Izzard's look of puzzlement and "what next?" nearly caused my sides to burst. Chilton is one of those characters you love to hate.
As Hannibal states in the second film adaptation "Ah yes Dr. Chillton. Gruesome isn't he? Fumbles at your head like a freshman pulling at a panty girdle."
I've been putting off watching this show, and I just watched all 11 episodes this weekend.
The writing is superb. I fucking love it. They've done a few homages to the movies so far, such as "I'd love to have you and your wife for dinner" (Hannibal), and "your cologne, it's something with a little ship on the bottle, yes?" (Norton's Red Dragon). The fencing mask on the wall of his office was from Hannibal Rising.
Red Dragon is one of my favorite books of all time. They're really nailing the characters here. I'm actually really happy Lecter has a German-like accent.
As for Will's encephalitis, Lecter is like Dr. House with ZERO restraints. He has NO problem using people he considers friends as lab rats for experiments. As for his definition of "friend" he sees them as curiosities of human nature he's not quite able to understand, but knows he's supposed to have and/or want. Will poses a break in the intellectual boredom he faces every day. Everything he does is highly calculated. He does have moments of impulse (calling Garret Jacob Hobbs, snapping Franklin's neck, etc), but they're very few and far between. Mostly a result of unrestrained curiosity or annoyance.
I loved the addition of his "annoying people Rolodex" and how it was a second serial killer who killed the horn player. Though, it strained belief that they'd duke it out in his office and he'd call the cops. Odd, however, because Lecter does possess a pretty good knowledge of martial arts. Why he didn't fuck up the other guy in a heartbeat is strange to me.
I could go on and on, but in short, I like it. As a fan of the books, I approve.