Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz: Home Away from Home

While learning about his new emotions, Dorothy explains to the Tin Woodman what homesickness is, and confesses to missing Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farm sometimes. So the guys go to the Wizard, who creates a machine for Dorothy to see her old home in Kansas and feel a little better. But something goes wrong, and starts replacing Oz items with things from Kansas! It even turns the Scarecrow into an ordinary, regular scarecrow, so they can't use his brains. The Wicked Witch tells them that the boundary between worlds is weakening, and the only solution is for Dorothy to go back to Oz for good—and her little dog, too! Of course, the Ruby Slippers have to stay in Oz. The Wizard agrees, so Dorothy decides she has to go. Before she does, however, she zaps herself around Oz saying goodbye to her friends: Patchwork Girl, the Woozy, Ozma, and even Wilhelmina, Frank, and Lyman! (Wilhelmina claims she's not crying, the castle is dusty!) Back in the Emerald City, the Witch says they're running out of time, and Dorothy has to go now, leaving the Ruby Slippers behind. Dorothy can't get them off, however, and when the Witch tries to help, the machine turns her into Miss Gulch, and a Kansas cyclone blows her away! Glinda then enters the picture, and once again tells Dorothy that she's had the power to fix things all along. Dorothy starts saying, "There's no place like home, and there's no place like Oz," while repeatedly clicking the Ruby Slippers. Sure enough, her wishing on the Slippers fixes the tear, repairs the machine, and causes Kansas and Oz to separate again. Dorothy realizes she can be a little homesick, but that's okay, she doesn't need to fix it.

This was a full-blown tug-at-the-heartstrings episode, with a lot of heart and emotion behind it, echoing some of the more emotional moments of The Movie. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry finally get a mention on this show, and the Witch turning into Miss Gulch was a nice touch. It's also an intriguing premise, and I'd like to have seen more of what an Oz/Kansas hybrid would have looked like. And it was easy to figure out what was from Kansas: In another nice touch, they were all in black and white! By it's very nature, this episode felt much closer to The Movie than any other so far.