Tin Man on Sci Fi

J.G. Beckman · December 4th, 2007, 05:45 PM

I think the writing, the production design and all the revamped changes have been pretty dreadful and unimaginative, actually. It occurred to me the whole reason for this series was to resurrect a classic franchise while at the same time lowering our expectations for it, stripping it of it's sacrosanctity so it could be more modestly repackaged. Baum wrote tons of those books. That's a fat little license to acquire.

Zooey Deschanel is the only reason I'm continuing to watch, but I agree she hasn't been given much to do with her character.

Nathan Quattrini · December 4th, 2007, 06:18 PM

not that she doesn`t have much, ANY character can be brought to life by the right actor. As for the whole story etc, I think its a good idea, I just don't get why they slapped referenced wizard of oz characters on it (besides so its 'recognizable ' by the audience) when they could have made it their own story and taken any liberty they wanted...well they kind of did anyway. But the fact they tried to make it Wizard of Oz related really distorts our ability to see it as its own....or original.

Bill Mecca · December 4th, 2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

Even her childhood counterpart was a little better, but still had the same blank stare most of the time. Maybe thats what they wanted, just rubbed me the wrong way since she`s the main focus and NOT an android.

When I saw the flashbacks, and the similarity in characterizations I have to believe the director got what he/she (can't remember who it is) wanted. Why? I dunno, but that android thing might have some validity...

hmmm I can't remember, did she use any contractions when she spoke? :-)

Dave Blackhurst · December 4th, 2007, 07:33 PM

OK, if you were raised by androids... wouldn't you naturally pick up on their habits?

Nathan Quattrini · December 5th, 2007, 12:48 AM

haha..i was dissapointed to find out...she was not an android. Just really plain emotionless acting. Yea I watched it...had to know if I was onto something. The cheese factor seemed to reallly come out in part 3 as well...after all...it was a sci-fi channel movie

Lorinda Norton · December 5th, 2007, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Slonaker

http://www.scifi.com/tinman

You can watch it online. :D

Because of you I'm ready for the final part; I'm assuming they'll post it tomorrow. Thank you, Edward!

Charles Papert · December 5th, 2007, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

The cheese factor seemed to reallly come out in part 3 as well...after all...it was a sci-fi channel movie

I feel like a bit of a humbug, but I had to switch this show off half way through the first installment. Thought the acting was over-the-top, the visuals uninspired and the the whole thing lacked purpose for me.

oh well.

Lorinda Norton · December 5th, 2007, 11:21 AM

Charles the humbug...

I don’t watch sci fi anymore but would imagine that most everyone who watched this had to cut it a lot of slack in order to be entertained. In one scene I actually thought of you, Charles—a day for night scene that looked like something you would advise against doing. The writing really suffered, too. Don’t know what to think about Ms. Deschanel’s acting, whether it was direction or just her. Sure is bizarre.

What keeps bringing me out of the story (besides a ton of quirks) are takes from other flicks, eg, a bar scene straight out of Star Wars, a mind meld from Star Trek, a big-eyed heroine just like the hobbit of LOTR.

That said, because I like some of the actors so well (McDonough, Dreyfus) I decided to give it all kinds of room and have found it to be enjoyable enough to finish. I give them all credit for trying something this ambitious on television.

Richard Alvarez · December 5th, 2007, 12:28 PM

I think overall, I was let down by the ending. I liked the premise well enough to start. I don't have any problem with 'retelling' or 'repackaging' a mythic story. This has been done since the dawn of time. No reason not to keep doing it. And of course, in the tomb scene and flashback, we see that it's not so much a retelling of the ORIGINAL story, because the original DG is the Grey Gale, but a new extension of the story.

Yeah, the best parts were the homage to other stories and movies.

But I was falling asleep towards the end, it just didn't build enough for me. Or maybe it was just past my bedtime.

And really, why call it the Tin Man? It's not like it was his journey in particular that we followed, it was still DG's story.

Bill Mecca · December 5th, 2007, 01:11 PM

At the end my wife turned to me and said incredulously "that's it?"
About the way I felt.

She also brought up an interesting point; how was the original DG the Grey Gale when she clicked her heels three times while wearing the ruby slippers and chanting "There's no place like home..." and wound up back in Kansas?

Overall I found it enjoyable both in spite of and because of the quirks.

Lorinda Norton · December 5th, 2007, 01:19 PM

I just finished watching and wasn’t disappointed. Still gotta love that icy blue-eyed Neal McDonough…must be why they called it Tin Man—to attract people like me. ;)

Loved the line, “She melted!” LOL! For that I take back my earlier complaint about the writing…almost.

A bench mark for me is the question, “would I watch it again?” With all its faults, yep, I would.

