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Oz- the HBO series (1 Viewer)

Shrek

Shrek

Having a great season
Thanks to Video On Demand, I have been going back and catching up on this series. I remember severeal years ago when the members of this board were pimping Oz like it was the best thing ever to hit TV.

But seriously, WTH is the attraction? I'm at Season 3, episode 3, and I think this show pretty much blows. Aside from maybe Beecher and perhaps Schillinger, I'm not invested in any other characters. I have enjoyed almost every other HBO series I've ever watched. Deadwood, The Sopranos , The Wire, Carnivale, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, etc were all really great shows IMO. But Oz just seems amateurish in comparison.

The actors are either over the top or cardboard cutouts, they try to juggle too many storylines, and it hasn't convinced me that this is a real portrayal of prison life. If it is, and I did get sent to prison, I would be more worried that it would turn into Desperate Housewives with worse scripts, gratuitous swearing and anal rape.

Seriously, if it's worth finishing, I will continue. Can someone tell me if it gets better?

 
this show sucks especially by the time it got to 3rd seaon... but I still watched every episode

 
Shrek said:
Thanks to Video On Demand, I have been going back and catching up on this series. I remember severeal years ago when the members of this board were pimping Oz like it was the best thing ever to hit TV.

But seriously, WTH is the attraction? I'm at Season 3, episode 3, and I think this show pretty much blows. Aside from maybe Beecher and perhaps Schillinger, I'm not invested in any other characters. I have enjoyed almost every other HBO series I've ever watched. Deadwood, The Sopranos , The Wire, Carnivale, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, etc were all really great shows IMO. But Oz just seems amateurish in comparison.

The actors are either over the top or cardboard cutouts, they try to juggle too many storylines, and it hasn't convinced me that this is a real portrayal of prison life. If it is, and I did get sent to prison, I would be more worried that it would turn into Desperate Housewives with worse scripts, gratuitous swearing and anal rape.

Seriously, if it's worth finishing, I will continue. Can someone tell me if it gets better?
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that Oz preceded most, if nto all, of the HBO specials you referenced. It was a ground-breaking series that opened the door to the rest of the great things HBO has done. The alternatives on prime-time and other cable channels just weren't cutting edge yet.The support here is likely from people who remember it when first released and have an impression based on the freshness at the time.

Personally, I liked it, but agree things have only gotten better from HBI.

 
Prussian said:
Shrek said:
Thanks to Video On Demand, I have been going back and catching up on this series. I remember severeal years ago when the members of this board were pimping Oz like it was the best thing ever to hit TV.

But seriously, WTH is the attraction? I'm at Season 3, episode 3, and I think this show pretty much blows. Aside from maybe Beecher and perhaps Schillinger, I'm not invested in any other characters. I have enjoyed almost every other HBO series I've ever watched. Deadwood, The Sopranos , The Wire, Carnivale, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, etc were all really great shows IMO. But Oz just seems amateurish in comparison.

The actors are either over the top or cardboard cutouts, they try to juggle too many storylines, and it hasn't convinced me that this is a real portrayal of prison life. If it is, and I did get sent to prison, I would be more worried that it would turn into Desperate Housewives with worse scripts, gratuitous swearing and anal rape.

Seriously, if it's worth finishing, I will continue. Can someone tell me if it gets better?
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that Oz preceded most, if nto all, of the HBO specials you referenced. It was a ground-breaking series that opened the door to the rest of the great things HBO has done. The alternatives on prime-time and other cable channels just weren't cutting edge yet.The support here is likely from people who remember it when first released and have an impression based on the freshness at the time.

Personally, I liked it, but agree things have only gotten better from HBI.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. It does seem like it's very dated. I wouldn't say I don't like it. I'm just looking for a compelling reason to watch the rest of it. I don't look forward to the next episodes the way I did with all of the other series I mentioned. But if there are some good developments yet to come, I might be talked into watching.
 
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.

 
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bigbottom said:
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.
Click to expand...
:hot: Best characters of any show ever on television. Well acted and well written.Some of my favorites.Ryan O'ReilyTobias BeecherVern SchillingerBob RebadowKareem SaidChristopher Keller Miguel AlvarezFather Ray MukadaChucky PancamoJaz HoytSimon AdebisiGovernor James Devlin
 
So many have gone on to other things.

Whenever I ask my wife "you know where he's from?", she just answers "OZ?" at this point.

Great points on it probably being dated, but I agree with BB, while it was on I loved every episode.

