Does anyone remember "Hannibal Rising"? The 2007 film from director Peter Webber (based on a screenplay from the character's creator, Thomas Harris), was an origin story for the erudite, cannibalistc serial killer, giving us everything from Nazi nemeses to a tortured love story (and even an unfortunate visual callback to the iconic mask from "Silence of the Lambs" because how could they not).
"Hannibal Rising" represented all of the worst instincts of a prequel: the need to over-explain, the strip all mystery of mystique away from a character until you're left with the detailed scribblings in the margins of a writer's notebook ("and here's where the character learns to love fava beans"). It's the same instinct that gives us an unnecessary explanation for Superman's "S" shield and tortured noodling about in the first two-thirds of the "Halloween" remake where we learn that Michael Meyers had what could be called a troubled home life.
Which is what makes NBC's "Hannibal" not only refreshing, but quite smart: it never seeks to "explain" this enigmatic and charming monster--well, not directly, at least.
****Spoilers to follow****
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