Graham is a wonderful character, brilliantly seen and read in Red Dragon. This pilot is interesting because it kind of fits more with what we have seen with Manhunter, and that is perfectly fine with me.

I won't get into the plot, because we all know it. I will just simply say, this is a great pilot with some great familiar themes. My problem is it feels more like an episode of a miniseries rather than a TV show. I really hope Hannibal himself is pulled more into the background to allow for a network series gain some balance, because there is a lot of room for this to become a unique procedural drama. But I get nervous when an alphabet network gets a hold of a series like this because they inevitably begin to go for the cliché. Graham's visions, for example, I see becoming old if overdone. And if there is too much going on with the Lector story, this will burn out too fast.

I give this a six now, it could become a ten, but I see some things to be cautious about. If the show is smart enough to keep Hannibal as the secondary character he is meant to be and focus on Graham and the FBI, it has a good chance. Hannibal is a great antagonist, but the puppet master should not be seen unless need me.

This is NBC, there is a lot to worry about. If they want a Lector-heavy storyline then I hope they have an endgame in mind ala Breaking Bad, otherwise this will just burn out.

Fingers crossed.