Sci-Fi channel version of the Wizard of OZ; A Steampunk-meets-faeries sense of style, with lots of nods to the MGM film, written by guys who watched too much Star Trek. What's not to like?

One of the "Evil Witch's" listening devices was even tubed!

Very enjoyable, I particularly liked Alan Cumming's "Glitch", very well done all around.

I saw the ads for it, but I spaced out and missed it :sigh:

I'm sure there will be an encore. Sounds like a great spin off.

Encore - Sunday (IIRC) all 3 episodes, starting at 5pm (EST).

Interesting watch. Not sure if it matches up to the original classic, tho...seemed kinda stuck together in some parts.

Zooey was a good choice for DG, but man, has she got some quirky mannerisms.

Yeah, we noticed Zooey's mannerisms too, but hey, she's still cute. Thought the whole thing was pretty cool, not sure some of it was for little kids right before bed, but my kids grew up watching scary movies with me and loved it. Now they read Dean Koontz and Stephen King as their favorite authors. I didn't see this as a newer version of the old WIZ though, more of a sequel that added more to the story. We give it a thumbs up!!!

I didn't see this as a newer version of the old WIZ though, more of a sequel that added more to the story. We give it a thumbs up!!! Definitely not the old Wizard. :D Good entertainment though. I agree with the "not for young kids" sentiment, too. Some bits are a little strong IMO for the very young.

Only saw a couple commercials for it. That guy in the role of Tin Man is seriously creepy looking. Looks like one of the original Village Of The Damned kids all grown up.

I have only seen about 3/4 of the first episode since the wife can't stay up late enough to watch we have been TIVO ing it to watch this weekend. It is most certainly a sequel of sorts. From what I've seen so far I liked it.

It was good and the story flowed pretty well. I won't give away anything but this story was set way after the original Wizard of Oz.

Definitely one of the better mini-series lately.

Dave

Don't want to give anything away either but I was definitely not satisfied with the ending last night! :thumbsdn:

yank

I just asked on of my SciFi fanatic co-workers about it and he told me it's a must watch. I suppose I'll DVR it this weekend. I had an old hardcover Wizard of Oz sequel book as a kid. Probably turn of the century, no doubt thrown out years ago. The illistrations looked a lot like the pictures I just found online from the movie.

It was some of the first TV i've watched in months, friend told me about it, very entertaining and captivating. I'm anxious for more, so it'll probably be dropped/cancelled.

I liked it. At least it was better than most things on TV these days. Ending was predictable and kind've weak. By the end, the timing seemed to be "off". People were traveling miles, and miles with no apparent passing of time. No magic involved, they were just where they needed to be quickly.

Don't want to give anything away either but I was definitely not satisfied with the ending last night! :thumbsdn:

yankThe ending was OK (kind of low-key compared to the build-up), but Zooey's performance was weak - the quirky stuff that worked for her through the bulk of the film did not hold up at the end, IMO.

The illistrations looked a lot like the pictures I just found online from the movie.There is a lot of visual reference to the books and the MGM film throughout. Rich with eye candy, made it even more enjoyable for me.

I caught the first part on tv Monday, and downloaded the other two parts. Just got done watching it. Not a bad flick, and certainly worlds better than the rest of the Wed evening programming (or complete lack thereof).

Much better than alot of the crap that is on sci-fi channel. I guess having a larger budget means better (or real) writers. Definitly a good departure from big snake and alien vs. alien movies :yes: Ah crap... I just saw a preview for 'Showdown at Area 51'... looks like crap.

Caught about 3/4 of the ending last night - in between the bloody commercials.

Much better than alot of the crap that is on sci-fi channel.

Bingo!

Absolutely kick-ass look too.

Missed the ending but will catch it Sunday.

I agree that the acting was sporadically weak but overall the storyline was great.

There were parts where it looked like everyone in the scene forgot what to do next & then had a collective "Oh yeah I remember now..."

Best performance so far is from Raw IMO.

Get the writers & budget for Galactica over to this one and make it a regular series, stat!

