HBO's "Oz"

It was good for a while, the writing got progressively dumber as it went on though.

Still, R1, they did a fantastic job of sustaining the main storylines and the integrity of each character.

I loved it from start to finish. This will be my third rewatch.

I haven't seen it in 3-4 years.

Also, the amount of beautiful ass on display is a bit overwhelming at times.

R3, don’t forget the tinymeat.

R4 I'll never underestimate a grower ;)

So much nudity. I don't think there was a single inch of Chris Meloni we didn't see except maybe for his spleen.

Yeah "Oz" had more male nudity than any show that has been on American TV. Weird that it is old now, but no HBO show in the years since has been willing to match them.

I love how they dealt with the love story. Heartbreaking.

You can watch the entire series on Amazon Prime Video. There is no need to buy DVD's.

Oh wow, OP, I remember paying 40 bucks a season when I bought it so long ago. And how weird, I just remembered that Tobias Beecher was in my dream last night! Seriously.

R9 I do stream mostly everything, but like to own hard copies of my favorite films and shows. I've always wanted to buy this one.

R10 Yeah, pricing is definitely what took me so long to buy the series. When I saw it for so cheap, I had to snatch it up.

It's an extremely underrated and overlooked show, imo. It can be said to be hugely responsible for the shift in premium cable shows. The tone, the sex, the violence, the cinematic quality of it all - it's influenced everything from The Sopranos to American Horror Story.

Agreed r11, and everything else is just "Oz" in a different time and place. "Deadwood" is old west "Oz", GOT is medieval "Oz" and none of them come close.

R12 HBO should consider rebooting it.

With all the gay sex going on in that show were there any actual gay actors in the cast?

It was insanely unbelievable. In the last season, a character's non-inmate father, a respectable and wealthy member of his community, visited his inmate son in prison and was violently killed by the inmate's enemies when they (inplausibly) got him alone, and yet there were absolutely no consequences, no news story about the killing, nothing. In real life, such an event would be the top story of the national news for days and would have triggered an enormous inquiry into the prison's workings; not on OZ.

Loved it. Would enjoy seeing if it stands the test of time.

[quote] GOT is medieval "Oz"

Sorry.

George R. R. Martin started writing "A Game of Thrones" in 1991, and published that novel in 1996. The show's first season is incredibly faithful to the first book.

"Oz" the TV series premiered in 1997.

Yeah, I think because it was the first attempt at "prestige" television people overlooked a lot r15. A lot of the writing was pretty silly, and if the same plots happened nowadays people would be bitching about it.

Yes r15, it wasn't as true to life as "Westworld" or "GOT" but we know to suspend our disbelief when we watch fictional cable shows.

Christopher Meloni is definition of sex in this.

God, how I dreamt of riding his cock for hours.

"Oz" was like a prison based "Twilight Zone". Sure, a lot of it is implausible, but nonetheless poignant and effective.

$39! That's about 50 cents per dick shot!

R22 lol. It's totally worth it, too. I'm watching episode three now as I peruse DL and I keep forgetting about my phone and getting sucked into the show.

R6 he's so fucking hot.

Great show. I think Vern Schillinger was the be all, end all of scary. Such a wonderful cast.

Rita Moreno was amazing in this, too.

I loved the grace and sense of spirituality she brought to the grit and brawn.

They could never replace the actors on OZ in a reboot, I am remembering Wangler, who I thought was so hot, on "The Wire" and a bunch of other people from "The Wire". Shit even Dana Reeve was on it as the governor's assistant or something? Kathryn Erbe, Edie Falco, etc. I think it was supposed to be some kind of launching point for the guy who played Miguel as he was always touted as the star, later he did a show called "Black Irish" or something and it tanked. Oh and Luiz Guzman was great on it, and Dean Winters! That show is great, OP, I envy you. I watched a bunch of it a few years back. Oh and Vern Schillinger, funny that he and Ryan O' Reilly now both are insurance spokespeople.

R22 Damn. That's a hot cock.

This show is EVERYTHING.

Fucking loved it, worst storyline was the aging drug to speed up your incarceration.

Best was all the rest, Gods I LOVE this show

Oz reminds me of DL a bit, lol.

A bunch of horny, lovable ruthless cunts.

I remember when Adebisi injected the old Italian gangster with an Aids needle and the guy then went to live in PC or the Aids ward and I think finally stopped hating gays. Also, the Luis Guzman plot where he was fucking ruthlessly coming after Miguel and shamed him into blinding the Latino guard for being a traitor. That was fucking good writing! The whole prisoner's dilemma there about not wanting to appear to be sympathetic to "the man" and how he was going to lose his high status in the Latino gang if he continued to let Luis fuck with him.

R27 I'm sure a lot if not most of the principles would be willing to come back if it was well written.

I also think it would enjoy a big welcome back.

