No television series has caused more fuss in recent memory than Petr Shtein's NTV prison drama The Zone, broadcast during 2006 over fifty episodes. Brazen plans for a sequel, even after the director's tragic death in February 2007, have only worsened this squabbling. Scandal and sympathy for its maker or his incarcerated devils aside, part of the show's (dubious) reputation has resulted from its generic messiness.[...]
David MacFadyen, kinokultura.com