I thought that it was clever modernized adaptation of the Wizzard of Oz theme, but not story.

The things that seemed silly though were that they called it the "O" Z", rather than Oz, and that they called the hero DG. I thought that Glitch was a wonderful character. The Tin man was less impressive.

The Lion character was a completely 100% stolen from a 1970s Doctor Who episode staring Tom Baker :yes: (the last Ramana Episode, for those who are curious). In that episode a psychic Lion-like species was hooked up to a machine, that used thier psychic abilities to navigateships though time. They had similar wounds to thier heads and everything! :lmao:

The Bad guys looked like they had re-used the Harkonens uniforms from the movie "Dune" (and they acted similar too).

But even with these amusing factors, I still generally enjoyed it, up to just before the end, and which point it felt like they cut-it-off the very instant that the goal had been achieved, and gave no proper wrap-up. :nono: That aspect annoyed me. :thumbsdn: Even two more minutes could have wrapped things up nicely, but they didn't bother. How dissapointing... :sigh:

The Lion character was a completely 100% stolen from a 1970s Doctor Who episode staring Tom Baker :yes: (the last Ramana Episode, for those who are curious). In that episode a psychic Lion-like species was hooked up to a machine, that used thier psychic abilities to navigateships though time. They had similar wounds to thier heads and everything! :lmao:

No kidding?

That is really lame.

A big disappointment. I was eager for it and TiVo'd the whole thing but found it too long, poorly scripted and badly acted. The writers didn't miss a cliche. It's what I imagine Ed Wood would have done with a big budget.

I liked it but wouldn't watch it again.

Caught it all last night, and liked a goodly portion of it. But it was kind of like a Whitman's sampler... There were bits I thought were really quirky and creative, and bits that were cliche' and lame.

Dialog: On the whole, weak. A lot of lost opportunities to develop character, and deepen the emotional impact, but the writers tended to settle for the gag joke, or worse, the quick emotional fix.

Characters: Glitch was marvelous, Raw a decent idea (even if stolen), the Tin Man... What were they thinking? Let's have the "title character", relegated to playing Tom Mix to the rescue, over and over again? DG was a fair character, but my vote for highest score in the twisted and emotionally relevant category? Azkadellia. I got her. Her dialog worked (for the most part), and there were hints at the deeper story throughout her performance.

Cinematography: No faults there. Great locations, great sets (Go Steampunk!), and the CGI was seamless enough that it never seemed to distract from the story.

The Ending: Oh Geez. "That's all I got, what about you Bob? You got nothing either huh? OK, that's a wrap!"

If I were grading on a 1 - 10 scale with one being Manos: Hands of Fate, and 10 being Citizen Kane, this would score a 4.

I watched the first part last night and kinda "got it". I DVR'ed all of it but between my daughters chior concert and the horses plowing throught the fences I didn't have time to finish.

Part seems to be inspired by "the Dreamer of Oz". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099464/

If you saw this made for TV flik it would make more sense. As L. Frank Baum tells the storys to the children, so D.G's "parents" told her the "story's".

The Tin Man sems to be an nod to the tough guys from films of the same era as the "Wizard of Oz". That ties in with the late 30's cars, gun and so on.

I haven't decided if the kid and I will finish it this week and watch it again when my wife gets a night off, of if we just wait.


....and fotno, if Manos: Hands of Fate is a 1, what grade does "Red Zone Cuba" aka "Night Train to Mundo Fine" get. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0060753/

The evil sister was HOT

See looked kinda Disney and with her ability to suck the life out of men, reminded me of my first wife Sandy.

....and fotno, if Manos: Hands of Fate is a 1, what grade does "Red Zone Cuba" aka "Night Train to Mundo Fine" get. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0060753/


Oh gee whiz... I had completely forgotten about that "gem". I guess it does require an adjustment of the scale don't it?

Manos: Hands of Fate = 1

Citizen Kane = 10

Night Train to Mundo Fine = Please poke out my eyes with a #2 pencil!