They could tackle so much with it. It would be insanely relevant.

But did they have hearts of gold, r31?

R33 I wanted them all to fuck me so they had much more than just hearts of gold.

I loved it when it was on, until the last season. I don't even remember it, but I do remember hating it.

R32 Most were dead by the end, the final bus trip out shows how few, jesus that last season was a bloodbath of regulars

R36 What am I thinking, you're right.

They could find clever ways, though (different characters, flashbacks, etc.).

The last season was insane but it was epic and operatic and I loved that the show went out that way.

[quote]I'm sure a lot if not most of the principles

PrinciPALS, dear.

R38 You are why I love DL, lol. :-*

Sex violence power.

Thank you, r38.

[quote] Yes [R15], it wasn't as true to life as "Westworld" or "GOT" but we know to suspend our disbelief when we watch fictional cable shows.

"Westworld"and "Game of Thrones" are sci-fi/fantasy shows.

"Oz" was supposed to be gritty realism.

With moments of surrealism, which were expertly set up, R42.

Tremendous show, I loved it. And apropos of nothing the nude tattoed guy with his dick hanging out in the photo above is also a hard rock star, and was married to the porn star Tera Patrick. Think his name was Evan Seinfield?

r44 Yes, he was the lead singer for Bio-Hazard, a shitty metal band.

R17 I think he was referring to all the gratuitous sex/nudity.

I never thought that OZ was supposed to be gritty realism. So many unrealistic things happened on that show. It definitely was surreal, as R43 noted.

That is how I read it r46. The adult themes, violence, sex/nudity. Oz was the pioneer in terms of changing what you could do with television.

The "Oz" parody they did when Jerry Seinfeld hosted SNL was a classic.

I watched it so see what the fuss was about. The gratuitous violence got tiresome very quickly. It seemed like every episode had someone being raped, tortured, maimed or killed. Didn't the final episode kill off most of the characters? I couldn't stand all that gross weekly violence. It got cartoonish and implausible. Violence for violence's sake.

I always think of when George Michael watched "Oz" as a child on "Arrested Development."

"wonderfully" gay?

Halfway through season 1 and I'm hooked again.

Betty Lynn makes an appearance

Big deal! I was a love interest of 2 of the main characters r54!

For some reason Wolfgang Cutler sadistically using Robson as a fucktoy was always the stand out moment. That and Brian Bloom's character. I was 16 when Oz premiered so this was adolsecent gay porn for me as my dial up connection took forever to download a 20 second clip from the internet.

Yes, I remember why Cutler was in prison... I try not to think about it.

Loved this show for how truly unpredictable it could be but hated every frame of Patti Lupone and the way she pronounced breast cancer.

Tobias Peaches singing in episode 6 still breaks me in two!

*Tobias Beecher

And this is the singing scene.

R50 jacked off to every single episode, but really "hated all the violence". You can't make this shit up.

I thought the love affair between Tobias Beecher and Chris Keller was the heart and soul of the series. I've never been to prison, but I've spent time in jail, and I could identify with a lot of it. I eventually had to stop watching, because I just got too fatigued with the violence. Anyway, their love story is about two otherwise straight men, who fall in love. I know DL thinks we just fetishize straight guys. I don't. But somehow, the context of their affair lends it a poignancy it otherwise wouldn't have had.

I thought Keller was gay? But yeah, that absolutely was the heart of the show. And Miguel and his demons.

R62, From watching the series, I was always left with the impression that both men lived straight lives outside of prison. That they only discovered that their needs coincided when they were 'inside'. I mean, I was only in jail a month, and I saw that happen. A couple of my cellmates HAD been in prison, and I heard stories of their love affairs with other men. We always have stories about gay porn stars on DL that get caught up in the Gay 4 Pay debate, which I think is pretty ridiculous. Men who want sex will have sex with other men, regardless of their orientation. I mean, c'mon! Why wouldn't a man want to fuck a sexy man?

Whatever happened to Tom Fontana who created the show and supervised it closely, no matter who the named show runner was? I remember that he and Dick Wolf, who created all the Law & Orders, were close friends and regularly shared ideas and actors, which is why people like Meloni and Dean Winters kept popping up in both all their shows. Dennis Farina's character on the original L&O was "Lt. Fontana" and rumored to be Wolf's tribute to Tom.

Fontana also produced a number of other hit shows like St. Elsewhere and Homicide: Life on the Street.

Recently bought the DVD set on eBay myself.

Sadly not enjoying as much now but, in its day, it was fab-u-loud.

Meloni and Dean Winters appeared in both SVU and Oz at the same time only because Fontana and Wolf carefully coordinated their shooting schedules together. Winters couldn't take it and left SVU after its first season; Meloni shot both shows at the same time for two or three years. (Winters came back to SVU years later as the same character after Meloni had left as a sometimes recurring character.)

