Year: 2017
Season: 1
Country: US
Language: English
As a child I was an eager bookworm, consuming every piece of literature I could come across. A Series of Unfortunate Events was certainly a favorite of mine. Created by Lemony Snicket (pen name of American author Daniel Handler) they are a series of thirteen books that have sold more than 65 million copies worldwide. The series was known for its dark humor, sarcastic storytelling, and anachronistic elements.
After the loss of their parents in a mysterious fire, the three Baudelaire children face trials and tribulations attempting to uncover dark family secrets. The creepy Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) follows them wherever they go.
An adaptation starring Jim Carrey and directed by Brad Silberling was made in 2004, but it failed miserably due to a mismatched tone and the fact that they tried to condense 13 books into one feature length film. One film is not a "series" of unfortunate events. Thankfully Netflix fixed this issue by giving each book two episodes; spreading the overarching story out and giving the characters far more room to grow.
A Series of Unfortunate Events succeeds in reaching a vast variety of demographics. It certainly has a story meant for youth, but the themes of loss, grief and disappointment resonate amongst all ages particularly because of how serious these emotions are treated. Neil Patrick Harris plays the Nosferatu inspired Count Olaf quite impressively, managing to be both a dastardly heel that the audience can hate and cannon fodder for the audience to laugh at.
Overall Netflix's episodic adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events is a captivating picture that will have audiences of all ages hooked from beginning to end. I went in with low expectations and found myself astonished by how much work went into this production. I can't wait for Season 2!
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