Review: Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" Season One
*SPOILER-FREE!*
I definitely binge-watched this series way back in January or February, but haven't been ready to really review until now.
THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD!!!
From a book-to-screen standpoint, a remake-of-a-movie standpoint, and even just looking at it as a stand-alone series, THIS SHOW IS GREAT.
One of the greatest flaws in the production of the 2004 film based on the Lemony Snicket books was the attempt to make the story realistic. The plot is not meant to be taken seriously. Although the point of the series is that it is "unfortunate," in the books it is done in such a way that it is still entertaining. Snicket is a quirky, fourth-wall-breaking author, and the problem with the movie was that it was dark, and serious, and tried to be Gothic and sad.
The TV series adaptation, however, captured perfectly the feeling of the books. Where the movie neglected the character of the narrator, omitting the numerous vocabulary lessons and quirky foreshadowing which is the essence of the book series and Snicket's writing, the television show uses lines of text directly from the books to bring the Snicket atmosphere to the project. And the narrator's role could not have been cast any better: Netflix's ASOUE's Patrick Warburton fits the part delightfully.
Even dialogue and plot points not originally from the books but added by the writers of the show fit the Snicket tone:
Count Olaf: In all honesty, I prefer long-form television to the movies. It's so much more convenient...
[He looks directly at the camera.]
Count Olaf: ...to consume entertainment from the comfort of your own home.
Although it's a story of murder, death, fire, and kidnapping, it is still a series suitable for viewing by children. I learned so many new words from reading the books as a child; it's educational! And yet it is perfectly entertaining for older audiences as well; puns and jokes abound.
As I mentioned earlier, the casting of the show is spot-on. Neil Patrick Harris as the sarcastic and villainous Count Olaf, Malina Weissman as Violet Baudelaire, Louis Hynes as Klaus Baudelaire, Joan Cusack as Justice Strauss, K. Todd Freeman as Mr. Poe...all portray their characters valiantly and to the type.
Netflix's new Series of Unfortunate Events is an incredibly fun ride, and true to the spirit of the original book series, and is a far, far better adaptation than was the 2004 film of the same name.
5 stars.
I definitely binge-watched this series way back in January or February, but haven't been ready to really review until now.
THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD!!!
From a book-to-screen standpoint, a remake-of-a-movie standpoint, and even just looking at it as a stand-alone series, THIS SHOW IS GREAT.
One of the greatest flaws in the production of the 2004 film based on the Lemony Snicket books was the attempt to make the story realistic. The plot is not meant to be taken seriously. Although the point of the series is that it is "unfortunate," in the books it is done in such a way that it is still entertaining. Snicket is a quirky, fourth-wall-breaking author, and the problem with the movie was that it was dark, and serious, and tried to be Gothic and sad.
The TV series adaptation, however, captured perfectly the feeling of the books. Where the movie neglected the character of the narrator, omitting the numerous vocabulary lessons and quirky foreshadowing which is the essence of the book series and Snicket's writing, the television show uses lines of text directly from the books to bring the Snicket atmosphere to the project. And the narrator's role could not have been cast any better: Netflix's ASOUE's Patrick Warburton fits the part delightfully.
Even dialogue and plot points not originally from the books but added by the writers of the show fit the Snicket tone:
Count Olaf: In all honesty, I prefer long-form television to the movies. It's so much more convenient...
[He looks directly at the camera.]
Count Olaf: ...to consume entertainment from the comfort of your own home.
Although it's a story of murder, death, fire, and kidnapping, it is still a series suitable for viewing by children. I learned so many new words from reading the books as a child; it's educational! And yet it is perfectly entertaining for older audiences as well; puns and jokes abound.
As I mentioned earlier, the casting of the show is spot-on. Neil Patrick Harris as the sarcastic and villainous Count Olaf, Malina Weissman as Violet Baudelaire, Louis Hynes as Klaus Baudelaire, Joan Cusack as Justice Strauss, K. Todd Freeman as Mr. Poe...all portray their characters valiantly and to the type.
Netflix's new Series of Unfortunate Events is an incredibly fun ride, and true to the spirit of the original book series, and is a far, far better adaptation than was the 2004 film of the same name.
5 stars.
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