Question: I know you may be sick of writing about Tin Man, since you really didn't care for it anyway. But I finally just finished watching my stuff on TiVo and I was wondering if there was any plan for this to go from a miniseries to a series. I know that The Lost Room was supposed to and didn't. And that The Starter Wife wasn't intended to but did. Of course, the WGA strike may put a serious hold on things. But I heard that the ratings were really good for Sci Fi, and I know I loved it. However, I'm not really sure where it could go as a series. Your thoughts?
Answer: I'm with you that I can't see where Tin Man would go as a series. The miniseries felt pretty well contained to me. Unlike the much worse The Lost Room, this was successful enough that I wouldn't be surprised to learn of a miniseries sequel — I haven't heard anything, and I'm not asking — but I can't and don't want to imagine a series version. Sometimes it's better to be left wanting more. (Personally, I would hav ...
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Question: I had to write in regarding your response to a reader's comments about Tin Man. You wrote: "Being edgy is fine, but just because something is edgy and dark doesn't necessarily make it better. And when did it become fashionable to slam things for being sweet?" You are kidding, right? Almost everyone in the media today criticizes things for being too sweet, even children's shows. I am the mother of two young children (ages 7 and 4), and it seems that everything produced for kids these days is "edgy," supposedly so that the parents will enjoy it. When a recent Winnie the Pooh movie came out, I read a review that said it was too saccharine sweet. Come on — it is a G-rated Winnie the Pooh movie, not a slasher flick! Shows like Barney are always criticized for being too sweet, but the last time I checked, the demographic for that show is 0 to 5, not 14 to 18. Almost all new children's movies are PG, so that the writers can insert potty humor and foul language. I don't need to hear ...
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Question: I watched Tin Man and loved it. The way they tied almost every aspect of it into the original Wizard of Oz made it really interesting. The budget must have been well above the average miniseries. How is it that a show like this didn't end up in theaters or at least on a major network?
Answer: The days when cable networks were no longer considered "major" are long gone. And when's the last time you saw a "major" network invest the time and energy to produce a thoroughly original miniseries? (Answering my own question: CBS is airing a Lonesome Dove prequel, Comanche Moon, in mid-January, but that's an exception.) Sci Fi has made an annual tradition of splashy December miniseries, and while I wasn't as wild about this as you, I applaud them for swinging the bat with such ambition. Why shouldn't something with the scope of Tin Man deserve to find its place on a network with as far-reaching aims as Sci Fi?
Another take on Tin Man comes from Jaime L. of Walnut Creek, CA: "I don't
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“That’s the OZ I remember. I am so glad to be home.” ~ DGThat’s it? This is where the journey beyond the yellow brick road ends – one big happy family (and a few friends) smiling at the sunrise. For this darker re-imaging of the Wizard of Oz I expected a more satisfying ending then smiles and sunshine, especially after this final chapter full of action and homage’s to the Baum classic.It started off with DG and company finally reaching Finaqua, and DG skipping a stone shaped as a heart, activating a holographic message from her mother. In which she tells DG to seek out Ahamo for the rest of her journey. Ahamo is her father Toto tells DG, and since abandoning her mother has been hiding in the realm of the Unwanted. But before they even reach the realm, Cain brings up issue with were the loyalties of Toto lie, and in result he travels with them now solely in pooch form.The realm of the Unwanted brings trouble as the gang is falsely lured by a gypsy who...
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Doug Savant by Bob D'Amico/ABC
OK, after watching Sunday's episode, I get it: Marc Cherry's plum is ripe for the watching again. So I don't blame Nielsen's families for tuning in in droves to learn that Tom Scavo (presumably) got swept away by a natural disaster. The dramedy was watched by 20.6 million 18- to 49-year-old viewers, giving it a 7.7 rating/17 share in the demo and its best overall numbers since November sweeps 2006. ABC kicked ass before and after the whirlwind, too, winning at 8 pm/ET with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (14.5 million, 4.9/11) and at 10 with Brothers & Sisters (12.7 million, 4.8/12). Only at 8:30 did Fox surge ahead: Its Bowl Championship Series Selection Show, while down from last year, tackled 10.8 million viewers for 4.3 rating and a 10 share. Speaking of twisters, the first night of the cabler's wack Wizard of Oz revamp blew away the competition to become its most-watched broadcast ever. Attracting more than 6.3 million viewers, it did even better than Steven Spielberg Presen...
