Netflix affords Handler and executive producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld the opportunity to take a more leisurely approach to storytelling: Each book takes up two episodes, so this inaugural season of eight installments covers the first four tales (“The Bad Beginning,” “The Reptile Room,” “The Wide Window” and “The Miserable Mill”). Handler’s work previously was adapted into a large-scale, narratively condensed Jim Carrey vehicle in 2004.
Misery usually loves company, so newcomers to the world of Netflix‘s latest offering, A Series of Unfortunate Events, might be slightly perplexed by the catchy theme song’s repeated urge to “Look away! Look away!” But those familiar with Daniel Handler’s pessimism-embracing 13-part children’s book series, which he penned under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket (also a character in the stories), surely will find those words as warm and welcoming as a beloved, louse-infested blanket.
