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Hannibal – Coming back for another Season February 28th

image That wacky trickster of misdirection and fine cuisine, Hannibal will be back for a second season on February 28th. It’s been a while since last we saw Hannibal and I was worried we wouldn’t get to see more of his adventures. The audience is a fickle mistress and I felt like Hannibal didn’t pull in the audience like it should have. It’s a show that builds slowly, which is fine me, I like all the backstory, but I don’t feel others are so patient. My fears are put to rest and a new season is right around the corner.

When we left Hannibal, he’d been busy building quite the frame up job on Will. So much so, it left him behind bars and within an inch of his mind. Hiding his medical from him and doctoring the x-rays, Hannibal has spun Will right around. All the evidence in multiple murders point right at him and since he keeps blacking out and ending up in strange places in a compromising positions, it’s hard to defend himself.

So what treachery lies ahead for Season 3? Will Hannibal work to set Will free Is there someone else on his list to frame? And what new recipes does he plan to create?

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American Horror Story – Coven – Season 3

image With American Horror Story now done, my trilogy of shows have come to an end for the year. Was this one the best so far? That is a tough call. Season 1 was pretty damn entertaining. Season 2 was pretty damn shocking. And Season 3 was pretty damn weird. So where does that leave us?

I think this Season of American Horror Story had some great elements to it, but it also had a few things that left me scratching my head. I thought it was great how the witch and voodoo factions were against each other, but then needed to come together to defend themselves against the corporation. Although, the resolution to the band of witch hunters by bankrupting them felt a little shallow. They did try to make up for this with a good old fashioned showdown at HQ with the Axe Man. But there quite a few story lines that felt rushed and perhaps just thrown in to fill the episode. I felt that way about Season 2. New story lines were introduced and then dropped immediately.

I was downright excited to see the season finale. My friends and I had many discussions on who we though the supreme would be. My money was on Swamp Witch (Misty Day) or Nan. I thought Nan was a great character for this season and it was a damn shame ended up on the wrong end of a hot bath. I really hoped she was going to make it to the end and there would be some epic battle between her and Madison. Just as her powers were building too.

Speaking of Madison, wow, what a bitch. :) Funny thing is though, she had all the power and skill to take over and lead the Coven but somehow allows herself to be strangled by Kyle. She can go to hell and back but she can’t get out of a choke hold?

Speaking of hell, I’m disappointed with the last episode and how everything seemed so rushed with the Seven Wonders. Zoe impaling herself didn’t make any sense to me. There are better ways of killing her off if that’s what they needed. Misty getting taken out so soon was disappointing as well. I figured she would have gotten further than she did. And there was this big thing about going to hell and back and it takes mere seconds for the others to make the journey. It would have been more intriguing to see what each version of their hell looked like. And really, arguing with Kyle is Zoe’s version of hell? Weak.

It feels a little cliché that Cordelia becomes the Supreme, but only after being encouraged by Myrtle. The daughter of a Supreme becoming the next one makes sense, but not the way they put it together. And after her triumph she does a TV infomercial felt like a bad ripoff of X-Men.

I really did like the show, but the last episode kind of bugged me. Like I said, it all felt really rushed as though it should have taken two episodes to get all that done. But still, a good season and there is no doubt I’m tuning in for Season 4, which is such a long way away.

One thing did come as a complete surprise to me – Madame Delphine LaLaurie. I didn’t realize this was a real person and thought it was a modern interpretation of Elizabth Bathory. I thought the abuse to the slaves was a change to the virgins Bathory bled and then executed. But oh no, LaLaurie is real and is her own special kind of crazy. She did indeed murder slaves, but managed to flee and then disappear. It’s rumored she died in Paris. Pretty damn weird.

So what say you? How did American Horror Story Coven compare to Asylum and the original? I thought this season was really good until we hit the last episode or two. So many side roads that could have been trimmed to make more room for a better finale. Anyone else feel the same way?

