A Series Of Unfortunate Events - General Discussion

[Guest]

Thanks.  I'm mesmerized by the baby.  I know the kid could hand it off between takes but she just stands so straight holding her, and seems to not fidget or anything, it seems unnatural.  I find myself also wondering if she has some sort of under-dress brace to help her support the weight.  Babies that size are heavy!  Even adult women usually throw their hip forward to support the weight and get that pressure off the lower back and arms.  I do notice some scenes where the baby's face isn't showing, it's a dummy.  

The baby's eyes following whatever the kids are presumably looking at amazes me, too.  I imagine they're off-screen with something really interesting to the baby to get those shots but still it amazes me.  

[spaceghostess]

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53 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Thanks.  I'm mesmerized by the baby. 

 

 

Me, too! Usually, babies are played by twins or triplets to keep the baby's work hours within the letter of the law, however there's only one name credited for Sunny. I wonder if there are multiple babies, but it was decided to only use one name in the credits?

Sometimes Klaus holds Sunny--there was one scene in which they're walking up to knock on Judge Strauss's door and he makes a little cute face and sort of coos at Sunny while he's holding her. That split-second looked completely spontaneous and not CGI (and very sweet). Also, when they part from Judge Strauss, Sunny reaches out toward her and smiles in a very real way. I've convinced myself that that was the actual baby (going off script in the most perfect way imaginable) and that the child is as crazy about Joan Cusack as I am. Overall, I think they've done a pretty good job with CGI-ing Sunny, balancing the actual child's real (and incredibly adorable) expressions with the effects.

Re: how "Violet" is able to hold Sunny for so long, she's a chubby baby, but not huge--and I'll bet the takes are really short. I did see Violet do the hip jut a couple times, but yeah, her posture holding the baby is usually very straight. One strange thing I've found personally is that watching a show that has a baby (or "baby") in so many scenes makes me want to grab and cuddle any random baby I can find (so it's probably good that I'm not viewing this on a plane). Even my 11-year old son's face gets smiley and warm the way it used to when he was six and he played with his little brother, who was about Sunny's age at that time. In short, awwww!

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[BatmanBeatles]

At first I was upset that we saw Sir's face, but Don Johnson sold his character so well, I got over it.

[Grandma Saracen]

I thought Sunny's cgi was much better in this episode, & the vocalizations seemed to sync a little better, too. I am still adoring both the Anderson & Fuller flavors. I liked Jacquelyn, whoever she may be, and love what they've done with the henchmen in this adaptation. Usman Ally, in particular, was wonderful this episode, and the white-faced women were wonderful in the play. I loved the one-off comments that were foreshadowing/gifts to the readers, and the casting of Will and Cobie as the Baudelaire parents tickles me. 

[helenamonster]

On 1/19/2017 at 7:53 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Also i am curious, is Violet tying her hair back with the ribbon when it is time to go to work something from the books? Because if not it is a nice little character touch, and totally something I can see her picking up based o  her mom's personality.

Yes, it is one of her defining character traits in the books, and Handler's narration always sets it up so nicely. When Violet's tying her hair up, you know shit's about to get real.

I forgot how jam-packed the back half of The Wide Window is. It made sense to end the first half with the children finding the note, but that means they had to squeeze in The Anxious Clown, decoding the note, escaping the collapsing house, stealing the sailboat, convincing Aunt Josephine to come back to town, battling the leeches, and once again proving Count Olaf is in disguise into a very limited amount of pages/screentime. This is probably one of my favorite books in the series and I think it's because of how much action there is in it.

I wasn't sure I would, but in the end I think I did like Josephine managing to show some backbone. Since they're incorporating more backstory earlier with this adaptation, it makes sense, whereas the overarching mystery hadn't been introduced at this point in the books and Josephine could afford to be a flatter character. There was always something about her willing to give up the children in the books that was enjoyable in a "God why are you SO TERRIBLE?!" way, but her standing up to Olaf worked here for me. At least her annoying habit of correcting everyone's grammar still ended up being her downfall.

Josephine: "I don't care if my whole house crumbles into the lake!" *Violet looks at Klaus* Klaus to Violet: "Later."

As others have mentioned, the two older kids did a great job this episode. Yeah, they miss their parents and are still in mourning, but they have had it up to here with the incompetent adults around them not being able to get it together. They are smart and resourceful and honestly would probably be better off if they were left to take care of themselves (more on this in the spoiler tag below).

