"Alice" 2009 Syfy Miniseries Discussion

[Escapay]

Official Homepage

Anyone see commercials? Looks to be quite interesting. It airs December 6 and 7 on Syfy.

It's made by the same company (RHI Entertainment) that made 2007's Tin Man, and the writer/director had previously done a more traditional adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for NBC in 1999.

Cast:
Caterina Scorsone as Alice
Kathy Bates as Queen of Hearts
Andrew-Lee Potts as Hatter
Tim Curry as Dodo
Colm Meaney as King of Hearts
Philip Winchester as Jack of Hearts
Matt Frewer as White Knight
Timothy Webber as Carpenter
Eugene Lipinski as Doctors Dee and Dum
Alek Diakun as Ratcatcher
Harry Dean Stanton as Caterpillar
Alessandro Juliani as Nine of Clubs
Zak Santiago as Ten of Clubs

albert

[slave2moonlight]

I'll be eager to catch this, but I may not remember to. I enjoyed and own Tin Man, and I'm a big fan of both Oz and Wonderland and like to see different interpretations of classic stories (like all the versions of A Christmas Carol out there). I would love to see dark or even horror versions of those and Peter Pan as well. The only thing about this one that I don't love is that it feels like they are just redoing what they did with Oz. We'll see, I guess.

[Disneykid]

As an Alice fan, I think it's pretty much a given that I'm tuning in. Hoever, I'm keeping my expectations low. I mentioned this in the thread for Burton's Alice, but I'll just repeat everything here.

I enjoyed Tin Man, but it suffered from a lot of problems. It had a simple plot, but it somehow managed to make it really convoluted thanks to a lot of unnecessary detours and a really vague "Hey, we're a remake and a sequel...all in one!" approach that invited too many questions.

Thankfully, Alice is going to be a lot shorter than Tin Man, so I hope that means a tighter narrative. I just hope the miniseries doesn't shy too much away from the fantastical. Based on the ads, this seems slightly more grounded in reality than Tin Man, and it would be a shame if the only other worldly aspects of this are flying vehicles and dematerializing looking glasses. It also better be surreal, which the ads hint at but not that much.

If anything, at least it'll be an interesting diversion while I wait for the Burton film. I'll post my review of Part I after I see it tomorrow night.

[Someday...]

I loved Tin Man, regardless of the huge running time.
While Tin Man had an Art Nouveau/Steampunky turn-of-the-century-but-fantastical look, this seems to be going for a sleek plastic 60's look-
which is really exciting.
Looking forward to this, definitly.

[Cordy_Biddle]

Yeah, I also loved "Tin Man" (and have the DVD), so will be interested in seeing this when I can.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Saw it last night and IT IS GOOD! Finally, something new on TV worth watching!

Some points:

- The quality of the visual effects were surprisingly good for a TV production. Only the Jaberwoky (spelling?) looked a bit off, but still cool.
- The actor who played The White Knight was fantastic, what else has he done before?
- The Cheshire Cat's appearance was brief but great.
- The story is great at making you second guess stuff and make you very curious, especially the relation between Alice's dad and the Prince. I also can't tell at this point will Alice go for the Prince of Hearts or The Hatter? And I thought for sure that she would end up with Hatter for most of the episode.
- I like how the look of the film is not just sci-fi but also has a classical fantasy appearance too at times.
- All the acting is great!

[bradhig]

Matt Frewer was best known for playing Max Headroom in 1980s tv series along with Edison Carter the reporter.

[SpringHeelJack]

And Matt Frewer (The White Knight) is perhaps best known to us as the voice of Panic from "Hercules".

[Flanger-Hanger]

Matt Frewer was best known for playing Max Headroom in 1980s tv series along with Edison Carter the reporter.

Huh?

d Matt Frewer (The White Knight) is perhaps best known to us as the voice of Panic from "Hercules".

Now there's something I recognize!

[slave2moonlight]

Ha, I have long been a Matt Frewer fan. I find him most recognizable to people by calling him the neighbor dad in the original "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". Anyone remember when he got a TV sitcom on Fox called Shaky Ground, with Jennifer Love Hewitt playing his young teen daughter? That's when I got waaay into Jennifer Love Hewitt, but the show only lasted a couple of episodes, ha.

Anyway, as for Alice, I was hoping it would be a bit more surreal and strange. They did a decent job making the story different from Tin Man... sort of. Actually though, there are many strong similarities, but it has some good differences mixed in. In general though, Wonderland most of the time looks so average to me. But, the White Knight and the city he took them to brought in a good throw back, making me think it's going to get more Wonderlandy. However, it also made me think of the story of the Tin Man. Especially that they again seem to be doing the sequel/sc-fi remake thing, which at times does not seem to make total sense. Then, there's Alice. She's a good enough actress, don't get me wrong, but I would have cast someone a bit more Alice-like, and the feel of the character and story itself haven't brought to mind the original story for me. It's entertaining though, and I'll try not to forget to watch it tonight too. Currently though, I definitely prefer Tin Man, but I probably prefer the Oz story somewhat anyway, but I am a Wonderland fan too. As for Tin Man itself, it had some issues, but for the most part I liked it quite a bit.

