Look away… just look away because this post
may contain a series of unfortunate writings.
Yna and I decided to spend our last weekend binge watching
Netfix’ latest show, A Series of
Unfortunate Events. This American dark comedy television series was based
on the children’s novels of the same name. It stars Neil Patrick Harris (Count
Olaf), Patrick Warburton (Lemony Snicket), Malina Weissman (Violet Baudelaire),
Louis Hynes (Klaus Baudelaire), K. Todd Freeman (Arthur Poe), and Presley Smith
(Sunny Baudelaire). The show also features Joan Cusack (Justice Strauss), Aasif
Mandvi (Dr. Montgomery Montgomery), Alfre Woodard (Josephine Anwhistle),
Catherine O’Hara (Dr. Georgina Owell), Don Johnson (Sir), Cobie Smulders
(Mother), and Will Arnett (Father).
The first season adapts the first four books
of the series; A Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Widow, and The
Miserable Mill. It contains eight episodes which run forty-two to
sixty-four minutes long.
The story focuses on the three Baudelaire
siblings; Violet, Klaus and Sunny, who were left orphan after a mysterious fire
burned down their home and killed their parents. This led them to be placed
into the care of their distant relative, Count Olaf, who is very desperate in
claiming for himself the family fortune that children will inherit at a certain
age. The siblings must escape Count Olaf’s sinister attempts to steal their
fortune as they find answers to uncover the mystery of their parents past.
The show was built a dark atmosphere as the show consisted of mysteries, murders, and dark humor. It also didn’t stray far from its origin and was still able to follow the flow of the story from the novels, although there were still some differences between the show and the books.
Harris gave justice to the word menacing with
his portrayal as Count Olaf, the show’s primary antagonist, and his disguises. He
differed from the performance that Jim Carrey delivered on the 2004 film
adaptation as he didn’t replicate the Carrey’s trademark extreme movements and
expressions, but still as creepy and sinister. But as a fan of How I Met Your Mother, it will be difficult to not see Barney
Stinson in Count Olaf and not compare the two characters. It was as if Harris
took pieces of Barney Stinson and placed it on Count Olaf. With some similarities
between the two characters' personalities such as being narcissistic and
deceitful, it was like watching one of Barney Stinson’s attempts to pick up
girls by pretending to be someone else. Still, his performance was enjoyable and Count Olaf is a character we would love to hate.
The children each delivered a fantastic
performance. They did great in showing the personalities and characteristics of
their roles. And it was amazing that Weissman has a striking resemblance with Emily
Browning when she played as Violet Baudelaire in the 2004 film adaptation.
Casting Warburton as Lemony Snicket was a right move since his deep and booming
voice was a good choice for the show’s narrator.
I will advice not to skip the opening theme
since the lyrics (as well as the footages) vary every set of two episodes,
since each book is adapted into two episodes. The lyrics are references to the
stories per novel.
Netflix strategy in releasing all episodes at
the same time will satisfy your cravings if you’re looking for a good show to
watch in one sitting, and if you’re someone who can’t wait a week for a new
episode. Still there are 9 more books the show must go through and we’ll still
have to wait until they give us the next season.
Overall, A
Series of Unfortunate Events is a very enjoyable show. I didn’t appreciate
the 2004 film adaptation that much but this series made me a fan of the story. Events
in the story and its dark comedy will leave you feeling weird and entertained, the
twists and revelations will surely surprise you, NPH, as well as the rest of
the cast, demonstrated showmanship and talent, and this series is just a good
quality show that it will be hard to look away. It’s unusual to say but I want
more unfortunate events.
The complete first season (eight episodes) was
released worldwide last January 13 on Netflix.
Rating:
8.5/10
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