 
Linus Scrimmage said:
bigbottom said:
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.
Click to expand...
:o Best characters of any show ever on television. Well acted and well written.
Click to expand...
I have to reserve that honor for HBO's current series The Wire. That's high praise coming from me, because I am one of the biggest Sopranos fans you will ever find. The Wire is amazingly good at character development. If you haven't seen it, you should.
 
I liked Oz...even though it was a little crazy at times....My favorite character I think only lasted a few episodes. The crazy Russian hitman with the glasses that looked like somebody's grandfather

 
Ever notice how many of the Oz actors went on to play a long running character in the Law and Order franchise. Not that there are a lot, but the ones that sticks are Det. Stabler was Keller and Dr. Huang was Father Mukada. Both of these guys are on Law and Order:SVU

 
Shrek said:
Linus Scrimmage said:
bigbottom said:
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.
Click to expand...
:popcorn: Best characters of any show ever on television. Well acted and well written.
Click to expand...
I have to reserve that honor for HBO's current series The Wire. That's high praise coming from me, because I am one of the biggest Sopranos fans you will ever find. The Wire is amazingly good at character development. If you haven't seen it, you should.
Click to expand...
Not a big fan of The Wire after season 2. OZ was fantastic if you watched it new. I haven't seen it in a while.
 
Exfireman_62 said:
Ever notice how many of the Oz actors went on to play a long running character in the Law and Order franchise. Not that there are a lot, but the ones that sticks are Det. Stabler was Keller and Dr. Huang was Father Mukada. Both of these guys are on Law and Order:SVU
Click to expand...
Tom Fontana(Oz creator) and **** Wolf(Law and Order creator) are close friends and have used many of the same actors throught the years. Fans of Homicide and The Wire will also notice alot of these same actors as David Simon(Wire creator) and Fontana worked together on Homicide.
 
I think I have noticed several Oz actors on Rescue Me also. Most notably the guy who played Ryan O'Reilly played Dennis Leary's brother.

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
I think I have noticed several Oz actors on Rescue Me also. Most notably the guy who played Ryan O'Reilly played Dennis Leary's brother.
Click to expand...
Great part as Tommy's brother.Beecher was also in an episode where they pulled him out of a fire and he was wearing womens close.
 
Alvarez and the guy who played the O'Reilly's father were both in the short-lived and underrated Black Donelleys

 
Exfireman_62 said:
Ever notice how many of the Oz actors went on to play a long running character in the Law and Order franchise. Not that there are a lot, but the ones that sticks are Det. Stabler was Keller and Dr. Huang was Father Mukada. Both of these guys are on Law and Order:SVU
Click to expand...
Also Dr Skoda from Law and Order is Schillinger(JK Simmons) Det Brian Cassidy from SVU season one was Ryan O'Reilly(Dean Winters)and of course Edie Falco was on OZ early on as well as Law and Order as a recurring character named Sally Bell before The Sopranos.
 
'Linus Scrimmage said:
'bigbottom said:
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.
Click to expand...
:hot: Best characters of any show ever on television. Well acted and well written.Some of my favorites.Ryan O'ReilyTobias BeecherVern SchillingerBob RebadowKareem SaidChristopher Keller Miguel AlvarezFather Ray MukadaChucky PancamoJaz HoytSimon AdebisiGovernor James Devlin
Click to expand...
I miss this show. I have to laugh when I see Vern Sillinger and Ryan O`Reilly doing insurance ads.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPDoGvvAcMk&feature=related
 
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I didn't read the whole thread. I have been wanting to watch the whole series (missed it the first time). The few episodes I did watch made it seem like it was some perv's prison fantasy. Not sure if I will go back and watch the whole thing.

 
Oz was hokey as heck, but the characters were fantastic.

Luke Perry's ghost haunting the prison is still probably the worst plotline in HBO Original Series history.

 
Watching Oz for the first time. Great show thus far (finished season 2). Being a fan of The Wire, I'm enjoying the ensemble cast. Schillinger and Beecher are great characters. This scene cracked me up:

what a c*nt

 
'hooter311 said:
Oz was hokey as heck, but the characters were fantastic.
Click to expand...
:goodposting: Artistically, it can't compare to The Sopranos or The Wire or many other shows. Oz is a merely a guilty pleasure.I could have done without Fontana's signature, gratuitous DONG SHOTS in every episode.
 
I love how Ryan's Jedi mind trick works every time on every person.

O'Reilly: "Hey, that guy was talking #### about you. I think you should probably kill him."

