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This six-hour SCI FI Channel miniseries reworks L. Frank Baum’s WIZARD OF OZ into a darker adult adventure, which transports a young woman into the mysterious Outer Zone known as the O.Z. Overcoming some clunky moments, the story clips along on good performances and the inherent desire of the audience to see how the next element of the OZ world will be reworked.

DG (Zooey Deschanel, THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY) is a bored 19-year-old girl who dreams of something bigger in life than living on her parents’ farm and working at the local diner. However, unbeknownst to her, she holds a key role in the future of the O.Z., where Sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson, BEVERLY HILLS 90210) is trying to locate a powerful emerald, which will give her the ability to plunge the realm into complete darkness. After a storm transports DG into the O.Z., she befriends Glitch (Alan Cummings, X2), the former advisory to the queen, whose brain was removed for knowing too much. Along the way, she will also meet Cain (Neal McDonough, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS), a former Tin Man (aka the police of the O.Z.) and Raw (Raoul Trujillo, APOCALYPTO), a lion-like psychic whose overly kind heart makes him very fearful. As DG tries to uncover the secrets of her past, the foursome must find the emerald before Azkadellia.

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This is one of the best films to come out this year. In a fairly disappointing theatrical year, it takes HBO to make something important and put it on TV. This is director Spike Lee’s best film in 14 years.

Lee took his cameras to New Orleans soon after Hurricane Katrina to chronicle what happened and what caused the worst civil engineering failure in U.S. history. He interviews dozens of people from all walks of life and color who live and work in New Orleans. In addition, he brings in experts to comment on the disaster as well as politicians and news reporters that covered the storm.

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Richard Russo adapted his own novel into this HBO mini-series. Miles Roby (Ed Harris, APOLLO 13) is a mild-mannered diner manager in the depressed town of Empire Falls, Maine. His eccentric father Max (Paul Newman, NOBODY’S FOOL) is allows hitting him up for money — or just stealing it. He has separated from his wife Janine (Helen Hunt, AS GOOD AS IT GETS), who is now engaged to slimy, gym owner Walt “Silver Fox” Comeau (Dennis Farina, SNATCH).

Janine is loud, combative and likes to flaunt her recent loss of 50 lbs. His teenage daughter Tick (Danielle Panabaker, forthcoming SKY HIGH) has just broken up with her violent football playing boyfriend Zack Minty (Trevor Morgan, MEAN CREEK), who is the son of dimwitted police officer Jimmy Minty (William Fichtner, BLACK HAWK DOWN), who was only an acquaintance of Miles when he was a kid, but thinks they were friends. Tick feels sorry for John Voss (Lou Taylor Pucci, PERSONAL VELOCITY), a poor kid who Zack mercilessly picks on.

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Epic and gothic  — the second half of Mike Nichols miniseries based on Tony Kushner’s play is fulfilling and maddening and wonderful.

Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson, THE ALAMO) has left his wife Harper (Mary-Louise Parker, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES), who floats around in a Valium daze, to strike up an affair with Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman, ROGER DODGER). Prior Walter (Justin Kirk, LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!) has been visited by The Angel of America (Emma Thompson, MUCH ADU ABOUT NOTHING), who wants Prior to become a prophet. Belize (Jeffrey Wright, ALI) worries about Prior’s struggle with AIDS and that he may be having delusions. He also has to deal with the foul nature of Roy Cohn (Al Pacino, HEAT), who has been secretly admitted to the hospital to treat his AIDS.

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Based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s book, this Sci Fi Channel miniseries tells the tale of Ged (Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-MEN UNITED), a young man who dreams of becoming a wizard. Ged displays great gifts of wizardry, which attracts the attention of wizard Ogion (Danny Glover, LETHAL WEAPON), who has little patience for the young wanna-be wizard. So Ged heads off to a wizard school where he meets his good friend Vetch (Chris Gauthier, FREDDY VS. JASON) and causes himself a lot of trouble.

In the meantime, Ged dreams of a beautiful priestess named Tenar (Kristin Kreuk, TV’s SMALLVILLE), who trains under the tutelage of High Priestess Thar (Isabella Rossellini, BLUE VELVET). What the priestesses don’t know is that one of their own – Kossil (Jennifer Calvert, THE WAITING ROOM) – has teamed up with the warring King Tygath (Sebastian Roche, 15 MINUTES), who wants to unleash the power of the Nameless Ones to make himself immortal.

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