Keep going. There's some mind-bendingly disturbing shit ahead. 
Any OZ fans here?
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Beecher and Said are probably my two favorite characters from the show. The level of growth both of them go through is simply amazing.
Absolutely. There are some other interesting relationships like Ryan and Cyril O'Reily, but the Beecher/Keller relationship is top notch.
That's why I find those comments so ironic.VERY graphic.^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?
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.
I've seen posts in MISC. asking all types of personal sexual questions about male genitalia, peoples sexual habits & talk of all the wild stuff they've seen in porn but seeing a penis on a cable show about life in prison offends them.
It was a more innocent time back in 1952...
And don't even get me started on the connotations you can get from "Little Richard"!
He plays Heinrick Schillinger in the episodes "Napoleon's Boney Parts" (I can't believe a show like Oz got away with a title like that!) and "Ancient Tribes". Most of his other roles were in B-movies, though he did appear in an episode of The Equalizer and also a Kojak, usually playing a bad guy. His highest-profile part was as one of Steve Martins' gangster friends in My Blue Heaven.
At age 85, he's still drumming with the Comets. Check out this clip from a couple months ago - I doubt guys half (a third!) of his age have the stamina to pull off a drum solo like this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuaNu1SWVTE
Alex
I was a big fan of OZ during it's run, we got it on Showcase here in Canada and I would catch it on Friday night's almost every week or catch the rerun later in the week. I got interested in Beecher's character at first and his relationship with Keller (when I see Moloni on SVU I still think of him as Keller) and how that evolves and develop. Then Said became a favorite character and his war against Abedisi (fucked up the spelling on that) in season two right? Ryan O'Reily became a favorite character along with his schenagins and his attempted courting of the prison doctor and his handling of Cyril. Schillenger was a arsehole, so were his Aryans. I don't think anyone has mentioned Alveraz and his running gag of trying to escape from Oz. Great series. I never got to see the end of it though, I stopped watching after the musical episode.
I have to say, their relationship is one of the things that really interests me about the show. I'm a sucker for unlikely relationships that blossom against the odds.
That's why I find those comments so ironic.
I've seen posts in MISC. asking all types of personal sexual questions about male genitalia, peoples sexual habits & talk of all the wild stuff they've seen in porn but seeing a penis on a cable show about life in prison offends them.
Granted, I'm a girl who happens to think pretty highly of the male form, but it's weird to me, too, that that would be the big objection. I'd think the rapes and mutilations especially would be the most disturbing to anyone likely to be uncomfortable with the things in the show (beatings and murder seem to happen a lot on other shows, which makes me wonder if people are becoming desensitized to them).
Oh wow, he's Schillinger's dad!
I'm very curious about his character now!Is Abedisi a really bad guy? It was hard to tell from the first episode. It seemed clear that he was going to rape Beecher, but the way that played out made me wonder if he wasn't as bad as he seemed since Schillinger was obviously set up to be much worse.
Oh, no worries--I'm cool with spoilers. I did a bit of reading on the net before deciding to watch the show so I know some of what's coming. I imagine it's probably hard to avoid spoilers with a show that's already completed its run.
^Well you can't just leave me hanging like that! Now I want hints...
Lessee, what can I say that won't spoil ya...?
Well imagine a guy who is functionally retarded trying to survive in that hellhole.
Imagine a guy who has been driving insane by extreme sexual abuse trying to survive in that hellhole.
Imagine a vicious felon who develops a crush on the prison doc...I'll stop right there.
Imagine the creative uses that various body fluids can be put to.
And then there was that stuff about the gum transplant...ewwwgh!!!
^Well you can't just leave me hanging like that! Now I want hints...
Lessee, what can I say that won't spoil ya...?
Oooh, thank you!
How does this guy even end up in prison??
I take it this is Beecher? Is his one of the violent rapes we see? I feel really bad for this guy already.
I'm definitely looking forward to when Keller comes in, because it seems like this guy is going to need any little happiness he can get.That does not sound like it will end well!
I guess that would happen in prison, huh??Gum transplant???
I'm still waiting on the DVDs to arrive
but hopefully they will come this weekend and I can watch a few more episodes! I want to have more to discuss. Thanks for the teasers, Temis! 
