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Post by Liam R. Findlay on Jan 15, 2017 13:44:03 GMT -5
One of the biggest things that bugged me (I still loved the show overall) was the subplot with Jacqueline. It took away from the aloneness of the Baudelaires, and makes it slightly stranger that the children don't try to seek any help from her, since they already seem to know that she's part of some secret organization. Also, I assumed that when it was confirmed that the VFD subplot would start earlier in the show it would be happening at the same time as the main story, but the Baudelaires wouldn't necessarily know about it or be involved. In my opinion, that also takes away from the desperate situation of the Baudelaires, since they start to get the feeling that all of these things are happening for a greater reason. I found it a relief when I saw parts of the V.F.D. subplot because they supply action, mystery and something new to the two hours dedicated to each little book. It is indeed interesting that they don't discuss Jacqueline more often after seeing her, but I don't think it takes from their isolation; V.F.D. doesn't stop any of the atrocities that Olaf puts upon the children and their relatives (including murder). If anything, the added mystery of these watchful and only partially helpful people probably adds to the questions and their feeling of isolation. Edit/New thought: I'm wondering if the episodes could have been quarter of an hour shorter. While it's good to see all the details explored, the first books are short and it does feel like the episodes sometimes drag on a bit longer than they really need to, considering that not a lot happens in some scenes (eg. reading and talking). This probably won't be such an issue in the coming series.
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Post by Linda Rhaldeen on Jan 15, 2017 17:31:45 GMT -5
Oh yeah, that's Esme all right. Thanks for the screenshot
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Post by lorelai on Jan 15, 2017 18:23:08 GMT -5
In regard to Esmé, could you really describe her hat as "feathery"? The audio description calls it floral, so I'm just wondering if they were wrong. Why would the Baudelaires discuss Jacquellyn. more than they did? Yes, she's more than a secritary, but it's just one more thing relating to their parents they don't know and can't work out by talking about it. They might as well theorize about why Monty and their parents were in a piano.
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Post by lorelai on Jan 15, 2017 18:32:33 GMT -5
I loved the plot deviations and really feel this is Handler's chance to rewrite the series, fixing all the mistakes that were made because he didn't know for so long if he'd get to thirteen books. Josephine is more how I've seen her in the light of trying to reconcile the latter books and ATWQ--which they basically just expanded on, since so many of us have wondered how she went from flying a plane to TWW. I agree completely. Josephine being formerly 'fierce and formidable' was definitely a change made with later books / ATWQ in mind, and it also made sense. I would have liked her to have gotten a little more backstory, but it was still a positive change. And I loved that Josephine tried to stand up to Olaf by correcting his grammar. Well, we could always get more backstory once the kids know about VFD. That's a really good point. I didn't even think about that - I just assumed it was Lemony (not least because he's the only Snicket child that has appeared by that point), but it could well have been Jacques. I think that was probably the point--to assume they meant Lemony--especially with the "he's alive" bit, but I like how open that is, especially if they want to include at some point that practically everyone thinks Lemony's dead .Haha yes, I think several of us have now commented that even though we sort of knew it was the Quagmire parents, we had moments of uncertainty - I know I did. I'm predicting that Isadora/Duncan's knowledge of V.F.D. will now come from their parents rather than newspapers - for all the 'V.F.D.' acronyms we had this season, the children still haven't even heard of V.F.D. - but I wonder whether they'll also move forward the Baudelaires hearing the initials from the end of TAA to the start, and exactly how much the Quagmire parents told their children is still unknown. That's just going to be so interesting; there are so many possibilities there.
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Post by sgtstone on Jan 15, 2017 23:24:20 GMT -5
There is one thing, after watching the season, that I'm confused about. I don't understand what happened on the lake in the end of episode 6. Was that entire scene just a joke to screw with us? Based on information we find out in the next episode the plane with the Quagmires, and the Baudelaire story we have been following happens at a completely different time, right? It just really seems weird that they would have an entire scene where the parents look down onto the lake, and the children get convoluted help from the plane. It's just this one scene that has really been bothering me, maybe I'm just missing something or misunderstanding something, I don't know. Really do love the show, nice seeing this as I've forgotten a lot since I read the books when I was a kid, everything after the third book is a bit of a blur, it'll be like I'm reading it all over again!