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Hello my fellow Ozians, it’s good to hear from me isn’t it? Ok, don’t burst my bubble - I will admit this action packed chapter held my attention more, and really wasn’t too shabby.I took pause in the opening scene tonight trying to think how Tin Man could send Dorothy (I mean DG) back to Kansas already. Maybe that would have been a more exciting twist having DG trying to find her way back into the O.Z., but alas we should have know it was all the evil trickery of Azkadellia (aka Bitchzellia as one of you wittily referred to her as). “You are twisted,” declared DG to Azkadellia having seen she has re-programmed Hank and Em to be her parents now. Is that her story – desperately seeking attention and approval from her mother and longing to get out of DG’s spot light?Azkadellia tries to (unsuccessfully and unconvincingly) play the sympathy family card on DG. She apologies for her actions when they where younger, chalking it up to child foolishnes...
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"This isn't a nightmare. This is the O.Z. — Outer Zone." — GlitchI don't think we are in Kansas anymore…or at least not the Kansas we all know and love. The Sci-Fi Channel has definitely taken us on a journey far beyond the yellow brick road we are used to with the dark mini-series Tin Man.The series opens up on a young woman having bad dreams (that could mirror the boat-ride scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory mind you), which feature a lady with lavender eyes warning her of a storm that is coming. She is then speeding to work on her motorcycle when a cop starts to pursue her. She quickly hides, and then rushes inside to the HillTop Cafe where she works, and changes into her uniform — a blue and white gingham dress (a la Judy Garland's Dorothy), pigtails and all. A customer is waiting for pie, she is told. That customer is police officer Elmer Gulch (another shout out to the classic MGM picture), with a speeding ticket in hand. Meet DG (Zooey Descha...
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Snoop goes retro for his latest music video.
Snoop's Music Video PremiereThe D.O. Double G is back with a hot new music video, "Sensual Seduction," but we can assure you that you've never seen him like this before. In his ode to pimps past, the Doggfather suits up in what is quite possibly the most absurdly retro video of all time. We're talkin' the whole nine here — sequins, disco balls, even Snoop rockin' full-on chops. Classic.Watch it now!A Twister Hits Wisteria Lane! Watch out, ladies, there's a tornado a-brewin' and it's headed straight for Wisteria Lane. Looks like everyone's going to have to put all those secrets and catfights on hold and take cover. ABC is calling this the "best Desperate Housewives episode ever." That's a bold statement — now let's see if they can back it up this Sunday! Watch it now!Sci Fi's Tin Man Goes Way Beyond the RainbowBrace yourselves for what looks like a seriously insane journey through the Outer Zone (O.Z.). Based on the L. Frank Baum epic tale, Tin Man gives you all the goodnes...
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Alan Cumming, Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough, Raoul Trujillo and Kathleen Robertson, Tin Man
The four travelers seem so familiar. One lacks courage, one has no brain, one lost his heart, and the other was brought here by a tornado. But as these ragtag pals traipse through the forest in search of their destinies, they don't break into song or meet sweet, helium-voiced witches in big, poufy ball gowns. They are in the O.Z. — aka the Outer Zone — a dictator state where bullets fly, people are horridly tortured and prostitutes peddle instant gratification on the roadside for "reasonable rates."
This isn't L. Frank Baum's nightmare. It's Tin Man (Sunday, Dec. 2 through Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 9 pm/ET), a radical Sci Fi Channel adaptation of his beloved book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. And though it was filmed near Vancouver amid idyllic surroundings — snowcapped peaks, placid lakes — make no mistake: This six-hour, three-night redo wants to slap us out of our over-the-rai
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Neal McDonough, Tin Man
Actor Neal McDonough (Traveler) based his decision to take on the lead in Sci Fi's anticipated Oz-take, Tin Man (premiering Dec. 2 at 9 pm/ET), on atypical reasons: "For me, having two babies now and the most beautiful wife in the world — wonderful wife, best friend, everything — I had to think about that," he told TV Guide at the media premiere. "Every decision I make now is 100 percent about my family, for (Tin Man) Wyatt Cain it was the same thing and he had it taken away from him." McDonough and his wife, Ruve Robinson, have two children, 2-year-old Morgan and 6-month-old Catherine.
Tin Man definitely has its roots in L. Frank Baum's classic, but with a decidedly darkly modern take as follows a young girl named D.G., played by Zooey Deschanel, who finds herself in "The O.Z." or the Outer Zone. It was McDon
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