"Emerald City" is NBC's unique take on "The Wizard of Oz" and it definitely does not look like anything we are familiar with from the books and earlier movie adaptations. The flying monkeys have turned into drones tasked with continuously recording what happens in every corner of Oz. The yellow brick road that should be followed is now a stone path covered in a thick layer of opium. As for Glinda, it seems the Good Witch of the North is not as kind as most would remember her.

In this dark version of "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy (Adria Arjona) is reinvented as a 20-year-old nurse who will venture out to seek answers about her lost mother. While seeking some protection from a tornado and a cop with a gun whom she encounters at a crime scene, she suddenly gets transported to the Land of Oz

Entertainment Weekly reports that, upon arrival, Dorothy will realize that she has unintentionally killed the Wicked Witch of the East, who is reintroduced here as the Mistress of the Eastern Wood. She sets off into the woods with Toto, a German shepherd, who came along to help her. Later on, they get surrounded by what looks like Munchkins that perform a ritual around the dead Mistress. It appears that Dorothy made a major mistake, so she is set to see the Wizard to make her apologies.

Later on, Dorothy will stumble upon a man (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who appears to be wound up on a cross and covered with straw. Later, it is revealed that he could be a member of the Wizard's guard. He does not remember who he is, so he gives Dorothy the honor of naming him.

This queer reinvention of a classic has mixed reviews, but this makes it worth watching to find out how NBC fills in for a well renowned tale. This latest retelling is weird, violent and oddly ambitious. However, the new series might amount to less than the total of all its parts. It is also said that this angle of a classic appears to go for less heft and depth than an FX drama and goes for the middle ground, where the silly converges with the violent. "Emerald City" airs every Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC.