Tin Man (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

A tent-pole miniseries release from RHI Entertainment and SCI FI Channel Tin Man is a modern science fiction update of L. Frank Baum s timeless "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." When a sorceress named Azkadellia scorches the once-beautiful land of OZ into a desolate wasteland the only hope lies in an "outsider" named DG a young Midwestern woman whose troubling dreams have summoned her to the doomed paradise. D.G. embarks on a journey to find the great mystic man to save the O.Z. and on her way she befriends a scarecrow named Glitch a tin cop named Cain and gentle manimal named Raw. Journey beyond the yellow brick road withTin Man now on DVD for the first time in this 2-Disc Collector's Edition with amazing bonus features and collectible packaging. System Requirements:Run Time: 264 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 796019808552 Manufacturer No: 80855
Customer Review: A good modern look at the Wizard of Oz
Tin Man was a Sci Fi Channel mini-series where a more modern look is taken of Frank Baums The Wizard of Oz. As with the original, the main character is a young lady from Kansas, rather than going by the name Dorothy though, she's called DG. Also rather than being the cheerful girl who sings us along the Yellow Brick Road we have a young lady who's a little darker and feeling she's missing something in her life. Btw, for those not familiar, OZ in this telling is short for Outer Zone. The Good I loved the Tin Man character. Neal McDonough does a very good job showing us a man with heart and I also loved the setup for why he's that way. Alan Cumming does a good job as Glitch (the Scarecrow), and I enjoyed Kathleen Robertson (the wicked witch) and Zooey Deschanel (DG). Also, Richard Dryfus does a great job as the Mystic Man (the Wizard). Very interesting... Story wise I loved the set up for the characters. The background for DG, Glitch, Tin Man and Raw (the Lion) are interesting. I also found myself interested in DG's family background, the relationship to the Wicked Witch, and also the relationship between this telling of the Wizard of Oz and the original (very nicely done when DG meets Dorothy Gale). The other big plus is showing OZ as being a dark place. This was best shown with the Emerald City. The Bad The worst bad was the bad guys. Zero was a Zero. Matter of fact I almost had the feeling that if it weren't for the flying monkeys that DG and the rest would have walked away with things. In the story telling department part 2 dragged a little. Some movements in the story were abrupt; others weren't finished very well because they chose to follow the stereotype. The worst part of this is when we go from the Emerald City to the Northern Palace and DG meets her sister and becomes her prisoner. Other weaknesses included Raw and his kind; while nice it just didn't sell as well as it might have; and the bad guys equipment. A surplus M-3 halftrack, an armored car, and some guys running around in dusters with firearms just didn't impress me. If the director would have dropped the WWII surplus and the dusters it might have been better. Special Features These were lacking to put it simply. Yes they have interviews with the director (in about three different versions) but nothing that moved me. I was looking for cut scenes, wardrobe, and there one called Bloopers I was expecting Bloopers rather than looking at the behind the scene staff. The Rating I'll call this one 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the setup but the middle part almost put me to sleep. I do admire the effort that was done with this and I do believe the director should have had a real shot at a true mini-series (three episodes isn't enough. 1 or 2 more would have been better for the story). That said, I don't believe this is truly 4 star material. It's enjoyable and I'll watch it again but it's not something that will draw me to it on a regular bases.
Customer Review: Nice Miniseries
This miniseries aired while the Writers Guild of America was on strike. The miniseries was fun, and very action packed, but had a nice plot to it and some really odd twists and turns. I loved it.

Campfire magic. No, we are not going to go into strange magic tricks, what we are going to do is tell you how you can add some chemicals to your fire and create a dazzling spectacle of colors what will amaze everyone.

You may not want to do this all of the time as the novelty will soon wear off. Do them in a timely fashion and keep the kids surprised.

Chemicals

Adding a small amount of chemicals to a hot burning fire can have an 'Ooooh-aaaah' effect. It's important to do these only after all cooking has been done on the fire and when there is little wind so the smoke can rise up rather than into campers' faces. You may be able to purchase these chemicals in a grocery or dry goods store, in the laundry or cleaner section. Find copper sulfate in swimming pool supplies. You may even try the local drug store.

Find copper sulfate in swimming pool supply stores. Epsom salts, borax, and calcium chloride may be found with laundry/cleaning supplies. Copper Chloride, Strontium Chloride, and others my be best found at fireworks supply companies. A company called www.skylighter.com sell a very wide range of items. Practice before using them at a campfire so you know how much to use and how to best apply for maximum effect.

Listed here are some chemicals and the flame color they produce.

Copper Chloride BLUE flame

Borax (laundry) LIGHT GREEN flame

Copper Sulfate (tree root killer for plumbers) GREEN flame

Strontium Chloride RED flame

Potassium Chloride (water softener salt) PURPLE flame

Calcium Chloride BLUE flame

Lithium Chloride PINK flame

Alum GREEN flame

Sodium Chloride (table salt) ORANGE flame

Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salts) WHITE flame Sugar sprinkle into fire for tiny sparks

Powder Coffee Creamer throw a handful into the flames above the fire for small sparkly flashes

Flour toss a small amount into flame to make a flash flame

Iron filings toss a small bit into flame to make gold sparks

Powdered aluminum toss a small bit into flame to make silver sparks

Magnesium shavings toss a small bit into flame to make very bright silver sparks

There are many ways to get the chemicals into the fire. The bottom six chemicals can be simply tossed into the fire in small amounts. Toss them sparingly for the best effect. Use an old tea spoon or table spoon.

For all of the rest you will need to prepare the chemicals at home before hand. You can purchase paraffin blocks or you can use old candle wax from around the house or pick some up at a goodwill store or a Salvation Army store.

Using small paper Dixie cups, pour in about inch of a chemical into each cup. Melt the wax in a double boiler. Pour just enough wax into the cup on top of the chemical and using a stir stick gently mix the two together. You want to make sure each of the little pieces of chemical is coated with tax.

Once cooled, you may cut off the part of the Dixie cup that is not needed. Just toss one of these little dandies into the hottest part of the campfire and get ready for a good show. You may want to mix a couple of chemicals together for an even better display of campfire magic.

Another idea for the campfire is to make what traditionally is called a Yule Log.

Instead of using it in the fireplace you can use it to create the campfire magic. Be careful that your children stay away from the coloring chemicals they can be harmful. To make these logs you must use regular, not shiny, newspaper.

This is something you may want to do during those cold winter nights as they take at least a month to dry.

Tightly roll and tie the newspapers about the size of a fireplace log.

In a bucket, mix the ingredients, 2 pounds of coarse salt, 2 pounds of bluestone and 2 gallons of boiling water. Add in any of the coloring chemicals as above. One ounce of each color.

Place the rolled up newspaper rolls into the bucket and let them absorb all of the liquid. After a couple of days, take them out of the bucket and place them on a rack to dry for a month.

Once dried take them along for the first trip and create fantastic campfire magic for the whole family to enjoy. Place one in the fire once it is nice and hot and it will burn for a long time giving off many beautiful colors.

Joe and Irma Mac Millan have enjoyed the Whistler Mountain and valley area of British Columbia for many years. They have camped, hiked and skied the mountains and fished and kayaked the rivers and lakes. Their website Whistler-Outdoors is a must visit for anyone considering a trip to Whistler as well as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. They invite one and all to take a look.