Tin Man (TV miniseries)
Encyclopedia
Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries
co-produced by RHI Entertainment
and Sci Fi Channel original pictures
that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights. It was released to DVD
on March 11, 2008; the same year it was rebroadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Starring Zooey Deschanel
, Neal McDonough
, Alan Cumming
, Raoul Trujillo
, Kathleen Robertson
, and Richard Dreyfuss
, the miniseries is a reimagining and continuation of the classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
, with science fiction
and additional fantasy
elements added. It focuses on the adventures of a small-town waitress named DG who is pulled into a magical realm called the O.Z., ruled by the tyrannical sorceress Azkadellia. Together with her companions Glitch, Raw, and Cain, DG journeys to uncover her lost memories, find her true parents, and foil Azkadellia's plot to trap the O.Z. in eternal darkness.
Costing $20 million to produce, the first part of miniseries was the highest-rated program in its timeslot, with 6.4 million viewers; the miniseries itself would be the highest-rated miniseries of 2007. It was nominated for nine Emmy awards, winning one, and was also nominated for a Critics' Choice Award. Critics gave it mixed reviews, with some praising the acting, soundtrack, and visual effects, while others found it overly grim and bleak.
) is a small-town waitress who feels that she does not fit into her Kansas
farm life and has visions of a lavender-eyed woman (Anna Galvin
) warning her that a storm is coming. Her visions are realized when the sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson
), tyrannical ruler of the O.Z. (Outer Zone), sends her Longcoat soldiers through a "travel storm" to kill DG. DG escapes through the storm into the O.Z. and befriends several of its inhabitants: Glitch (Alan Cumming
), who had half of his brain removed by Azkadellia; Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough
), a former "Tin Man" law enforcer who was locked in an iron suit for years as punishment for opposing Azkadellia; and Raw (Raoul Trujillo
), a "viewer" whose people have been enslaved by Azkadellia. DG receives a magical symbol on her palm and learns that her Kansan parents are androids and that her real mother is the lavender-eyed woman of her visions. Visiting the Mystic Man (Richard Dreyfuss
) in Central City and continuing on to the Northern Island, the group learns that Glitch was once the advisor to the Queen of the O.Z. and that DG and Azkadellia are actually sisters and the daughters of the Queen. DG remembers that Azkadellia killed her using dark magic when they were children, but their mother revived her by light magic and gave her secret instructions on how to find the Emerald of the Eclipse, which Azkadellia now seeks. Azkadellia confronts the group with her Longcoats and mobats, capturing DG and Raw. Cain fights the Longcoat captain Zero (Callum Keith Rennie
) and learns that his wife and son, whom he thought Zero had killed, are still alive. Zero shoots Cain, sending him falling into a lake of ice.
Glitch rescues and revives Cain, and they journey to Azkadellia's castle to rescue DG. Azkadellia interrogates DG, learning that the Emerald of the Eclipse is protected by the "Gray Gale". The Mystic Man is killed by Azkadellia after advising DG to head south. DG is freed by a small dog who is revealed to be a shapeshifter named Tutor (Blu Mankuma
), her childhood teacher who is also nicknamed Toto. DG, Glitch, Raw, and Cain head south with Tutor, not knowing that he is marking their path for Azkadellia's mobats to follow. Along the way DG rediscovers some of her magical abilities—restoring a withered fruit tree in the fields of the Papay—and Cain discovers his wife's grave. More of DG's memories return in the lake country of Finaqua: As children she and Azkadellia were very close, but that changed when DG accidentally released the spirit of an ancient, evil witch (Karin Konoval) from a cave. The sisters' magic would have protected them if they stayed together linking hands, but DG fled and the witch possessed Azkadellia. DG realizes that all of the tragedies which have befallen the O.Z. are the result of that mistake she made as a child.
