A Series of Unfortunate Events was written in 1999 by Lemony Snicket, the pen name for the American author Daniel Handler. The book follows three children living with their uncle Count Olaf, a murderous relative who wishes to kill the children in order to steal the inheritance that their deceased parent’s had left them. The story was popular amongst all generations for its interesting characters and narration, and in 2004, the story received its first adaptation by Nickelodeon which was supposed to shoot off into a series movies but failed because of its poor performance in the box office.

As of Jan. 2017 A Series of Unfortunate Events was remade into a TV series with Neil Patrick Harris replacing Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. The story begins with a theme song that thoroughly warns the audience of the show’s unpleasantness and continues to do so when the Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) describes the Baudelaire’s tragic tale and even goes as far as telling the audience to look away. But despite all the warnings the first episode starts off far from the gruesome that turns audiences away. Even though the Baudelaire’s story is tragic and the things that happen to them throughout the first episode is sympathy inducing, the comedy and overall cartoon-like aspects of the show overshadow the melancholic tone.

The difference between the movie and TV show is most obviously the pacing. Many fans of the books were unhappy with the movie’s fast pacing as they tried to cram several novels into a single 2 hour movie. A TV show adaption allowed for a better pacing of the tale of the Baudelaire’s, and the TV show also did a much better job at following book’s original plot line which any fanatic would be happy to hear.

The entire show is engaging from each character’s clothing to the varying sets making it almost impossible for the audience to look away. Every aesthetic aspect in the show is bizarre and builds the world that Lemony Snicket envisioned. The comedic aspects come in many ways some from Lemony Snicket as he drops dry jokes, and even from Sunny the youngest child, only a baby who talks in a way that only the children understand. Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) is truly an awful man who tries to steal the children’s inheritance, but with Harris’ portrayal he strangely comes off comedic and with charisma especially when he picks up disguises to trick the Baudelaires.

Overall, the show does a great job in being dreadfully entertaining and even with all the warnings I doubt anyone would be able to look away once they start the first episode.