Tin Man (2007)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Tin Man (2007)

Tin Man, a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, is a 3-part miniseries that aired on the Syfy channel in 2007. Since I'm a fan of almost anything to do with L. Frank Baum's classic tale, I really enjoyed being able to finally watch this series!

Story:

A fierce tornado rips DG (Zooey Deschanel) from her clock-watching life as a waitress in the Midwest and deposits her with a shocking bump on “the other side.”

The Outer Zone (O.Z.) is a fantastical land rife with wonder but oppressed by dark magic. The O.Z. has been plunged into a decade-long night of fear by the sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson).

Aided by her Longcoat storm troopers and winded Mobat (monkey-bat) spies, she has seized power from her own mother, the rightful queen known as Lavender Eyes (Anna Galvin), and compromised such once-potent Ozian leaders as the Mystic Man (Richard Dreyfuss). Even the tiny but fierce Resistance Fighters of the Eastern Guild are losing hope that the sorceress can be stopped.

Heeding the whisper of her own emerging memories, DG realizes that only she can halt Azkadellia’s twisted master plan.

Characters:

Zooey Deschanel as DG, the primary protagonist 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 Gale, the protagonist of the original story.

Neal McDonough 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 Woodman.

Alan Cumming 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 analogous to the Scarecrow of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Raoul Trujillo as Raw, one of a race of telepathic "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 Lion.

Kathleen Robertson as Azkadellia, the primary antagonist 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 West.

Tutor, DG's former magic teacher and a shape-shifter 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.