The quirky first season of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is now available to watch on Netflix for any die-hard fans of the books, or for anyone who is looking to partake in a dark adventure.

The celebrated children’s series of the same name, by author Daniel Handler, under the pen name of Lemony Snicket, comes to life in this eight-episode series.

The story follows young Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire as they bounce from guardian to guardian after their parents perish in a terrible fire that destroys their entire home. The children are pursued by the villainous Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), who wants to steal the enormous that their parents left behind when they died.

What makes this story so unique, aside from the dark and unfortunate events that befall young children, is the narrator who paints the story in his own vivid way. Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) is likely one of the most mysterious characters in the entire show. He is portrayed as a character involved in the story, but not one directly involved in the plot of the show. He simply tells the viewers what he knows, and what stories he has gathered on the Baudelaire orphans. His constant use of dry humor and intelligent writing are part of what makes this show, as well as the book series, so intriguing.

This show does a great job of compacting the first four books of the series into eight episodes. While there are some key plot changes here and there, it still manages to accurately tell the tragic story of the Baudelaire orphans in a way that will make any Netflix viewer looking for a good story satisfied.

I rate this show a five out of five.