Rating: Summary: About Time! Review: I've been waiting for this set to come out for some time! Season 3 is one that I've missed. I started watching around season 5. I thought they had just forgotton about the dvds. One a year is not fast enough when their banging out Sex in the City, The Soprannos and South Park so fast! It was actuly documented that the first Oz dvd set actuly sold more then the Soprannos did. I can't wait for season 3, this was easily my favorite show on HBO ever.
Rating: Summary: A third season in the hell hole that is HBO's "Oz" Review: In the third season of Oz the place has had a name change to Oswald State Correctional Facility and things are obviously coming to a head, although what the explosion will be and the final body count is up in the air. Gov. James Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek) is not around to cause as much trouble as usual, but not for lack of trying. A managed health care company is given control of Oz's infirmary to the detriment of Migeul Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) and the disgust of Dr. Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez). Meanwhile, Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson) is still trying to find out who assaulted his daughter and EM City Administrator Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) has caught the fancy of new corrections officer Claire Howell (Kristin Rohde). Another new C.O. is Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam), the son of a Oz guard who was killed on duty and died in Glynn's arms. But of course the real story here has to do with the inmates.As I watched the power struggle on "Oz: The Complete Third Season" I kept thinking that the machinations among the inmates was like a metaphor for international politics. Vern Schillinger (J.K. Simmons) and Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen) are still trying to get the better of each other, but with Cyril O'Reily (Scott Winters) still having nightmares about being raped by Schillinger, Ryan O'Reily (Dean Winters) has his own plans for revenge. Kareen Said (Eamonn Walker) proves his power in Oz when he starts a hunger fast after McManus rejects his request for food in his cell while he fasts during the holy season. But the most dangerous one of all turns out to be the inmate everybody is dismissing as crazy, Simon Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), who finds a way to bring down Antonio Nappa (Mark Margolis) and is eyeing people even higher up the food chain. Meanwhile, prison psychiatrist Sister Peter Marie Reimondo (Rita Moreno)'s sessions with various prisoners, including Chris Keller (Chris Meloni), are having repercussions and the prison sponsored boxing tournament continues and you just know the finals are going to end badly. For me the key character on "Oz" has always been Beecher because he was the one I most identified with at the start (i.e., the person who would be sent to prison and would be dead meat the minute he stepped through the gate). Of course, Beecher has gone places I would have never been able to go and the third season offers up some of the twists and turns we know to expect from the series as the character manages to go too far in two completely different directions. Meanwhile, McManus has become just another player in the big game, which is a major development because his character reflected what idealism there was in the Oz experiment (which is long gone by this point). The third season is also marked by a more creative use of Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau) as the show's narrator (my favorite was as pharaoh), which involves a bit more metaphor to go along with the necessary exposition. By now we are deep into this world and there are plans within plans within plans. Adding to the power of these stories is that by now you know that any of these characters could end up dead (I was going to say that this adds to the realism of "Oz," but with the body count from this season alone I would think that in the real world the warden and a lot of others would be long gone). With the completion of the third season, we are now halfway through the series. But it is a good thing that HBO is spacing out these seasons on DVD because you really need to spend some time in between to feel clean enough to want to descend back under the rainbow.
Rating: Summary: Luis Guzman returns. Uta Hagen guest stars. Review: Mature Adults Only! Contains violence, gore and full frontal male nudity and female nudity. More violence amoung prisoners. There is a shower murder, kitchen murder and a solitary confidment murder. One prisoner is found dead with two puncture wounds in the neck. Guess what the weapon is? One murderous warden gets killed right back. Chris Meloni, as a prisoner, tries to get the psychiatrist, Sister (Rita Moreno) hot behind the collar. When she has an erotic daydream, she goes to Father (B.D. Wong) for confession. She decides to quit the convent. Luis Guzman begins his second season. Anne Meara and Uta Hagen (The Other [1972]) guest star.
Rating: Summary: Luis Guzman returns. Uta Hagen guest stars. Review: Mature Adults Only! Contains violence, gore and full frontal male nudity and female nudity. More violence amoung prisoners. There is a shower murder, kitchen murder and a solitary confidment murder. One prisoner is found dead with two puncture wounds in the neck. Guess what the weapon is? One murderous warden gets killed right back. Chris Meloni, as a prisoner, tries to get the psychiatrist, Sister (Rita Moreno) hot behind the collar. When she has an erotic daydream, she goes to Father (B.D. Wong) for confession. She decides to quit the convent. Luis Guzman begins his second season. Anne Meara and Uta Hagen (The Other [1972]) guest star.
