Horrific Television: Attack of the Remakes/Re-Imaginings

The old cliché “nothing is sacred” is alive and well in the world of television. In the past few months, several new TV series have been announced that are inspired by classic horror films. As usual, I’m skeptical (big surprise). That being said, I’m also hopeful for some of the projects. All of the announced series are based on films that I included in my list of 13 Favorite Horror Films, so I want these programs to be good.

The first of these remakes I heard about is a Hannibal Lecter-based show on NBC from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Daisies is a fantastic series and it was cancelled far too early during it’s run a few years ago. However, it’s not exactly dark in tone, at least not in the way you’d want a Hannibal Lecter vehicle to be dark. Also, NBC is not exactly a forum for edgy, inventive television. With the exception of a couple comedies, the network is woefully boring and predictable. I hope the brass at NBC is allowing Fuller and his team some freedom in bringing Dr. Lecter to the small-screen. Hannibal needs to be frightening and sinister with a hint of charm like the film The Silence of the Lambs, not goofy or tongue-in-cheek. I also hope the series won’t be too much of a “cop show,” procedural and bland. The word is that Hannibal will be focused on the relationship