The Show that (Surprisingly) has Me Addicted

FOR BEGINNERS...

Well, I shouldn't start off my newly minted blog with a review of a show that saw its demise earlier this decade. Usually, my loyalties and obsessiveness are reserved for grounding breaking science fiction - such as Lost, The X Files, or Heroes, before the latter stopped writing scripts - or comedies that are actually funny, unlike that Jim Belushi show that finally got cancelled earlier this year. Good television, I find, is a rarity these days.

Being such a Lost dork, I'd watch anything with an actor or actress from my favorite show. Knowing that the HBO drama Oz contained not just one but several soon-to-be Losties, I was always interested in seeing Michael and Eko before they got Lost. Luckily enough, the 101 network on Directv bought the rights to Oz and began airing episodes those long forgotten episodes, and, man oh man, was I in for a treat.

Before you get dismissive, Oz is not just the prison rape show, as many people claim. As Lois on Family Guy once proclaimed: "I know what happens in prison showers! I've seen Oz!" Yes, Oz is extremely gay, but it also pushes the limits and goes places most television shows are wary of traveling. I like that, finally, a show is willing and able to go where most television executives fear like death itself. HBO has a knack for delivering provocative material but Oz, its first drama, just may well be the most outstanding, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

THE PLAYERS

Oz contains a group of then unknown and underappreciated actors who found much success after the show's end. JK Simmons, widely known as the comedic father in Juno or the scene stealing boss in Spiderman, is surprisingly devious as nazi and Aryan Brotherhood leader Vernon Schillinger. I've always said Simmons should be in every movie for his comedy chops, but on Oz he is scary good as the main antagonist to many of the show's other characters. Imagine my surprise when the usually sweet Simmons gains the trust of new cell mate Tobias Beecher, played by Lee Tergesen, and then rapes and engraves a swastika on his right butt cheek. And that's not by far the worse thing he would ever do to poor Toby.



Lacking the strength to fight back, Beecher becomes Schillinger's sex slave, or "prag" as he calls him. Still, the audience follows Beecher, who's newly incarcerated, as we get to know the inner workings of Oswald Penitentiary and learn the routine. The realization that Oz is hardly a paradise shocks both our hero and the audience all at once.



But what really separates Oz is the unpredictability. Most programs, Lost in particular, play on the suspense that nobody is safe and at anytime death can come and take away our favorite character. Oz, however, is truly unprecedented in keeping the suspense at a high level. Every episode, people die, mostly major characters. In the premier, Italian Dino Ortolani is built up to be, along with Beecher, a central character. Instead Oz does what Lost never did, they killed the character we thought would be the "hero". Since, nobody's safe and we can only wait as what seems like every episode someone either gets knifed, burned, shot, executed, or hung. The violence is relentless; the action nonstop.

In the wake of Ortolani's death, chaos ensues in Oz as the prison gangs come to a head. In the middle of it all, idealistic unit manager Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) and the tough but spiteful Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson) try, however unsuccessfully, to maintain peace. Kinney especially shines in his role, as his character's belief in justice and rehabilitation gets challenged throughout the series. Other notables include the prison doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez), the lead drug counselor and psychologist Sister Peter Marie (Rita Moreno), the priest Father Ray Mukada (B.D. Wong), and the conflicted female correctional officer Diane Wittlesay (Edie Falco). Falco, who now stars as the titular Nurse Jackie, shows flashes of why she would later win three Emmys on yet another hit HBO series, The Sopranos. In a show dominated by men, Falco's Wittlesay stands out as a strong female character, and that's something lacking in today's television world. She's both strong and determined, traits many other show runners should follow suit in writing for their female leads.

Despite the strength of acting in the staff at Oswald, the prisoners remain the group with the better cast of characters. My personal favorite is manipulative Irish inmate Ryan O'Reilly (Dean Winters). What's most interesting about this snake-like foe isn't his physical assets, he's scrawny and hardly imposing, but his knack for killing people without even touching them. Knowing full well tension exists between many of the prison's gangs, O'Reilly feeds the fire by starting entire wars with his mouth. By the end of first season, he is responsible for most every major death. His malicious scheming makes him one of the most feared prisoners at Oz, despite not being apart of a major gang. Although he lacks any redeeming qualities, his loving relationship with his mentally handicapped brother, Cyril O'Reilly (Scott William Winters, his actual brother), gives him some much needed heart.

Also, Lost's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje nearly steals the show as the dangerous and imposing black Homeboys leader, Simon Adebisi. At first a minor character, Abebisi climbs the ranks to become one of the most feared leaders in Oz. His sheer strength and brutality bring fear into every prisoner's heart - his very incarceration due to his beheading a cop with a machete. I always thought his terrific performance as Eko was his best, but Triple A is just as good or better on Oz. He's undeniably iconic in this role; unlike some others, the actor looks like a prisoner and, like in all his other roles, is a badass.

Than there's Muslim leader and black nationalist Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker). He's cool and great at rallying people with his speeches, a Barack Obama before he entered the national consciousness. Abiding by an extreme moral code, he sometimes struggles to follow his own strict rules. As he struggles with his self-imposed standards and the unjust system that incarcerated him, Said proves to be the prison staff's worse enemy, a skilled organizer who can unite his fellow inmates and riot. With charm aplenty, even we would be hypnotized by his sheer coolness.

Other standouts include latino inmate Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) and Beecher's complex love interest, Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni).

WHY I RECOMMEND OZ


Several stories interweave behind Oz's bars, all as interesting as the last, but the common unifier in all the happenings is a crippled former crack dealer. Augustus Hill (Lost's Harold Perrineau) serves as the show's narrator, adding depth and backstory to every storyline. Used as a plot tool, he appears in surreal segments where he either introduces characters while explaining why they were incarcerated or narrating the show's outlandish events. Hill does all this while breaking the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience.

What could have been a corny idea instead comes off as visionary. Acting as a sort of balladeer, Hill relates the prison transgressions to larger issues, but by never giving a solution to the problems he brings forth. What we realize with these narrations is that Oz is much more than just a prison rape show, its an epic drama chronicling the lives of the prison's inmates while criticizing the judicial system.

Oz never is about redemption; on the contrary, the characters descend into worse conditions from where they started. Beecher exemplifies this theme as he starts out as the everyman before becoming a psychotic, vengeful prisoner like the rest of the inmates.

BUT...


Oz isn't for everyone, however. For the faint of heart, this show may be too much; although, if you're a fan of Prison Break or Nip/Tuck, this show may just be for you. I recommend watching the first season on youtube, especially the first four episodes and the first season's finale. Trust me, you're in for a ride.

I love Oz, but the quality, like many dramas, begins to dip in later seasons. Searching for storylines, the show dug deep for new material and grew unrealistic and tiring. And throughout its run, budget problems undoubtedly exist. I wouldn't even recommend watching past the second part of season 4, but before that I think Oz was one of TV's best and most innovative series. Oz is a must for anybody looking for gritty storytelling.


S1-4 part 1: 4.5/5

S4 part 2 - 6: 1/5



Here is a link to one of my favorite scenes from Oz and here is another, the second being really spoiler-y.

Here is a link to the Family Guy gag about Oz and here is an Oz joke from Arrested Development. Also, here is a Saturday Night Live skit parodying Oz and the Seinfeld finale.