Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just finished the entire season of Z and loved it. The story of Scott and Zelda is almost as well-known as F. Scott Fitzgerald's works themselves, and for many years it was pretty much taken for granted that the talented, alcoholic Scott was in some way held back by his troubled, equally hard-drinking and ultimately crazy wife, Zelda. Of course, these were real people, and their joint and separate biographies were treated with more care and attention than that, but for a general reader, faced with the genuine brilliance of the work Fitzgerald left behind, the tale of this couple always boiled down to genius led astray by beauty. With the novel Z by Anne Fowler as a starting point, however, writer/producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin lead us to a deeper understanding not only of the couple's complex relationship, but also show us a world in which, not so long ago, a woman might actually believe that her purpose in life was to nurture and protect a brilliant man -- even to the point of losing herself in the process. Here, Zelda is finally at the center of the narrative of her own vibrant and ultimately tragic story. She and the people she encounters, including her celebrated husband, are all brought to life with both empathy and honesty. Every character is alive and specific. Even minor figures are engaging and filled with life. Nobody is a cliche. Nobody seems to be spouting exposition. We learn about the characters organically as they live and grow, as they try to make sense of themselves and the world. Scott and Zelda live in a fully realized universe. We meet them when they are very young -- both full of promise, both capable of mistaking braggadocio for confidence and desperation for conviction. They have a touching, endless supply of uncontrollable feeling, a need to be in and of the world but no understanding of the fact that romances don't end when the couple can finally be together. As the story progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Scott's role is to be The Genius and Zelda, no matter how bold and talented she is herself, must play the "helpmeet," a word that doesn't really even exist anymore. Still, this story isn't told in a way that suggests that one person is the victim of the other. We see a train wreck ahead but nobody is able to stop it. Zelda and Scott, with their faith in the redeeming power of art, love and fun, don't know what to do when they face insecurity, loneliness, jealousy and fear in each other and themselves. They are full of life and emotion, but in their wild innocence, they have no idea how to channel all of that feeling in a way that will help each other or themselves. One of the joys of watching the first ten episodes is that each half hour lays the groundwork for both the painful future of this couple and for the work that will immortalize Scott. If you already know the story of the Fitzgeralds' lives, you will see how beautifully the stage is set for heart-ache to come. I won't spoil the long range plot for people who might not be familiar with what happens, but I will say that clever foreshadowing can be found in every episode. Events that suggest the story to come, however, are so well integrated that people who don't know much about Scott and Zelda will be captivated by what they are seeing for its own sake. And it is clear that these first episodes lay the groundwork for a unified arc that will be threaded throughout the series when it continues with more episodes. The show is beautifully cast, looks terrific and always surprises and delights. Above all, it is wonderfully well-written -- the story of artists written by artists. I can't wait to see Season 2.