Sci Fi Channel/Alan MarkfieldDing-dong, the witch is dead! Or at least kind of melty...And now that you've seen the whole shebang, it's time to really get to dishing about Sci Fi's blockbuster miniseries Tin Man.
Click in for scoop on a possible series, Neal McDonough's take on Cain and DG and what it was like for Kathleen Robertson to play someone so monkey-bats--t insane; plus, cast your vote in our Tin Man polls!
O.Z. POV: So, why is it called Tin Man instead of Farm Girl, Cowardly Lion or Absent-Minded Courtier? According to cocreator Craig Van Sickle: "It's Tin Man because the original concept was a cop show set in a Blade Runner kind of Oz, where this old woman has been killed who was known as a bitch, and they're looking for a runaway named Dorothy Gale. And that was all we had." That and Neal McDonough, with whom Van Sickle and Steven Long Mitchell worked on NBC's short-lived drama Medical Investigation. "Neal was such an iconic character and a strong character that when it came to casting Tin Man we were like, We gotta get Neal, we gotta get Neal." (And for that, thank you very much.)
Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter: According to McDonough, any Cain-DG chemistry you might be seeing is strictly platonic. "She was basically my daughter in the show," he says. "And it was great to have that crazy father-daughter relationship. And I really get what that's about now that I have a daughter of my own—a six-month-old baby. I'm truly blessed." Awww, congrats on the baby. As for Cain-DG, um, la-la-la, we can't hear you.
Double Trouble: Kathleen Robertson says she loved playing Azkadellia as a schizophrenic princess battling the evil demon inside her. Says Robertson: "The character is really complex. Those scenes where she's talking to herself, those are the scenes to me where the choice was the witch was asleep and that was her now. I had to be very specific and very clear about my relationship with every character. The scenes with Zooey were really interesting to play because, even though the witch is evil, there's that emotional thing of, yep, this still is my sister."
From the O.Z. to the N.Z.: When asked if he'd be interested in doing a series, Raoul Trujillo (Raw) says, "Well, I think all of us might say the same thing: That we would want to do it, but we'd like to shoot it somewhere other than British Columbia, because it rains a lot there. But on the other hand, it's an incredible place to do it. Maybe we can go for New Zealand. Live in New Zealand for a while. South Africa. Why not, right?"
Where to Now? So, after becoming Sci Fi's top-rated telecast ever, could the Tin Man miniseries go to a full series? "Yes, for sure it can be a series," says cocreator Mitchell. "Write all those letters to Sci Fi. We've looked at a series a couple ways. We could pick it up where the story ended, or it could be a prequel to this. Basically, the O.Z. when it was falling apart, and when the Tin Man was a cop, and the downfall of the O.Z. before Dorothy got there. We have several ideas."
Canada! For all you Canadians out there who have been asking, the production company tells me it will air on Super Channel (a pay-TV channel), but it doesn't have an airdate yet. We'll let you know if we hear something specific!
Interested in more Tin? Make your picks in the poll below, and then tell us about your preferences for a possible continuation. Should it be set in the future or the past? Would you only watch if the entire original cast returned? Series or sequel? Post in the Comments below!
—With reporting by Jennifer Godwin