The party heads farther south in search of DG's father Ahamo (Ted Whittall). Tutor's treachery is discovered but he is allowed to stay with the group in his canine form. In the Realm of the Unwanted they are led into a trap: Glitch, Raw, and Cain are captured by Zero, but are freed by resistance fighters led by Cain's son Jeb (Andrew Francis). Zero reveals the scope of Azkadellia's plan, which is to use the Emerald of the Eclipse in combination with a machine called the Sun Seeder to lock the O.Z.'s two suns in place behind the moon during an upcoming eclipse, covering the land in permanent darkness. The Sun Seeder had been designed by Glitch during his time as the Queen's advisor, and the removed portion of his brain is being used to control it. Meanwhile, DG meets Ahamo and the two travel by hot air balloon
to the hidden mausoleum
of the O.Z.'s royal line. DG learns that the Gray Gale is Dorothy Gale
, her "greatest great-grandmother" and "the first slipper" to travel to the O.Z. from Earth. She enters Dorothy's tomb, finding herself in a black-and-white representation of her Kansas farm and receiving the Emerald from Dorothy. Azkadellia arrives, capturing both Ahamo and the Emerald and leaving DG trapped in a sarcophagus
. DG escapes using magic and is reunited with her friends, and together they infiltrate Azkadellia's fortress as she locks the suns in place. DG clasps hands with Azkadellia, freeing her from the witch's possession just as her companions reverse the Sun Seeder's pulse, destroying the witch. DG and Azkadellia are reunited with their parents as the suns emerge from behind the moon, shedding their light on the O.Z.
and the Sci Fi Channel
spent $20 million in the creation of the Tin Man miniseries, with Robert Halmi, Sr. acting as the lead producer. Sci Fi executive Dave Howe noted that the companies felt such classic stories as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz "deserve[d] to be re-imagined for a new generation." The script used for the creation of Tin Man reimagined The Wizard of Oz by creating new characters and adding elements of science fiction
, fantasy
, and steampunk
to the narrative while making many allusion
s to the original story.
Nick Willing was chosen as the director for the piece. He brought with him his experience in directing the 1999 reimaging of Alice in Wonderland
, and noted that it wasn't his intention to have it be The Wizard of Oz
. They set out to use the sci-fi elements to completely change the story. As Willing speaks about the characters' reflection of the originals, he notes that, "the witch is now running things, Toto is working for her, and Dorothy doesn't even know she's Dorothy."
Writer and executive producer Steven Long Mitchell explains, "The Tin Man is an iconic character...It's a real throwback in a lot of ways. It's almost an Eastwood character
. It's a guy who knows the difference between right and wrong. It's a very iconic Western character. When we made the list, Craig and I, we kept going, 'We need Neal. We need Neal.' He has strength as a man. He is unabashedly a man and unapologetically a man." According to The Washington Post, when "McDonough read the script, though, he immediately saw the opportunity to play Wyatt Cain as 'that iconic Western Gary Cooper
, High Noon
-ish character.'"
According to the International Herald Tribune, "Wide-eyed or no, Deschanel didn't want to reprise Garland
's pigtailed Dorothy in Tin Man. 'That was such an incredible performance that there's no need to repeat it,' she said. 'I wanted to make this role my own.'" In another interview, Deschanel elaborated that when preparing for her role she did not rewatch the 1939 film, because the "whole point was to reinvent it. I wouldn't be interested in just re-making the film because it is such a classic film. I love that film. Plus, it's so great, you don't want to be trying to improve upon perfection." She also avoided watching the musical Wicked
. While she may not have wanted to repeat past performances of Dorothy Gale, Deschanel has had an interest in playing the character for much of her life. When asked by TechTelevision, "Did you ever dream in a million years that you would ever play Dorothy in a version of The Wizard of Oz?" Deschanel replied, "I'd hoped. It was always one of my favorite characters since I was two years old."
Actress Kathleen Robertson
, who plays the adult Azkadellia, deliberately portrayed the character as a quiet menace, self-restrained rather than gregarious: "It's a very daunting prospect when you're asked to play one of the most iconic film villainesses in history. As opposed to playing Azkadellia archetypal and loud, I played her internal and psychological. She's narcissistic, she has every personality disorder that you can figure." Producer Michael O'Connor commented that "Our Wicked Witch is a little bit different than that in the book, but we think she's a touch more evil and diabolical." He also remarked that Kathleen Robertson brought "the deliciousness of evil to the role." Robertson, production designer Michael Joy, and actor Neal McDonough
(who plays Wyatt Cain) have all remarked that Azkadellia's personality informed the scenic design
of the O.Z. and the look and feel of her minions, from the costuming
of Azkadellia and her Longcoats to the appearance of the mobats. According to Joy, "Azkadellia is in love with power - drugged by power. Everything is in the image of that power." He describes the costumes of the Longcoats as "stormtrooper-meets-leather bar" and the interior decor of Azkadellia's palace as "futuristic for 1930s' fascist realist".
on Sci Fi's UK channel
in three weekly installments beginning May 11, 2008. It was broadcast in two parts in New Zealand from December 9–16, 2008, and in Australia from December 26–27.
