A Classic Revisted

I am a freak fan of the Wizard of Oz. I have a collection of dolls, plates and other memorabilia relating to this ultimate classic film. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr are totally brilliant, and Victor Fleming (among others) did a fantastic job at directing this timeless film. So when I heard, way back in October that the SciFi Channel was doing a new mini-series based on the famous L. Frank Baum novel, I was full of anticipation, to say the least.

TINMAN, is a whole new look at the story, and after two nights of watching it, I am enthralled in the story. The acting leaves a lot to be desired, but then who can compare the greats from the original? But this is not the story that we all know and love. At first I thought it was just a retelling of the same story, but now I am beginning to think that this is possibly a continuation of the original. A young woman named DG is drawn to this magical world known as the Outer Zone (OZ) through her dreams. She then is pulled into this world through a magical tornado. Sound familiar?, well guess again. At this point in the series, without giving away too much of the plot, I think that DG's mother is Glinda, the Good Witch years later after Dorothy left and went back to Kansas. She has named one of her daughters DG in Dorothy's memory. Who is her father? Well, my guess is the Wizard of OZ, who came back to OZ after leaving in his balloon. Now this is all just my own assumptions, but I will find out tonight in the final airing of the three part mini-series.

The Tin Man is actually a former police officer that was placed in a metal suit and forced to watch the holographic images of his family's torture over and over until DG comes along and releases him. Glitch (the Scarecrow type character) was actually an adviser to the Queen (who is now in exile), who had part of his brain removed to extract information that only he was privy to. Raw (the Lion) is half man and half lion who has the ability to read minds. And Toto? Oh, he is actually a shape shifter. A very imaginative story... and it has me hooked.

But regardless of how entertaining this show is, it will never take the place of the classic. But then again can anything take the place of the classics?