Episode 3 "God's Chillin"

Season 1
Episode 3 -God's Chillin
Original air date July,21 1997

"God almighty creator of all things,including the loophole" -Tobias Beecher

Its interesting to see the early cast of Oz and how they branched off in their careers after the show. Some of them went on to do Law and Order SVU including Christopher Meloni,BD Wong,J.K Simmons and Dean Winters;and Kathryn Erbe and Rita Moreno both starred in Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Of course we saw Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje in Lost and Harrold Perrineau as well. And who could forget Edie Falco in The Sopranos? Most of these actors were from the New York area and some were working on other projects simultaneously during their time on the show.

Ryan O'Reilly at the scene of his arrest.

Kirk Acevedo was written off the show twice due to conflicting projects and was brought back on again.The first was in early 2001 when he was working on Band of Brothers then he disappeared again at the second half of the fourth season due to landing a role on Third Watch.


Christohper Meloni was also written off the show and sent to another prison,effectively ending the love affair plot thread between him and Beecher. This was during his early tenure on Law and Order SVU in 1999. According to IMDB Christopher decided that working on two great shows simultaneously was worth the physical and emotional toll and the character made a return in a later season.

Back in Oz though..The scene opens with yet another prison funeral,this time Johnny Post. The rivaly is very obvious at this point with the Homeboys and the Wiseguys glaring at each other across the tables. War is in the air and everybody knows it.Beecher turns jailhouse lawyer,as he attepts to use his past legal expertise to help Ryan O'Reilly with his case. Then he lands a job in Sister Pete's office because of his knowledge of office software. This could be a good thing for Tobias,Sister Pete takes on a bit of a motherly role on the show and,her presence could have a theraputic effect on him.

Kenny Wangler a 16 year old tried as an adult.

Beecher really starts his downward spiral here in this episode. He starts doing Heroin with Ryan to escape his daily hell,and hes now openly submitting to Vern's advances.
Kenny Wangler arrives in Oz. Played by JD Williams another veteran of the NY acting circuit. Hes 16 annd tried as an adult for murder,his flashback is spoken with a hilariously exaggerated hip-hop slang by Augustus.
The fact that Kenny is only 16 and is in Oz among grown men is never mentioned.

Kenny at first decides to find a group to belong to,and chooses Said and the muslims but decides that the strict Islamic lifestyle is not for him.He falls in with the Homeboys and starts dabbling in Heroin use,leading to an explosive scene when Said finds out and takes measures to protect the 16 year old from the dealers. After a lengthy chat with Keane,Said seems to have converted him to islam and he denounces all his vices leading to an internal rift now within the Homeboys.

Governor James Devlin.

Jeffersons new found morality conflicts lead to him and Ryan having a heart to heart about the murder. Ryans self preservation mode kicks-something that would become his crutch later on-and he immediately goes to Nino saying Keane ordered the hit. Keane is set up in a prison fight by the correctional officers and ends up killing his opponent.
And thats it. We have murder number 4. LOCK DOWN.

This episode also fleshes out the slimy Governor James Devlin for the first time. And he does not disappoint,he comes off as a smug prick in a heated scene with McManus,demanding the death penalty for Keane. He played this scene with such smarmy glee that Devlin would become one of the shows villians later on and a character everyone loved to hate.

And that ends disc one of Season one. we still got 6 more episodes this season, how will things turn out? Keep watching and reading.

DEAD Julio Martinez

Episode 2 "Visits,Conjugal and Otherwise"

Season 1
Episode 2 - Visits,Conjugal and Otherwise
Original air date July,14 1997


"You think if the Chevy plant was hiring id choose to come here and babysit these pisspots? I have no choice, just like these inmates. Trapped."- Dianne Whittlesey


We begin where last week left off,the death of Dino Ortolani a prominent member of the Italians has the prison officials in constant fear of retaliation and an eventual riot on their hands. And the look on Nino's face as he identifies the charred remains says it all. The inside corruption within the ranks of the correctional officers was also on display this episode,after all it was a CO who enabled the murder to take place.

A massive investigation is launched,and interviews with various inmates are conducted,as rising tensions erupt between the Homeboys and Italians. Tobias Beecher,still in shock over the murder of Dino has been staying in his cell and not even coming out to eat. We get to meet the beautiful Sister Peter Marie played by an unassuming Rita Moreno. She is a short,thin,elderly woman who is a motherly figure in Oz. She is so soft spoken and lighthearted that it can feel uncomfortable at times to watch her in the presence of these murderous brutes. There is an amusing scene in the early minutes where she is handing out pens to the inmates,and is yelling and trying to sound tough in an effort to make sure she gets every pen back; and the inmates mostly ignore her harmless rantings and continue writing.
                           

Augustus Hill narrates his own flashback.