Random Stooge of the Week: "WHAT??? He was talking #### about me? I should probably kill him."

 
Raider Nation said:
I love how Ryan's Jedi mind trick works every time on every person. O'Reilly: "Hey, that guy was talking #### about you. I think you should probably kill him." Random Stooge of the Week: "WHAT??? He was talking #### about me? I should probably kill him."
Click to expand...
:lmao:

Watching the series for the first time now but this made me laugh - it really was amazing.

 
Man this show is ridiculous. No way this much crap goes down in a prison - I know, it's TV.

Halfway through season 4 when the new black McManus systematically removes all white prisoners from Emerald City.

Adebisi and his friends in his room snorting lines, listening to the Spinners on full blast and drinking, with curtains drawn.....in JAIL. :lmao:

 
John Bender said:
Man this show is ridiculous. No way this much crap goes down in a prison - I know, it's TV.

Halfway through season 4 when the new black McManus systematically removes all white prisoners from Emerald City.

Adebisi and his friends in his room snorting lines, listening to the Spinners on full blast and drinking, with curtains drawn.....in JAIL. :lmao:
Click to expand...
One of my all-time favorite shows. So dark, but so awesome. Lots of :lmao: scenes, intended or unintended.

My favorite creepy Adebisi scene, first thing I think of every time I think of Adebisi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFm6oakSPf4

You might have inspired me to re-watch, I'm pushing through Season 4 of the Wire right now, my first pass through the Wire and I love it.

Enjoy the Oz!

 
John Bender said:
Man this show is ridiculous. No way this much crap goes down in a prison - I know, it's TV.

Halfway through season 4 when the new black McManus systematically removes all white prisoners from Emerald City.

Adebisi and his friends in his room snorting lines, listening to the Spinners on full blast and drinking, with curtains drawn.....in JAIL. :lmao:
Click to expand...
My favorite was the aging drug episode. :lmao:

 
The characters just have too many arcs that make it so totally unbelievable... I'm not even halfway through the season and we have

O'Reilly gets breast cancer, falls in love with doc, has her husband kills, his brother gets sent to Oz, spikes other fighters drinks during a boxing match.

Keller fakes being in love with Toby, but is aligned with Schillinger, breaks all of Toby's bones, feels bad, tries to seduce the nun lady, is sorry for breaking Toby's bones, becomes Toby's lover, Beecher tries to kill him and now he hates Toby, might have killed some gay guys outside of prison.

Adebisi does drugs, runs the drug trade, turns to a spiritual healer or follows one anyway, spiritual healer from Africa dies, Adebisi turns a new leaf over after losing his mind, goes through withdrawals, gives Napa AIDS, get clean again, runs drug trade again, pours boiling water on Poet's face, is cool with Poet, runs Emerald City again.

Just a few examples. My head is spinning.

 
bigbottom said:
I watched it when it aired, so I don't know if I'd like it as much now as I did then, but I was invested in almost every character. I thought almost every single one was unique and interesting (and most were even complex). Beecher, Schillinger, Adebisi, Ryan O'Reilly, the preacher dude, the warden, the two female guards, Beecher's boyfriend, the basketball playing guard, Poet, etc, etc. I just loved the characters on that show.
Click to expand...
Everytime I see the Farmers Insurance commercials it brings back some good Vern Schillinger scenes.

 
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mquinnjr said:
John Bender said:
Man this show is ridiculous. No way this much crap goes down in a prison - I know, it's TV.

Halfway through season 4 when the new black McManus systematically removes all white prisoners from Emerald City.

Adebisi and his friends in his room snorting lines, listening to the Spinners on full blast and drinking, with curtains drawn.....in JAIL. :lmao:
Click to expand...
One of my all-time favorite shows. So dark, but so awesome. Lots of :lmao: scenes, intended or unintended.

My favorite creepy Adebisi scene, first thing I think of every time I think of Adebisi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFm6oakSPf4

You might have inspired me to re-watch, I'm pushing through Season 4 of the Wire right now, my first pass through the Wire and I love it.

Enjoy the Oz!
Click to expand...
Same here....but I wouldn't say "pushing through". More like "increasing anxiety that I'm running out of episodes".

 
doowain said:
mquinnjr said:
John Bender said:
Man this show is ridiculous. No way this much crap goes down in a prison - I know, it's TV.

Halfway through season 4 when the new black McManus systematically removes all white prisoners from Emerald City.

