Clarice

Wow. The writing on this, in terms of plot and dialogue is cringeworthy throughout. The acting as well is simply flat.

I found the show enjoyable. For me it evoked memories of reading Thomas Harris novels and the classic original film.

I could care less how it compares to Hannibal on NBC. The negative reviews and the legion of hate piled on anything positive said about this show, is utterly ridiculous, one episode in. The Hannibal fan boys need to go away, so the real audience can give this show's potential the chance it deserves.

Overall this series is underwhelming, the storylines are disjointed and the subplots/tangents are unnecessary and distracting. The show tries way too hard to be 'Edgy', painting the main character as a psycho loose cannon who can do nothing right, which doesn't seem true to the character. A great premise that went wrong.

Silence of the Lambs was a character study and thriller that was hauntingly directed. 'Clarice' is a superb homage to the original and to the title character. It picks up one year after the Buffalo Bill case and it addresses the PTSD that still impacts the young Clarice, who is played by the excellent Rebecca Breeds. She nails the part, which is daunting considering that Jodie Foster was iconic in the role. She is subtle in showing the character's enormous strength, deft at trying to politically maneuver through the male dominated FBI power structure while showing her brilliance, and honest in showing Clarice's human vulnerabilities.

The directing is way above average for a TV 'procedural'. It has an art-house feel. Maybe too many flashbacks. Some of the male leads are stereotypical and too overbearing, but we are only 4 episodes in. Hoping for more development for those characters, but TV is longform.

This could be a decent crime drama ... chasing serial killers worked for Criminal Minds a long time and this is a character we know. Writers have to tone down tension shtick with her boss. It's overdone, implausible, and distracting. This tedious relationship will kill the show. That said, egotistical bullies in the FBI may not be off the mark.