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Dracula – Season 1

image To be honest, the Dracula story and vampires in general have just about been done to death to the point where stupid emo teenagers are getting into the act. But I suppose we can always try another take on the idea and for this go round we have Alexander Grayson as a business tycoon who wants to put the oil men out of business and light up the world with his new wireless electric light. An interesting statement about our current oil situation don’t you think? We also have several changes to the allegiances and friendships that we’ve come to know from the story. Renfield isn’t a mindless stooge, Van Helsing and Dracula have a rather different relationship this time around, Johnathan Harker isn’t quite trapped, but his grip on Mina is slipping and his hatred of Grayson is growing. And let’s not forget the legion of hunters that have been called in.

So does this rendition of Dracula have what it takes to keep and audience and generate a couple seasons of TV viewing? Well, it’s not a bad start. This Dracula is quite a bit different than the book. He wants to be a businessman and walk in the light and he’s brought Van Helsing along to help him with those goals. Or has Van Helsing risen Dracula for his own gains? And by gains I mean revenge?

What is the end goal for Grayson? Is it just to push lighting on the world? What are his bigger plans? And now that Harker has sabotaged the entire project and mangled the hell out of a city block, what do we have coming for next season?

The fact I ask so many questions means I’ll tune in for the next season. This take on Dracula isn’t too bad. He has money, he’s building power and he can kick ass when he needs to and beat someone with their own arm.

At times the story feels a little haphazard and it suffers from the same long breaks. Either take a break and play everything together on the other side of Christmas or move the show to a different month. Skipping episodes for weeks on end is a pain in the ass. But overall I was on board with Dracula. I think it will get better for next season once they’re given the chance to develop the story more. I did like all the background info, especially on Renfield. Of course, it looks like he’s a bit of distress as the final episode comes to an end.

So what do you think? How was this Dracula? Lots of vampire shows have come and gone. I think the last one I was on board with was Moonlight, which I felt had a lot of potential, but got canned. Let’s hope this Dracula has more success .

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Sleepy Hollow – Season 1

image For their first season, I think Sleep Hollow came out with an interesting story with nice twists and turns and offered some unusual variations on history.

First, we have the Headless Horseman. Is he just a specter that roams the night looking for head that show off with a cannonball? Oh indeed not. He’s far more than that. He may be one of THE horseman. And his presence could spell certain doom for us all.

Next, we have Ichabod Crane. Clearly not the gangly pedagogue with a veracious appetite for chicken and pies. This Ichabod is much greater Interventional Man of Mystery gifted in solving puzzles and unraveling the riddles that George Washington left behind. Seems Washington was quite a believer in the supernatural and knew the end time would come. He may have even cheated death for a short time to lay out the roadmap to save the world.

And then we have Abbie Mills, the witness. A strong cop who has no choice but to believe in and work with Ichabod even though he’s been dead for nearly 200 years. The old world and the new world collide and they make a pretty good team.

Sleepy Hollow turned out to be a fun blend of fiction and fact, such as events of the Salem Witch Trials. But there are the new takes on history like Washington coming back from the dead, his secret bible and the lost colony of Roanoke just to name a few.

We also have some changed to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow story itself, such as Brom and Ichabod were best friends and it was Katrina that came between them. Katrina and Ichabod do indeed get together, but Katrina has a past and bloodline that Ichabod never knew about.

It all comes across as great fun and comes to a head with a dramatic cliffhanger. The "Soul Eater" takes off his mask and reveals some pretty shocking details about his life. Clearly Ichabod, Katrina and Abbie are in some serious soup. I anxiously await the next season to see how get themselves out of this mess and where the clues will lead them.

The only think I have to complain about were the long breaks. Every time I turned around it seemed the show was on another 2 week break. Come on now, you lose fans that way.

So what did everyone else think? Decent first season? What do you think of the new Ichabod? We know he doesn’t like Skinny Jeans. :)

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