Tin Man (miniseries) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tin Man |
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Sci Fi Channel promotional poster
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| Genre | Adventure Fantasy Science Fiction |
| Written by | Jill E. Blotevogel Steven Long Mitchell Craig W. Van Sickle |
| Directed by | Nick Willing |
| Starring | Zooey Deschanel Alan Cumming Neal McDonough Raoul Trujillo Kathleen Robertson Richard Dreyfuss |
| Theme music composer | Simon Boswell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Matthew O'Connor |
| Cinematography | Thomas Burstyn |
| Editor(s) | Allan Lee |
| Running time | 270 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Sci Fi Channel |
| Original release | December 2 – 4, 2007 |
Tin Man is a TV show from 2007. It's a miniseries, which means it's a short series with a limited number of episodes. This show was made by RHI Entertainment and the Sci Fi Channel. It first aired in the United States in three parts.
The story of Tin Man is a new version of the classic book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. But this time, it adds lots of science fiction and fantasy elements. The show stars Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, Kathleen Robertson, and Richard Dreyfuss.
The story follows a young waitress named DG. She gets pulled into a magical world called the O.Z. (Outer Zone). This land is ruled by a mean sorceress named Azkadellia. DG teams up with new friends: Glitch, Raw, and Cain. Together, they go on an adventure. They want to help DG remember her past and stop Azkadellia from covering the O.Z. in endless darkness.
Making Tin Man cost about $20 million. The first part of the show was very popular. It had 6.4 million viewers. This made it the most-watched show in its time slot. Overall, Tin Man was the most-watched miniseries of 2007. It was nominated for nine Emmy awards and won one. Critics had mixed feelings about it. Some liked the acting, music, and special effects. Others thought it was too dark.
Contents
Plot Summary: DG's Adventure
DG is a waitress who feels out of place in her Kansas farm life. She keeps seeing a woman with lavender eyes in her dreams. This woman warns her that a big storm is coming. Soon, DG's visions come true. The evil sorceress Azkadellia, who rules the O.Z., sends her soldiers, called Longcoats. They travel through a "travel storm" to find and kill DG.
DG escapes through the storm and lands in the O.Z. There, she meets new friends. First, there's Glitch. Azkadellia removed half of his brain. Next is Wyatt Cain, a former law enforcer called a "Tin Man." He was trapped in an iron suit for years. This was his punishment for standing up to Azkadellia. Finally, she meets Raw. He is a "viewer" whose people have been enslaved by Azkadellia.
DG finds a magical symbol on her hand. She learns that her parents in Kansas are actually robots. Her real mother is the lavender-eyed woman from her visions. The group visits the Mystic Man in Central City. He helps them continue their journey to the Northern Island. There, they discover that Glitch used to be the Queen of the O.Z.'s advisor. They also learn that DG and Azkadellia are sisters. They are the daughters of the Queen!
DG remembers that Azkadellia tried to kill her with dark magic when they were kids. But their mother saved DG using light magic. She also gave DG secret clues to find the Emerald of the Eclipse. Azkadellia now wants this Emerald. Azkadellia and her bat-winged monkey "mobats" attack the group. She captures DG and Raw. Cain fights Zero, the Longcoat captain. He learns that his wife and son are still alive. Cain thought Zero had killed them. Zero then shoots Cain, who falls into an icy lake.
Glitch rescues Cain and brings him back to life. They go to Azkadellia's castle to save DG. Azkadellia questions DG. She learns that the "Gray Gale" protects the Emerald of the Eclipse. Azkadellia kills the Mystic Man after he tells DG to go south. A small dog frees DG. This dog is actually Tutor, her childhood teacher and a shapeshifter. He is also called Toto.
DG, Glitch, Raw, Cain, and Tutor head south. They don't know that Tutor is secretly marking their path for Azkadellia's mobats. Along the way, DG starts to get her magic back. She restores a dead fruit tree. Cain finds his wife's grave. More of DG's memories return in Finaqua. As children, DG and Azkadellia were very close. But this changed when DG accidentally let an evil witch's spirit out of a cave. The sisters' magic could have protected them if they held hands. But DG ran away, and the witch took over Azkadellia. DG realizes that all the bad things in the O.Z. happened because of her mistake.
The group travels further south to find DG's father, Ahamo. They discover Tutor's betrayal, but let him stay as a dog. In the Realm of the Unwanted, they fall into a trap. Glitch, Raw, and Cain are captured by Zero. But resistance fighters, led by Cain's son Jeb, free them. Zero reveals Azkadellia's big plan. She wants to use the Emerald of the Eclipse with a machine called the Sun Seeder. Her goal is to lock the O.Z.'s two suns behind the moon during an eclipse. This would cover the land in permanent darkness. Glitch designed the Sun Seeder when he was the Queen's advisor. The part of his brain that Azkadellia removed is now controlling it.
Meanwhile, DG meets Ahamo. They travel by hot air balloon to the hidden tomb of the O.Z.'s royal family. DG learns that the Gray Gale is Dorothy Gale. She is DG's "greatest great-grandmother" and the first "slipper" to come to the O.Z. from Earth. DG enters Dorothy's tomb. She finds herself in a black-and-white version of her Kansas farm. There, she receives the Emerald from Dorothy. Azkadellia arrives and captures both Ahamo and the Emerald. She leaves DG trapped in a sarcophagus. DG uses magic to escape. She reunites with her friends. Together, they sneak into Azkadellia's fortress as she locks the suns in place. DG holds hands with Azkadellia. This frees Azkadellia from the witch's control. At the same time, her friends reverse the Sun Seeder's power, destroying the witch. DG and Azkadellia are reunited with their parents. The suns come out from behind the moon, bringing light back to the O.Z.
