Showbits

TVShowsonDVD.com has the news that the Sci-Fi Channel's recent original mini-series, Tin Man, will come to home video in a two-DVD set on March 11th. This modern adaptation of The Wizard of Oz stars Zooey Deschanel, who I've not yet seen enough of to offer judgment. She played Lady Larken in 2005's direct-to-DVD release of Once Upon a Mattress, a musical comedy version of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea — though I was so fascinated by the performance of Tom Smothers that no one else left an impression. I do remember not being overwhelmed by Ms. Deschanel's performance in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, though, and a friend's review of her acting in Tin Man was equally unfavorable.

The greater draw for me is the show's plot. Tin Man premiered on the closing night of a local community theater group's production of The Wizard of Oz, which I was not drawn to see; it and Annie are probably my two least favorite musicals. (In either, take away the kids and the dogs, and what's left?) Compared to that saccharine origin, the Sci-Fi Channel's darker retelling holds stronger appeal, and the review on Showbits reader GeneD's blog has me eager for the home video release.