With the news that NBC is canceling Hannibal after three seasons, we at The Life Sentence thought it was high time we paid some well-deserved attention to Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As we did earlier in the year with Sherlock Holmes, we thought an excellent way to pay homage to Hannibal and his creator, Thomas Harris, was to take a trip down a very bloody memory lane and revisit all the different versions of everyone’s favorite cannibal.

And, as a special bonus, since the Harris universe is one that’s been richly explored on the large and, thanks to the genius that is Bryan Fuller (yes, we at The Life Sentence are massive fans of the show and we will not apologize), small screens, we’ll also look at who’s best represented Lecter’s friends, foes, and foodstuffs.

So as not to unduly influence the process, the list will be presented chronologically, starting with the first time Harris’s work appeared on the big screen.

Manhunter (1986)

Directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral), this is the first adaptation of Harris’s 1981 novel, Red Dragon, which introduced Dr. Lecter and Dr. Will Graham.

Manhunter stars William Petersen (he of CSI fame) as Will Graham.

Brian Cox (starting the tradition of Lecter being played by a non-American actor — Cox is Scottish) co-stars as Dr. Lecter.

Dennis Farina played FBI Agent Jack Crawford, who called in his former prize student, Will, to help catch another serial killer, dubbed The Tooth Fairy.

And speaking of The Tooth Fairy (also known as the titular Red Dragon of Harris’s novel and William Blake’s painting, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun), Tom Noonan played the killer — whose real name is Francis Dolarhyde — in Manhunter.

And now, on to the last film to sweep Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the Oscars.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Directed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Something Wild), Lambs is based on Harris’s 1988 novel of the same name, which is the sequel to Red Dragon. In it, Lecter is locked away in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he’s visited by newbie FBI agent Clarice Starling. Better than Wikipedia when it comes to other serial killers, Lecter is considered by Jack Crawford to be a possible source of information about a particularly vicious killer known as Buffalo Bill (you know him, he wants you to put the lotion in the basket). Lecter, of course, has other ideas and designs on the young Starling.

Lambs stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, in an Oscar-winning role.

Jodie Foster won her second Oscar for her portrayal of Agent Clarice Starling.

Scott Glenn took over for Dennis Farina as Agent Jack Crawford.

And we’re introduced to the smarmy Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald), the head of the Baltimore Hospital and one of Lecter’s favorite people to torment.

Next time around, we bid adieu to some familiar faces (no, we won’t eat them — cannibalism is frowned upon at The Life Sentence) while some remain.

Hannibal (2001)

Directed by Ridley Scott (Lambs director Demme declined to be involved), Hannibal is based on Harris’s 1999 novel, which is set 10 years after Lambs and sees Agent Starling under the unpleasant FBI spotlight after a bust goes bad. She comes to the attention of Mason Verger, a wealthy child molester who also happens to be one of Lecter’s victims whom he left horribly disfigured during a therapy session (please answer your page, Dr. Freud). Verger uses Starling’s connections to Lecter to try and draw him out of hiding — he’s in Italy, which will sound familiar to viewers of Fuller’s show.

Hopkins reprises his role as the titular cannibal, who’s now on the loose.

Julianne Moore takes over as Starling from Foster, who, along with Demme and Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally, declined to be involved in the sequel.

Though barely recognizable, Gary Oldman plays Mason Verger, a role that comes up again in the television adaptation.

And then, as if Manhunter never happened, the same book is adapted for the screen again.

Red Dragon (2002)

Directed by Brett Ratner and based, as was Manhunter, on Harris’s debut novel, 1981′s Red Dragon, this adaptation saw Hopkins once again reprise his role as Lecter, this time in the pre-Starling days.

Edward Norton took over the role of the tortured (first psychologically then literally!) Dr. Will Graham who’s chasing The Tooth Fairy after putting Lecter behind bars several years before, though not before Hannibal the Cannibal gave him a little nibble.

As Agent Jack Crawford, Harvey Keitel brought the G-Man a gritty toughness that balanced perfectly with Norton’s delicately damaged Graham.

Francis Dolarhyde, better known by his masticating moniker The Tooth Fairy, was played with fiendish glee by Ralph Fiennes.

And just in case you doubted The Tooth Fairy’s commitment to tattooing:

Only the most dedicated of Thomas Harris and Lecter fans are aware of the most recent film adaptation. It’s probably best that way — Lecter’s last big screen outing has a 15% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Harris and based on Harris’s 2006 of the same name, Hannibal Rising is a prequel to Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal. It traces the rise of everyone’s favorite cannibalistic serial killer.

Continuing the tradition of non-American taking on the role of Lecter, French actor Gaspard Ulliel plays the young Hannibal.

Even as a young man, he’d still like to share a nice glass of Chianti. You bring the fava beans.

Now it’s time for the current iteration of our dear Dr. Lecter, the current NBC television series developed by Bryan Fuller.

Hannibal (2013 - present)

Focused primarily on the events and characters from Harris’s novel Red Dragon, Fuller’s series stars Danish actor (chalk one more point in the “Foreign Hannibal” column) Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Lecter. He’s fond of expensive suits and well-prepared meats (all sorts).

His friend (or greatest foe?), Dr. Will Graham, is played by Hugh Dancy, who expertly balances wide-eyed confusion with steely determination.

Taking over the role of Agent Jack Crawford, Laurence Fishburne may be a bit slow to realize Hannibal’s true nature—he’s slippery that way, our dear doctor—but once he does, watch out.

New to the Lecter canon for the TV series is Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, played by Gillian Anderson, who started out as Hannibal’s own therapist and ended up as…much more.

Michael Pitt takes over Gary Oldman’s role as the rich child molester Mason Verger in the series, who has an…unpleasant encounter with Hannibal.

Fans of Law & Order: SVU will recognize the new Dr. Chilton, now played by Raúl Esparza. He’s much more dapper as a DA than he is as the smarmy plaything of Dr. Lecter.

We’ve gotten a peak or two at Fuller’s vision of The Tooth Fairy, at least from behind:

For those who are curious about what he looks like from the front, here’s a hint:

Still wondering? Here’s a less Shire-y version:

Fans at Comic Con were treated to an epic trailer of Richard Armitage’s transformation into Francis Dolarhyde and a lengthy look at how the serial killer will be integrated into the show’s remaining episodes.

So, Fannibals, who wielded the scalpel best? And what would a Hopkins Lecter versus Mikkelsen Lecter smackdown look like?