Meet the Cast and Characters
- Alan Cumming plays Glitch. He was once the Queen of the O.Z.'s main advisor. His real name is Ambrose. He created many amazing machines. But when Azkadellia took power, she stole his plans for the Sun Seeder machine. She also removed half of his brain. Glitch is like the Scarecrow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- Zooey Deschanel plays DG. She finds herself in the O.Z. and learns she is Azkadellia's sister. Their mother is the Queen. Rachel Pattee played DG when she was a child. DG is like Dorothy Gale and is later revealed to be her descendant.
- Richard Dreyfuss plays The Mystic Man. He used to rule Central City. But Azkadellia controlled him with her magic. He became just a stage performer. He helps DG by telling her where to go to remember her past. He is like the Wizard of Oz.
- Anna Galvin plays "Lavender Eyes", who is the Queen of the O.Z. She is the mother of DG and Azkadellia. At the start of the show, Azkadellia has taken her throne. The Queen is held in a magic prison. Her role is similar to Glinda the Good Witch of the South.
- Blu Mankuma plays Tutor. He was DG's magic teacher. He is a shapeshifter and can turn into a small dog. In his dog form, he is called Toto. This is a nod to the dog in the original Oz stories.
- Neal McDonough plays Wyatt Cain, the "Tin Man" of the show's title. He was a law enforcer, called a Tin Man because police badges were made of tin. He was locked in an iron suit as punishment for going against Azkadellia. He is like the Tin Woodman.
- Callum Keith Rennie plays Zero. He is the captain of Azkadellia's Longcoat soldiers. He is the one who imprisoned Cain.
- Kathleen Robertson plays Azkadellia. An evil witch possesses her. She tried to kill her sister DG and took over her mother the Queen. The witch and Azkadellia often talk about their plans. But Azkadellia is just being used by the witch. Alexia Fast played Azkadellia when she was a child. Azkadellia's role is like the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Raoul Trujillo plays Raw. He is part-man, part-lion. His people are "viewers" who see with their hearts. Azkadellia has enslaved them. Raw joins DG, Glitch, and Cain to find the Emerald of the Eclipse. Raw is like the Cowardly Lion. Raoul Trujillo had to wear a lot of makeup and prosthetics for this role.
- Ted Whittall plays Ahamo. He is the Queen's husband and the father of DG and Azkadellia. He helps DG find the Emerald of the Eclipse. "Ahamo" is "Omaha" spelled backward. This refers to the Wizard's hometown in the original Oz books.
- Gwynyth Walsh and Kevin McNulty play Emily and Hank. They are DG's parents from Kansas. It turns out they are robots from a part of the O.Z. called Milltown. They are like Aunt Em and Uncle Henry from the original story.
Behind the Scenes: Making the Show
RHI Entertainment and the Sci Fi Channel spent $20 million to create the Tin Man miniseries. Robert Halmi, Sr. was the main producer. A Sci Fi executive named Dave Howe said they felt classic stories like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz deserved to be "reimagined for a new generation." The script for Tin Man changed The Wizard of Oz story. It created new characters and added science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk elements. But it still had many hints to the original story.
Nick Willing was chosen to direct the show. He had experience directing a new version of Alice in Wonderland in 1999. He said his goal was not to just remake The Wizard of Oz. They wanted to use science fiction to completely change the story. Willing explained that in their version, "the witch is now running things, Toto is working for her, and Dorothy doesn't even know she's Dorothy."
Steven Long Mitchell, a writer and producer, talked about the character of the Tin Man. He said, "The Tin Man is an iconic character... It's almost an Eastwood character. It's a guy who knows the difference between right and wrong." He added that Neal McDonough, who played Cain, was perfect for the role. McDonough himself saw the chance to play Wyatt Cain as a "classic Western, High Noon-ish character."
Zooey Deschanel, who played DG, did not want to copy Judy Garland's Dorothy from the 1939 movie. She said, "That was such an incredible performance that there's no need to repeat it." She wanted to make the role her own. Deschanel did not re-watch the 1939 film to prepare. She felt the whole point was to create something new. She also avoided watching the musical Wicked. Even so, Deschanel had always wanted to play Dorothy. She said it was one of her favorite characters since she was two years old.
Kathleen Robertson, who played the adult Azkadellia, made her character quietly menacing. She was self-controlled, not loud. Robertson said playing one of the most famous villains was a big challenge. She played Azkadellia as "internal and psychological." She described her as "narcissistic" and having "every personality disorder." Producer Michael O'Connor said their Wicked Witch was "a touch more evil and diabolical" than in the book. He also said Robertson brought "the deliciousness of evil to the role." Robertson, production designer Michael Joy, and actor Neal McDonough all noted that Azkadellia's personality shaped the look of the O.Z. and her followers. This included the costumes of Azkadellia and her Longcoats, and the look of the mobats. Joy said, "Azkadellia is in love with power." He described the Longcoats' costumes as "stormtrooper-meets-leather bar." He called the interior decor of Azkadellia's palace "futuristic for 1930s' fascist realist."
Release Information
Tin Man first aired in the United States from December 2 to 4, 2007. It was shown as a three-part miniseries, lasting four and a half hours. In the United Kingdom, it aired on Sci Fi's UK channel. It was shown in three weekly parts starting May 11, 2008. New Zealand broadcast it in two parts from December 9 to 16, 2008. Australia aired it on December 26 and 27.
The show was first released on Region 1 DVD on March 11, 2008. It came out as a regular version and a Collector's Edition. It was released on Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008.
See also
In Spanish: Tin Man para niños
