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The television series adapts the story of the Baudelaire children, whose parents are killed in a fire in the beginning of the first book, forcing them into the care of a nefarious villain named Count Olaf. Without getting too deep into the plot, the book ends with them being bounced to another guardian while being pursued by the villain. And so does the next one. And the next one.
Daniel Handler), and a mysterious organization called the VFD.
The Thing. But when the only reason you keep reading a story is because of the mysteries and the mysteries are never solved, you feel cheated. Yes, I know that part of the thesis of the series is that real life is bleak and offers no answers. I understand that. But just because I understand unsatisfying message.
happy ending. A satisfying ending can be bleak or dismal or conclude in the sudden death of your entire cast. What makes it satisfying is not that you feel good at the end, but that you feel like the plot, characters, and themes have been resolved. Look at any Shakespeare tragedy. Look at Rogue One. Look at Lord of the FliesSeries of Unfortunate Events books.
I was on the fence, honestly, about whether I would even watch the TV show, but I was home by myself and I was looking for something to binge that I could watch while my wife was at work and I liked that Neil Patrick Harris, so I gave it a shot. The first season, for the most part, is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, and a good one. The performances are wonderful, the use of Patrick Warburton as our Lemony narrator is inspired, and the whole thing is perfectly suited for the sort of universe producer (and director of the pilot and several other episodes) Barry Sonnenfeld does so well, with one foot in fantasy and the other in reality, and the two intertwining in both lovely and macabre ways.
As the series went on, I was surprised at how deftly the mystery was woven into the story. It was far more prominent and engaging than the in books, introducing new characters and new elements that helped enhance the whole thing. Daniel Handler, who wrote the novels, is a producer and writer on the Netflix series as well, so it was never a question of taking away anything from the original series. The changes here were all changes of addition, and they were well-considered.
The Beatrice LettersGeorge R.R. Martin wrapped up A Song of Ice and Fire without resolving any of his plots, but then told you about them in a Dunk and Egg novella. Regardless, the final episode takes the long, dark story of the Baudelaires and manages to bring things to a conclusion with a sudden, surprising ray of hope. And sometimes, a ray is all you need. The final scene of the series is beautiful, uplifting, just a little sad, and absolutely perfect.
A Series of Unfortunate Events, and especially people like myself, who enjoyed much of the books but found the whole sadly wanting, the fact that Netflix gave us a second draft is very fortunate indeed.
Blake M. Petit, whose personal series of events has been more inadequate than unfortunate, has been pontificating about pop culture online for over a decade. You can follow him at BlakeMPetit.com and, if you're feeling generous, check out his books on Amazon.
I'd start in on Stephen King books, but considering the author of this column, I will take a pass on that
I've gotten to the point where if I want to see something based on a book that I haven't read, I now default to watching before I read.
The Civil War movie (and Infinity War, frankly) is much better than the comic, but it's SO different that I hesitate to even call it an adaptation. It's almost a completely different story that uses the same title and similar themes.
As far as Civil War goes - in fairness, the only way to make that story good was to completely change it. So mission accomplished!