I know it's been said a lot (including by me) but the baby that plays Sunny is so freaking cute! I know a lot of her reactions are either CGI or clearly done at separate times with someone doing something else offscreen to get her to smile or whatever, but I don't care, she is precious and I just wanna squeeze her cheeks! I hope they keep her around for later seasons instead of switching her out for other babies to preserve the timeline in the books. I think for the show they can allow Sunny to grow a little older. One of my favorite bits this episode was when she was building the house of cards (another fourth-wall break regarding Netflix, maybe? either way it was great).

I feel like I post too much in the book spoiler thread and I only have one thing to say about this episode. 

Spoiler

Interesting how they're starting off the Baudelaires running away so much earlier. In some ways it's really hard to believe that, even with his prior incompetence, Mr. Poe would send them off to work in a lumber mill (though I think he assumed they'd just be living with Sir, not that he'd put them to work), so maybe they're trying to save him from becoming too annoyingly inept too soon, because there is very little that's even darkly comic about child labor. Either way, it's an interesting change to the original. The important thing is that they get to Lucky Smells, and based on the picture Klaus found in Josephine's house, I have a feeling we're going to get a lot of VFD stuff here.

[Beatriceblake]

8 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I also loved all the signs around the mill about how short cuts save time, and how safety gear gets in the way. And the fact that they had baby sized coveralls for Sunny was great.

Also the actress who plays Violet is really good. Everytime she was upset about what happened to Klaus and how she blamed herself she really sold it and made it really believable. 

Yeah, I've seen people elsewhere complain she's bland but I thought both her and the actor playing Klaus have done well. I think Violet and Klaus are quite tricky roles because generally they aren't getting to be funny while almost all the adults around them are. They've got these long very mannered lines of similar dialogue and the emotions they have to convey are pretty much despair, anger, disappointment, determination and worry.

[Beatriceblake]

I loved the slight changes to the plot of the book in this one. I liked how the workers are hypnotised to accept their poor conditions, making Sir more and more tyrannical. I also really liked this introduction to the idea that comes up later, where the children learn that newspapers and publishers can print lies and general public opinion can be wrong or desperately misinformed. I loved Rhys Darby as Charles. I was less keen on the actor playing Phil.  In the books, he always seemed like he would be annoying but non-threatening but here he seemed a little big creepy.

Again watching this, I start wondering if this show works as a family show. There's the thing with Phil's leg and Dr Orwell's death is pretty horrific (albeit toned down because in the book I think she steps in the path of the saw).

I liked what they've done with the Quagmires in the series. It explains their appearance in The Austere Academy and it also introduces V.F.D a bit earlier.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Beatriceblake

[tennisgurl]

What a great first season this was! Really unique and just the right balance of gothic whimsy and good storytelling. It makes me want to go back and give the books another shot, but I loved this show so much, I feel like I might not like them as much as the show, and that never happens!

I know the show is dark and depressing, but it has so much humor and style, that it does not leave me feeling depressed, it just leaves me wanting to see more. Plus, the show certainly warned us as to what to expect. Thanks Lemony! What would this show be without you?

Not much to add that other people have not already said, except I cant wait for more.

[helenamonster]

On 1/14/2017 at 7:16 PM, allonsyalice said:

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they are the Quagmire Triplets! Isadora, Quigley and Duncan, I think? (anyway there were only two on the bench and I don't know why.) They were sent to the same school after their parents died in a fire. Also, their worked in the same organization the Baudelaire parents did (I think. i mean probably they have the spyglass its been a decade since ive read the books.) I thought their introduction was super good, actually, with the parents fake out and everything. 

Spoiler

Quigley is presumed to have died in the fire with their parents (there are a lot of jokes in The Austere Academy about the Quagmires still being triplets even though they lost their brother, but stupid adults insist on calling them twins). In The Slippery Slope we find out he didn't die and that his parents shoved him down a trapdoor in their house and into a tunnel, the same one that connected the Baudelaire mansion to 667 Dark Avenue and presumably many other homes.

On 1/17/2017 at 3:49 PM, Miles said:

Also, I am surprised that Justice Strauss didn't show up again, after she pulled out that book about secret societies. Maybe next season...

Spoiler

Justice Strauss will show up again in The Penultimate Peril, extremely more well-informed about the goings-on.

