After a couple of episodes into the first season, it is possible to talk about general impressions only. However, if you're a fan of the Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, you might already be a tad disappointed.

The "new" Hannibal is modernized and faces some challenges. The main is how to attract the viewers with Dexter and several incarnations of CSI and similar shows behind them. Secondly, we all know who the real bad guy is, so the authors will have to offer something of the extraordinary. This is what they've tried, yet the main challenge remains.

Although i'm no fan of such shows, i must admit that the cast is well chosen and the plot fulfilled my expectations. Mad Mikkelsen with his menacing appearance and a foreign accent is a good choice for Hannibal, but there is a trifle in his craft that put me off. He should work on his pronunciation, since some of his lines are impossible to understand without the subtitles... This was not the case in Casino Royale (2006) where he was a worthy adversary to James Bond.