Anticipation, Speculation, and Discussion: Emerald City

[David T. Cole]

Hmm? Me? All flying monkeys all the time.

[Arynm]

I would like to see someone remember that the series was more than one book, and had a ton of super-interesting characters. I would love to see Ozma and the Patchwork girl, the gnome king and more Glinda, she was so great in the books.

[Kromm]

I would like to see someone remember that the series was more than one book, and had a ton of super-interesting characters. I would love to see Ozma and the Patchwork girl, the gnome king and more Glinda, she was so great in the books.

The release on it makes it seem they do indeed remember that it's more than just what's in the one book, although the way this is adult-ized/modernized you may not like if you are expecting it to resemble the books.

 

NBC sez:

 

Emerald City

TBA on NBC

 

Desperate for clues that will lead to the identity of her biological mother, a young woman breaks into a sinister underground facility somewhere in the Midwest. Unable to complete her mission and surrounded by security, our feisty heroine steals a K9 police dog and drives away into the night… and headlong into the path of a raging tornado. In the blink of an eye, she is transported to another world, one far removed from our own — a mystical land of competing kingdoms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. This is the fabled Land of Oz in a way you’ve never seen before, where wicked witches don’t stay dead for long and 20-year-old Dorothy Gale becomes a headstrong warrior who holds the fate of kingdoms in her hands. You’re not in Kansas anymore, and this is not your Grandmother’s Oz.

 

Writer Matthew Arnold (“Siberia”) serves as executive producer with Josh Friedman (“Terminator” The Sarah Connor Chronicles”). “Emerald City” is a production of Universal Television.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Kromm

[Camera One]

They need to be careful with this.  It could just become a mindless repetitive mess like "Revolution" if the people in charge seems as heavy into bloodlust as the promotional blurb.  

 

Like Arynm, I really hope they will use the books to do some intricate world-building, so it actually feels like Oz, and not some random place where war is being fought.  I would prefer a more whimsical approach, but it is still possible to use the book's stories as a basis for a more serious story, I suppose.  

Edited May 18, 2014 by Camera One

[Arynm]

I am really ok with a darker more serious tone, to a point. The Oz books were full of whimsy and wonder and I would hate to lose all of that. I will watch no matter what they do, who am I kidding. I loved the Terminator series so I have faith in a series by the creators.

[WendyCR72]

I am a fan of a lot of Vincent D'Onofrio's work, so I will at least give the pilot a chance, although this isn't usually my thing. And with the beleaguered history of trying to get this going at NBC, I'm not sure how much faith the network has in it since it has been put on Fridays, but hey, at least it seems like people are trying something new within the frame work of old material, so maybe this will surprise me.

In any case, I am a bit curious, so I suppose that's a good thing.

[fourPLUSseven]

Giving this a look tonight as Friday is dismal, generally. It has to at least be better than SHARK TANK. What I'm hoping for is gripping characters plus a viable story.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

17 hours ago, jhlipton said:

On 3/4/2017 at 11:40 PM, MurdockCader said:

The gun only worked because East shot herself in the head

The gun worked because black women are not allowed to have major roles (even when they are billed as such), especially in sf and fantasy.  Why couldn't West have been played by a black woman? 

Possibly because West is sexually promiscuous and a drug addict, so the very pale Glinda's criticisms of her would take on racial overtones (although the visuals would have been fantastic!)  Some would liken her to the caricature of crack whores in many films, and would likely complain about the stereotype.  I do agree that the actress and her wardrobe were fabulous and I look forward to seeing her in Black Panther.

Tip/Ozma's parents appear to be black and I believe her role to have been major.  Also, as West said about Ozma, when dealing with Eamon she was stern, while also merciful to his family (better for them to forget him then to bemoan his fate; I would think that Eamon would have actually been grateful for that kindness-I just wonder how they will support themselves since Eamonn has been stripped of his land and title).

21 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Worst part about that out of the blue "Dorothy's mom" swerve is that it means Gina Bellman was just a glorified cameo the entire season.

At least she's still alive.  I thought she had bled out in Dorothy's arms and was dead when we heard the sirens.

Edited March 6, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Possibly because West is sexually promiscuous and a drug addict, so the very pale Glinda's criticisms of her would take on racial overtones (although the visuals would have been fantastic!)  Some would liken her to the caricature of crack whores in many films, and would likely complain about the stereotype.  I do agree that the actress and her wardrobe were fabulous and I look forward to seeing her in Black Panther.

West herself wasn't promiscuous that I recall.  Regardless, that would have made her transformation all the more meaningful, I think.  The "I am not a racist" crowd can always find justification for not casting anyone but whites; that doesn't mean I agree with them.

