Neil Patrick Harris and Netflix have brought back a grim but imaginative series to the screen. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events tells the miserable story of the Baudelaire orphans, three children whose parents have died in a tragic fire and left the eldest, Violet, entitled to their enormous fortune. The irony of the story is that their lives, already drained of happiness from the death of their parents, becomes even more filled with dismay and suffering as an evil man named Count Olaf does everything possible to steal their fortune. Their fortune (in this case, "fortune" refers to the immense amount of money they are destined for, not luck) leads to the unfortunate events that befall them throughout the series.

See how I defined the word "fortune" just before? That is something that the series prides itself in doing - wordplay and teaching the viewers vocabulary. Patrick Warburton, the actor well-known for his deep, unique voice, plays the part of Lemony Snicket. He retells the story of the Baudelaire's and provides a wonderfully deadpan narration to the show, popping in every so often to help define an odd term, or provide insight into whatever despair the children were facing. It is not only Snicket who does this exposition on words and phrases. Various characters throughout the series tend to pause and explain what they mean when they say things. Much of the time, this is because the meanings of words leads to unfortunate ends for the children. There are misunderstandings and misconceptions which lead all of the adults astray, while the children usually understand perfectly and are maddened by seemingly being the only smart ones in the room.

It is small things like this focus on words which makes this series great. The titles of the original books, as well as the episodes, are intentionally alliterative (example: The Bad Beginning). Other signatures of the series are things like the characters' inability to see through obvious disguises, or the way the two elder children, Violet and Klaus, are the only ones who can understand their baby sister, Sunny, who only speaks gibberish.

In terms of character performance, the children do steal the show. Strong performances from the young Malina Weissman (Violet) and Louis Hynes (Klaus) beg the viewers for pity and praise for these kids who suffer so much, yet hold their own so well. Neil Patrick Harris plays a hilarious, yet cunning Count Olaf, however much of the time which he edges on the side of comedy, he simply resembles Neil Patrick Harris more than anyone else. Patrick Warburton's performance was unexpectedly great as well. The rest of the cast is up to par.

In 2004, there was a feature film version of A Series of Unfortunate Events which starred Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. Perhaps he is the main reason I was not fully satisfied with Neil Patrick Harris's performance, because Carrey's Olaf truly had it all - comedy and malice. In comparing the new series to that movie, I believe the show succeeds in many ways that the movie failed. The series has the ability to expand on backstory which we missed in the film. It also sticks closer to the books in chronology as well as in other details about the characters and events. Daniel Handler, the author of the book series (also known by his pseudonym, Lemony Snicket), is the writer for the series and stays true to his original work. There are plenty of easter eggs for fans of the books.

The look and feel of the show are also a treat, as the sets and costumes are appropriately vintage and symmetrical and echo Wes Anderson. The darkness of the story is offset with enough humor, most often from Olaf and Snicket. There is also great mystery in the show. The children know very little about everything their parents were involved in, along with all of the characters they encounter, and we as viewers feel just as in the dark, but motivated to find out more.

Overall, the show is a great revival of a "horror and inconvenience"-filled series. It has me very excited for season two.

Final Rating: 7.5/10