[bradhig]

I meant to say he was Max Headroom in Max Headroom.

He was also Edison Carter in Max Headroom.

[slave2moonlight]

Well, I liked it a lot overall and the second half picked things up. Still, it could have used more fantasy elements... I guess they had a budget to consider. I liked that it wasn't as lengthy as Tin Man, which did get a bit too long. In fact, I can never much remember the last part of Tin Man, ha.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Well I never saw Tin man so that probably helped my opinion on this show. Also, I never would have guessed Philip Winchester (who played Jack) would look so hot with his shirt undone.

Anyways I loved it. Wonder what SyFy will do next?

[Disneykid]

It was...okay. My thoughts are too scattered for a properly organized review, so I'll make a lengthy pro/con list.

Pros:

* It had a tighter narrative than Tin Man.

* There were less cringe-inducing moments than Tin Man.

* Matt Frewer was an AWESOME White Knight and was the best actor in the series.

* There's plenty of references to spot in regards to the original stories. Sometimes characters are given a quick quote, other times the production and costume design subtly allude to what original book setting/character it represents.

* The set-up was pretty well done. I was wondering what sort of character arc they'd give Alice, and I liked the missing father/commitment issues angle.

Cons:

* Despite being relatively free of Syfy's patent cheese, there were still some corny bits both in the script and the performances.

* Why are we still retreading the "we're a sequel and a remake...all in one!" idea? Especially given the fact that the original occured in the story's timeline bears no significant to the plot. All it does is make the viewer wonder, "So are these THE original characters? How did the original events turn into legendary stories in our world? Why is this Wonderland so different? Why is this Alice going through similar motions as the legendary ones if she's a different person?" All of these were going through my head while watching this, and none were answered.

* I love Kathy Bates, but her Queen of Hearts lacked any sort of real bite. The script admittedly didn't give her much to work with, but maybe if she was a bit more expressive, she would've made more of an impression. She honestly looked bored in this.

* Not enough whimsy and surrealism. The interrogation scene with Dee and Dum was excellent and was the kind of thing I was hoping for throughout the rest of the series. You can have a realistic sci-fi approach while still making it trippy and fantastical.

* The lack of a Cheshire Cat counterpart (though there was a nice reference made to him).

* Don't cast someone like Tim Curry if you're only going to give him a five-minute scene. Only do that if you're going to have an all-star cast of cameos like the 1985 CBS mini-series.

* The ending was lame. There's all this build-up throughout the series, and the big showdown is Alice telling everyone to look at their Queen? And suddenly they switch swides? What? I thought the collapse of the palace would be the start of some sort of big battle, not the high point of the climax. The wrap-up also felt rushed. We don't really get any closure to anyone else except Alice (and Hatter, I guess). Oh, and don't get me started on the stupidity of the suits falling for the White Knight's army trick. Really?

So overall, I found it so-so. I think my love of everything Alice elevated this up a bit for me (though it also brought things down). If I were to compare this to Tin Man, I'm going to make the surprising choice of choosing Tin Man over this. Alice felt more professional and its lows were better than Tin Man's lows, but its highs never reached Tin Man's highs. Tin Man just had more personality and style than Alice did, making more of an impression.

Still, I'd be interested in seeing other classic fantasies given modern sci-fi angles. I've always considered Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio the big four of children's literature, stories so well-known that they usually get grouped together with traditional fairy tales. So with that in mind, I'd like to see what they do with Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Pinocchio technically has already been done with A.I., so I'm leaning more towards Peter Pan.

[slave2moonlight]

Great assessment.

[Siren]

I enjoyed it, mostly for the Hatter eye candy. I do agree with some of the cons. It was a cheap ending with no real battle. But then again, its Wonderland and they don't do things quite the way we do. I also agree with Tim Curry being barely used. That was a big disappointment. But all in all, I did enjoy it. I liked it better than Tin Man. I hope SyFy continues to make more of these fairytales turned scifi movies. Frankly, I'd love to see them do Little Mermaid.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I could see SyFy doing Peter Pan, but wouldn't mind an extra steampunky take on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with more edge/consistent plot logic.

[Disneykid]

The DVD and Blu-ray have been announced for March 2, the same week Burton's film comes to theaters:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Alice-DVDs-Announced/13118

I really like the cover art, even if it makes the film look more fantastical than it really is. There don't seem to be any bonus features, though, which is a shame since Tin Man came with a few decent ones.

[Siren]

I find it utterly ridiculous they put Tim Curry's name on the cover when he was on screen a total of 6 minutes. I know why they did it...to sell more...but Andrew Lee Potts' name deserved to be on that cover far more than Curry's.

[SpringHeelJack]

I know why they did it...to sell more...but Andrew Lee Potts' name deserved to be on that cover far more than Curry's.

Do you really think Tim Curry is THAT much of a name? I mean, he's better known than Andrew Lee Potts, but do you think Joe Average is going to see the DVD and say "Tim Curry! Now I HAVE to buy this!" or something?

More than likely, it would be something negotiated in relation to his billing in the movie.