Emerald City - Ep 1 thoughts
Jan. 12th, 2017 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkFrom the moment I saw the trailer for the show, I was excited. A fantasy TV show—a dark and gritty retelling of The Wizard of Oz, with visual flair, starring a woman of color? Color me intrigued!
Then I saw negative critic reviews and I got worried. Though I didn't quite understand the critique of Emerald City being too much like Game of Thrones, because GoT is wildly popular and successful, so being influenced by it can't be a surprising thing. I'm actually not a fan of GoT, but the point is, if you're going to criticize Emerald City for being dark and violent, then I hope you're also criticizing GoT for those same qualities, otherwise your critique is hypocritical.
But I finally watched the pilot yesterday, and...drumroll...I liked it.
It is dark and gritty, and very violent. But it succeeded in drawing me into the world of Oz and all its mysteries. What was up with Dorothy's mom? Who is Lucas? Is Glinda good or bad? How is Eamonn going to join up with Dorothy and Lucas (as the "Cowardly Lion")? How did the Wizard make giant stone people? Where's the Tin Man???
I also think the show is a clever and thoughtful adaptation of The Wizard of Oz so far. For example, I love the fact that the "Scarecrow" is a dude with amnesia, and the "Cowardly Lion" is a knight (defector?) with a lion motif. And the Munchkins were reimagined as the "Munja'kin Tribe." Also, I love the fact that the show's including Tip/Ozma, a.k.a. it's adapting more from the Oz series than just The Wizard of Oz, which is very exciting.
Oh, and of course, there are quite a few actors of color. There's Dorothy herself (and I was surprised that she wasn't just coded as white, the character was actually coded as Latina), Eamonn the "Cowardly Lion," and actors of color as secondary characters. (There's also Florence Kasumba as the Witch of the East; sadly she dies, because canon, but she was pretty stunning in her short scene.)
The world is rich and vibrant and the cinematography is pretty stunning (I've never watched Tarsem Singh's other work, though I've heard he's known for his visual style). All in all, I would definitely recommend this show to anyone hankering for a high-production-value fantasy TV show, for anyone who likes Game of Thrones-style dark and gritty shows, for anyone who likes The Wizard of Oz and doesn't mind the darker take, and for anyone looking for a show with a fair number of people of color.
Then I saw negative critic reviews and I got worried. Though I didn't quite understand the critique of Emerald City being too much like Game of Thrones, because GoT is wildly popular and successful, so being influenced by it can't be a surprising thing. I'm actually not a fan of GoT, but the point is, if you're going to criticize Emerald City for being dark and violent, then I hope you're also criticizing GoT for those same qualities, otherwise your critique is hypocritical.
But I finally watched the pilot yesterday, and...drumroll...I liked it.
It is dark and gritty, and very violent. But it succeeded in drawing me into the world of Oz and all its mysteries. What was up with Dorothy's mom? Who is Lucas? Is Glinda good or bad? How is Eamonn going to join up with Dorothy and Lucas (as the "Cowardly Lion")? How did the Wizard make giant stone people? Where's the Tin Man???
I also think the show is a clever and thoughtful adaptation of The Wizard of Oz so far. For example, I love the fact that the "Scarecrow" is a dude with amnesia, and the "Cowardly Lion" is a knight (defector?) with a lion motif. And the Munchkins were reimagined as the "Munja'kin Tribe." Also, I love the fact that the show's including Tip/Ozma, a.k.a. it's adapting more from the Oz series than just The Wizard of Oz, which is very exciting.
Oh, and of course, there are quite a few actors of color. There's Dorothy herself (and I was surprised that she wasn't just coded as white, the character was actually coded as Latina), Eamonn the "Cowardly Lion," and actors of color as secondary characters. (There's also Florence Kasumba as the Witch of the East; sadly she dies, because canon, but she was pretty stunning in her short scene.)
The world is rich and vibrant and the cinematography is pretty stunning (I've never watched Tarsem Singh's other work, though I've heard he's known for his visual style). All in all, I would definitely recommend this show to anyone hankering for a high-production-value fantasy TV show, for anyone who likes Game of Thrones-style dark and gritty shows, for anyone who likes The Wizard of Oz and doesn't mind the darker take, and for anyone looking for a show with a fair number of people of color.
