A to Z Season 1 Episode 5 Review: “E is for Ectoplasm”

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By now you must have heard that NBC cancelled A to Z.  It’s a shame that we won’t get to see Andrew and Zelda’s story unfold over the course of a full season.  Hopefully you’ll keep watching until the very end to see how the series finale wraps everything up.  “M is for Marriage” perhaps?

Marriage is probably already on Andrew and Zelda’s minds even though they’re only celebrating their “monthiversary”.  Stu and Stephie are the people closest to Andrew and Zelda but they  recognize that what they have is different from any other couple.  A month usually isn’t a big celebration for new relationships but for Zeldrew it’s a milestone they want to go all out for with a joint Halloween party, which is the biggest point of contention for the couple’s best friends.

Stu and Stephie make a big fuss about the party for some valid reasons.  They’re scared they’re being replaced in their best friends’ lives.  This is most evident when the issue of Halloween costumes comes up.  In Stu and Andrew’s case, they’ve been dressing as Ghostbusters together since they were 10.  Stephie and Zelda have been Laverne and Shirley ever since they moved into their house after law school and discovered it was used for the show’s exterior shots.  It’s hard not to feel bad for Stu and Stephie because chances are we’ve all been in their shoes before.

All jealousy and resentments are resolved by the end.  Andrew and Zelda might be soulmates but I think Stu and Stephie are well on their way to the beginning of an equally beautiful friendship.

The pop culture references and cameos are a couple more notable things that A to Z handles really well.  The pilot had a cameo by Lea Thompson which worked nicely with introducing us to Andrew.  Not surprisingly, Ray Parker Jr. performed the Ghostbusters theme song at the Wallflower Halloween party this week.  They’re not the most recent references (if you want that, check out Selfie) but let’s face it, they’re timeless.  The 80s were a significant chunk of Andrew’s childhood and probably most of the target audience.  I myself was only born in the late 80s so I can’t help but wonder if we’d also have familiar faces from the 90s popping up eventually.

The Wallflower office could make for a great spin-off show of its own.  Big Bird is so shocked to find out they don’t have one successful couple to spotlight as the “Golden Couple” of the dating site.  All of their match ups that started out on good terms all ended in divorce or death.  The fact that Andrew and Zelda are forced into pretending they’re this long-term couple for the sake of the press was funny but also felt like it knocked them down a notch into reality.

If you’ve been watching so far, do you plan on sticking with it until the very end?  How do you hope to see the epic Zeldrew story end?

P.S. If you’re not too scared to start another show for fear of cancellation, I highly suggest NBC’s other new romantic comedy Marry Me.  More comedy than romance there, which might be its saving grace but only time will tell.

Image via NBC

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