TV review: A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 1 (Spoiler-Free)
After ten years, thirteen books and one divisive movie adaptation, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events has finally been given the longform television treatment it deserves. The new Netflix series is the perfect fit for the story of the three miserable orphans as it is not afraid to be seriously kooky and hilariously grim in a way that might not translate to any other platform.
As someone who has faithfully read the books multiple times (in both childhood and adulthood), I can say this new rendition of the very popular tale gives the series a new life. While being produced and mostly written by original author Daniel Handler, all creative decisions feel as if they are honoring the source material, even when new additions are made.
A Series of Unfortunate Events follows Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire (Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith), three children who have recently lost their parents and home in a devastating and suspicious fire. Their affairs are to be assumed by a dimwitted banker called Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman), who places them under the care of Count Olaf, an absurdly evil actor played by Neil Patrick Harris.
Each book is given a two-part episode, starting with “The Bad Beginning,” which gives the introduction of Count Olaf and the mysteries surrounding the Baudelaire orphans. The series reaches its peak with “The Reptile Room” and “The Wide Window,” with much of the content being reimagined and altered for television. It is in these two stories that a desired level of campiness truly appears.
Neil Patrick Harris is owed much of the success of this adaptation as he gives everything toward the portrayal of this ridiculously mean and disgusting character who is also the main antagonist of the entire series. Playing Count Olaf also means playing the countless disguises he comes up with to torment the Baudelaires and each guardian they receive, making the task of playing him one that needs to be met with dedication. This dedication and more is given by Harris.
Each episode is also narrated by “Lemony Snicket” himself, here played by Patrick Warburton in a delightfully woe-filled way. His primary job is to provide the clever allusions and commentary straight from the novels. At first Warburton may be a slight distraction, as he is well-known for his iconic voice. By the end of the first episode, however, it is clear that his acting can shine through his typical typecasting.
Because it has a print origin, translating the fantastical elements, like a cuddly viper or a baby constantly put in perilous situations, must prove a challenge for the showrunners. It is apparent that Netflix provided a sizable budget for these bizarre and CG-requiring moments. Sometimes the oddly shaped buildings and fictional towns stand out as cartoonish, but I like to attribute this to the absurdity of the premise itself. An on-screen version of this hyper realistic universe is surely harder to pull off visually than words on a page are.
Despite the occasional bout of stilted acting and artificial setting, A Series of Unfortunate Events stands as a property clearly made for the streaming network. It may not capture the attention of non-fans as easily as longtime lovers of the books, but it still exhibits a level of creativity and quirkiness that deserves to be checked out.
A Series of Unfortunate Events streams exclusively on Netflix
Image by Netflix
