“Look away, look away!” sings Lemony Snicket in the theme song for “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” a Netflix television show that released on Jan. 13. The show is an adaptation of the children’s novel series of the same name, written by Daniel Handler, who also serves as the head writer of the show. The books earned their fame for using a backdrop of gothic imagery, combined with meta-fiction imploring readers to avoid the story and comic themes to present an easily digestible plot with youthful charm. Despite subtle differences in narration that detract from the mood of the show, the television series provides a fun, ridiculous storyline as we waltz from episode to episode, that stays true to the original novels while adapting to a modern audience.
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” follows the journey of the quirky Baudelaire orphans: Violet, an innovative pre-teenager, Klaus, a book-loving young boy, and Sunny, a toddler with a talent for biting and a penchant for delivering snarky commentary through baby noises that only her siblings (and the audience) are able to understand. After their parents are killed in a mysterious fire, they are sent to multiple different guardians, each with their own uniquely ridiculous lifestyle. Throughout each plotline, Handler uses dark comedy and metafiction in a way that’s easily accessible to a young audience.
One such character is Montgomery Montgomery — even his name is absurd. He houses a variety of snakes, including one named ‘the incredibly deadly viper’ — later revealed to be one of the friendliest, safest snakes in the world.
The absurdist storyline is accompanied by great acting — the main villain, Count Olaf, seeks to usurp the Baudelaires’ large inheritance. Played by Neil Patrick Harris, Count Olaf isn’t the best bad guy — but he isn’t supposed to be. His poorly-planned schemes and elaborate disguises seem to fool everyone but the Baudelaire children, creating a character whose purpose is more for comedy than for true evil. Harris’ veteran acting plays well into the role, enhancing the comic effect with an absurdly exaggerated performance.
Perhaps the most notable character in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is Lemony Snicket, who serves as a meta-fictional narrator that develops his own character through both the books and the Netflix series. However, Snicket’s character worked much better in the novels. Where the narrator acted as a more whimsical messenger for Handler’s sardonic and cynical black comedy in the books, the Snicket seen in the show has an almost deadpan delivery. His portrayal by Patrick Warburton is Serling-esque, and his narration lays a tangible air of suspense. Though Warburton’s performance is enjoyable, it could’ve been much improved had the narration featured some of the quips that Lemony Snicket from the books would have made. The Snicket of the television series offered too many self-referential jokes that quickly became tiring, and seemed to distract from the Baudelaires’ story.
And while the constant forewarning to avoid reading the story was a fun literary device in the novels, it doesn’t translate well on-screen — it feels unconvincing and unnecessary.
The overall atmosphere of the show has many elements of Tim Burton’s style. Dark and dreary colors and slow pacing set a good stage for a moody show, but Handler’s plot is filled with ridiculous adult incompetence, and the Baudelaires narrowly escape misfortune in comically impossible ways, creating a unique dark comedy.
Netflix put in the money for extravagant sets, that take the Baudelaire from ‘the Reptile Room’ to ‘Lucky Smells Lumbermill,’ providing whimsical backdrops for the equally eccentric characters featured in the show. The exact time period of the show is unclear — where the costuming and set elements like classic automobiles or black-and-white films suggest a vintage time period, the dialogue makes subtle references to modern technology like Uber and Google, adding to the aura of mystique that surrounds the show.
Although the series is enjoyable for any viewer, it perhaps serves long-time fans of the extended Lemony Snicket universe best. Subtle references to storylines that happen outside of the Baudelaire story are everywhere, but are innocuous enough that new fans don’t feel left out.
With its droll, absurdist humour and ridiculous plotlines, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” does its job — it stays true to a popular novel series and provides an escape to a world more dark, but also more ludicrous, than our own.