On 1/21/2017 at 9:53 AM, angora said:

Another great episode with a wonderful ending.  The song was awesome, and the way they so directly positioned everything for the start of The Austere Academy put me at ease; clearly, they're ready for at least another season.  Thanks for the further info on that, hincandenza.  Three seasons sounds about perfect - they'd have to recast Sunny, of course, but the actors playing Violet and Klaus ought to be able to get by for another two years looking at least close to the ages they are now.

The near-fatal accident with Phil was SUCH a Dead Like Me/Pushing Daisies moment, the way there was absolutely no trace of his leg between his thigh and his foot.

Are we to assume that was

  Hide contents

Esme Squalor starting the Quagmire fire?

I keep going back and forth over whether or not they should recast Sunny. On the one hand, if they want to keep with the book timeline, they'd have to (the bulk of the story takes place over less than a year). However, I think they could benefit from having a slightly older baby/toddler for later seasons, when her vocabulary and interests become more sophisticated. But then again, that might take away from the impact of 

Spoiler

Klaus and Violet's birthdays, which are two of the saddest, most poignant moments in the series.

I don't know, I think I'd be fine either way. Except the baby that plays Sunny now is so gosh darn cute, I'd hate to lose her.

I also agree on the identity of the person who started the Quagmire fire.

These last two episodes were really great. The Miserable Mill is probably my least favorite book in the series, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy these episodes as much, but they really did a good job expanding the plot and greater mystery.

I suppose they changed Dr. Orwell's original death (stepping into the path of the saw) because it was too gruesome? Idk, burning alive in a furnace isn't that much more pleasant, and they didn't pull many punches with Aunt Josephine being eaten alive by leeches. Also, perhaps it was a bit too much to ask of the CGI department (and the viewers as far as suspending disbelief goes), but I wish they'd found a way to keep in her sword fight with Sunny.

We only saw it for a few moments but I already love the production design for Prufrock Prep and can't wait to see more of it next season. Most of this series has looked exactly like I've pictured in the books, which is great, but Prufrock Prep exceeded my expectations.

I too loved the song at the end, and all of the references to it being "the end of the season."

Please tell me we get more Jacquelyn next season, I love her!

[helenamonster]

I am a little miffed that they didn't keep the original description of Sir being short and his face constantly covered in a cloud of smoke (when reading The Miserable Mill I always pictured him as Danny DeVito), but I wonder if that was too difficult of an effect to sustain? Don Johnson is doing a great job though, so I won't complain too much. I also like that they can now be more explicit about Sir and Charles being an item (even if it is a borderline abusive relationship). The implication was always heavy in the books, and I wonder if back when they first published it was still taboo to have openly gay characters in a children's story.

Mr. Baudelaire not trusting optometrists makes me want more backstory on the internal conflict of the Baudelaires when Klaus needed glasses. Catherine O'Hara is great as Dr. Orwell, and I like that they've added the layer of her and Olaf having a previous relationship.

Speaking of Olaf, I feel like his disguises are getting better as he goes on. Shirley might be the best one yet. It looks more like him than Captain Sham, but he's committing to it more.

I too loved the twist with the parents. Even though we never meet these particular parents in the books and don't get much backstory on them, it's nice to know that they're badasses. And I'm okay with the real Baudelaires staying dead. It's the driving force behind the misfortune of the Baudelaires and changing that cheapens things, imo.

The fact that they have baby-sized coveralls for Sunny is a great sight gag but also really drives home what an awful place Lucky Smells is.

I'd forgotten the detail of the workers drawing windows on the walls of the dorm. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this whole saga in a nutshell.

I'm not crazy about the guy who plays Phil. In the books, Phil was always optimistic but he wasn't overly aggressive about it. The guy who plays Charles, however, is a delight.

[hincandenza]

On 1/24/2017 at 9:12 AM, helenamonster said:

I'm not crazy about the guy who plays Phil. In the books, Phil was always optimistic but he wasn't overly aggressive about it. The guy who plays Charles, however, is a delight.

Oh yes, Rhys Darby is just wonderful!  He pops up in small roles here and there, but is always a riot.  I was really blown away by his role in that "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" episode of the X-Files season that aired last year, as well as the Taiki Waititi films "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Hunt for the WilderPeople", all of which are well worth watching if you haven't seen them.

[morgankobi]

Murray!

Poor Walden, menaced by all those revelations of living by a pond.

