Tin Man

I know, I know, it's another miniseries.  I wasn't actually going to include another miniseries on here after The Lost Room, and this spot was going to go to Space:  Above and Beyond.

Here's the thing though about Space:  Above and Beyond.
1)  It's not very good
2)  It was short-lived and not well circulated
3)  Battlestar Galactica (reimagined) was better

This may also be a signal that I won't be talking about Battlestar for the remainder of my list either.  Not because it's not GOOD (it certainly is), but because I don't think I can say anything about it that hasn't been said already.

I'm getting sidetracked.  What I really want to talk about is Tin Man.


Tin Man, as you might have guessed from this picture and the title, is a dark re-imagining / continuation of The Wizard of Oz.  I lean toward "continuation" in this ambiguous genre label, for reasons that are found in a plot I don't wish to spoil.

What I will say of the plot is this:  DG (Zooey Deschanel) is transported to the O.Z. (the "Outer Zone") by a mysterious teleport storm.  There, she battles the witch Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson) with the help of Glitch (Alan Cumming, who some viewers might remember as Nightcrawler from X-2), the animalistic seer Raw (Raoul Trujillo) and the titular Tin Man (Neal McDonough), who is not named for his physical appearance but instead for his job as a police officer.

This.  Show.  Is.  DARK.  Lots of people die, lots of people are tortured, and in between there is plenty of action, intrigue, and mystery.  Apparently, that content turned a lot of critics off, but I bloody loved it.  I suspect some critics approached this expecting more light-hearted fare.  After all, it's based on the charming L. Frank Baum novel / movie!  How could it not be light?

Well, I think that's a ridiculous expectation, for a lot of reasons.  Firstly, it was never marketed as being a light-hearted romp.  Secondly, The Wizard of Oz is pretty dark in of itself.  The Wicked Witch of the West frequently threatens murder and destruction on the world, and on Dorothy, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Lastly...The Wizard of Oz is kind of stupid.  As a story, it's really just a long "dream sequence", so I say if some people want to go out and try to ground that in a more solid, "real world" feel, I say power to them.

And you know what?  Not all critics disliked it.  Tin Man ended up being nominated for 9 Emmy awards including Best Miniseries, and while it only took home the best make-up award, it's easy to see why a lot of attention was paid to it.

The one thing everyone agreed on was that this show looked spectacular.  The sets were dark and gothic, the costumes were imaginative and varied, and the grand, sweeping shots of the O.Z. were great to look at and had very well done CG work.  The soundtrack and sound design were both top notch as well, with an engaging and powerful main theme that resonates well with the determination of the lead characters.

The casting was also dead-on.  Zooey Deschanel in particular brings a spunky kind of skepticism to the role in the first episode, and she evolves to a point where she embraces the weirdness of the world around her.  It might sound shallow, but she also has the perfect face for the role, with a wide-eyed sweet innocence that reads like an extension of the original Dorothy.

Alan Cumming and Raoul Trujillo are also great as Glitch and Raw respectively.  Cumming has a great sense of comic timing, but he also gives considerable tragedy to his character's backstory.  Trujillo is meek without being annoying, but can also snarl and growl with the best of them.

The show-stealer though, in my opinion, is Neal McDonough.  It's no small wonder they decided to name the series Tin Man.  As Wyatt Cain, McDonough traverses the most powerful character arc.  His story is one of pain and loss, but ultimately redemption.  I don't want to spoil any of it, because I found the surprises in his journey just as compelling as the answers he finds.

I'll just tease readers with this image, and leave him at that.  Suffice it to say that McDonough brought this show to a solid emotional core, and I think it's fitting he gets the title spot.

If I had to pick at a soft spot, it'd be the villains.  One thing that's very cool is the suggestion that Azkadellia is in fact much...older...than she appears.  The reveal about what's driving her to do what she does is why I think of this series as a continuation, and not a reimagining.  And, ironically, I think that's why the villain's motivation is lacking.  We get WHO she is in the end, but not WHY she's doing what she's doing.  Of course, the first time around didn't make much sense either...I've said too much.

Azkadellia's henchmen are also a bit simplistic.  They're cruel and sadistic, yes, but I'd have preferred to find out more of their backstories.  Maybe I only feel this way because the protagonists are all so strong.  By comparison the villains are a bit cartoonish.


There have been a lot of "gritty reboots" of major media in American culture.  Comic books, novels, even some classic movies.  What sets Tin Man apart from the rest is that it truly stands on its own apart from the source material without forgetting to pay homage to its origins.  There are the quirky "in" jokes, the subtle and sly hints to what is going on... but this show is without a doubt a wholly original concept, in terms of design, story, and execution.

I'm hoping I've sufficiently teased you with what I didn't say to make you watch it.  You won't be disappointed.