This Week’s Top 5 TV Moments: ‘Hannibal’ Digs In

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There are scores of TV shows out there, with dozens of new episodes each week, not to mention everything you can find on Hulu Plus, Netflix streaming, and HBO Go. How’s a viewer to keep up? To help you sort through all that television has to offer, Flavorwire is compiling the five best moments on TV each week.

Bon Appétit

NBC’s gorgeous, violent Hannibal returned this week, removing whatever traces of crime procedural were left at the end of last season and following its title character to Europe. Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal and Gillian Anderson’s Bedelia du Maurier were the only recurring characters who appeared in Thursday’s premiere, which saw them visit two cities as elegant and refined as they are: Paris and Florence. The blatant fan service of Mads on a motorcycle didn’t hurt, either.

The Wachowskis Take Netflix

Sense8 is kind of a mess, but the entry of big-name directors like Andy and Lana Wachowski into the streaming landscape is newsworthy nonetheless. There are 12 episodes available on Netflix as of today, tracking the mental interconnectedness of eight individuals from around the globe. Any explanation beyond that isn’t really possible as of the first three episodes, but there is a fight scene merging a Seoul-based boxing match with a Nairobi street brawl!

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“It’s My Jon Stewart Dress!”

Melissa McCarthy knocked out two birds with one stone by promoting Spy and paying tribute to Jon Stewart all in one go. (Three birds, if you count giving Stewart an excuse to say, “I am all over you like a cheap suit.”) The actress showed up to her Daily Show interview in a custom garment plastered with various images of Jon Stewart’s face— McCarthy claims she wears it to ease the pain of his retirement.

“Say ‘Fine’ to the Shirt”

TV editor Pilot Viruet may prefer the “Dog Bachelor Party” cold open, but Inside Amy Schumer‘s most memorable sketch this week may be this spot-on parody of Say Yes to the Dress. As with Football Town Nights, its genius derives equally from its incisive commentary and understanding of its source material, following Amy and a Queer Eye-style guru as they search for a perfectly acceptable shirt for her fiancé to wear. Justin Long’s final, unexpected joy meltdown takes the sketch to a whole new level.

Throwdown at the Wildling Camp

Rape scene controversy aside, Game of Thrones has been in something of a midseason rut lately, with some plots lacking momentum and others becoming unremittingly bleak. Then “Hardhome” changed the game, showing two of the show’s most beloved characters riffing off one another before shifting into 30 full minutes of ice zombies. Jon Snow’s battle with the White Walker is the most visually ambitious and chilling Game of Thrones, which hardly lacks for ambition or horror, has ever been.