It was first released to Region 1 DVD on March 11, 2008, in both a regular release and a 2-2 Collector's edition. It was released to Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008.
A CD soundtrack for the series was also released.
, the first night of the miniseries averaged more than 6.3 million viewers during its timeslot, making it the most-watched telecast in the network's history and the top rated cable miniseries of 2007. The second part average 4.4 million viewers, and the final part had 5.1 million.
Tin Man was a Critics' Choice Award nominee. It was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Award
s in 2008 including the Outstanding Miniseries category and multiple categories related to films special effects, costuming, editing, and sound editing. Of those nominations, it won only one award, for "Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries Or A Movie (non-prosthetic)".
Variety
called it a "semi-surreal adaptation of The Wizard of Oz stitched together from bits of The Matrix
, Blade Runner
, and Snow White
to create a brooding fantasy that — understandably given the variety of influences — proves a bit of a mess" and whose "look and action sequences don't fully deliver the goods" to the "target audience of fanboys and their imaginary girlfriends." Tom Shales
of The Washington Post
called Tin Man a "hopeless opus" whose "pacing is largely funereal"; he said Deschanel's portrayal of DG was "saucy and captivating", complimented the "superb, rousing and romantic musical score by Simon Boswell
" and characterized the "junky, clunky look" of the special effects as "fitfully spectacular". USA Today
gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, comparing its "bleak, violent, unyieldingly unpleasant revisionist outlook" to the network's reimagined Battlestar Galactica
; the review concluded: "Ambitious and intriguing though it may be, Tin Man is simply too long, too grim and too determined to impose a Lord of the Rings
universe-saving quest on top of a simpler, gentler story."
Associated Press
writer Kinney Littlefield notes that "the title character, ex-cop Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough), called a tin man for his tin badge, is a far more embittered type than Jack Haley
’s metal man was in the movie musical."
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
co-produced by RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....
and Sci Fi Channel original pictures
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights. It was released to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 11, 2008; the same year it was rebroadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Starring Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
, Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
, Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
, Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Trujillo
Born Jose Raoul TrujilloAlso known as Raul Trujillo and Max Cheblon|parents= Luis and Lorraine TrujilloHis official website is raoultrujilloinfo.com, created by Charmaine deValois in London....
, Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Clare Arnold in Beverly Hills, 90210 .-Career:Robertson started taking acting classes when she was ten, and had roles in local theater productions...
, and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, the miniseries is a reimagining and continuation of the classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, with science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and additional fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
elements added. It focuses on the adventures of a small-town waitress named DG who is pulled into a magical realm called the O.Z., ruled by the tyrannical sorceress Azkadellia. Together with her companions Glitch, Raw, and Cain, DG journeys to uncover her lost memories, find her true parents, and foil Azkadellia's plot to trap the O.Z. in eternal darkness.
Costing $20 million to produce, the first part of miniseries was the highest-rated program in its timeslot, with 6.4 million viewers; the miniseries itself would be the highest-rated miniseries of 2007. It was nominated for nine Emmy awards, winning one, and was also nominated for a Critics' Choice Award. Critics gave it mixed reviews, with some praising the acting, soundtrack, and visual effects, while others found it overly grim and bleak.
Plot
DG (Zooey DeschanelZooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
) is a small-town waitress who feels that she does not fit into her Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
farm life and has visions of a lavender-eyed woman (Anna Galvin
Anna Galvin
Anna Galvin is an Australian actress who appeared as Lex Luthor's assistant, Gina, in Smallville, and as Lavender Eyes in Tin Man. She also played Lady Marion Fitzwalter in the first season of the TV series The New Adventures of Robin Hood in 1997.-Filmography:-External links:...
) warning her that a storm is coming. Her visions are realized when the sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Clare Arnold in Beverly Hills, 90210 .-Career:Robertson started taking acting classes when she was ten, and had roles in local theater productions...
), tyrannical ruler of the O.Z. (Outer Zone), sends her Longcoat soldiers through a "travel storm" to kill DG. DG escapes through the storm into the O.Z. and befriends several of its inhabitants: Glitch (Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
), who had half of his brain removed by Azkadellia; Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
), a former "Tin Man" law enforcer who was locked in an iron suit for years as punishment for opposing Azkadellia; and Raw (Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Trujillo
Born Jose Raoul TrujilloAlso known as Raul Trujillo and Max Cheblon|parents= Luis and Lorraine TrujilloHis official website is raoultrujilloinfo.com, created by Charmaine deValois in London....
