Emerald City - Season 1Dorothy Gale finds herself in a strange and unusual world – but this isn’t full of singing Munchkins…

If your only exposure to L. Frank Baum’s wonderful world of Oz is via the Judy Garland musical, then this series is likely to come as something of a shock. Yes, Baum’s stories have been seen through a Game of Thrones filter, and there’s a lot in here that wouldn’t necessarily be approved of by the Ozian creator (it’s sure as hell not for children!), but it recognises that Baum (and his many successors) created much more than a Yellow Brick World and the eponymous green city.

Some of the central Oz tropes are present and correct – Dorothy (here a nurse – not a police officer as early reports indicated) is transported to the land via a tornado. Her arrival is the cause of an early death, and she finds herself, along with the dog that was in the back of the police car in which she travelled, following a yellow brick road. But the people who find her aren’t all singing and dancing Munchkins – they’re the Munja’kin tribe who aren’t beyond a bit of torture to get information. The Wizard is cut from very different cloth to his forebears. The Wicked Witch of the West has had a change in employment – she now runs a brothel… And as for the Scarecrow, well, he’s an amnesiac who Dorothy names Lucas (after her hometown).

Adria Arjona is excellent casting as Dorothy, thrown into multiple unusual situations but showing a steel core (her actions at the end of the episode, for example). Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wizard is at the heart of the storylines away from Dorothy, and he brings something of his performance as Wilson Fisk to the role – you’re never sure that a huge explosion isn’t imminent. Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s Lucas isn’t given that much to work with in this opener but impresses with that.

The Game of Thrones elements are most present in the visuals – continental European locations are mined heavily – and in some of the peripheral worldbuilding. As long as they’re not allowed to become too much of an influence, this very different trip to Oz should be well worth taking.

Verdict: A very different take on Dorothy’s arrival in Oz promises much. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Emerald City continues on 5Star in the UK on Wednesdays at 9, and on NBC in the US on Fridays at 10