The prison system is oh-so-uncaring and corrupt! (And how did Beecher, who didn't kill anyone on purpose, end up in a maximum security hellhole?)
No, Beecher isn't the guy who goes insane...turns out Beecher is a tougher bastard that you might suspect early on.
Uh, er, well...the path of true love never did run smooth.
The gum transplant doesn't happen till one of the later seasons (last one I think) when they were getting really out there, and the whole show had devolved into zany self-parody.
Here's another one, not a major spoiler so I'll just blurt it out: is it even physically possible for a human being to commit suicide by biting through one of their own major arteries? I'm not sure I even buy that...
In the episode where the judge from his trial appears,
she admits that she had been way too severe, perhapstrying to make an example of him - the perpetrator a privileged WASP bastard with a perfect life who was drunk driving, the victim a little girl, whose parents were in the courtroom...
So the DVDs finally arrived and I watched like 5 episodes this weekend. I'm up through episode 6 right now.
I think Beecher is my fav so far. I feel so bad for the guy, even knowing what he did. There are times where I wonder why he doesn't fight back against Schillinger more, but it made sense when he told Sister Pete that he feels like he deserves it. I'm not sure why she thought it was a good idea to bring in the woman whose daughter he hit--for him or the woman. I mean, yeah, he was thinking of himself as a victim, but all that seemed to do was make him feel worse. McManus, Sister Pete, Diane--did none of them really have any inkling that Schillinger was raping/abusing Beecher? And if so, why wouldn't they move him out of Schillinger's cell?
I felt really bad for Keane, too--again, did they really have no inkling that the guy was set up? And by prison guards?
O'Reilly is a snake, but he's an interesting snake. He's just teamed up with Adebisi to kill Schibetta by putting glass in his food. That's definitely a novel way to kill someone. Adebisi is another one who interests me a lot.
The only one who I don't like at this point is Alvarez--the guy's whining just annoys me. I know I'm supposed to feel bad for him, but ugh, I can't. First he's like, "I don't want to be a dad!" Then he's all, "Please don't kill my baby. I'll cut my face up so I'm less pretty and God won't kill my baby!" WTF? That guy annoys the crap out of me, and newsflash, you're not that pretty, dude.
Oh, and the guy who ate his parents cracks me up.
The only episode I wasn't crazy about was the death penalty one. The others I really liked.
Really?? Oh wow. It looks like he's lost it at the end of episode 6, but I was glad he struck out at Schillinger. I was like, finally!!!
Awwwww... doesn't seem like there are many happy ending in Oz.
OK, that's nuts!!! But I guess if you can sever the artery...
I think Beecher is my fav so far. I feel so bad for the guy, even knowing what he did. There are times where I wonder why he doesn't fight back against Schillinger more, but it made sense when he told Sister Pete that he feels like he deserves it. I'm not sure why she thought it was a good idea to bring in the woman whose daughter he hit--for him or the woman. I mean, yeah, he was thinking of himself as a victim, but all that seemed to do was make him feel worse. McManus, Sister Pete, Diane--did none of them really have any inkling that Schillinger was raping/abusing Beecher? And if so, why wouldn't they move him out of Schillinger's cell?
I felt really bad for Keane, too--again, did they really have no inkling that the guy was set up? And by prison guards?
O'Reilly is a snake, but he's an interesting snake. He's just teamed up with Adebisi to kill Schibetta by putting glass in his food. That's definitely a novel way to kill someone. Adebisi is another one who interests me a lot.
The only one who I don't like at this point is Alvarez--the guy's whining just annoys me. I know I'm supposed to feel bad for him, but ugh, I can't. First he's like, "I don't want to be a dad!" Then he's all, "Please don't kill my baby. I'll cut my face up so I'm less pretty and God won't kill my baby!" WTF? That guy annoys the crap out of me, and newsflash, you're not that pretty, dude.
Oh, and the guy who ate his parents cracks me up.
The only episode I wasn't crazy about was the death penalty one. The others I really liked.
Really?? Oh wow. It looks like he's lost it at the end of episode 6, but I was glad he struck out at Schillinger. I was like, finally!!!
Uh, er, well...the path of true love never did run smooth.
Awwwww... doesn't seem like there are many happy ending in Oz.
The gum transplant doesn't happen till one of the later seasons (last one I think) when they were getting really out there, and the whole show had devolved into zany self-parody.
