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Oz - The Complete First SeasonRating:
Release Date: 19 March, 2002 Retail Price: $64.98 OUR Price: $48.99 You SAVE: $15.99! Cast: |
Oz - The Complete First Season Reviews
An Outstanding Intro to an Outstanding Show
The brilliantly conceived HBO prison drama "Oz" is the story of many stories, which involve inmates inside the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary. The introductory season into this stunning masterpiece of television is one of the best of "Oz". It follows new inmates like Ryan O'Reilly, Tobias Beecher, and Kareem Said as they interact with veterans like Vern Schillinger, Simon Adebisi, and Jefferson Keane.
This season has some of the greatest characters of the entire series run, and for good reason. Oz doesn't just chronicle the prisoners of Oswald, but the administration alike. We get to explore the lives of Warden Leo Glynn, Emerald city manager Tim McManus, Sister Peter Marie, Father Ray Mukada, Dr. Gloria Nathan, and Correctional Officer Diane Whittlesey.
The show is narrated by the wheelchair bound Augustus Hill, who offers a breathe of air before you dive deeper into the complex plotlines. "Oz" was the very first one-hour drama to ever appear on HBO, becoming a leader and model for shows like "The Sopranos", "Six Feet Under", and "The Wire".
If you haven't ever seen "Oz", I promise you won't be disappointed in the value of drama in this outstanding series. I have to say that "Oz" is also unbelievably brutal and gritty, but if you can stand that, you will greatly enjoy it.
Highly entertaining, well-acted, well-written, but...
I am very late to the world of OZ, having just watched season 1 (but ready for Season 2!). I can certainly see why this show caused such a stir. It makes THE SOPRANOS look like SESAME STREET in its depiction of violence, drug use, language, racism, brutality, abuse and its generally pessimistic outlook on everything.
It is a highly entertaining show...don't get me wrong. I find it gripping, involving, well-acted and inventively executed. It is well-written and directed. The only thing I hesitate to find in it is "deeper meaning." If Emerald City, this experimental unit within the larger Oswald Penitentiary (OZ), is meant to be some sort of microcosm of the world...then I can't but into that. These inmates have virtually no redeeming qualities. Those that look for redemption mostly find death and disillusionment. Those who fumble towards spiritual redemption usually fall short. No one has pure motives...prisoners or their guardians. I'm a cynical person...and this show is almost too cynical for me. So I don't believe it represents "all of humanity." If the show is meant to be a comment on our penal system...I'm not sure what the comment would be. My reaction to these characters is "Please never let ANY of these people walk the streets again." Are we meant to feel pity for them, or loathing? It's hard to imagine writers, actors and directors wanting me to loath most of their characters...but I pretty much do.
Again, this is not to say that the show isn't fun. It's lurid fun. Sometimes it is moving. Sometimes funny. Sometime horrifying. But the characters are easy to hold at arms length.
What IS great is the writing and acting. What a fabulous cast they put together for this show. B.D Wong, Ernie Hudson, J.K. Simmons (absolutely creepy...this guy is great at everything he does), a couple of guys who went on to star in LOST, Edie Falco (pre-Carmella Soprano, I believe), and on and on and on. You'll recognize a lot of them, even if you don't know the names. And let me know forget Rita Moreno...what a treat! A tough as nails nun...she is a very believable character in all this...and remains heroic. The writing is always excellent. Great attention to little details. Each character has a distinctive "voice" and they're all very eloquent, but always within their voice. No one suddenly busts out with a speech they would never in a million years utter. This gives the show a sheen of authenticity.
So, if you want to be hugely entertained by a large group of folks doing top drawer work (and aren't put off by brutal language, brutal violence and just general wallowing in the dregs of humantity), this show is a MUST. If you're hoping for something inspirational or enlightening about the true state of our penal system...keep looking.
And I hope it goes without saying: this show is NOT for kids. I can't be more blunt that that. 17 and over only, I would say.
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