Any OZ fans here?

Yeah, I have a feeling Beecher is in for a not-fun time as his cellmate. The tattoo thing was so evil--and looked damn painful! Are we supposed to assume he raped Beecher, too?

Does anyone have the DVDs? How are the extras?

 

Yes, he did. There's a lot of that on the show.

 

They do that all the time on Sons of Anarchy. The Aryans team up with the Latinos and then the bikers team up with the Asians and the blacks to take them out.

Regardless, Sons of Anarchy is pretty tame by comparison to Oz. Everything is.

 

Huge fan of Oz here. Chris Meloni has an unforgettable turn as Chris Keller, Top41. Do yourself a favor, though. Only rent seasons one through four. They tell a complete, natural story with a beginning, middle, and end. Seasons five and six are nothing but repetitive, unnecessary filler that ruin a lot of the characters. Seasons one through four--an entirely different story.

 

I rented the season one discs a while ago and beyond some deleted scenes and a couple featurettes (and maybe one or two commentaries) it was pretty thin on the extas side, but that's pretty much par for the course with HBO DVD releases. I don't think my Sopranos DVD's have even one deleted scene included among the 86 episodes.

 

Ah, I've read a bit online and seen references to Keller--he sounds like a really cool, interesting character. I'm always drawn to the dark and complex and sometimes frustrating ones. I've read a bit about his romance with Beecher, which sounds complicated to say the least.

I'd like to say I'll have the restraint not to watch seasons five and six if they're that bad... but argh, I'm a completist. From the reviews I've read, it sounds like there's a lot of tragedy in the end.

Yeah, HBO is so skimpy on their extras. I do love extras--they're not totally essential, but it's nice to know they're there and to watch them if I'm really into the show.

I'm hoping to watch some more of the show this weekend!

 

I've tried getting into Oz a few times, but I just can't. It's an excellent show, don't get be wrong. It deserves all the praise in the world. I just find it so oppressive and intimidating that I just can't watch it. In a way it's a compliment to the show, actually.

I've been meaning to check out a few episodes from 1998, though, that featured a friend of mine, Dick Boccelli, in a guest starring role (playing a character's father, IIRC). Boccelli is also known as Dick Richards, and he was one of the original drummers for Bill Haley and His Comets back in the 1950s before he got into acting in the 60s and 70s. I remember meeting up with Dick soon after he filmed his roles in Oz (he was in 2 episodes, I think) and he was poking fun at all the swearing he had to do in the show!

Alex

 

Top 41, watch the whole series because it's great all the way thru.
Seriously, why waste your time renting a series if you're not going to invest the time & effort watching the whole thing? Best thing you can do is judge it for yourself.

Next to ROME & Six Feet Under, it's the best show HBO ever did.

 

It does seem like a really, really dark show. I like dark shows, though--big nuBSG fan here--so I'm not too worried about that. But I can totally see how it would not be everyone's cup of tea.

I'll look for your friend when I get up to his episodes! That's pretty cool.

Yeah, I'll be honest, I don't know that I could stop short if I got really into a show. Even if it kind of goes in the crapper, I feel the need to see it through to the bitter end.

 

^^Frankly, I don't feel it goes into ther crapper.
...and if others feel it does, I don't find it does to the point were it's unwatchable.
I think it's a story where you have to know how it ends.

 

Sounds like a porn name...just saying...

Top41, I will get locked up with you in OZ anyday ..

 

Complicated puts it mildly. You have no idea how fucked up their relationship is.

 

Wow... very intrigued now! Beecher is one of the characters who interested me right away, but it seems like he'd be the type who would be fated to be a perpetual victim. Talk about being out of place in Oz... and of course, right away he trusts the wrong person (though Schillinger really did a good snow job on him).

I'm also intrigued by Said--though he's non-violent, he seems like someone whose charisma and leadership will get him far, even in prison.

 

I found their relationship the most compelling part of the whole series.

 

Just make sure when you watch, that nobody who might be offended by that sort of TV show might innocently walk into the room, see it, and freak out.

My dad happened to walk in one time when there was a scene with Beecher and Keller standing naked in the shower (not doing anything kinky, just taking a shower and talking)... His jaw dropped, his eyes bugged out, and he exclaimed, "Even I'M not old enough to see THAT!!!"

 

^Hahahaha, trust me, no one in my apartment will object to full frontal male nudity!

...that shower scene sounds pretty hot.

Just how graphic is this show?

 

VERY graphic.

I find it weird that the main thing some people (or rather, some men) object to is full frontal male nudity, rather than all the really disturbing violence on the show (rapes, mutilations, beatings, and all sorts of gruesome murders). Trust me, I am not one of the faint of heart who can't take watching graphic violence, but there were some scenes when I had to avert my eyes.

Hm, come to think of it, it's already off to a good start in the pilot, with the sight of the completely burnt human corpse, so you have an idea what to expect.

 

just one thing, you will NEVER be able to watch Law & Order:SVU the same way after watching OZ

 

Yeah, that was pretty horrifying. I have to admit, I was taken aback by that, because Ortoloni was one of the main characters of the hour, so I didn't expect him to be dispatched at all, let alone in such a gruesome way. That was definitely eye-opening, and I think a "no one is safe" message to the audience.

That and Schillinger burning the tattoo onto Beecher were the two pretty graphic things from the pilot. I imagine that just scratches the surface.

LOL, it's funny, one of my friends thinks Christopher Meloni is the man after seeing his... attributes in a screenshot from Oz. I'm not sure if she's an SUV fan or not. Before Oz, that was what I knew him from!

 

Definitely not an Oz fan.

I mean, come on, all she had to do was click her heels together? Man, what a cop-out!