"Hannibal" is a rare gem in the realm of broadcast TV drama. The last decade everyone has been looking to cable for quality, thought provoking TV dramas, HBO and AMC being the leaders of the pack producing a long line of excellent shows. However now it seems that broadcast has found footing and is starting to release shows able to take the fight to the cable channels. No doubt that "Hannibal" is among the greatest current dramas on broadcast and a prime example of how far broadcast has come.

The first 3 minutes of the pilot will blow anyone away, it is the best opening to a show since LOST's famous pilot episode, we are wasting no time and are quickly getting acquainted with the rather unnerving powers of Will Graham. But as his "powers" are turning from a tool he uses to solve crime into a manifestation that threatens to render him incapable of working with the FBI it becomes clear that he needs professional help. Hannibal is hired as Will's Psychiatrist to help him cope with the heinous crimes that he is trying to solve. The two form a unique partnership, Will the intelligent yet weirdly naive, unrefined and simple man versus Hannibal the equally intelligent but extremely well versed in etiquette, inter-human behavior and manipulation. If Hannibal thought Will would be an unfit opponent intellectually he has mistaken, Will is very much up to the task and that is what makes the show so great.

The show does not have the rating it deserve, but there are a plethora of reasons for this. The show is airing during the TV graveyard on Friday evenings. It has a little known main cast to Americans (except for Laurence Fishburne, who does a great job). It is based on a book/movie franchise (which rarely does well in TV adaptions, omit GoT). And the marketing by NBC has been, what should we say, less than adequate.

However the show has backing from European companies, so I hope that NBC can live with the reduced revenue from advertisers due to the ratings as they can to some extent rely on their overseas backing to keep down cost of the production.

Hopefully Hannibal will keep getting renewed so we get a chance to see Bryan Fuller's exciting plan for the show come into fruition. It is a stunning show, an excellent acting (Mads Mikkelsen is nothing less than brilliant as the title character), disturbing murder-of-the-week episodes, and the source material is so abundant that the show should have quality material for years.

Keep it cool NBC, you have a cult classic in your hands, don't waste the opportunity.