[Camera One]

I thought this captured the tone of the book very well.  Visually, it was perfect.  The casting is also excellent.  I remember being very disappointed there was no sequel to the movie with those child actors growing up, but these three sold me on Violet, Klaus and Sunny almost immediately.  The movie moved quickly, so I hope this TV adaptation would allow more of the details, and it seems like they are trying to be true to the books, with the narration and the asides.  

The surprise ending also gives me hope that this production will make some changes.  I enjoyed the first half of the book series, but it lost me after that and I ended up with a pretty negative view of it.  However, this production has reminded me why I liked it at the beginning.  

[Camera One]

I liked that they showed Gustav in this one, though I was sad he met his demise.  Have mixed feelings about Jacqueline, but it fit into the narrative alright.

I don't remember how Sunny got out of the tower in the book, and I didn't quite follow how she got out of the tower in this episode either.

They adapted this first book quite well.  The well-meaning grown-ups were clueless, and that was sort of the point of the book.  Though they should have given a better reason for why Klaus didn't tell the Judge that Olaf hit him (he told Poe but Poe didn't hear him, and Klaus didn't repeat it).  I liked how they were much more faithful to the book than the movie and used Klaus' intelligence and research to outwit Olaf.  It gives me hope for the upcoming episodes.

[helenamonster]

7 hours ago, Camera One said:

I don't remember how Sunny got out of the tower in the book, and I didn't quite follow how she got out of the tower in this episode either.

In the book, after Violet signs the marriage certificate with her left hand, but before she reveals what she did, Olaf walkie-talkies up to the hook-handed man to let Sunny go, since Violet held up her end of the bargain. By the time Violet admits to her plan, Sunny and the hook-handed man are already in the theater.

This episode had Sunny playing her way out of her captivity in card games with the hook-handed man. He's a horrible person but apparently not honoring a bet goes too far for him, lol.

[Camera One]

It's been so long since I've read the book that I don't know what was in the book and what were changes made for the TV series.  I don't remember a theater sequence at all, but I really enjoyed the quirky film they watched.  

I thought the Stefano disguise was pretty good, so I wouldn't have minded the children taking longer to figure out it was Count Olaf.  I liked the piano photo joke, but thought it was too early for Olaf to reveal that he knew their parents and took the photo.  

I was really sad when Monte died in the book, so it's a bit of a downer to know it was coming.  

I liked the joke that Olaf preferred watching TV serials to movies.  He didn't like the singing in the movie yet he sang a whole musical number in "A Bad Beginning".

[Camera One]

I didn't like that they lingered on Monty's body.  I guess they needed to do it to explain the contraption used to kill him but they made it look rather gory.

This was the first episode I didn't like as much (though I still liked it).  It felt like they really drew out the ending of the book, to the point of tedium and ridiculousness.  If Olaf was so evil, why didn't he just kill or kidnap Mr. Poe?  After all, he was surrounded by henchmen.  

Still, there were some really funny moments, especially with the ridiculous "nurse".  

I still have mixed feelings about Jacquelyn.  She's not much more competent or useful than other adults.  They send the kids to Dr. Montgomery and didn't watch out for Olaf showing up?

I don't remember if it was that clunky in the book, but the kids' use of their smarts to get out of their hopeless situation didn't come off too well in this one.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Camera One

[Camera One]

I loved this book and found it hilarious.  Aunt Josephine's irrational fears are ridiculous yet I know some older people who are like that.  This part of the Jim Carrey movie was really funny, and this series' Aunt Josephine is almost as good in her own way. I don't remember if she was so suddenly gullible and as taken in by Captain Sham in the book.

As said above, Count Olaf's troop is awesome in this series.  They add so much humor to the proceedings.

[helenamonster]

I've been rereading the first four books after finishing this series, and Josephine does fall for Captain Sham pretty much immediately. The dialogue was almost word-for-word too.

She's the problematic fave and I love/hate her.

[Camera One]

I read the first half of the book again after watching, and I guess I preferred it went down in front of the children rather than her coming back and over-exaggerating how much her outlook has changed as in this episode.  I'm impressed how many details and lines from the book they incorporated into this episode.  They did an excellent and faithful job with this adaptation thus far.

[Camera One]

I re-read this book last night, and while it's good they use so many lines from the book, it's probably more enjoyable if the lines weren't so fresh in my mind since it felt like a rote retelling.  I think I will delay my re-read until after I finish the episodes now.

I have mixed feelings about these adults around that try to help them but ultimately fail like the restaurant owner.  They ended up giving him the peppermint idea.

