I don’t read many books, prefer comic books and graphic novels, but I have read most of the Series of Unfortunate Events books. Having read the books and seen the film that has already been made for it this new Netflix version is kind of ruined a little. I know everything that’s going to happen, I know that Count Olaf is obviously that person and it would be better if Olaf was better at disguising himself. The show is good and it also looks very appealing and the acting is really good but as I sat there watching it I found myself thinking that it was a little too basic. I’m not really sure if it’s supposed to be just a kids show and I do wonder if they had thought to make it a little darker so that it’s more intense and you actually worry for the Baudelaire children. I always knew they were going to be fine, just like I always knew it was Count Olaf. The show has so much promise and I’ll definitely watch the second season because it is so easy to binge watch but I can’t help but wonder if there is a darker version of the show somewhere out there just waiting to be made. The episodes start to get repetitive already once you’re 6 episodes in and that’s annoying but also how the books go. Maybe it’s not supposed to be binge watched but instead each two-parter is meant to be viewed over time. If the second season is as repetitive as the first then I probably won’t get through the first half because I was sitting there and paying less attention to every part two episode because I knew it was a how do we prove its Count Olaf episode. The mystery around the Baudelaire Children’ parents was the only thing keeping me watching the show because that is interesting, are they alive and if so then why? I enjoyed the twists that had to do with that but the rest of the show was just good, nothing spectacular or vastly different to everything else on TV and that is well…unfortunate.
Expectation Level: High, expected the show to be a huge hit and be better than the film.
Expectations not achieved.
Score: 3/5 – In terms of quality, both visually and enjoyment, the show is good and at sometimes great. In regards to my interest to watching more, well that’s a bit different. I expected an awesome new show that I couldn’t wait for the second season but with a lacklustre ending, too much repetitiveness and not enough mystery I could easily just forget about it and not watch the second season. It was a good 8 hours of watching but wasn’t amazing.