Many will argue that Hopkins is "the best and only" Hannibal, much like folk declare allegiance to Bond actors. But I like to think of each incarnation as seperate and of its time. There's no doubting that Hugh Dancy's Will Graham is streets ahead of Ed Norton's earlier portayal. Hannibal is easily my favourite Lector telling. It benefits from two things; The depth of field afforded the story by being a TV series and the ability to tap and reference the rich tapestry of what's went before. Hannibal the TV series is exceptional, a prequel that feeds directly into a narrative that feels fresh and yet familiar. Because of the intricacies of the known characters it plays out like a chess game. Intelligence is sexy, murder is horrifying... Sexy horrifying is so alluring as an entertainment form. The visual effects of this are mind blowing. I've never seen horror be filmed as artistically as this outside of Penny Dreadful. For 3 seasons this show thrilled and entertained. Now we are anticipating a 4th season to emerge from the gloom of Covid-19. Let's hope its writers have learned everything the original 3 seasons took in from the previous incarnations. Let's hope we remain horrified, mesmerised and even rooting for the biggest and baddest anti hero of Modern Horror.