Why didn't Sunny chew Olaf's leg earlier?

Overall, the hurricane felt really underplayed, especially compared to the Jim Carrey movie, which made this segment funnier and I think overall that movie's Aunt Josephine edged out this one.

I didn't remember from when I read this many years ago how frustrated and angry the kids (especially Klaus) were at Mr. Poe.  I guess the lines are in the book, but maybe seeing these lines said out loud with facial expressions makes the emotion more obvious.

[Camera One]

I don't remember much from the book, so I don't know what changed and what was original.  I don't remember any implication that Sir and Charles were any more than business partners in the book.  I also don't remember Olaf/Dr. Orwell.  I actually don't remember the optometrist character at all. 

I don't think I liked this book much, but this episode was pretty engaging.  

They should have had Violet more interested in the photo earlier in the episode, to make it convincing why she would want to stay.  Or at least make her angry that her parents' names are being dragged through the mud.  I liked that she blamed herself, but her motivation to stay wasn't developed enough.  

They gave me hope the parents were alive and we would actually see satisfying closure in this series.  Darn.

I'm sad the next one is the last episode.  This has made me interested in the Series of Unfortunate Events again.

[Camera One]

This was a great season ender, from a book that I don't really remember much of, or had much fond memories of.  Based on the books so far, I would have expected Charles to be the one who died, while Dr. Orwell escapes.  

The song at the end was fun, but I was disappointed we didn't get Count Olaf's theatre troop singing and dancing too, or even cameos from other characters from the first season.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

NPH discusses ASOUE on Build:

[Grandma Saracen]

Fantastic guest star action, I adore Rhys Darby and Catherine O'Hara. Some great Snicket lines, some good momentum in the arc.... really liked it. 

[Lady Calypso]

Aunt Josephine is an extreme version of myself. I can be quite obsessed with grammar, even if I've lost some of my knowledge about the rules since being out of school, and I am anxious and paranoid, just not to those extremes. The third book is one of three that I never read, but I remember enjoying the film version of events. I shall be reading this book once I actually finish the series (it only took me a month to get back to it). 

Aunt Josephine is not quite as lovable as Monty, but she's still a guardian that I would have loved to see more of. I loved Meryl Streep's version of Aunt Josephine, but Alfre Woodard makes this version so fierce and believable that she once was a daredevil. And having the episode end on the worried look on Josephine's face, followed by the window shattering and the kids looking horrified and wondering what to do was an excellent way to lead into the second part.

I do find this disguise of Count Olaf to be scary and believable, much more than Jim Carrey's version, and more than his Stephano disguise. NPH is killing it as Olaf. His facial expressions at how annoyed and incredulous he is at Josephine's fear over everything works really well. And his troops really make his appearances worth it. 

[RandomWatcher]

Having never read the books, I just finished the Netflix series and found the whole thing to be moderately entertainingly bleak.  I'm not sure if I would watch another season

[Spartan Girl]

Monty, even though he didn't believe Stephano was Olaf (albeit for different reasons) was still the best guardian the kids ever had.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[Lady Calypso]

So, I just finished reading this book for the first time, so I'm finally finishing this first season. I think the changes were needed from the book to here, especially with the change of the children running away from Poe. I really liked Phil in the books, but I think it's a bit too aggressive with his optimism here. I pictured him as a little more thoughtful about his optimism. 

I do enjoy that we are getting some information much earlier. The one thing about the books is that it was slow in getting to the connections between Count Olaf, the Baudelaires, and everyone else involved in the Baudelaire's guardianship. So the first few books seemed fun, but almost pointless. 

Interesting possible foreshadowing at the beginning with Lemony's example about Phil's optimism. 

I do like that they added the reason for Count Olaf and Dr. Orwell teaming up. Although I did picture Dr. Orwell, when reading the book earlier, someone more like a blonde Kate Winslet. However, Catherine O'Hara did a wonderful job regardless. 

The one thing I'm questioning if I like is Violet dismissing the idea that Foreman Flacutono is not Count Olaf. I get the change from the horrible disguise in the book to a gas mask for here, but I think there's a reason why the book had them work at the mill for several weeks. Klaus and Violet were both suspicious of the new foreman, but the more time they spent working, the easier it was for them to believe that he wasn't Count Olaf in disguise. 

I do enjoy that this version has us being shown the process in hypnotizing Klaus. That is something that is only alluded to in the book. 

