Netflix Adapts “A Series of Unfortunate Events” for the Small Screen
By Leah Liceaga
Photo by Leah Liceaga.
Are you familiar with the Baudelaire orphans? The three are the protagonists in Daniel Handler’s book series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” written under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books have been turned into a Netflix series, with the first season already up and a second one promised. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Count Olaf, Patrick Warburton as narrator Lemony Snicket, Malina Weissman as Violet, and Louis Hynes as Klaus. Baby Sunny is played by Presley Smith, and voiced by Tara Strong.
Before I begin my review of the series, I will introduce the Baudelaires for those who may be unfamiliar with Handler’s work.
The orphans consist of the eldest child, Violet, an inventor; middle child, Klaus, the only boy, with a brilliant mind, who never forgets what he reads; and baby Sunny, the biter, whose teeth can cut through almost anything. Their sad tale of misery and woe filled a total of 13 books, published from 1999 to 2006. Since the final book was published, someone who seems to have taken depraved pleasure in their pain concocted the dreadful idea of bringing the Baudelaires’ woes from ink and paper to television.
With actor Patrick Warburton in the role of narrator Lemony Snicket, the first season depicts the first four books of the series over eight episodes; “The Bad Beginning,” “The Reptile Room,” “The Wide Window,” and “The Miserable Mill.” The show follows all of the books quite faithfully, which many fans, like myself, will no doubt find satisfying. It includes all of the Baudelaires’ tragic luck after the death of their parents.
In the first episode, the audience is shown the heartbreaking reaction of the Baudelaire children as they learn they are now the Baudelaire orphans from the family banker Mr. Poe, played by K. Todd Freeman. The loneliness and uncertainty of what will become of them as they spend a few uneasy days with Mr. Poe’s family, and the disappointment in discovering the squalor they will live in with their selfish guardian Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) is admittedly depressing to watch. Olaf quickly reveals that he only wants the Baudelaires’ fortune and treats them like servants. It is a depressing, but fitting, start to the show.
As in the books, the Baudelaire orphans rise to the challenges thrown at them, and they discover that they did not know everything about their parents. With the possibility that one of those secrets may have resulted in the Baudelaire parents’ deaths, the children try to find out more. With sardonic humor to lighten the woefully depressing, and the depressingly woeful, hardships of the children as they fight to uncover the past, their journey comes to life flawlessly on the screen.
There are divergences from the book, however, that make the show’s storyline differ from the original story, particularly if one has read the books beforehand like myself. There is subplot with Mr. Poe’s assistant, Jacquelyn Scieszka (Sara Canning) working incognito. She likely has the answers the Baudelaires are seeking about their parents’ pasts, but must chase after Count Olaf to stop his nefarious schemes against the orphans. There was no such subplot mentioned in the books, but it is interesting to watch- --along with the character Jacquelyn- --as she does everything she can to aid the Baudelaires and stop Olaf.
Each episode is also nearly an hour long, which may tempt some viewers to fast-forward to get to the excitement; the inevitable confrontation between Olaf and the Baudelaires. When his schemes are on the edge of succeeding, the orphans must act to save themselves.
The entire first season awaits those brave enough to watch, though I implore you once more, if this review has not done its job, to find a more cheerful source of entertainment. I believe Lemony Snicket recommended a book called “The Littlest Elf.”