Rating: Summary: Best Season Yet Review: OK, so I haven't yet seen the Fourth Season, but after viewing the first three, it is obvious that Practice Makes Perfect for the boys at Oz.
Less drawn-out than Season One, less gory than Season Two, Season Three balances the violence and the drama in such a perfect fusion to make this the best season of the series to date.
The acting is amazing, save a couple of exceptions. Rita Morena, as always, is fantastic. Christopher Meloni is so believeable in his role on Oz that it will forever be difficult to watch him on the other side in Law & Order again (and vice versa). The distrustful romance between he and Lee Tergeson is one of the highlights of this series. The arrival of Schillenger's son (played by Chip from Kate & Allie!) is also a riveting and provoking story line.
As every season, Oz Season Three is totally addictive. Carve out a serious block of time to spend with these DVDs, because you won't be able to tear yourself away.
Although this Season is 5-star, I have to comment that the series has developed a somewhat stereotypical and predictive pattern. For example, we leave the inmates this series on the eve of yet another riot, even with yet another gun supplied by yet another corrective officer. Deja vu?
Moreover, the stereotypes abound. The Muslims are all militantly devout, the "homeboys" are all violent and addicted, the Irish are fighters and even have four-leaf clover tattoos, the Italians are greasy and wear gold, the Hispanics all have thick chicano accents, the gays are all over-the-top flamboyant, the Russians drink Vodka in their cells, the cops are all corrupt, etc, etc, etc. Admittedly, I've never been in prison, so what do I know? Maybe that's life behind bars.
In any case, it would be a crime to say that, despite its flaws, Oz Season Three is incredible television.
Rating: Summary: Very powerful show Review: OZ in all words is a one of a kind. its original. the casts member are great not to mention one of the guys is form law and order svu. It is a very important show to watch. It shows what really goes on in state penitantary. The character are tough and in some what ways scary. Actually it goes like this you see Oz: the name on the street for the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary- except they've just changed the name. It's now the "Oswald State Correctional Facility: Level Four." Maybe it's truth in advertising. Maybe by getting rid of the word "penitentiary," the state is finally admitting that nobody's penitent. Nobody's sorry. Nobody. The show is very disturbing. If you have watch show or dvd series you know This show is absolutley not for kids. If this were to be in a theater this would with out a doubt earnd an NC-17. The show is like the rating says For Mature Audiences Only. It has lots and lots of foul languag(trust me it does) The violence!(dont get me started.) Seeing a guy getting nailed in the hand while being cruisified. And yes this does have explicit nudity and explict sexual situations. Thats why I urge not to let children watch this disturbing show. If you like the series get the dvd cause theres nothing special bout it cept better quality. But like I said The show is powerful
Rating: Summary: Third season the best season! Review: Seasons 1-3 of Tom Fontana's OZ are the best television HBO has ever produced. Though I will eventually purchase every season of this show (no matter how many DECADES it takes them to finally roll it out....) Seasons 1-3 will remain my favorite. Bravo Tom Fontana for giving us characters like O'Reilly, Alvarez, Beecher, Keller, Schillinger and McManus to love hate root for and scream at. Best show on television.
Rating: Summary: Thank you HBO Review: Thank you so much for finally releasing the third season of OZ. I miss this show so much, it was the greatest show on TV. Its not right without expecting a new season here at the beginning of the new year. I hope that season 4 is released this year, or soon. With the season split into 2 parts i am worried that it would not ever be put onto DVD. It would make a huge set. Please release all the seasons, I'm begging you.
Rating: Summary: WATCH IT Review: THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER TO BE SHOWN ON
USA TV
THIS IS BRILLIANT - IS THERE A 4TH SEASON?
Rating: Summary: Another Great 8 Episodes Review: This season features the acting talents we have come to love in the Oz series. Racial relations have never looks worse than in this make believe prison. Tragedy befalls everyone, even the slightly more virtuous caretakers of the prisoners. The sad fact that they choose to come to the prison every day verses the prisoner locked in for crimes horrible and violent, makes their lives seem rather sad in themselves. Dean Winters still acts viciously, though with a stilted delivery, as the Iago of the Prison. Lee Tergesen, recovers and gets hurt and recovers while contributing/committing two murders. Beacher's slippery slope of ethics, gets worse, while Keller tries to regain his trust. Said's arcing story feels better this season because his pompous dialogue and rage against the system is toned down when he loses his control over the Muslims and "shockly" holds hands with a white girl. The obligatory season cliff hanger feels less like a cliff hanger than a nod to the fact that life goes on. Another riot is set to happen and we'll just have to get the forth season DVD set to find out what happens.
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