sci-if Tin Man, remake of Wizard of Oz

I'm two-thirds through. I'm curious--what does everyone think? I think I'll decide how I feel about it after I see the ending. The concept is breathtaking, and it's beautiful to watch, but I'm wary about how the story seems to be unfolding.

Also, does anyone know how to move a show from a DVR to a hard drive? I'm running out of space. It's sad.

Comments

[celli]

I felt like it had a ton of potential, and like you said, it's gorgeous to watch...but it never entirely grabbed me. Had some great little moments, though.

[summertea.livejournal.com]

It wasn't bad, though roommates and I were face+palm-ing over the sometimes-stupid actions of the characters. The ending was not very satisfying though. >_>

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

I wasn't sure if there was really an abrupt black-out after the last sentence - that iconic one - or if my file was too short, could you tell me if that was the end-end?

[nestra.livejournal.com]

I think you probably saw the end-end, if it ended off a line of DG's character.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

It did, thanks.

[volari.livejournal.com]

I watched the first two parts and just didn't care enough to anymore to try and catch the third. Visually, it's absolutely amazing. But the writing was pretty bland and I thought Alan Cumming was the only one to make his character engaging. I was really thrown off by Zooey Deschanel's performance. Her reactions always felt off--none of the body language was there.

Usually, I'll watch something just to see how it ends if nothing else, but not this.

[graceandfire.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the whole thing, didn't think it was great, but liked the actors, especially Alan Cumming and Neal McDonough, and thought the re-working of the tale was imaginative and well done. I did think the ending was a bit abrupt and kind of a let down.

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

The ending was rather abrupt, that i agree with. But I actually find i liked it quite a bit. It was a smart retelling and it worked with all the original elements of the first book and included a few nods to the second one as well. The writers actually did read them through, methinks. For that? They have my nod of glee and thanks. But i was concentrating more on the story itself than the acting. *grins* Visually? Stunning in every possible way.

[reccea.livejournal.com]

Visually it's amazing and for the most part it's fun. I really enjoyed Alan Cumming and Neal McDonough. Kathleen Robertson is also pretty fun. (She really just goes for it which is pretty much the only way a character like that works.) Zooey Deschanel, though, is just really awful. She has some terrible line readings (the emotions are so completely off-when she emotes, that is)and maybe five facial expressions. It's disconcerting and at some points really throw you out of the story. The mini-series would seriously have benefitted from better casting on that front.

But, in the end, I found it enjoyable and there were several twists re: DG I didn't actually see coming.

[miss-porcupine.livejournal.com]

As everyone else said: gorgeous, but.

It felt like the SGA writers were handling the story. It was ham-handed and facile in places, dripping with potential in others, and alternately limited by the actors' abilities and the writers' lack of imagination. And yet not completely uninteresting to watch.

I imagine this was a brilliant pitch to the network, but it lost a lot when extended to six hours.

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

It felt like the SGA writers were handling the story

Crushing criticism, but totally fair to both TM & SGA. And by "fair" I mean "devastating".

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I had high hopes, but I felt like the script didn't support the actors and the actors didn't support the script.

[crystalheaven.livejournal.com]

I loved it. I got hooked the first night. My roommate and I both stayed up for the re-showing to watch the parts we missed.

Though I will admit, the ending left me wanting. It just kind of... Stopped. There needed to be more.

Breathtaking to watch, pretty good plot line, but all in all, there was always just something missing.

That's not to say that if it's released on DVD, I'm not going to go out and buy it the day it's released. *grins*

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

General agreement: visually stunning, nice twists, terrible acting by Deschanel, surprised by the swiftness of the ending. I wanted more Askadelia (in fact I'd add that to my Yuletide list if it wasn't too late!). And I did appreciate that the show featured multiple scenes in which two women talked but didn't discuss men, and that the strongest romance was Tin Man/Scarecrow OTP.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

What she said.

(Rivka, I would love you forever (not that I already don't) if you wrote Tin Man/Scarecrow. Or possibly Cain/Al...phonse? Whatever his full name was. Which might be a different pairing than Tin Man/Scarecrow.)

[roguewords.livejournal.com]

Ambrose!

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I searched out the slash I could find -- report here:
http://c-regalis.livejournal.com/158135.html?thread=5330615#t5330615

I'd love it if Rivka took Tin Man on, too!

