And no,I don't mean the Wizard of Oz,in case you were wondering :biggrin: ,but the HBO hit series that aired between 1997 and 2003. So yea,Oz isn't exactly the easiest show to watch (and those of you who have watched it probably know what I mean by that),but it was one of the best successes of the HBO network,that's for sure. Just finished wathing it a few days ago. It's amazing how every character that arrives in Oz is described so precisely. When comparing it to other types of shows revolving around prison life,such as Prison Break for example,it's much more interesting to follow what goes on behind the prison's walls,rather than on the outside during an escape. Of course,the obvious disadvantage of Oz is how unrealistic the show is,I mean,it does show a side of prison life which I guess is partly real,but anyone would be insane allowing a prison like that to continue opperating for as long as it did in real life,that's for sure. I can say this much-those of you who haven't already watched the series-watch it,it's deffinately the best show I've watched up until now  .
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Hello Ori,  I loved that show, the chap in the wheelchair was just great.
Pity it's not on tv anymore. Might start collecting the box sets.
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Hello  mile: . Yea,the show was deffinately a hit. Which characters were your favorite? My favorite character in the series was Miguel Alvarez-I actually felt kinda sorry for the guy,it seemed like he really was trying to get his life back together and get out of Oz,except everything kept going the wrong way for him. And my second favorite character was sister Peter Marie,I actually liked her charcter more than I did most of the prisoners that got in and out of Oz,it seemed as if she was the one voice of reason in a place filled with confusion. Needless to mention,I hated the Aryan Brotherhood and all their members,especially Schillinger and Robson,although J.K. Simmons,a.k.a. Vernon Schillinger,is a great actor.
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Odd that you should mention this. I'd never heard of the programme until PA bought a box set containing six series at a knockdown price. He says it's okay to tell you he bought it for the "cock content"!!
We've been confined to the apartment for days (on account of very high outdoor temperatures, of course) and have now reached series 5. We'll probably finish watching it, but it does justify a sometimes expressed opinion that most series on television should be dropped after the first two (unless it's Doctor Who, of course  ).
Having worked in a 'community home with education' many years ago, I saw lots of behaviour that I recognised in the first two series which chilled me through and through, particularly at some of the memories I still have of that time. However for most of it, it is quite hard to suspend disbelief. There are too many unexplained actions and plots that are left to hang. As to the Reverend Cloutier appearing in visions and Busmalis digging his way out with a teaspoon (several times), come on!!! 
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True to any American showbusiness product, they've worked on getting the best. The actors are quite amazing in this series, it is to be admitted and much to their acting credit. There are few of the characters in this series that I really like. They all somehow have some flaw. I agree that Sister Peter Marie seems less flawed maybe than others, which is a relief. I don't think that any human being could really survive in such an environment, without becoming a murderer or a raving lunatic. I find the constant aggravation, the fact that no one seems to keep to themselves very harrowing. The sense of no personal space whatsoever, what chance do any of those men get to reconstruct themselves? Yes, I thought, before buying the box set, that this would be challenging and a novelty for a tv series. But this is a tv series and they've obviously been trying to pack in as much violence and quirks as could possibly make a series watchable in the long run. The sex is scarce, in fact, unless it is rape. There is plenty of man on man action, not enough love and tenderness in my opinion .... and plenty of testosterone. Now why, if one of the groups incarcerated in Oz is the gay group, does nothing ever happen involving that community? We only get to see two or three, one as a cheerleader in pink, one Jason who was their boxing champion, and the one on death row who died of Aids. There is one major story line with Beecher and Keller but they are not associated with that community. They are the mavericks living the gay relationship (not always very believable unless you're into control freak stories). I'd find it a relief if they managed to concentrate one episode on the forces of life and no deaths or maimings, but we haven't had one of those yet. I expected this to be really strong with the violence and the language but some of it is becoming a bit of a farce or a caricature of itself. How many times have we groaned: "Oh, come ooooooon!!" watching the episodes since series three? It could be that the writers in Hollywood had started their strike when the series started losing the plot(s). Another thing that strikes me is that we seem to see little depression, something that I would believe would be commonplace in such a community. They either dabble in drugs (that bit I can believe) or are inhumanly sane ... and we are led to think that it is all through faith, that they can hold it together. Enlightened? Uh-oh! The loony bin's not far.
We are still enjoying seeing some of the finest cock on tv, however... whew!!! *wipes forehead*  We can see that they have tried to give this show a new angle each time but some of the angles are very contrived. But let that not deter you from having a look for yourselves, my friends.