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Post by meinhard1 on Jan 16, 2017 2:41:36 GMT -5
The greatest and must consistent success for me was Patrick Warburton's Snicket -- how he embodies the role so well, preserves aspects of Handler's prose, and how he is used visually throughout. Really liked when the camera would pan to find him in the scene, as well as his weatherman bit, or the transitions between The Miserable Mill and him watching Hypnostists in the Woods in his lonely apartment.
The series had some difficult balancing acts including:
Being weird without becoming inane. Relatedly: characters acting quirky, without becoming annoying
Introducing to the early entries that sense of greater mystery, without breaking cohesion and making a distraction from the Baudelaire's own story
Different scenes, episodes, and directors succeed to different degrees at this. Sonnenfields directing was exciting, though sometimes pungent. Ultimately, the series really grappled with these challenges, while the movie sort of shrugged them off.
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Post by Groge on Jan 16, 2017 7:43:55 GMT -5
Finished the show yesterday and, as I knew I would, I loved it. Here's a few of my highlights that I can think of right now. It was great to finally see TMM adapted and I thought the changes they made were very well conceived. Very happy now that it was confirmed that "mother and father" were the Quagmires. Esme of course. Was very exciting to get a little teaser of TAA at the end. Prufrock, Duncan & Isadora and of course Nero! I enjoyed the songs, in particular each opening theme. Squealed with excitement every time there was a reference eg. the sugar bowl, ATWQ or how being hypnotised to the word Nero made you play the violin terribly. All the visuals were great. Liked that they kept the sense of fantasy that the film also had with their sets. Was very otherworldly. Clearly fake but nit distracting.
I thought the Baudelaire's were great in their respective roles. I especially loved what they done with Sunny. I thought she was perfect.
Like most I thoroughly enjoyed Larry the waiter. Lemony was spot on. From quotes in the books to Warburton's delivery of jokes. Absolute gold. Loved it every time he came on screen. NPH was brilliant as always and I especially loved his Sham. Could barely tell it was him! Was happy with Justice Strauss, Monty and Orwell. Sir and Charles were great and I like how they touched on the partner thing. Didn't really like Aunt Jo, I found her really quite irritating.
Wasn't a big fan of Mr.Poe. He just seemed really stupid (like more stupid than he should be!) and almost cruel about the children's safety. One bit that got to me was when he was talking about looking for them then he got distracted by the chowder. That was just a bit too far in how little he cares. He did a few funny lines though which helped.
The VFD Jacqueline. I'm hoping she's really Kit (or someone else entirely) and not a gender switched Jacques. Her name (even her second name) is so obviously similar to Jacques Snicket makes me believe it could be a red herring (pun intended) but what's the point? When you've got a brother and sister Snicket why change it. I can understand these days they change stuff like that so there's more women on screen rather than just a heap of male actors but this would seem unnecessary given there's a fair balance of both genders in Lemony's books. Plus she had a harpoon gun! Then Olaf escaped rather than try and hurt her. He is a coward but still, you'd think he'd maybe try to hurt her before fleeing unless of course he cared for her....!
There's too much to talk about! Loved it. Can't wait until season 2! Will definitely rewatch it all at some point soon.
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Post by Strangely on Jan 16, 2017 10:23:31 GMT -5
Saw a sign for 667 Dark Avenue in the underground passageway, I think it was the end of Ep1. As a result I suspect the reveal in book 6 will have to be different to a degree being that this tunnel isn't just one path like it was in the book.
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Post by Groge on Jan 16, 2017 11:36:46 GMT -5
Oh, and when Klaus is looking at the picture and the show wants to preserve the Quagmire parents fakeout, it shows both sets of parents in the picture - meaning we now have an up-close look at the Baudelaire parents! I have, of course, attached it for your viewing pleasure. Question is, who are the portrayed by? Anybody recognise them?
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Post by gliquey on Jan 16, 2017 11:48:04 GMT -5
There is one thing, after watching the season, that I'm confused about. I don't understand what happened on the lake in the end of episode 6. Was that entire scene just a joke to screw with us? Based on information we find out in the next episode the plane with the Quagmires, and the Baudelaire story we have been following happens at a completely different time, right? It just really seems weird that they would have an entire scene where the parents look down onto the lake, and the children get convoluted help from the plane. It's just this one scene that has really been bothering me, maybe I'm just missing something or misunderstanding something, I don't know. Really do love the show, nice seeing this as I've forgotten a lot since I read the books when I was a kid, everything after the third book is a bit of a blur, it'll be like I'm reading it all over again! The Quagmire story and the Baudelaire story happen at similar times - in episode 8, when the Baudelaires are sitting on one side of the bench outside Nero's office and the Quagmires on the other, I think this is meant to signify that they arrive at Prufock at the same time. And we see with the plane that their stories overlap. But I suppose the whole storyline was just a joke to screw with us, really. Saw a sign for 667 Dark Avenue in the underground passageway, I think it was the end of Ep1. As a result I suspect the reveal in book 6 will have to be different to a degree being that this tunnel isn't just one path like it was in the book. Yes, it was in episode 1. I agree - to me, it looks like it's a labyrinth of V.F.D. connections, so the children might find the tunnel at 667 but they could end up in dozens of different places.