Beecher gets a visit from his wife but their one kiss is cut short by the prison buzzer. She also seemed kind of distant to me, as if the time spent alone was starting to take its toll. When the visit was over she left in a hurry,seemingly terrified and claustrophobic at the same time. Back in his cell he continues to be threatened and subjugated by Vernon Schillinger.

Oz has these cool little flashback sequences where we see the prisoner and the crime he commited before coming into prison. These are accompanied by a short vignette and narrated by Augustus Hill with the charges being read aloud,the sentence and inmate number. I found these little bits really great and useful for fleshing out the many various characters on the show.

Vernon Schillinger all american.

As the interrogations continue the code of silence remains strong within the inmate population. For you see the prison officials arent the only ones trying to find out who killed Dino, the Italians are too.
We see the beginning of a rift between Leo Glynn and Tim McManus when McManus agrees to let Jefferson Keane get married to his girlfriend and is immediately denied. And with good reason a murder had just taken place and the warden didnt want to take focus off the investigation.
Jefferson then asks the help of Kareen Said to plead his case to the warden,who then relents and seizes the opportunity to have a favor owed to him by a respected inmate like Kareem.

This does not go over well with McManus who feels he has lost credibility with the inmates now. The "wedding" itself was not what Keane expected since he was a high risk inmate they conducted the wedding by video conference with stand-ins for the bride and groom. The scene was made all the more tragic by an acapella rendition of The Turtles' 'So Happy Together' sung by Augustus.

Cool and calculated,Nino Schibetta begins making quiet plans for retaliation. During Nino's flashback we see him getting arrested outside of a fancy nightclub in an expensive suit,his wife screaming and in tears.

Jefferson Keane. His was a crime of passion.

Perhaps in an attempt to use Glynn's own tactic to his advantage,McManus offers to arrange for Nino to see his sick wife at the hospital. The whole thing comes off as a rather weak attempt to regain some relevancy with the inmates though,as Nino toys with the idea then coldly says no ("Im a cynical bastard"). It is important to remember Tim McManus' stake in all of this. Emerald City is his experiment and he does not want it to fail,or the deal with the negative media attention surrounding the murder.

The surreal narrative segments often provide insights 

Ryan O'Reilly is seen coming into Em City and moving into Dino's old cell,he is immediately grilled by the Italians and taken for a meeting with Nino, who gets a sense that hes lying. During his interview O'Reilly gets a rude awakening that the investigators know that Dino had shot him in the chest on the street,and that they had a history. Fearing that the Italians would connect the dots and track Dino's killing back to him he immediately tells Nino who did the deed. Nino already distraught at the recent passing of his wife-the one that he refused to go visit-is eager to take his frustrations out. He's seen calmly making funeral arrangements with one of his goons as they descend the stairs into one of the prison boiler rooms. In here we see Johnny Post tied to a chair and spewing profanities, ever defiant even when death is near.

Now they have two murders on their hands in as many weeks,and a potential for more retaliatory violence. Things are not looking good.

DEAD  Johnny Post

Episode 1 "The Routine"

Season 1
Episode 1- The Routine
Original air date July 12,1997

                           

"The only thing a guy like that understands is punishment hard and swift"- Warden Leo Glynn

As the episode starts we are greeted to the intro sequence,and the drum heavy opening theme. A thunderous affair with random interjections of a screeching horn sound,the images accompanying this strange soundtrack are of prison life gone horribly loose and dangerous it is very striking the first time you see it.

According to the DVD commentary the man getting tatted during the opening credits is none other than show creator Tom Fontana himself and here's the kicker. Its a real tattoo. Gutsy move considering he had no idea that Oz would be the hit cultural phenomenon it became,especially with the content of the show restricting it to being shown very late at night by most networks around the world. What do you think?  Read on.

Tobias Beecher wishes he was anywhere but in Oz.

A terrifying first night.

                                           

We open up in the administrative ward of the prison where we meet a Tobias Beecher, a very meek and timid, WASP that looks absolutely terrified to be there,turns out his charge is vehicular manslaughter for running over a young girl during a drunk driving incident. This first episode breaks down day to day life in Oswald, a routine if you will.

Turns out there is an experimental section of the prison one where the inmates get a little more freedom than anywhere else in the maximum security facility.There are strict rules to abide by but inmates that can follow the rules get access to what is in essence a small community within the prison. Inmates have access to cash, run the kitchen area and the educational area with a very hands off approach by the correctional officers.

Emerald City or Em City as the inmates call it is a coveted place to land within Oswald and many inmates from other units apply to move there. It is the brainchild of Tim McManus the units general manager,and all around idealist, liberal out to reform the prisoners in Em City. His ideals stand diametrically opposed to the staunchly conservative CO's who believe his experiment is a waste of time and money and the only thing these prisoners need is harsher punishment and stricter rules.
The way how the show is setup with so many characters and plotlines to follow the writers have certainly set the bar high.                               