Doesn't the woman here look like a perfect Witch of the West?

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 hours ago, jhlipton said:

11 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Possibly because West is sexually promiscuous and a drug addict, so the very pale Glinda's criticisms of her would take on racial overtones (although the visuals would have been fantastic!)  Some would liken her to the caricature of crack whores in many films, and would likely complain about the stereotype.  I do agree that the actress and her wardrobe were fabulous and I look forward to seeing her in Black Panther.

West herself wasn't promiscuous that I recall.  Regardless, that would have made her transformation all the more meaningful, I think.  The "I am not a racist" crowd can always find justification for not casting anyone but whites; that doesn't mean I agree with them.

Doesn't the woman here look like a perfect Witch of the West?

Based on this picture alone, I wouldn't say that she looks like a perfect Witch of the West (too smiley) but she is undeniably gorgeous.

Edited March 7, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[jhlipton]

3 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Based on this picture alone, I wouldn't say that she looks like a perfect Witch of the West (too smiley) but she is undeniably gorgeous.  And I thought she looked amazing without hair!

She is incredibly beautiful, isn't she?  I thought about "too smilely" but thought "Maybe this is the moment that Tip becomes Ozma..."

[Black Knight]

On 3/6/2017 at 10:19 PM, jhlipton said:

She is incredibly beautiful, isn't she?  I thought about "too smilely" but thought "Maybe this is the moment that Tip becomes Ozma..."

I am a bit confused - as Tip/Ozma is already being played by a WOC - or did I miss something?

[jhlipton]

5 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

I am a bit confused - as Tip/Ozma is already being played by a WOC - or did I miss something?

We were talking about black women rather than WoC in general.

[Black Knight]

Jordan Loughran is not black? (At least by white America's standards. I know there are issues with colorism.)

[jhlipton]

15 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Jordan Loughran is not black? (At least by white America's standards. I know there are issues with colorism.)

Colorism is exactly the problem.  Florence Kasumba is black and was promoted as part of the main cast:

and she had the least screen-time of anyone (most of which was of her death, shown over and over and over).

Why not match skin tone to the predominant color of the witch: Glinda is white, East is red ("red-bone" black or Native American, for instance) and West is black (Florence, or someone similar to the woman I posted on March 6th)? I don't know and couldn't find Jordan's ethnicity, but she looks Indian to me.  In any case, with these suggestions, we'd have a full range of skin tones in the major characters, instead black women shuffled to the sidelines.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

20 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Why not match skin tone to the predominant color of the witch: Glinda is white, East is red ("red-bone" black or Native American, for instance) and West is black (Florence, or someone similar to the woman I posted on March 6th)? I don't know and couldn't find Jordan's ethnicity, but she looks Indian to me.  In any case, with these suggestions, we'd have a full range of skin tones in the major characters, instead black women shuffled to the sidelines.

If both the traditionally wicked witches were black, and North was as pale as can be, there would be complaints, in my opinion.

Edited March 23, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[jhlipton]

8 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

If both the traditionally wicked witches were black, and North was as pale as can be, there would be complaints, in my opinion.

But West wound up being if not the most sympathetic character, then in the top 3, whereas Glinda was evil.  So it would have worked against stereotypes.  Alas, we'll never know because they played it safe all the way around.

[CaptainTightpants]

Does anyone know when we will find out if it has been picked up for a second season? This was a slow burn for me, but I ended up really enjoying the show by the end of the season! It will be a real shame if they don't get to finish the first story arc. 10 episodes was simply not enough!

[WendyCR72]

31 minutes ago, CaptainTightpants said:

Does anyone know when we will find out if it has been picked up for a second season? This was a slow burn for me, but I ended up really enjoying the show by the end of the season! It will be a real shame if they don't get to finish the first story arc. 10 episodes was simply not enough!

Shaun Cassidy (yes, the actor and EP) insinuated this was done, but we'll know for sure come May, when the networks make their official announcement at the "upfront" events the networks hold.

[nitrofishblue]

I read an article that stated that the show was on the bubble for being cancelled.

[Camera One]

9 hours ago, nitrofishblue said:

I read an article that stated that the show was on the bubble for being cancelled.

Yeah, ratings were not good, and the show is expensive to produce.

[WendyCR72]

I do recall reading something about decent delayed viewing numbers, but yeah. Being on on a Friday, I'm not sure that would even save the show.

[cooksdelight]

Didn't help that they aired it on a Friday night, during college sports season. This could have scored bigger numbers if it aired during the summer when there's nothing else to watch.