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

*enables* ;-)

[amireal.livejournal.com]

I think it was gorgeous and had the greatest beginnings of an idea but fell into the oldest pacing hole ever which is too much rehashing of what we already know will happen in the remake, I don't care how different it is. Like the discovery of how the old tropes (tin man, scarecrow, etc) were remade were all awesome-- but the journey somehow felt really badly paced. Especially when you see how it ends I think.

[roguewords.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it.

and for me, that's enough. i'm not asking for a lot. to be entertained for a couple of hours that's it.

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Yeah, there were some issues, but as several hours of entertainment it did quite well.

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

I saw bits and pieces and most of the last two hours and came away mostly unimpressed, even though one of my favorite hotties was playing Cain...

What flavor of DVR do you have? I have a TiVo and can walk you through the process for one of those. I'm on IM...

[blade-girl.livejournal.com]

I felt that the trailers made it look much higher-quality than it actually was. The dialogue was just embarrassingly bad at times, and some of the acting was horrible. (Loved Alan Cumming, though.)

Overall, it had the feel, to me, of someone's first writing effort, as though a film student with lots of money and connections had taken a fellow student's fantasy script and turned it into a movie.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I was meh about it, but kept on with it for Callum Keith Rennie, and for the Glitch/Cain slashiness. (And Rothman Jason Schombing was in the first part! Canadian Actor Bingo FTW. :-) Unlike most everybody else, I didn't mind Zooey Deschanel's performance -- I'm fine with quirky and odd people. But I'd unfortunately gotten all hyped by the "Making of" special. After all the superlatives about the effects and quality ... it didn't live up. Which, yeah, TV miniseries on Sci Fi. Bad synching of ADR to the actors' mouths, some great effects and some iffy ones.

I read in an interview that it was called Tin Man because the original premise was for the focus to be Cain, a lawman in a Bladerunner type Oz. Too bad they didn't run with that, though they still might. Part of what makes the ending so abrpt is that they're interested in doing more movies or a series, if there's enough call for it.

(I can hook you up with avis, if you want the show that way, commercial free.)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

OOh, yes, please?????

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

e-mailing ju :-)

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

I have only seen part one, the other two parts are sitting on Tivo, awaiting my interest. That kinda tells you what I thought of it.

What I've seen so far has been *competent*. That's the one word I'd use to describe it. Competent scripting, sets, costume, acting, design. Just nothing particularly inspired. I didn't feel I'd lost a couple of hours of my life that I'd never get back, and I enjoyed what I saw, but it can sit in the Tivo until I get around to finishing up.

I emailed someone with the observation that I'd wished the people who did Farscape had done Tinman, it would have then been as edgy and cool as these guys were reaching for, but somehow missed.

[druidspell.livejournal.com]

I DVRed it, and watched one part at a time to break up the monotony of being home alone with a broken leg.
My thoughts were that visually, it was lovely. I loved Glitch/Ambrose, Cain, Zero, and the Mystic Man--I thought that what the actors did with their characters and their limitations was interesting, even when I thought it was baffling. Askadelia could have been developed a bit more, I thought, and her actress was really trying to do her best, despite the pitfalls of her script.
However, Zooey Deschanel, in my opinion, was... lacking. I was really prepared to like her as DG, and thought that the character was interesting, but her portrayal of DG left me dissatisfied and extremely cold. I didn't warm to her at all; her robot parents had more emotion.

[everagaby.livejournal.com]

I made a realization about Zooey Deschanel: every time I see her cast in something I think, "Oh! I love her!" Unfortunately, then I see whatever she's in and realize that, no, there is no love. There is only me watching her go through the Cupie-Doll-esque motions of blinking her large blue eyes and sometimes crying. I think I want to adore her, but then I get stuck watching her completely fumble time timing of a whole bunch of stuff. At least she's got the awkward running down pat.

I have to say, the miniseries might have been worth it if only for Alan Cumming. He's absolutely fantastic in everything I've seen him in. I adore watching him just have fun with a new role and a new accent.
I think the trick to watching it is to just forget where it got its origins. If you do that, then it's not nearly as twitch-inducing every time they say "The O.Z." All in all, pretty, but also pretty pointless.

[mindyfromohio.livejournal.com]

I admit, I started watching for the Callum Keith Rennie, and stayed because THE FLYING MONKEYS CAME OUT OF HER BOOBS!