'Hannibal' review: Worth all the blood?

"Hannibal" arrives on NBC Thursday night, and it's not too much of an overstatement to say that this is one of the most anticipated shows to arrive on NBC since "Smash." Expectations are high and so is the body count. But the key question - will this drag some viewer bodies to a time period that is effectively DOA on NBC? It may well do that, but... ah yes, there's always a "but" with NBC.

My review: 

The soundtrack is one long unbroken caterwaul of an overworked synth machine: A ballet score for the dead. Scenes are often filmed outdoors in bucolic settings - a peaceful late fall afternoon, or deep in the green shade of a forest where terrible things have happened.

It's easy, or at least tempting, to admire the artistry of his grisly craftsmanship until a thought slowly forms, then gradually takes hold: "Hannibal" isn't quite the sum of its admittedly evocative parts. The story is often strained, or like that poor synth operator, overextended; the shocks tend to be operatic - oversold as opposed to a deft sudden jolt to emotional solar plexus.

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And if Will is such a genius at reconstructing crime scenes, why can't he look into that sinister Lecter soul to see the crime scene going on in there? Everyone else in the audience can. "Hannibal" just feels like a waste of a big talent - Fuller's.