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.
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