Some nice changes at the end too. It does make the solution for the final episode that much more interesting to figure out.

[Lady Calypso]

I like this season ender a lot, although the one thing I think I wish they had kept was Dr. Orwell's cause of death. I loved how Dr. Orwell died in the book because it was basically woven in to the setting at the mill. Plus, reading the book and reading the descriptions for the mill, there had been several times where I hoped Count Olaf, Sir, or Foreman Flacutono walked into a saw. However, in terms of it connecting to the overall theme of the show and the symbolism of fire, I can totally see why they changed it to make it a little less violent but a little more poignant.

I do think I might prefer Sunny and Violet's run in to Shirley/Count Olaf in the book, but I do love the twist that all the workers have been hypnotized. I always wondered why they stuck around, so I'm glad they gave an explanation. It also makes Sir look worse that he would allow it but also not ask about the methods, especially when it's making sure Charles isn't hypnotized for his own gain, well until he was hypnotized. I also love the change of the word to de-hypnotize Klaus being used more than once, so Violet could figure it out. 

What I wasn't looking forward to was the gruesomeness describe in the book translated here. So I'm glad they decided to have him just missing the part from his knee to his foot. I also love that Klaus, Sunny, and Violet actually went snooping around. I think it makes more sense for them to try to get answers together. Although I love that Violet had to take on Klaus' role in the book and she wasn't able to get his help to save him at all, I think this way makes more sense. It provided them with some answers for the overall series.

I'm looking forward to next season, and I'm going to be rereading the rest of the books. 

[BetterButter]

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix

[SnoGirl]

So, three seasons would be all the books right? I mean, I'm guessing one season would be longer considering there are 13 books, but Netflix is going to see the series through then.

[Camera One]

That is just so awesome.  They are probably worried about the aging kids.

[helenamonster]

17 hours ago, SnoGirl said:

So, three seasons would be all the books right? I mean, I'm guessing one season would be longer considering there are 13 books, but Netflix is going to see the series through then.

Yes. Season 2 will be 10 episodes (books 5 through 9) and Season 3 will be 8 episodes (books 10 through 13).

At first I thought it was weird that they'd decide to do the longer season in the middle, but The Carnivorous Carnival ends on a pretty excellent cliffhanger so it actually makes sense.

15 hours ago, Camera One said:

That is just so awesome.  They are probably worried about the aging kids.

There was a picture that Louis Hynes (Klaus) posted on Instagram of himself and I saw Barry Sonnenfeld comment something like "STOP GROWING!" So yeah they're definitely trying to get these things out there as fast as possible.

Any word on whether they're keeping the same cute baby for Sunny or switching her out for an equally cute baby?

[iMonrey]

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I think part of what made Count Olaf marrying Violet super creepy here is that I saw it. Reading about it was different because I knew it was words on a page as a plot point, but when he told Klaus he would touch whatever he wanted and then put his hand on Violet, I was like duuuuuuuuuude! I mean, even before that, just seeing NPH in his aged makeup standing in front of a young girl gave me the heebie jeebies.

I think the idea of the marriage doesn't affect you as much when you read the story as a child because you don't really consider the sexual connotation the way you do when you're an adult. Kids tend to take things much more in stride than adults give them credit for. Adults also tend to project their more complex feelings onto their kids, who aren't necessarily bothered as much by certain things because they haven't developed as many hangups yet.

Quote

My big question is how did they film so many scenes with a baby being (1) so quiet, (2) making so many amazing but subtle faces and (3) without the actor playing Violet's arms falling off, given their relative sizes?  I even wondered if the baby was CGI!  

You can definitely get the right shots you need with a baby, if you're willing to put in the time. Generally twins are used for movies and shows because you can get twice as much work out of them, and when you are casting babies you look for quiet, cooperative ones, or expressive ones. Too many shows use babies like props and just expect their audience to hand-wave their unnatural reactions (never looking at the other actors, looking off camera or up at the lights, etc.) because they aren't willing to put in the time and get the shots they need.

[iMonrey]

I really enjoyed Alfre Woodard as Aunt Josephine and laughed every time she screamed at something. Never read the books so I have no familiarity with this material whatsoever and I'm really enjoying the series. So smart and clever and so different. I never tire of how easily everyone (except the children) gets fooled by Count Olaf's lame disguises and insist he can't be Count Olaf. Neil Patrick Harris is a real delight in this. The visual of the man with the hooks never gets old, and all the henchmen are great. Also, the visual with Aunt Josephine jet skiing across the lake was hysterical.

