Emerald City, anyone watching?

[Midvillian1322]

Really enjoy Vincent De'onfario and while i have some problems with it, i like the show. Scarecrow having memory loss/PTSD is a cool update. Curious whos gonna be tin man and The cowardly lion. Pretty sure the solider hunting Dorothy is one of them. Tin man i assume and some quest for redemption will his metaphorical search for a heart.

[DennisTheMenace]

I watched the two hour premiere and enjoyed it. I was a big Wizard of Oz fan as a child and I tend to watch/read the modern re-tellings and this was quite interesting. They've already tapped into the second original Oz book with the characters of Tip, Mombie, and Jack (Jack Pumpkinhead in the books--A guy made out of sticks and a pumpkin for a head). I called that surprise reveal with Tip before it happened and am pretty sure where that storyline is going. I've got last night's episode on my DVR and will be watching this weekend.

[Kirby101]

I'm on the fence, it's interesting, but I haven't latched on to any character, even Dorothy.

That said spoilers:

that final scene was a shocker

end of spoilers

[numberthirty]

Actually , I think this came up in the "LGBT Television/Film" thread. So, it does seem like folks are watching.

[AndrewCrossett]

I've had my fill of grimdark takes on classic children's stories, so I'll pass. Not to mention it's been done like 20 times with Oz alone.

Make a TV series that adapts the actual Baum stories, though, and I'll be there.

[AdamFTF]

I've had my fill of grimdark takes on classic children's stories, so I'll pass. Not to mention it's been done like 20 times with Oz alone.

Make a TV series that adapts the actual Baum stories, though, and I'll be there.

I agree with you on the tone. I did like how much Oz mythos they were actually playing with in the first part (Ozma/Tip, Mombi, Jack Pumpkinhead, Ojo) but they didn't add any to play with in the second episode. I thought we'd at least get a Tin Woodman analogue by the second ep. Also, they're spending a lot of time on the politics of Oz, which I never understood the fascination with by modern writers (I blame Gregory Maguire, really).

The problem with reimaginings of both fairy tales and classic children's stories is that the field is limited in terms of what they can draw on. In order to reach the biggest possible audience, they have to utilize household names so that people get what the "twists" are. So that means for fairy tales it's Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk and the other usual suspects. For children's literary works it's even more restricted to the Alice books, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, a handful of Hans Christian Andersen stories (yes, those are more literary than they are fairy tale) and Oz. I suppose someone could also do The Jungle Book too, but I don't see how. Yet, the field of children's literature, even sticking with the public domain works, is wider and deeper than that. But the odds we'll see anyone base an American network TV show on The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald or Five Children and It by E. Nesbit are pretty slim.

[Sighphi]

Looks interesting.

But im more interesting in Oz than the Dorothy stuff. Simply cause i know she is going to use her real world knowledge to wreck stuff.

[90'sCartoonMan]

This show looks a lot better than I was expecting. Although Grimm has managed to hang in there, the shows that have followed it in the NBC Friday Fantasy slot have not. I don't know what I thought Emerald City would look like, but I thought they'd cheap out. This definitely impressed me.

West or whatever her name is may be my favorite character so far, I like how she smuggled those spells out inside of her. The Wizard is intriguing. At first I just assumed he came up with the Beast Forever on his own as a ruse to take over Oz and outlaw magic, but it sounds like there's some truth to the Beast's existence if it's been documented even earlier than when the Wizard arrived 20 years ago. There's still got to be some kind of deception on his part going on, I'm sure.

I called that surprise reveal with Tip before it happened and am pretty sure where that storyline is going. I've got last night's episode on my DVR and will be watching this weekend.

Was that the same actress playing Tip as a boy? S/he looked a little feminine, but then there was that scene with his shirt off. She's one of my favorite Oz characters, so I'm glad we got her this early.

I agree with you on the tone. I did like how much Oz mythos they were actually playing with in the first part (Ozma/Tip, Mombi, Jack Pumpkinhead, Ojo) but they didn't add any to play with in the second episode. I thought we'd at least get a Tin Woodman analogue by the second ep. Also, they're spending a lot of time on the politics of Oz, which I never understood the fascination with by modern writers (I blame Gregory Maguire, really).

Also considering this is Oz by way of Game of Thrones, it's easy to see why they went in the politics of Oz direction. Further Oz mythos are kind of a mixed bag for me. I'd love to see some of the scarier creatures, the Nome King, the Wheelers, the Phanfasms, etc but Baum also put some silly and pointless towns in his fairy land as well. I can do without the likes of the Rigmaroles and the animated silverware. I guess my biggest problem with this so far is the lack of talking animals. I mean, I know it's a TV budget and everything (what exactly are they going to do with Jack?), but when there are characters like the Cowardly Lion, Hungry Tiger, and Woggle Bug that are a big part of the series, it's notable when they are absent.

[wonderlad]

Hey I was apprehensive of the series at first but I think it's quite novel in how it has modernised the tale. I like the lead actress and particularly Joely Richardson as Glinda. West is cool too as is the storyline with Tip. The visuals of the series are amazing and with Tarsem Singh at the helm (The Cell; The Immortals) that was to be expected - he has an interesting way of combining great architecture (Gaudi's Parc Guell etc) with CGI/built sets and OTT costumes.

[Sammael]

Hey I was apprehensive of the series at first but I think it's quite novel in how it has modernised the tale. I like the lead actress and particularly Joely Richardson as Glinda. West is cool too as is the storyline with Tip. The visuals of the series are amazing and with Tarsem Singh at the helm (The Cell; The Immortals) that was to be expected - he has an interesting way of combining great architecture (Gaudi's Parc Guell etc) with CGI/built sets and OTT costumes.

I'm with you on being surprised at how good it comes across so far. I was not expecting much at all but I actually find the show quite engaging. They are doing a good job expanding the mythos beyond the standard fare such that I feel like there is a lot more to learn and explore in the world. And you are right about the actress playing Glinda. That was excellent casting, it is the polar opposite of the casting for the queen of hearts from that spinoff show once upon a time in wonderland.


So far I am actually not into the tip storyline. It was too obvious that was a female from the start and it's clear she is a witch in hiding. Pity they killed off her protector so fast, that actress is also incredibly engaging to watch and she played another witch in true blood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty8X9bdYgKk

[DennisTheMenace]

Was that the same actress playing Tip as a boy? S/he looked a little feminine, but then there was that scene with his shirt off. She's one of my favorite Oz characters, so I'm glad we got her this early.

It was the same actress although I had to take a second look to determine---they must have used a bit of CGI for the shirtless scene.

[DennisTheMenace]

Also considering this is Oz by way of Game of Thrones, it's easy to see why they went in the politics of Oz direction. Further Oz mythos are kind of a mixed bag for me. I'd love to see some of the scarier creatures, the Nome King, the Wheelers, the Phanfasms, etc but Baum also put some silly and pointless towns in his fairy land as well. I can do without the likes of the Rigmaroles and the animated silverware. I guess my biggest problem with this so far is the lack of talking animals. I mean, I know it's a TV budget and everything (what exactly are they going to do with Jack?), but when there are characters like the Cowardly Lion, Hungry Tiger, and Woggle Bug that are a big part of the series, it's notable when they are absent.

By the end of the first episode, I figured there would be no talking animals in this. The Scarecrow became a crucified soldier with amnesia and the Munchkins weren't little people, so I guessed they're going for a bit of a more realistic, lower fantasy version of Oz. In previews of coming episodes caught a brief glimpse of a guy wearing what looked like a ceremonial lion-shaped headdress or something of the sort so maybe that's the Lion.