Warden Leo Glynn, and Unit Manager Tim McManus

"As of this moment. I run Oz."

Em city is sort of loosely defined by the different racial groups that make up the population, we have the "Homeboys" ,"Wiseguys",and a few others that eventually come into play later in the season but this episode mainly focuses on these two. The Homeboys are mainly black inmates and the Wiseguys are Italians mostly mobsters. More on them later. The episode mainly details Beechers tale,where he discovers quickly that there's no such thing as a free favour in prison. He is hoodwinked into moving in with a despicable racist named Vernon Schillinger who initially offered him help from being bullied by another inmate. The next scene Beecher is seen tied to the bed naked and bound at his wrists and ankles while Vern burns a swastika onto his buttocks,we aint in Kansas anymore folks!

The layout of Em City is an open concept space with clear glassed cell walls instead of bars. There is an upper level as well and a central switchboard control area;everybody sees everybody else no matter what they're doing. We meet a few other interesting characters this episode, a  few standout mentions would be "Poet", who delivers a scathing political commentary on prison life veiled in the context of a spoken word poem. Karim Said, a muslim radical and bestselling author whos case made national headlines and is a bit of a celebrity in Oz. And Dino Ortolani a brash hotheaded young mobster whos quick to act without thinking, this attitude is frowned upon by his older more seasoned peers who are used to controlling the show quietly and  behind the scenes.

The various subplots are sometimes interrupted by these surreal segments where Augustus Hill a wheel bound prisoner is shown speaking to the audience, and breaking the fourth wall as prison life continues behind him unaware. Sometimes he is shown to be enveloped in a small rotating glass prison cell complete with toilet and bunk. A nice touch and has a strange dreamlike quality to it as the Augustus that waxes poetic in these segments seems to be a completely separate entity to the actual prisoner Augustus Hill. And there is never a connection made between the two.

Augustus Hill Inmate/Narrator

Rotating cell in the sky!

A loose plotline forms when Dino Ortolani is sent off to work in the Aids ward as punishment sensitivity training for the brutal beating of a homosexual inmate. An inmate who happens to be the brother of one of the leaders of the Homeboys crew Jefferson Keane. A plot is hatched by the homeboys to kill Dino,assisted by an old street rival of Dino's. One Ryan O'Reilly.
As the wheels of tragedy are set in motion unbeknownst to Dino, his entire personal life is falling apart all around him and now one of his enemies from the streets is in the same prison.
He tries to cope with the stress by befriending a near death aids patient in his care and they share a touching scene while enjoying a couple of contraband cigarettes.

Dino is then asked to help his new friend  kill himself as he doesn't want to live out his days on life support in Oswald. Dino reacts to this decision with a mixture of confusion and anger but eventually relents and agrees to help. After entering the hospital ward after hours and crudely dispatching his friend with his bare hands, Dino is spotted in the act by another inmate who alerted the guards. After suffering a vicious and sustained beating he is sedated and tied to a bed. In this state of vulnerability the Homeboys make their move and eliminate Dino setting off a potential powderkeg with the Italians.

DEAD   Dino Ortolani

Preface

 The original run of Tom Fontana's gritty prison drama ran from July 12, 1997 to February 23, 2003. The show was named Oz and its one of my favorite television dramas of all time. I hold it in high regard, right up there with the Breaking Bad's and Twin Peak's of the world. I remember the show breaking barriers when it first arrived on the scene in terms of what could be shown on television, and certainly during its time there was nothing like it. It paved the way for the standard of censorship that is enjoyed on cable networks today. 

The shocking violence,men raping other men,and full frontal male nudity certainly got people talking and helped differentiate Oz from that other HBO drama making waves at the time, The Sopranos.

The content in Oz was definitely not everybody's cup of tea and critics often talked about the brutal violence when discussing the show. James Caryn from the New York Times wrote "Set almost entirely in the prison, a high-tech horror with glass-walled cells,Oz can also be unpleasant to watch,gruesome and claustrophobic"

And hes right. Much of this can be attributed to the grainy film style,dark environments and sometimes surreal imagery the directors sometimes employed. I found it to be a groundbreaking, brilliantly written piece of television history that everyone should check out!

My goal here with this blog is to do an episode by episode review and discussion of every season of Oz.

                            

                                          SPOILERS WILL BE INCLUDED! 

If you haven't seen Oz by now i recommend you use this blog as a viewing guide of sorts and read the episodic breakdowns after you finish watching. In any case going forward im going to assume you've watched the show. 

Now that ive dispensed with all the perfunctory its on with the show! Ive been meaning to work on this project a very long time and i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i do writing it. And now the heavy steel bars come slamming shut,enjoy your stay in Emerald City.