Edited May 16, 2017 by iMonrey

[iMonrey]

Quote

 like this season ender a lot, although the one thing I think I wish they had kept was Dr. Orwell's cause of death. 

How did she die in the book?

I'm really glad I watched this series. I had never read the books, but I saw the Jim Carey movie when it first turned up on cable and couldn't really make head nor tail out of it. So I wasn't overly enthused when I heard about this series but I'm so glad I gave it a try! Took me a couple episodes to really get into it but once you start to get a feel for the atmosphere it just grows on you. The casting is wonderful, I love Joan Cusak and I love Catherine O'Hara and clearly Neil Patrick Harris was having a ball. Can't wait for Season 2!

[Camera One]

18 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

How did she die in the book?

Spoiler

She fell into the saw.

"The Miserable Mill" was the only book this season that wasn't done in the Jim Carrey movie, so I liked seeing it adapted onscreen for the first time.  Makes me more excited for Season 2 since the next few books have never been filmed before.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A Series of Unfortunate Events received an Emmy nomination:

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)

[Ms Lark]

Netflix releases first-look photos for Season 2! Reportedly will be back in the spring.

https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-season-2-first-look-photos-netflix-neil-patrick-harris-lucy-punch/

[SnoGirl]

8 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Netflix releases first-look photos for Season 2! Reportedly will be back in the spring.

https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-season-2-first-look-photos-netflix-neil-patrick-harris-lucy-punch/

Brilliant! I havent reread these books in ages, so the next couple of episodes are going to be complete surprises and I cant wait! Do we know how many episodes this season will be?

[helenamonster]

1 hour ago, SnoGirl said:

Brilliant! I havent reread these books in ages, so the next couple of episodes are going to be complete surprises and I cant wait! Do we know how many episodes this season will be?

10, books 5 thru 9 (Austere Academy, Ersatz Elevator, Vile Village, Hostile Hospital, and Carnivorous Carnival).

[SnoGirl]

2 hours ago, helenamonster said:

10, books 5 thru 9 (Austere Academy, Ersatz Elevator, Vile Village, Hostile Hospital, and Carnivorous Carnival).

Wow. We are really going to get the whole series. I was nervous that Netflix wouldnt let us get all the way through. Im hoping this means that more book series will become tv shows rather than movies. I’d rather see series as tv shows to get all those delicious details. 

[Camera One]

53 minutes ago, SnoGirl said:

Wow. We are really going to get the whole series. I was nervous that Netflix wouldnt let us get all the way through. Im hoping this means that more book series will become tv shows rather than movies. I’d rather see series as tv shows to get all those delicious details. 

For this series, it was just perfect.  Two episodes per book allowed more of the story to end up onscreen.   I would love this format for the "Oz" books by Frank L. Baum.   TV series sometimes don't work as well for longer books that are not easily broken up into coherent chunks, though.  In those cases,  a TV show has to come up with artificial cliffhangers or beginning/middle/ends for each episode, which results in a much bigger divergence from the source material (eg. "Anne with an E").

[Kel Varnsen]

On 10/12/2017 at 0:55 AM, Ms Lark said:

Netflix releases first-look photos for Season 2! Reportedly will be back in the spring.

https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-season-2-first-look-photos-netflix-neil-patrick-harris-lucy-punch/

Very cool, I love Esme Squalor's pin striped suit.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New S2 trailer and finally a release date - March 30!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New trailer!

[Spartan Girl]

Some rather unfortunate news about Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)

Yeah making horrible sexist comments isn't the same as groping, but still JFC.

[helenamonster]

18 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Some rather unfortunate news about Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)

Yeah making horrible sexist comments isn't the same as groping, but still JFC.

Ugh, this is so disappointing and actually pretty surprising. This sort of sentiment never shows up in ASOUE (I know they're technically children's books but they're very violent and he said some of this stuff in front of children so he doesn't really draw the same line between what's for children and what's for adults that a lot of people do).

I've never read any of his adult literature...does anybody know if this sort of thing shows up in those books?

At least he's responding to it with acknowledgment, regret, and the desire to be better. It's a low bar to clear but it's better than a lot of the "apologies" that have been coming out since October.

[Camera One]

I guess Count Olaf does say a lot of inappropriate and sometimes sexist things.