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Well,one of the few things that I thought could have used a bit more improvement is the following-the entire prison population is divided very clearly to main groups,the Homeboys,the Muslims,the Italians,the Aryans,the Irish and the Latinos. There are a couple of other groups in Oz,which are considered in the show more or less as background groups,such as the gays and the bikers,and even the Jews,although very few of them are seen or mentioned in the series. The main plot of the series mainly involves groups such as the Aryans,or the Latinos,or the Italians,where as the other,smaller groups,such as the gays and bikers,are not so much involved in the plot lines but somehow manage to blend into the mix. Now,throughout the series we meet dozens of different characters and prisoners,so it is absolutely impossible to delevop each and every character that arrives in Oz. With that said,I do believe that with just a little less attention to more minor characters,such as Father Mukada,sister Pete,the guards (Clair Howell,Dian,Lopresti),and even governor Devlin,other,more intersting characters,which I guess mainly because of time issues survived about a day and half in Oz,could have been developed. If we take a look at the gays in Oz,there were very few characters that even got timescreen-in the entire series there were approximately three or four prisoners out of the gay group that even got "major" storylines-of the top of my head,I can think of Richie Hanlon,Jason Cramer,and maybe Nat Ginzburg,and that's all. I mean,sure,a couple of times we could have managed to see Billie Kean,and Fiona,and Torquemada,but they appeared in like two episodes,no one even knew anything about them.
By the way,here is an intersting comment of a screenwriter regarding James Palacio's role in Oz (played Fiona):
James Palacio may not be the star of "Oz," but he plays one of the show's most colorful characters: Fiona, the prison's resident transvestite and a member of the gay gang. While Fiona rarely has lines, she is one of a handful of inmates we regularly see on the series. An openly gay man, Palacio, who bills himself as an "actor/actress," has portrayed Fiona since the second season of HBO's gritty drama. He was cast because of his experience as an actor as well as a gender illusionist. Born and raised in the Bronx, Palacio has performed in drag since the late '80s [...] In full drag, Palacio is a knockout who could easily pass as a woman, but the Fiona we see on "Oz" isn't quite so glamorous.
And here is Palacio's own comment regarding the role,and just to mention,in real life he is openly gay:
The audience has to be able to look at Fiona and know she is really a guy [...] She is not a post-op tranny. If she were, she'd be in a women's prison [...] As it was described to me, my character is supposed to be this Puerto Rican cha-cha hooker queen
Just so you know,the underlined words are underlined because I took the quotations from wikipedia,and that's just how it appears there.
One of the subjects regarding prison life that the controversial HBO series has demonstrated is prison sexuality-during six seasons,each consisting only of eight episodes (except the fourth),so many rape scenes and sexual abuses were shown taking place in Oz. This is one subject that the writers did not make up in any way,it is a well known problem in prisons that many inmates,targeted as weak,are made into sexual slaves,bitches or "prags" as known in Oz,for other intimidating inmates by means of violence and threats. Interesting to note-the Aryan Brotherhood,arguably Oz's most powerfull and controversial group,specifically Schillinger and Robson,are in public anounce their objection to gay relationships of any kind,but during the series they themselves commit many heinous acts of rapes and sodomizing against other fellow male inmates,acts which they themselves condemn and even anounce their utter disgust. The Aryans are most probably the most hated group in Oz,by prisoners and viewers alike.
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OK, time to give credit where it's due. The fifth season really picked up on all the things that would make the series watchable again without too many groans, but with heart string pulls... Some of the in-depth characters have developed more credible attitudes and some challenging soul searching has come to the fore mainly led by Sister Pete and surprisingly Beecher,Said and Hill and O'Reilly coming to terms with being themselves. Not so much of the brutal killings or maimings with unresolved conclusions. The acting has been top notch, including a very funny duet between Beecher and Schillinger to disco music. Wow!
Must say I had a few tear watching the final episode of the fifth season. Will the sixth hold up the promise of more dramatic drama? 
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I agree. I thought the final couple of episodes of the fifth series made it worth watching again. Now can we get through season 6 before PA's mum comes to stay for a few days?
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Boysstuff Wrote:Hello Ori, I loved that show, the chap in the wheelchair was just great.
Pity it's not on tv anymore. Might start collecting the box sets.
The actor in the wheel chair is a very good actor who was in the last two Matrix movies as the "Operator" of the "Nebakanezer"
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If you like OZ you might want to check out a little BBC show from the early 80's called "Prisoner Cell Block H". If you don't know it it takes place in a british womens prison. The Character of Queen Bee was the first gay T.V. character I can remember.
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