Hannibal Is Back, and Bloodier Than Ever

Last Friday, NBC’s ultra-violent serial killer drama Hannibal returned to prime time…and once again deluged viewers with graphic gore. Featuring the murderous character Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter from the movie The Silence of the Lambs, last season the TV program indulged in hideous levels of violence. The second season premiere, airing on February 28^th at 10:00 p.m. ET, hasn’t improved. Scenes in the episode included a close-up of a drowned corpse’s rotting, dessicated flesh; a man with his limbs glued to his body like a statue, who is surrounded by dozens of human corpses similarly glued and turned into human statues; and a dream sequence in which lead character Will sits down to dinner and finds a mutilated human ear on his plate. Also notable was one of the program’s sponsors: Trojan condoms. Previously, ads for prophylactics have rarely if ever been featured in prime time. Either NBC has had difficulty finding sponsors for its grisly murder/cannibalism drama (this wouldn’t be surprising, given that last year, Hannibal was one of the lowest-rated dramas on broadcast TV); or maybe the network feels that adding commercials for sex products are yet one more way for NBC’s bosses to demonstrate how “edgy” the show is. Regardless, NBC thinks that all this is appropriate for 14-year-old viewers, as it rates Hannibal TV-14. Wouldn't it be nice if parents got a say in how TV programs were rated?