I’ve been distracted the last couple months. You see my favorite show, Oz, has been replayed on HBO Canada, and I forgot how good this series was. I stopped watching in 1992, because my satellite went down, and i often wondered how it ended. Well, I watched the last episode last night, and I’m oddly depressed I’ll never see another one even though the show ended almost 6 years ago.
Oz – The Series
Its not for everyone, let me just put that out there right away. It takes place entirely in a prison, and features a lot of man-on-man rape, sex and abuse. Put that aside for a second, and you’ll get attached to these characters like nothing you’ve ever seen, besides The Sopranos.
Oz is primarily narrated by Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau), former drug dealer, confined to a wheelchair, he appears in surreal segments and introductions that usually relate to an overall theme of the episode, setting up scenes, introducing characters, or adding epilogues.
Whats good about it
Oz has some of the best characters you’ll ever get to know and watch from a tv show. This show is so raw, unpredictable and edgy, you can’t stop watching. Its a frightening, and somewhat comical at times, look into life on the inside of Oswald State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison (level 4) of undisclosed location.
You get to know the prisoners, and their crimes.. and yet you even get to love them and feel for them, even though they have commited some of the most vile acts to put them in prison.
What’s bad about it?
If you can’t handle any form of man-on-man action, or brutal violence.. Oz isn’t for you.
You’ll Like It If
If you loved The Sopranos, The Godfather.. you’ll love Oz, I promise.. its one of the best shows ever made. This show is where Carmela Soprano got her start, as Officer Diane Whittlesey. Also, rising star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G.I Joe) played gang leader Simon Adebisi and J.K. Simmons {J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-man} plays Neo Nazi leader Vernon ‘Vern’ Schillinger.
The Verdict
Oz is a huge series to purchase year by year, see if you can pick it up on sale somewhere, or used. You won’t ever regret reliving this series, or watching it for the first time. The faces of the cast and characters will stick with you forever, I can’t believe how much I miss this show already.
Official Site
Wikipedia – Oz details, cast and crew, episodes
HBO: Oz
Tags: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Crime 2009, Dean Winters, Edie Falco, Ernie Hudson, HBO, J.K. Simmons