6 huge changes the 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' TV show made from the book

This post includes minor spoilers for 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.'

Like all screen adaptations, Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" takes some liberties with the book series.

Fortunately, though, each of the first season's eight episodes were written by Daniel Handler, the author of the books, himself. So they're all at least a part of the original author's vision.

Many of the changes make sense to keep the plot moving, or to make the show easier to understand. And in many cases, they're a great opportunity to revisit what was so special about the books in the first place.

Here are six major changes between the books and Netflix version of "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Lemony Snicket's character is way more involved.

Lemony Snicket is the series's narrator and pen name for Daniel Handler. He's also a minor character in the books and a member of V.F.D.

And while he's a prominent authorial voice in the books, his character is way more prominent in the Netflix series. He steps in onscreen every few scenes to explain to the audience what's happening, and to fill in more details and context the Baudelaires might not yet know.

His prominence onscreen raises questions that were largely unaddressed in Handler's books. What, exactly, is his involvement with the Baudelaires? Where is he, and when is he speaking from? Will we see him interact with anyone later in the series, or will he remain as just a narrator?

You won't read about the spyglass in the books.

The weird metal V.F.D.-monogrammed spyglass Klaus picks up is a totally new invention in the television show. It helps decode messages written in Sebald Code, a secret code developed by V.F.D. members to communicate with each other. But in the books, the characters just decode messages manually.

The inventor of Sebald Code, Gustav Sebald, is mentioned only in passing in the novels.

In the show, though, he's a fully-fledged character.

Gustav is mentioned as Montgomery Montgomery's herpetological assistant in "The Reptile Room," who Count Olaf drowned in The Swarthy Swamp so he could be replaced by Olaf himself, under the guise of "Stephano" (in the show, Gustav drowns in a "reflecting pond.")

He is also a filmmaker, directing "Zombies in the Snow," which the children, Uncle Monty, and Count Olaf watch in "The Reptile Room." In addition, he invented Sebald Code.

In the TV show, he and Jacqueline, another character who isn't in the books, are both V.F.D. members who try to help out the Baudelaire orphans without bringing attention to themselves.