), a "viewer" whose people have been enslaved by Azkadellia. DG receives a magical symbol on her palm and learns that her Kansan parents are androids and that her real mother is the lavender-eyed woman of her visions. Visiting the Mystic Man (Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
) in Central City and continuing on to the Northern Island, the group learns that Glitch was once the advisor to the Queen of the O.Z. and that DG and Azkadellia are actually sisters and the daughters of the Queen. DG remembers that Azkadellia killed her using dark magic when they were children, but their mother revived her by light magic and gave her secret instructions on how to find the Emerald of the Eclipse, which Azkadellia now seeks. Azkadellia confronts the group with her Longcoats and mobats, capturing DG and Raw. Cain fights the Longcoat captain Zero (Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
) and learns that his wife and son, whom he thought Zero had killed, are still alive. Zero shoots Cain, sending him falling into a lake of ice.
Glitch rescues and revives Cain, and they journey to Azkadellia's castle to rescue DG. Azkadellia interrogates DG, learning that the Emerald of the Eclipse is protected by the "Gray Gale". The Mystic Man is killed by Azkadellia after advising DG to head south. DG is freed by a small dog who is revealed to be a shapeshifter named Tutor (Blu Mankuma
Blu Mankuma
Blu Mankuma is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous Canadian and American productions filmed in Canada.Mankuma was born in Seattle, Washington...
), her childhood teacher who is also nicknamed Toto. DG, Glitch, Raw, and Cain head south with Tutor, not knowing that he is marking their path for Azkadellia's mobats to follow. Along the way DG rediscovers some of her magical abilities—restoring a withered fruit tree in the fields of the Papay—and Cain discovers his wife's grave. More of DG's memories return in the lake country of Finaqua: As children she and Azkadellia were very close, but that changed when DG accidentally released the spirit of an ancient, evil witch (Karin Konoval) from a cave. The sisters' magic would have protected them if they stayed together linking hands, but DG fled and the witch possessed Azkadellia. DG realizes that all of the tragedies which have befallen the O.Z. are the result of that mistake she made as a child.
The party heads farther south in search of DG's father Ahamo (Ted Whittall). Tutor's treachery is discovered but he is allowed to stay with the group in his canine form. In the Realm of the Unwanted they are led into a trap: Glitch, Raw, and Cain are captured by Zero, but are freed by resistance fighters led by Cain's son Jeb (Andrew Francis). Zero reveals the scope of Azkadellia's plan, which is to use the Emerald of the Eclipse in combination with a machine called the Sun Seeder to lock the O.Z.'s two suns in place behind the moon during an upcoming eclipse, covering the land in permanent darkness. The Sun Seeder had been designed by Glitch during his time as the Queen's advisor, and the removed portion of his brain is being used to control it. Meanwhile, DG meets Ahamo and the two travel by hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
to the hidden mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of the O.Z.'s royal line. DG learns that the Gray Gale is Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
, her "greatest great-grandmother" and "the first slipper" to travel to the O.Z. from Earth. She enters Dorothy's tomb, finding herself in a black-and-white representation of her Kansas farm and receiving the Emerald from Dorothy. Azkadellia arrives, capturing both Ahamo and the Emerald and leaving DG trapped in a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
. DG escapes using magic and is reunited with her friends, and together they infiltrate Azkadellia's fortress as she locks the suns in place. DG clasps hands with Azkadellia, freeing her from the witch's possession just as her companions reverse the Sun Seeder's pulse, destroying the witch. DG and Azkadellia are reunited with their parents as the suns emerge from behind the moon, shedding their light on the O.Z.
Cast
- Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as Glitch, the former advisor to the Queen of the O.Z. Under his real name of Ambrose he designed many technological achievements, but when Azkadellia seized power she stole his designs for a Sun Seeder machine and removed half of his brain. The character is based on and analogousAnalogyAnalogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
to the ScarecrowScarecrow (Oz)The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
of The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
. - Zooey DeschanelZooey DeschanelZooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
as DG, the primary protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the miniseries. DG finds herself in the O.Z. and learns that she and Azkadellia are sisters and that their mother is the Queen. Rachel Pattee played the young DG in scenes where the character is shown as a child. DG is analogous to Dorothy GaleDorothy GaleDorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
, the protagonist of the original story, and to some extent, Princess OzmaPrincess OzmaPrincess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
, from later stories. - Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
as The Mystic Man, the former ruler of Central City who has been subjugated by Azkadellia through the influence of her magical vapors and reduced to a stage act. He assists DG by directing her to locations which will stir her memories. The character is analogous to the Wizard of OzWizard (Oz)The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
. - Anna GalvinAnna GalvinAnna Galvin is an Australian actress who appeared as Lex Luthor's assistant, Gina, in Smallville, and as Lavender Eyes in Tin Man. She also played Lady Marion Fitzwalter in the first season of the TV series The New Adventures of Robin Hood in 1997.-Filmography:-External links:...
