Constantine episodes, which partially set up the character of John Constantine (Matt Ryan) as some kind of cynical, occult superhero instead of the hell-bound bastard and con-man from the Hellblazer comics. Instead of having Constantine initiate the case of the week with Zed’s (Angelica Celaya) scrying, this time he gets a call from his magic tutor, old flame, and member of the Newcastle crew Anne-Marie (Claire van der Boom), who has seen a baby snatched by a supernatural force. Because this is personal, John leaves Zed on her own at the House of Mystery, giving her first solo plotline to show how she has grown as a character, along with revealing a new threat other than the vague Rising Darkness. Director T.J. Scott uses the convent, landscapes, and graveyards of Mexico City to give “The Saint of Last Resorts” a real sense of atmosphere and writer Carly Wray mines world mythology and the Hellblazer to craft a primal horror plot as well as cementing once and for all that Constantine is vulnerable, charming, and occasionally funny, but not a hero.
Ever since NBC killed “Must See TV” on Thursday nights (RIP), the Peacock network has felt only spy/cop dramas (ex. Blacklist, State of Affairs, anything by Dick Wolf) and event programming (The Voice, football, musicals) can be successful. In other words, not comedies. Robert Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment chairman, fixes this problem for the seventh and …
With all the exposition and origin story trappings out of the way in last week’s pilot, “The Darkness Beneath” show readers what exactly John Constantine (Matt Ryan) does, other than con people, go to pubs, and chat with Chas (Charles Halford). This could be a typical case of the week type of episode, but writer Rockne S. O’Bannon manages to connect the monster to John’s past life, as well as some of the socioeconomic critiques that characterized early Hellblazer issues. He also introduces a new, improved female lead in Zed Martin (Angelica Celaya), who has an almost sultry chemistry with Constantine, and shows she can handle herself in a fight with the supernatural and then some. O’Bannon also doesn’t reveal his entire hand when it comes to her character, and the mysterious nature of her powers and connection to Constantine will be a intriguing mystery to follow throughout the season. “The Darkness Beneath” showcases Constantine as more of a con man than a pure spell caster, as well as someone who uses others to further his ends, even though they are positive in this case. He’s no hero. A few criticisms of this episode are that the citizens of the town exist as ciphers to move the plot, including a skeptical preacher (James Le Gros) who has some substantial screen time, and the director’s focus on pyrotechnics instead of terrifying imagery and chills.
The first and only season of Believe (so far) comes to a close with a series finale that focuses on the growing bond between Tate and Bo, and the difference between what drives Bo and Dani.
The danger posed by Dani comes to the fore as Tate and Bo confront Skouras while Winter tries to heal Channing in a thrilling episode.
Ferrell gets a look at the other side of the Orchestra vs. Winter fight as both her and her daughter are rescued by Bo and Tate, leading her to work with the latter to escape from the ensuing cave-in, in a strong episode.
The penultimate episode of this series features not one, but two train thefts. The first is an all-action set piece; the second, an old fashioned stick up. Yet all of the effort put forth by both sets of thieves into capturing the vehicles is for naught, as the big twist shows that the Patriots used the train as a diversion, with the actual mustard gas hovering above a meeting of the Texas and U.S. presidents.