The SyFy channel takes on Oz in a flawed, yet still enjoyable manner. In this ballsy retelling of L. Frank Baum’s fantasy classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we’re introduced to a girl named DG and her adventures in a dimension known as the O.Z.(outer zone). There, she comes across four new companions. Glitch, an eccentric man who’s brain was removed and now has a zipper on his head, Wyatt Cain, a former cop(known as “Tin Men” in the O.Z.) who’s out to avenge the murder of his family, Raw, a cowardly half man/half beast, and Toto, a former servant to the queen who has the power to turn into a dog. She follows the brick route to the central city in order to find the mysterious Mystic Man in order to bring her home.
The references to Oz(the 1939 film and the novel) are pretty out there. Its nothing extraordinary for a television minseries, but I must say its probably the only thing the SyFy channel has made that I actually enjoy. Its a very interesting take on an age old story. I have two complaints that draw towards nit picking, here they are:
1. Why call it “Tin Man”? Wyatt Cain isn’t the center of the story, DG is. Why not just call it Oz?
2. I thought it would’ve been cool to see the Tin Man like a half man, half robot instead of just a normal guy. But, thats a pretty stupid complaint when I think about it.
But all in all, its a very fun show to watch. I say check it out.
The acting is decent. Zooey Deschanel is a great actress and I hope to see her work more in the future. Alan Cumming is a funny actor and his performance is enjoyable to watch. Neal McDonough is also good and I feel its a shame he doesn’t do much bigger work.
The special effects are mediocre considering its a TV production. The sets look well done and the cinematography is alright.
Some violence.
Its from a little channel known as “SyFy”, what do you think!