The 10th Kingdom: Episode 1

The 10th Kingdom: Episode 1
NBC
February 27, 2000
Fantasy
DVD
B-

Performers/characters we'd see at least once more:

• Clifford Barry as Prison Warder
• Dylan Bell as Murray, Jr.
• Jeremiah Birkett as Blue Bell the Troll
• Paul Clarke as a nameless Troll
• Scott Cohen as Wolf
• Len Collin as Bald Convict
• Sam Douglas as Restaurant Diner
• James Carroll Jordan as Mr. Murray
• Daniel Lapaine as Prince Wendell
• John Larroquette as Tony Lewis
• Dawnn Lewis as Blabberwort the Troll
• Moira Lister as Grandmother
• Peter Mandell as Dwarf
• Hugh O'Gorman as Burly the Troll
• Ed O'Neill as Relish the Troll King
• Deborah Sheridan-Taylor as Candy
• Gudrun Ure as Mrs. Murray, Sr.
• Jeffrey Wickham as Giles
• Dianne Wiest as Evil Queen
• Kimberly Williams as Virginia Lewis

Simon Moore wrote this and three other episodes, while both David Carson  and Herbert Wise wrote four more episodes respectively.

Sort of.  Wikipedia says this miniseries was originally broadcast as five two-hour episodes, but IMDB has ten episodes listed.  I can't tell how many episodes are on the three-disc set I checked out, but Part 1 is about 90 minutes.  So I'm going to treat it as two episodes, to match the cast list on IMDB.

In any case, I found this opening to be uneven but occasionally enchanting, with a great (if not terribly original) premise.  The tenth kingdom of the title is New York City, which becomes connected to the fantasy-filled fourth kingdom through a magic mirror.  A waitress and her janitor father get involved in the Game-of-Thrones-lite shenanigans of the alternate reality, thanks to a prince whose evil stepmother has swapped his body with a dog and then sent a werewolf and some troll siblings after him.  The point of view alternates and overlaps but is fairly easy to follow, if perhaps a bit drawn out.  The look of both worlds is well done.  I'm invested enough that I plan to continue, and not just with "episode 2."