Richard Alvarez · December 5th, 2007, 01:24 PM

Bill,
Well, I think the storyline established that it was possible to 'move between' the worlds... either by riding a tornado, or taking a hot air baloon. (yeah, yeah, some serious suspension of disbelief necessary) So that could explain that after the heel clicking trip back home, Dorothy comes back to OZ later on. (As indeed, she does in the books, no?) Like travelling back and forth to Narnia.

I think 'uneven' is the way to describe the whole production. Some really interesting art direction in places, some interesting 'fusion' of various mythos and the occasional homage to previous films made for treats that kept me involved. I like Dryfuss' portrayal.. sure, he had a mouthfull of scenery now and again, but compared to Zooey it was absolutely refreshing to hear someone USE language, intonation and inflection. Some effects were cheesy, some were great.

Yeah, 'uneven' but fun in places.

Bill Mecca · December 5th, 2007, 02:02 PM

Yes, the "she melted" line was great, as was Raw falling down in the field, the Balloon and the State Fair reference, those were the fun parts. As to Zooey, I still believe she had to be following direction, I've seen some bad acting on Sci-Fi but her performance was just bizzare.

Marcus Marchesseault · December 9th, 2007, 04:25 PM

I agree that the lead performance was beyond strange. There is no way that was put in there by accident. No director could overlook that kind of performance. At first I thought she might seem flat because of some over-the-top performances in the rest of the cast, but then I realized the level of fantasy called for some of that creative indulgence. It just seemed to me like she was facing the end of the world with the same emotion as if she was asking for cream in her coffee. Then of course tears would stream down her face randomly. She sure is a cutie, but there was either terrible direction or casting on that one.

I thought most of the rest was interesting in that it was imaginative despite being derivative of the original and elements of other sci-fi stories and characters. I enjoyed watching and remembered to tune in from one night to the next which means I felt some sort of motivation to watch.

Addressing the earlier comment "That's it?": I think there was a problem with the editing in some areas. The beginning and end were far too brief considering the overall length of the piece. DG's character development in our realm seemed relegated to her being late for work once and getting a speeding ticket. There was little character ever put into her both with the performance and the dialog. Then, the end of the movie is easy to predict, brief, and anti-climactic. At least the original had the big gathering where Dorothy clicked her heels and went home. This one simply had them all gaze out on the world and look satisfied that everything will be okay.

Richard Alvarez · December 9th, 2007, 04:42 PM

Okay, yesterday I stumbled on the only other performance I've seen of Zooey (that I can recall)... a drama called "Winter Passing"... and she gave virtually the same one-note performance. It was an interesting piece, with a great performance by Ed Harris, and a surprisingly subtle performance by Will Ferrell. But I'm singularly unimpressed with Ms. Deschanel's range at this point.

December 4th, 2007, 05:45 PM	#16
J.G. Beckman New Boot Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 8	I think the writing, the production design and all the revamped changes have been pretty dreadful and unimaginative, actually. It occurred to me the whole reason for this series was to resurrect a classic franchise while at the same time lowering our expectations for it, stripping it of it's sacrosanctity so it could be more modestly repackaged. Baum wrote tons of those books. That's a fat little license to acquire. Zooey Deschanel is the only reason I'm continuing to watch, but I agree she hasn't been given much to do with her character. Last edited by J.G. Beckman; December 4th, 2007 at 09:21 PM.

December 4th, 2007, 06:18 PM	#17
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	not that she doesn`t have much, ANY character can be brought to life by the right actor. As for the whole story etc, I think its a good idea, I just don't get why they slapped referenced wizard of oz characters on it (besides so its 'recognizable ' by the audience) when they could have made it their own story and taken any liberty they wanted...well they kind of did anyway. But the fact they tried to make it Wizard of Oz related really distorts our ability to see it as its own....or original. __________________ Cinematography Site

December 5th, 2007, 12:48 AM	#20
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	haha..i was dissapointed to find out...she was not an android. Just really plain emotionless acting. Yea I watched it...had to know if I was onto something. The cheese factor seemed to reallly come out in part 3 as well...after all...it was a sci-fi channel movie __________________ Cinematography Site

December 5th, 2007, 11:21 AM	#23
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	Charles the humbug... I don’t watch sci fi anymore but would imagine that most everyone who watched this had to cut it a lot of slack in order to be entertained. In one scene I actually thought of you, Charles—a day for night scene that looked like something you would advise against doing. The writing really suffered, too. Don’t know what to think about Ms. Deschanel’s acting, whether it was direction or just her. Sure is bizarre. What keeps bringing me out of the story (besides a ton of quirks) are takes from other flicks, eg, a bar scene straight out of Star Wars, a mind meld from Star Trek, a big-eyed heroine just like the hobbit of LOTR. That said, because I like some of the actors so well (McDonough, Dreyfus) I decided to give it all kinds of room and have found it to be enjoyable enough to finish. I give them all credit for trying something this ambitious on television. __________________ Lorinda