as "Lavender Eyes", the Queen of the O.Z. and mother to DG and Azkadellia. At the start of the miniseries she has been usurped by Azkadellia and is being kept in a magical prison. Her role is analogous to that of GlindaGlindaGlinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
the Good Witch of the South. - Blu MankumaBlu MankumaBlu Mankuma is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous Canadian and American productions filmed in Canada.Mankuma was born in Seattle, Washington...
as Tutor, DG's former magic teacher and a shapeshifterShapeShifterShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
who can take the form of a small dog. In this canine form he is referred to as Toto, in reference to the dog of the original Oz stories. - Neal McDonoughNeal McDonoughNeal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
as Wyatt Cain, the titular "Tin Man" of the miniseries. A former law enforcer, called a "Tin Man", he was locked in an iron suit as punishment for opposing Azkadellia. His role is analogous to that of the Tin WoodmanTin WoodmanThe Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
. - Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
as Zero, the captain of Azkadellia's Longcoat soldiers and the man who imprisoned Cain. - Kathleen RobertsonKathleen RobertsonKathleen Robertson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Clare Arnold in Beverly Hills, 90210 .-Career:Robertson started taking acting classes when she was ten, and had roles in local theater productions...
as Azkadellia, the primary antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the miniseries. Possessed by an evil witch, she killed her sister DG and overthrew her mother the Queen. Alexia Fast played young Azkadellia in scenes where the character is a child. Azkadellia's role is analogous to that of the Wicked Witch of the WestWicked Witch of the WestThe Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. - Raoul TrujilloRaoul TrujilloBorn Jose Raoul TrujilloAlso known as Raul Trujillo and Max Cheblon|parents= Luis and Lorraine TrujilloHis official website is raoultrujilloinfo.com, created by Charmaine deValois in London....
as Raw, one of a race of telepathicTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
"viewers" who are enslaved by Azkadellia. He joins DG, Glitch, and Cain in their quest to find the Emerald of the Eclipse. Raw is based on and analogous to the Cowardly LionCowardly LionThe Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
. - Ted Whittall as Ahamo, husband to the Queen and father to DG and Azkadellia. He assists DG in locating the Emerald of the Eclipse. His role is also analogous to the Wizard of OzWizard (Oz)The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
. "Ahamo" is "Omaha" spelled backwards, referencing the hometown of the Wizard in the original Oz books.
Production
RHI EntertainmentRHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....
and the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
spent $20 million in the creation of the Tin Man miniseries, with Robert Halmi, Sr. acting as the lead producer. Sci Fi executive Dave Howe noted that the companies felt such classic stories as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz "deserve[d] to be re-imagined for a new generation." The script used for the creation of Tin Man reimagined The Wizard of Oz by creating new characters and adding elements of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
to the narrative while making many allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s to the original story.
Nick Willing was chosen as the director for the piece. He brought with him his experience in directing the 1999 reimaging of Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1999 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a television film first broadcast in 1999 on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. It is based upon Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass....
, and noted that it wasn't his intention to have it be The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. They set out to use the sci-fi elements to completely change the story. As Willing speaks about the characters' reflection of the originals, he notes that, "the witch is now running things, Toto is working for her, and Dorothy doesn't even know she's Dorothy."
Writer and executive producer Steven Long Mitchell explains, "The Tin Man is an iconic character...It's a real throwback in a lot of ways. It's almost an Eastwood character
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
. It's a guy who knows the difference between right and wrong. It's a very iconic Western character. When we made the list, Craig and I, we kept going, 'We need Neal. We need Neal.' He has strength as a man. He is unabashedly a man and unapologetically a man." According to The Washington Post, when "McDonough read the script, though, he immediately saw the opportunity to play Wyatt Cain as 'that iconic Western Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
-ish character.'"
