Tin Man

I'm intrigued by the re-showing of the sci-fi mini-series Tin Man on Hallmark this Easter.

I don't know a busting lot about it, save that it's a re-imagining of the Wizard of Oz (from the precis I've read, a very loosely based one) that was originally shown and made for the Sci-Fi Channel a couple of years ago.

Seeing the trailers, I must say I'm interested and have set the three, two-hour long, slots to record over the Easter period. Stills and trailers suggest it's a fairly lavish affair with strong production values (with something like $20 million dollars an episode - or that might be for the whole show - either way; it's had money spent on it).

The cast intrigues me too, though I've got to say, for all the good work he does Alan Cummings has got a lot of total crap associated with his name. Colour me cautious then.

Slightly more appealing is Neal McDonough as 'Wyatt Cain'. I liked his work in the superb Band of Brothers especially, but he's also had a recent quality stint on Desperate Housewives as homicidal, grieving widow 'Dave Williams' (the show's a guilty pleasure: okay, I said it). Scrolling down the IMDB cast list, I notice Richard Dreyfuss is also starring - a bit of acting gravitas too then.

Zooey Deschanel gets the lead as 'DG' - she, amongst other things, was in the frankly awful The Happening by the sadly diminished talent of M. Night Shyamalan, so who knows what's in store.


Definitely looking forward to it, though. I usually quite enjoy these fantasy/sf dramas. Merlin is a particularly good example that springs to mind with Sam Neil as the eponymous hero. That one I actually enjoyed more on the second viewing.

So, amongst other things this Easter, I'll be watching Tin Man. I hear it got mixed reviews, but I'd rather not delve into these in too much detail, because I'd prefer to make up my own mind. The fact it's regarded by some as 'grim' and 'bleak' holds no negatives for me.

Fingers crossed it's good.