December 5th, 2007, 01:11 PM	#25
Bill Mecca Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 475	At the end my wife turned to me and said incredulously "that's it?" About the way I felt. She also brought up an interesting point; how was the original DG the Grey Gale when she clicked her heels three times while wearing the ruby slippers and chanting "There's no place like home..." and wound up back in Kansas? Overall I found it enjoyable both in spite of and because of the quirks. __________________ Award-winning Pine Barrens Documentary! Video, Audio, Music & More

December 4th, 2007, 07:33 PM	#19
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	OK, if you were raised by androids... wouldn't you naturally pick up on their habits?

December 5th, 2007, 12:28 PM	#24
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	I think overall, I was let down by the ending. I liked the premise well enough to start. I don't have any problem with 'retelling' or 'repackaging' a mythic story. This has been done since the dawn of time. No reason not to keep doing it. And of course, in the tomb scene and flashback, we see that it's not so much a retelling of the ORIGINAL story, because the original DG is the Grey Gale, but a new extension of the story. Yeah, the best parts were the homage to other stories and movies. But I was falling asleep towards the end, it just didn't build enough for me. Or maybe it was just past my bedtime. And really, why call it the Tin Man? It's not like it was his journey in particular that we followed, it was still DG's story.

December 5th, 2007, 01:19 PM	#26
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	I just finished watching and wasn’t disappointed. Still gotta love that icy blue-eyed Neal McDonough…must be why they called it Tin Man—to attract people like me. ;) Loved the line, “She melted!” LOL! For that I take back my earlier complaint about the writing…almost. A bench mark for me is the question, “would I watch it again?” With all its faults, yep, I would. __________________ Lorinda

December 5th, 2007, 01:24 PM	#27
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Bill, Well, I think the storyline established that it was possible to 'move between' the worlds... either by riding a tornado, or taking a hot air baloon. (yeah, yeah, some serious suspension of disbelief necessary) So that could explain that after the heel clicking trip back home, Dorothy comes back to OZ later on. (As indeed, she does in the books, no?) Like travelling back and forth to Narnia. I think 'uneven' is the way to describe the whole production. Some really interesting art direction in places, some interesting 'fusion' of various mythos and the occasional homage to previous films made for treats that kept me involved. I like Dryfuss' portrayal.. sure, he had a mouthfull of scenery now and again, but compared to Zooey it was absolutely refreshing to hear someone USE language, intonation and inflection. Some effects were cheesy, some were great. Yeah, 'uneven' but fun in places.

December 5th, 2007, 02:02 PM	#28
Bill Mecca Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 475	Yes, the "she melted" line was great, as was Raw falling down in the field, the Balloon and the State Fair reference, those were the fun parts. As to Zooey, I still believe she had to be following direction, I've seen some bad acting on Sci-Fi but her performance was just bizzare. __________________ Award-winning Pine Barrens Documentary! Video, Audio, Music & More

December 9th, 2007, 04:25 PM	#29
Marcus Marchesseault Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,961	I agree that the lead performance was beyond strange. There is no way that was put in there by accident. No director could overlook that kind of performance. At first I thought she might seem flat because of some over-the-top performances in the rest of the cast, but then I realized the level of fantasy called for some of that creative indulgence. It just seemed to me like she was facing the end of the world with the same emotion as if she was asking for cream in her coffee. Then of course tears would stream down her face randomly. She sure is a cutie, but there was either terrible direction or casting on that one. I thought most of the rest was interesting in that it was imaginative despite being derivative of the original and elements of other sci-fi stories and characters. I enjoyed watching and remembered to tune in from one night to the next which means I felt some sort of motivation to watch. Addressing the earlier comment "That's it?": I think there was a problem with the editing in some areas. The beginning and end were far too brief considering the overall length of the piece. DG's character development in our realm seemed relegated to her being late for work once and getting a speeding ticket. There was little character ever put into her both with the performance and the dialog. Then, the end of the movie is easy to predict, brief, and anti-climactic. At least the original had the big gathering where Dorothy clicked her heels and went home. This one simply had them all gaze out on the world and look satisfied that everything will be okay.

December 9th, 2007, 04:42 PM	#30
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Okay, yesterday I stumbled on the only other performance I've seen of Zooey (that I can recall)... a drama called "Winter Passing"... and she gave virtually the same one-note performance. It was an interesting piece, with a great performance by Ed Harris, and a surprisingly subtle performance by Will Ferrell. But I'm singularly unimpressed with Ms. Deschanel's range at this point.