Serializing the Classics: Can Iconic Films Make It On The Small Screen?

As you likely know, the Psycho and Hannibal Lecter series of films have now been given the contemporary prequel treatment on the small screen. In the last 40 days, Bates Motel debuted on A&E, while Hannibal premiered on NBC during the WonderCon weekend. These two films are among the most iconic in movie history. The question is, if we already know where the series’ must end, how liberal can the television series’ that fill in the gaps really be?

The newer of the two series’, Hannibal so far seems most likely to succeed. Despite being on a network long-known for letting good shows die rather quickly (typically by canceling early), Hannibal seems to be well produced and scripted. The series stars Mads Mikkelsen (CASINO ROYALE) as the titular Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Laurence Fishburne (THE MATRIX TRILOGY) as Jack Crawford and Hugh Dancy (ADAM) as a slightly tweaked version of FBI profiler Will Graham. Fans have seen glimpses of who Will Graham was before Dr. Lecter infected his life, but now we’ll see a different side as it is stated that he likely has Asperger’s Syndrome (a much milder form of Autism). This helps explain the wild imagination and almost total empathy, while shedding light on why he insists on limited social interaction and almost no eye contact. It also fits with the “all business” personality of the character that we saw from Edward Norton in Red Dragon. What we really need to see is how the “good” doctor progresses throughout the series. At the moment, he’s played rather well by Mikkelsen, though not nearly as creepily as by Hopkins. Not yet anyway. That may occur as we get farther down the line. Most of the menace from the character is what we, as fans, infer upon it. Since we know the endgame, we read more into it than may even be there, but I get the feeling that it’s exactly what the show runners are banking on at this point. NBC isn’t skimping on the creepy/shock factor for the crimes that the team investigates, that’s for sure. There are 13 episodes ordered for the first season, and so far they’re rather good, but fans deserve and desire more, and we’re hoping the content keeps improving.

Bates Motel is the prequel series to Alfred Hitchcock’s most (in)famous film, Psycho. Although we never saw her alive in the film or its sequels, the first certainly gave us a brief insight into Norma Bates. The first few episodes have been very rich and filled with decent characters, but Norman doesn’t yet feel like the Bates we’ve all come to know and be scared of. There’s a creepy factor coming off of Freddie Highmore (CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) that works for a young Norman Bates, but what I didn’t expect was for him to be a much less socially awkward version of the Norman Bates we all know and hate. Then there’s the real psychopath, his mother Norma, played wonderfully by Vera Farmiga (THE DEPARTED). While she may seem to be little more than a devoted mother, there’s clearly an underlying evil that I was surprised to see in just the first episode.  From there, every awkward moment I’ve seen appears to have the classic Psycho music in the background. Halfway throughout the ten episode first season, it’s already been a very promising start, worthy of the beloved series of horror films.

We should expect a second season, at least for Bates Motel, as it has already been ordered. We’ll be waiting awhile for NBC  to come to their senses and order a second season of Hannibal. As for whether they’ll do justice to the old stuff, we’ll have to take a look back after the end of these first seasons, but at present they’re working their way to becoming rather impressive. Now, I’d love to tell you it feels exactly the same, but as these characters are younger than their established selves, the fandom will have to decide.