Teen Scribes...
A New Yellow Brick Road
By Naiesha Thobe, Teen Scribe  
October  24, 2011 

SyFy managed to get their miniseries Alice to be quite the hit, but before Alice came Tin Man. As most would be able to guess from the title, this miniseries revolves around a futuristic Wizard of Oz. 

Starring Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, and Kathleen Robertson, this story follows the adventures of a girl named DG after she is, literally, swept away into a strange world that goes by the name of the O.Z., or the Outer Zone. The heroine of the story soon finds out that a Wicked Witch is wreaking havoc over the O.Z. and all of its inhabitants, and soon finds that she has an important role to play in this strange land. 

Considering the miniseries comes from SyFy, many people can expect that futuristic feel to an old story. Those expectations are greatly captured in this miniseries. Look for points of interest such as androids, morphing tattoos, shapeshifters, and high-tech tornados. 

For those who are looking for elements of the old Oz, you will not be disappointed. Each character has a parallel role to the original characters. Dorothy may not be the original Dorothy, but there’s DG. You figure out what it stands for. For the Scarecrow, you have Glitch: a man who had half of brain taken away. And the Tin Man isn’t actually a literal tin man, but rather a police officer of the O.Z. Not to mention the original Yellow Brick Road, hot air balloons, the Wizard himself, and “your little dog, too”. 

In the end, I give Tin Man a nine out of ten. To be fair, it would have gotten a full ten if not for the acting. There are many moments where you wonder if one of the actresses has any emotion at all... but the others make up for it. The suspense and drama lend helpfully into the main story line, and the landscapes are also very pleasing. This three part miniseries was first aired in 2007, and can be bought on DVD on a two-disc special today.