Oz

It's strange how Oz somewhat got overlooked by shows like The Wire, Deadwood and Sopranos. I guess it comes to the very dark, adult material. Cause this takes no prisoners (no pun intended) describing what goes on in the experimental prison of Oz. The start of it relates around Tobias Beacher (Lee Tergesen) a white collar ending up in max after a fatal DUI. Naive as he is, he becomes the victim of ubernazi Schillinger (JK Simmons in his breaktrough role). The rest of it is a really well made prison drama. Even Netflix own Orange is The New Black have several times mentioned Oz between inmates. It's NOT for everyone. It's extremely graphic in parts, some terrible rape scenes and the "usual" sex scenes (seeing it again, it seems HBO has censored scenes). But beneath it all, there's an excellent written show, with really good actors. My only big complaint is season 4, which is twice as long as the rest, at 16 episodes. You feel the season drags out with fluffy sidestories. Overall, one of HBOs best, and the start of the great JK Simmons.

On HBO, all the Emmy's for hard core drama go to THE SOPRANOS, and I dont' think that's bad. It is a great show. But Oz is better. It might well be the best thing on television. It doesn't get the press of the Sopranos. And the other people who watch HBO (those who don't like all the violence) whould much rather watch Ferris Beuller's wife in SEX AND THE CITY, which I will NEVER watch. Oz is amazing because almost every charachter in it's sea of people is in some way a terrible human being. But the magic of this show is that these terrible people become understandable. They do terrible things, but they are not all bad. Ryan O'Rielly, for example, is a cold-blooded killer. But when it comes to his brother and doctor Nathan, and more recently the priest he befriended, he is a warm and caring person who's pain you empathize with. Oz takes murderers, rapists, thieves, and even a rich lawyer who ran down a young girl in a drunken stuper, and makes them likeable and forgivable. That's incredible. And this show is incredible. It goes off the air soon for good, and I wish it had gotten the respect it deserved.

This is such a powerful show, superbly acted, that frankly I feel it's the best TV drama ever made. I know plenty of Hill Street Blues/NYPD Blue/Prime Suspect (etc) fans would enthusiastically argue this point, but I feel Oz is so well acted, so well realised and so darn entertaining that it's no contest. The characters are very watchable, the stories are gripping, and so much happens in each episode that the viewer has a lot of food for thought once the show is over. I'm currently at the 4th season being in UK, so I don't know the latest developments, but I got a lot of story to look forward to...

The fact it's also very satirical, particularly from Augustus Hill's commentary adds beautifully to the mix.

Nothing short of outstanding.

This is one of HBO's first big hits and is still one of not only HBO's best but one of the best in general! Oz will hook you from the very first episode through the finale and every episode is great!

Consistently well-written and acted, Oz is without a doubt the best thing on TV. Quality wise, it's up there with the first 4 seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street as the most compelling hour of television drama. Presenting a harsh and realistic view of prison life, Oz is a wonderful mixture of superb acting and character development; all of which rides on a nuanced and erudite core (Foucault's Panopticon is the inspiration for Em City's design...and ultimate failure). It is the only show on TV, that I can think of, that has presented characters who were intensely dislikable one moment and oddly empathetic the next. That I am repulsed by, sympathetic with, intrigued about, and involved with every character that has lived, died or survived on the show, is no small feat. Good TV exists. And, for my money, Oz is not only good TV, it is better than most films released throughout the year.