According to the Associated Press, the six-hour mini-series — which airs on the Sci-Fi Channel Dec. 2-4 at 9 PM — takes a darker look at "The Wizard of Oz" than the original 1939 screen musical adaptation. The Sci-Fi version envisions Dorothy as a motorcycle-riding waitress who catches the tail end of a tornado and lands in the parallel universe of the Outer Zone (or O.Z.) which split from the world we know following World War II. Cummings portrays Glitch, or the Scarecrow, with actress Zooey Deschanel in the role of DG, a.k.a. Dorothy Gale. Joining them are Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss as the wizard-like Mystic Man, Raoul Trujillo as the lion-inspired Raw, Neal McDonough as the "Tin Man" Wyatt Cain, and Kathleen Robertson as the evil witch Azkadellia, whose tattoos morph into minions capable of carrying out the sorceress's biddings. Apparently, even Toto gets a contemporary makeover as a shape-shifting pup.
"It's postmodern, more like Indiana Jones than a fairy tale," Deschanel told AP. "Here's DG acting out in a teenage way before she gets swept up by the storm. Then she's forced to grow up a little bit and find out how brave she is and how smart she is. On this journey, she becomes an adult."
"Tin Man" features a screenplay by Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle, with direction by Nick Willing.