Adebisi and his friends in his room snorting lines, listening to the Spinners on full blast and drinking, with curtains drawn.....in JAIL. :lmao:
Click to expand...
One of my all-time favorite shows. So dark, but so awesome. Lots of :lmao: scenes, intended or unintended.

My favorite creepy Adebisi scene, first thing I think of every time I think of Adebisi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFm6oakSPf4

You might have inspired me to re-watch, I'm pushing through Season 4 of the Wire right now, my first pass through the Wire and I love it.

Enjoy the Oz!
Click to expand...
Same here....but I wouldn't say "pushing through". More like "increasing anxiety that I'm running out of episodes".
Click to expand...
Correct, show rules.

 
John Bender said:
The characters just have too many arcs that make it so totally unbelievable... I'm not even halfway through the season and we have

O'Reilly gets breast cancer, falls in love with doc, has her husband kills, his brother gets sent to Oz, spikes other fighters drinks during a boxing match.

Keller fakes being in love with Toby, but is aligned with Schillinger, breaks all of Toby's bones, feels bad, tries to seduce the nun lady, is sorry for breaking Toby's bones, becomes Toby's lover, Beecher tries to kill him and now he hates Toby, might have killed some gay guys outside of prison.

Adebisi does drugs, runs the drug trade, turns to a spiritual healer or follows one anyway, spiritual healer from Africa dies, Adebisi turns a new leaf over after losing his mind, goes through withdrawals, gives Napa AIDS, get clean again, runs drug trade again, pours boiling water on Poet's face, is cool with Poet, runs Emerald City again.

Just a few examples. My head is spinning.
Click to expand...
it is a soap opera set in a prison, with the same level of thought put into the story arcs, which is almost nothing :)

It is suppose to be brutal and fun to watch. It is about as realistic as The Walking Dead :)

Never try and out think the show because what ever thoughts you put in is far more than any writer did when planning out the show arcs. They simply did not care about story, they just wanted arcs with characters turning face and heel faster than any wrestling booker could come up with.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
John Bender said:
The characters just have too many arcs that make it so totally unbelievable... I'm not even halfway through the season and we have

O'Reilly gets breast cancer, falls in love with doc, has her husband kills, his brother gets sent to Oz, spikes other fighters drinks during a boxing match.

Keller fakes being in love with Toby, but is aligned with Schillinger, breaks all of Toby's bones, feels bad, tries to seduce the nun lady, is sorry for breaking Toby's bones, becomes Toby's lover, Beecher tries to kill him and now he hates Toby, might have killed some gay guys outside of prison.

Adebisi does drugs, runs the drug trade, turns to a spiritual healer or follows one anyway, spiritual healer from Africa dies, Adebisi turns a new leaf over after losing his mind, goes through withdrawals, gives Napa AIDS, get clean again, runs drug trade again, pours boiling water on Poet's face, is cool with Poet, runs Emerald City again.

Just a few examples. My head is spinning.
Click to expand...
it is a soap opera set in a prison, with the same level of thought put into the story arcs, which is almost nothing :)

It is suppose to be brutal and fun to watch. It is about as realistic as The Walking Dead :)

Never try and out think the show because what ever thoughts you put in is far more than any writer did when planning out the show arcs. They simply did not care about story, they just wanted arcs with characters turning face and heel faster than any wrestling booker could come up with.
Click to expand...
Right - and probably a better attitude to take into finishing off this show. Good posting.

 
John Bender said:
The characters just have too many arcs that make it so totally unbelievable... I'm not even halfway through the season and we have

O'Reilly gets breast cancer, falls in love with doc, has her husband kills, his brother gets sent to Oz, spikes other fighters drinks during a boxing match.

Keller fakes being in love with Toby, but is aligned with Schillinger, breaks all of Toby's bones, feels bad, tries to seduce the nun lady, is sorry for breaking Toby's bones, becomes Toby's lover, Beecher tries to kill him and now he hates Toby, might have killed some gay guys outside of prison.

Adebisi does drugs, runs the drug trade, turns to a spiritual healer or follows one anyway, spiritual healer from Africa dies, Adebisi turns a new leaf over after losing his mind, goes through withdrawals, gives Napa AIDS, get clean again, runs drug trade again, pours boiling water on Poet's face, is cool with Poet, runs Emerald City again.

Just a few examples. My head is spinning.
Click to expand...
Best warden ever, too. Totally normal for ten inmates to be murdered every day. He should apply to be the chief of police in Charming.

 
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