Here's another one, not a major spoiler so I'll just blurt it out: is it even physically possible for a human being to commit suicide by biting through one of their own major arteries? I'm not sure I even buy that...
OK, that's nuts!!! But I guess if you can sever the artery...
The killing by the glass story was allegedly one of the things Fontana took from a real life case.
You're not the only one who found Alvarez annoying. I never liked him either. He was just pathetic Sure, he had lots of shit happen to him, but he also brought it on himself by being spineless... you'll see what I mean in season 2. Ugh.
I liked pretty much all of the other main inmates - O'Reilly, Beecher, Said, Keller, and Adebisi and Schillinger in a love-to-hate way. As for the staff, I came to like Dr Nathan, Sister Pete, and Father Mukada. was so-so about the warden, and as for McManu... I wasn't sure how I felt about him, but he seemed like a moron too many times.
I listened to a little of the commentary between Fontana and the guy who plays Beecher on the first episode, and it sounds like Fontana did some pretty serious research for the show. He mentions that when Ortolani tells Beecher never to smile in prison that that was taken from something he heard on one of his visits.
I'll probably go back and finish listening to the commentary at some point--it seemed pretty good. The first one dissects the first episode and the second one seems to be more about the writing/making of the show process. Both are definitely interesting to me.
You're not the only one who found Alvarez annoying. I never liked him either. He was just pathetic Sure, he had lots of shit happen to him, but he also brought it on himself by being spineless... you'll see what I mean in season 2. Ugh.
Oh god, he's worse in season two? He already annoys the crap out of me. Is he on for the whole run of the show?
I kind of love Schillinger as a character--he's so evil but he's interesting evil. The psychological abuse he put Beecher through seemed to take as much of a toll as the physical abuse. I thought it was really creepy how he made Beecher give him a goodnight kiss and tell him he loved him... there was something very cruel about that.
I like McManus, but he sure does seem to have a lot of issues. Still, he means well and he seems to be the one person who actually pays attention to the abuses going on in the prison.
Sadly, yes... Although he is not there all the time, because Kirk Acevedo had to take a break to shoot something else, so they came up with a way to remove him from the show for a while... you'll see.
Oh yes. He is such a sadist. The creepiest moment for me was when he was talking about Beecher's family. Brrrr.
Oh ugh. Does he at least get less whiny? And how long is he gone for?
Yeah, that was really horrible. I felt so bad for Beecher when he tore up those photos--it symbolized him being forced to cut off his old life. Schillinger really does take everything away from him, piece by piece--Beecher seemed really fired up when he thought he could help Keane, and then Schillinger came in and made him eat the pages of the law book. He really strips away everything from Beecher piece by piece--his sense of safety, his connection to the outside, his sense of self as a lawyer, his masculinity--until you totally see why Beecher loses it and strikes out at him in episode six.
I'm hoping to finish up the first season, but it might not be until the weekend. :/ This time of year is so busy!
I, for one, actually liked Alvarez. He was one of my favourite characters. I think his story was really compelling - beginning with a bad experience, which just kept getting worse and worse from there. It shows how going to prison can be the beginning of a long downward spiral.
This show had so many great bad guys - Schillinger, Adebisi...but my personal favourite was a very, very creepy character who had a short tenure on the show midway through the third season. You'll know who I'm talking about when you see him.
This show had so many great bad guys - Schillinger, Adebisi...but my personal favourite was a very, very creepy character who had a short tenure on the show midway through the third season. You'll know who I'm talking about when you see him.
Maybe Alvarez will grow on me. I just hate whiny characters. I did feel bad for him with the baby, but him cutting his face was just so drama queen.
Oooh, very curious.
I like Adebisi a lot, too. I wonder how long this partnership between him and O'Reilly will last. Somehow, I suspect, just long enough to take out Schibetta... if they even succeed. I kind of wonder if O'Reilly won't sell out Adebisi to Schibetta and claim Adebisi acted alone. O'Reilly seems to always have an angle, and always seems to be playing people against each other. The only genuinely nice thing he did--or at least, it seemed genuine--was giving Beecher drugs so he could kind of escape what was happening to him mentally. It didn't feel like he had an angle when he did that, especially since Beecher is probably about as low on the totem pole as you get in jail.- Status
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