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Tin Man
MINISERIES: Sci Fi, begins Sunday 12/2 at 9:00p

5.9 based on 20 reviews read critic reviews how did we calculate this? based on 77 votes read user comments rate this tv show

Get more information on this show at TV.com.

• Official Show Site

Starring Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, and Richard Dreyfuss

The Sci Fi channel reimagines "The Wizard of Oz" as a three-part miniseries.

GENRE(S):	Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
CREATED BY:	L. Frank Baum (book) Craig W. Van Sickle Steven Long Mitchell
FIRST AIR DATE:	December 2, 2007

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83

Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale

This version, while imaginative and ambitious--as Halmi's sumptuous visions almost invariably are--is less successful.

80

Los Angeles Times

To say that Tin Man is not as good as its near-perfect models is not to damn it, even faintly. Like Sci Fi's "Flash Gordon" update--which the Halmis also produce and which it resembles far more than it does "The Wizard of Oz"-- it's a good-looking, entertaining fantasy adventure, with a cast that is easy to spend time with.

80

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

It's a cornucopia of fanciful sets and costumes and more computer graphic imaging than you'll find anywhere else on TV, and a lot of it is pretty cool.

75

New York Daily News David Hinckley

Once we've all acknowledged there really was no need to remake "The Wizard of Oz" because the original creators did a pretty good job back in 1939, it's safe to admit that the way it's been handled in Tin Man, a new miniseries, is a lot of fun.

70

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

Tin Man’s heart is in the right place, even if the execution of the story evokes, from time to time, creakiness of the metal man’s limbs.

70

Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray

It's like a miniseries built out of spare parts. Yet there's a reason those parts get chosen over and over, and thanks to Deschanel, whose DG plays it straight in a script that's one long wink, Tin Man brings them together to a place that feels a bit like home.

70

The New York Times Ginia Bellafante

A big, sonorous dungeons-and-dragons affair that seems at every moment to call attention to its epicness, Tin Man would have benefited above all from more minimizing.

63

USA Today Robert Bianco

Ambitious and intriguing though it may be, Tin Man is simply too long, too grim and too determined to impose a Lord of the Rings universe-saving quest on top of a simpler, gentler story.

60

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland

The miniseries' trite finish falls short of capturing the amazement we felt the first time we saw Judy Garland bring Dorothy to life.

58

Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker

Unfortunately, Robertson's heaving bodice is her most expressive aspect; this miniseries needed a villain with a wicked sense of humor, but she and the rest of Tin Man are dour and punitive.

50

Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall

Some of the performances are good, particularly by Deschanel (who gets to sing near the end, good news for anyone who saw "Elf"), McDonough and Cumming, but solid acting and monkeys flying out of, um, someplace aren't enough to justify spending six hours over three nights on a labored attempt to make a classic children's story seem grown-up and cool.

50

TV Guide Matt Roush

Replacing "Oz"'s joyfully timeless charm with perverse irony and nightmarish, hallucinatory imagery makes this three-night miniseries more of a lavishly quirky curiosity than a keeper.

40

Variety Brian Lowry

Tin Man proves a bit of a mess. Sci Fi has done well with minis in December, but despite the intriguing concept three consecutive nights of this adventure falls several Yellow Bricks shy of a load.

40

Washington Post Tom Shales

Peeps of sentimentality only serve to emphasize the film's uneven mix of the sardonic and the heartfelt. Tin Man unfortunately seems as bereft of an efficiently functioning ticker as is the titular character himself.

40

Hollywood Reporter Ray Richmond

While the preening and the chewed scenery from the cast are at times glorious to behold, there is no substance to wrap our heads around, no one to really root for

30

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

It's a dour retelling of the L. Frank Baum story, and it just keeps sinking further and further into pointless thematic complexity and visual density.

30

San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum

Baum's work almost collapses under the weight of a misguided re-interpretation.

30

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

Writers Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle are certainly inventive, if inventive can mean willing-to-crib-from-sci-fi-culture-past, but the Tin Man story doesn't hang together well.

25

Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman

The execution of "Tin Man" is flat, flatter, flattest. The dialogue is utilitarian, except when it's "Dungeons and Dragons" cliche.

12

New York Post Linda Stasi

There is a point to this mess, but what it is, I can't say.

The average user rating for this tv show is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 77 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Agnes T gave it an8:
The Tin Man is a great rendition of “Wizard of Oz”. This mini series was a action packed show that left the viewers wondering after each one. The way they altered the plot gave this classic movie a twist. I was somewhat hesitant when watching the first half hour but the overall production was fantastic. Each character was unique in its own way, it brought new light on them but left some traditional characteristics. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the man inside the tin suit, Cain. I would love to see Cain’s son fall for DG, I think they would make the perfect couple.

Michael V. gave it an8:
Really cool and nice plot and story. Definitely could have shaved about 1 1/2 hours from that... it took me like 1 month to watch the whole thing =D!

Mister Mac gave it a10:
I think that the original WoO was a fairy tale type of story (no insult intended), this is a more realistic and specific adaptation of the story. The part where Azkadeelia is trying to force DG to remember by charming was an impressive scene. She was pretending to be caring to DG, but when she turned her back her face contorted just slightly to show frustration, but she never lost cool. The actress did a perfect job, but its a shame the sister was no longer evil, because her menacing good looks are unacceptable for a loving sister.

Nick B gave it a6:
If this hadn't been an Oz remake, I might have just found it to be average adventure sci-fi TV fare. But as an Oz remake, I kept being taken "out of the scene" by what felt like fan-boy fanfic moments. This was an interesting yet painful reimagining of some very entertaining books that felt like they were forced in to a modern day adventure plot-formula Star-Wars-esque mold, and I just didn't feel that it fit all that well. This could have been much, much more interesting, if it had properly embraced the source material and avoided the pulp-noir Gaiman-esque influences, as well. But ymmv, and younger friends of mine seemed to enjoy it more.

Lisa W. gave it a10:
I enjoyed the variations of the WOZ theme. The characters were allowed to shed some powerlessness. WOZ fans understand that Oz is really about trials in life, every journey is different. I really hope that these producers plan some stories for all the principle characters. Who knows ,more plot development could take us on a wider scene of the O.Z.. s yellow brick trek.

Mary M gave it a1:
This was so disappointing! I was really looking forward to seeing a different take on the Oz story and the previews looked interesting. What a disaster! The acting was so bad I could not believe it had made it through to print. The Dorothy actress was so bad, you could make a drinking game out of her facial expressions. One slam for her confused look, maybe a double for surprise. So bad! I couldn't make it through the entire thing, but I did feel sorry for the scarecrow. He's a wonderful actor and was trying his best to make the most of the mess around him. I do have to add an additional rotten tomato to the actress who played the "wicked witch". She too was terrible and gave new meaning to over acting. What a bore! After all the hype SciFi gave it in commercials, I will never fall for their ads again.

Tom C. gave it a9:
I have to say that I thought it was fantastic the storey-lone was nicely played out and the acting was good. The characters were well portrayed and the effects were decent. People were expecting this to be a cut and dry sequel to the Wizard of Oz, and I think if you expected that you would be dissappointed but I thought for the story they did it was fantastic.

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