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Post by ryantrimble457 on Jan 16, 2017 12:12:34 GMT -5
Fun random thing...the Prufrock Prep logo is very similar to the logo featured on the cover of the original Daniel Handler script from the early 2000s.
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Post by ryantrimble457 on Jan 16, 2017 12:36:05 GMT -5
One thing I love that the show made more clear was the fact that Mr. Poe like...isn't friends with the Baudelaire parents. From the book, I was never sure, but I assumed they were, but the show made it more obvious that he was more, like, that guy that we always see at the bank, like the teller they always go to.
Maybe it's just me. But I think it helped a lot.
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Post by Strangely on Jan 16, 2017 12:39:58 GMT -5
In the books I think there was definitely an implication, I vaguely recall a passage about him attending their parties. I agree though, making him just a business contact and not a friend helps the story. It didn't make sense that a family friend would treat the children so awfully and with so much disinterest.
His neglect feels so less personal this time around. As a result I don't hate him as much and find him more amusing.
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Post by sgtstone on Jan 16, 2017 12:46:55 GMT -5
There is one thing, after watching the season, that I'm confused about. I don't understand what happened on the lake in the end of episode 6. Was that entire scene just a joke to screw with us? Based on information we find out in the next episode the plane with the Quagmires, and the Baudelaire story we have been following happens at a completely different time, right? It just really seems weird that they would have an entire scene where the parents look down onto the lake, and the children get convoluted help from the plane. It's just this one scene that has really been bothering me, maybe I'm just missing something or misunderstanding something, I don't know. Really do love the show, nice seeing this as I've forgotten a lot since I read the books when I was a kid, everything after the third book is a bit of a blur, it'll be like I'm reading it all over again! The Quagmire story and the Baudelaire story happen at similar times - in episode 8, when the Baudelaires are sitting on one side of the bench outside Nero's office and the Quagmires on the other, I think this is meant to signify that they arrive at Prufock at the same time. And we see with the plane that their stories overlap. But I suppose the whole storyline was just a joke to screw with us, really. Saw a sign for 667 Dark Avenue in the underground passageway, I think it was the end of Ep1. As a result I suspect the reveal in book 6 will have to be different to a degree being that this tunnel isn't just one path like it was in the book. Yes, it was in episode 1. I agree - to me, it looks like it's a labyrinth of V.F.D. connections, so the children might find the tunnel at 667 but they could end up in dozens of different places. Maybe it was because of the reveal in episode 7 I assumed that the fire with the Quagmires was the same fire as the one that burned down the town at the mill. Which wouldn't make any sense because of the library of books written about it and how the Baudelaires put out the fire. But if that's the case why were the Quagmires over the lake? and what was the scene where they saw the mill off in the distance implying that's where they were going. The show seemed to line up multiple things saying the house is at the mill, I just can't figure out a timeline that actually makes any sense here.
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Post by Strangely on Jan 16, 2017 13:07:45 GMT -5
Maybe it was because of the reveal in episode 7 I assumed that the fire with the Quagmires was the same fire as the one that burned down the town at the mill. Which wouldn't make any sense because of the library of books written about it and how the Baudelaires put out the fire. But if that's the case why were the Quagmires over the lake? and what was the scene where they saw the mill off in the distance implying that's where they were going. The show seemed to line up multiple things saying the house is at the mill, I just can't figure out a timeline that actually makes any sense here. The Quagmire plot line is happening at the same time as the Baudelaire's story. They weren't flying to Paltryville, they just happened to be passing near it on the way to their home. The identical doors were only for the fake-out and possibly to imply that Lucky Smells Lumber Mill helped in the construction of the Quagmire mansion like in the books (which makes sense given that Dr. Orwell's office is confirmed to have at one time been VFD headquarters). The Paltryville fire occurred many years before, sometime after that photograph was taken but before the misfortune that befell the Baudelaire's.
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