Netflix has entered a new era of television by taking action and creating their own productions. Show after show, the entertainment company seems to grow more popular as the days go on. One of the newest television series that this revolutionary site has recreated is known as A Series of Unfortunate Events. I’m sure we all know the book series of the Baudelaire children, and how they travel from guardian to guardian pretty much on a weekly basis. If you didn’t read the thirteen book series, then perhaps you saw the movie with Jim Carrey acting as Count Olaf? If you haven’t seen that, then you should make a visit to Netflix and binge watch the first season.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a comedy and drama show. The cast includes 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). These actors are talented and keep the viewer engaged within the show. Harris plays Count Olaf incredibly well with the different accents, his facial expressions, and his overall movement. He is comical, and he fits the character almost to the T. Weissman and Hynes play the two eldest Baudelaire children amazingly. They showcase the sibling love well, and they also immerse themselves into their individual characters’ little quirks. The frustration and incredulousness in the scenarios the get put in is comical, and they make the viewer laugh his or her head off. Freeman plays the gullible Arthur Poe beyond the comical effect. It gets to the point where the viewer yells at him to open his wide closed eyes and see that the Baudelaire’s guardians were all killed by Count Olaf. Overall, all of these actors immerse themselves in their characters to create a compelling group of people.
The script and storyline are intriguing. It follows the first four books of the series: they live with Count Olaf pretty much as his servants, perform a play with Olaf’s theater troop, Live with Monty Montgomery in his reptile home, and find out that Count Olaf killed Montgomery. Within each episode, there seem to be several different stories going on at once. There is the story of the Baudelaire children and then stories of several members of the secret organization their parent’s were a part of. I was slightly confused when the latter came into the light, but after a few episodes, it began to make sense.
One thing that intrigued me was the music in the beginning. It repeats the words “look away, look away.” Maybe it is for a comical effect? Telling the viewer to not watch it as the visuals look compelling so they have to watch it. Or could it be a message about the characters themselves? A lot of them are oblivious except the Baudelaire children, so could it mean that they are not looking close enough?
If you want a comedic adventure, watch it.