According to the International Herald Tribune, "Wide-eyed or no, Deschanel didn't want to reprise Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
's pigtailed Dorothy in Tin Man. 'That was such an incredible performance that there's no need to repeat it,' she said. 'I wanted to make this role my own.'" In another interview, Deschanel elaborated that when preparing for her role she did not rewatch the 1939 film, because the "whole point was to reinvent it. I wouldn't be interested in just re-making the film because it is such a classic film. I love that film. Plus, it's so great, you don't want to be trying to improve upon perfection." She also avoided watching the musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
. While she may not have wanted to repeat past performances of Dorothy Gale, Deschanel has had an interest in playing the character for much of her life. When asked by TechTelevision, "Did you ever dream in a million years that you would ever play Dorothy in a version of The Wizard of Oz?" Deschanel replied, "I'd hoped. It was always one of my favorite characters since I was two years old."
Actress Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson
Kathleen Robertson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Clare Arnold in Beverly Hills, 90210 .-Career:Robertson started taking acting classes when she was ten, and had roles in local theater productions...
, who plays the adult Azkadellia, deliberately portrayed the character as a quiet menace, self-restrained rather than gregarious: "It's a very daunting prospect when you're asked to play one of the most iconic film villainesses in history. As opposed to playing Azkadellia archetypal and loud, I played her internal and psychological. She's narcissistic, she has every personality disorder that you can figure." Producer Michael O'Connor commented that "Our Wicked Witch is a little bit different than that in the book, but we think she's a touch more evil and diabolical." He also remarked that Kathleen Robertson brought "the deliciousness of evil to the role." Robertson, production designer Michael Joy, and actor Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
(who plays Wyatt Cain) have all remarked that Azkadellia's personality informed the scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
of the O.Z. and the look and feel of her minions, from the costuming
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
of Azkadellia and her Longcoats to the appearance of the mobats. According to Joy, "Azkadellia is in love with power - drugged by power. Everything is in the image of that power." He describes the costumes of the Longcoats as "stormtrooper-meets-leather bar" and the interior decor of Azkadellia's palace as "futuristic for 1930s' fascist realist".
Release
Tin Man initially aired in the United States December 2–4, 2007 as a three-part, four and a half-hour miniseries. It aired on in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on Sci Fi's UK channel
Sci Fi channel (United Kingdom)
Syfy is a television channel service specialising in science fiction, fantasy and horror shows and movies. It is available via digital cable, IPTV, satellite television and Top Up TV platforms. The channel launched in 1995 in the UK a sister channel to the US Sci Fi Channel , with a similar...
in three weekly installments beginning May 11, 2008. It was broadcast in two parts in New Zealand from December 9–16, 2008, and in Australia from December 26–27.
It was first released to Region 1 DVD on March 11, 2008, in both a regular release and a 2-2 Collector's edition. It was released to Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008.
A CD soundtrack for the series was also released.
Reception
According to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, the first night of the miniseries averaged more than 6.3 million viewers during its timeslot, making it the most-watched telecast in the network's history and the top rated cable miniseries of 2007. The second part average 4.4 million viewers, and the final part had 5.1 million.
Tin Man was a Critics' Choice Award nominee. It was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
s in 2008 including the Outstanding Miniseries category and multiple categories related to films special effects, costuming, editing, and sound editing. Of those nominations, it won only one award, for "Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries Or A Movie (non-prosthetic)".
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called it a "semi-surreal adaptation of The Wizard of Oz stitched together from bits of The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, and Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
to create a brooding fantasy that — understandably given the variety of influences — proves a bit of a mess" and whose "look and action sequences don't fully deliver the goods" to the "target audience of fanboys and their imaginary girlfriends." Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called Tin Man a "hopeless opus" whose "pacing is largely funereal"; he said Deschanel's portrayal of DG was "saucy and captivating", complimented the "superb, rousing and romantic musical score by Simon Boswell
Simon Boswell
Simon Boswell is a BAFTA nominated British film score composer, conductor, producer and musician, with more than 90 credits to his name. He is known for combining mainly electronic elements with orchestral.-Biography:...
" and characterized the "junky, clunky look" of the special effects as "fitfully spectacular". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, comparing its "bleak, violent, unyieldingly unpleasant revisionist outlook" to the network's reimagined Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
; the review concluded: "Ambitious and intriguing though it may be, Tin Man is simply too long, too grim and too determined to impose a Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
universe-saving quest on top of a simpler, gentler story."
Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
writer Kinney Littlefield notes that "the title character, ex-cop Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough), called a tin man for his tin badge, is a far more embittered type than Jack Haley
Jack Haley
John Joseph "Jack" Haley was an American stage, radio, and film actor best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and Kansas farmworker Hickory in The Wizard of Oz.-Career:...
’s metal man was in the movie musical."
External links
- Official website
- Tin Man from RHI EntertainmentRHI EntertainmentRHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....