What happened to Meloni after the show? What has he been up to?

R63 Love affairs as in “protecting their asses from being gang raped by others” or something else?

Keller wasnt straight man, he was at least bisexual, most likely gay in denial. He was raping and killing gay men.

[quote] I mean, c'mon! Why wouldn't a man want to fuck a sexy man?

For the same reason why a man wouldn't want to fuck a sexy woman.

The Wire is better.

[quote]The Wire is better.

Two rather different shows. Not a contest. Watch both.

As far as gay cast members, off the top of my head there was BD Wong (Father Ray), as well as Steven Wishnoff (Masters) and James Palacios (Miss Fiona) from the gay gang.

Nothing says "wonderfully gay" quite like being forced against your will to be a murderous Nazi's prison bitch!

Over the years, I've known men who would have paid for that, r74.

You seem to have a very, very, very different definition of "wonderful" than my own.

There are men who would also pay to have other men shit on their faces like Beecher does to Schillinger; but that scene doesn't make the show "wonderfully gay" to me either.

But perhaps it does to you.

R61 Chris played this character very well. He was dangerous murderer yet able to care and love, sometimes. How many here would have loved to share their time with this manipulative character, who couldn’t be truster at all?

[quote]R63 I mean, c'mon! Why wouldn't a man want to fuck a sexy man?

That is like saying, “Why wouldn’t a gay man want to fuck a sexy woman?”

Hottest sex scene was R.E. Rodgers and his cell mate during the final season.

R64 a few years ago, Fontana remarried his ex-wife, and then she died.

It was basically Prisoner Cell Block H with cock

R61 Agreed.

R64 St. Elsewhere is another underrated show.

When I wrote"wonderfully gay", I meant "refreshingly and unabashedly gay" and I stan by that.

One thing I love most about this show is the dignity with which the gay characters were treated. They weren't condescended to or oversimplified.

I also love that they didn't shy away from the sex, which could range from violent to romantic.

I stopped watching 7 episodes in last night and was struck by how well it's held up and gripping it all still is.

What it needed to make it "refreshingly and unabashedly gay" was a Hope Emerson character.

R61/R63 That love affair was everything. The writers did a fantastic job of exploring almost every angle of it, too.

It never felt inauthentic.

I think we saw every main character's dick on the show - except for the guy I thought was the sexiest (Ryan O'Reily)

R87 We actually get a great shot of his cock in episode 5 or 6. Just saw it last night. It's after he's put in isolation after ratting on himself regarding a drug deal.

The scene is of him going crazy in the cell. They show his cock a few times.

Yeah Dean Winters definitely got naked.

We liked Arian Daddy!

R90 You would, lol.

There was hardly any consequence to many of the killings. Like Brian Bloom being murdered with Keller's jizz smeared all over his face.They wouldn't have done a DNA test? Some prisoner also got shut up behind a new brick wall. No one was going to notice? I remember some guard being killed and nothing more ever being said about it. It was just kind of ridiculous in an otherwise interesting show.

R92 'Some Prisoner' - was Luke Perry, who also showed his cock

Thank you, R89. I don't know why I didn't remember that.

[quote]Luke Perry, who also showed his cock

Speaking of which . . .

I'm finishing season 1 tonight. These are my girls.

Once again, OZ was not supposed to be realistic portrayal of prison life. It was a soap opera.

I liked Scott Winters, who played O'Reily's retarded brother and is Dean Winters's real-life brother.

I heard from a friend that Westworld is total shit now, all "men are evil" storylines. I remember Thandie Newton complained about all her nudity on WW and how degrading it was or something and to that I say, "hunty, watch OZ, you got off lightly!" I appreciate the gore and un-pc'ness of OZ.

Kathryn Erbe was so evil as Shirley Bellinger that I rejoiced when she started playing a good guy on L&O: Criminal Intent.

r99 "But...you're a nigger!"

really, that is a good deal I need to go by Walmart.

I was surprised to learn that Kathryn Erbe was married to Terry Kinney (McManus). Out of all the characters who you would think one would hate for their crimes, the character I hated most was McManus. He was so sanctimonious.

[quote]As far as gay cast members, off the top of my head there was BD Wong (Father Ray), as well as Steven Wishnoff (Masters) and James Palacios (Miss Fiona) from the gay gang.

There was also Mike Doyle. It was the first thing I had ever seen him in and I hated him so much as Adam Guenzel that it was only until recently I could see him in another show or film without wanting to punch him in the face.  Charles Busch also had a recurring role.

I'm on the last episode of season 1.

omg omg omg.

I wish this show was new again. It's too fucking good.

I can't ever find anything good at Walmart.

I lusted for Granville Adams as Zahir Arif.

Honorable mentions: Kirk Acevedo, R. E. Rodgers, J. K. Simmons, and Eamonn Walker.

The Beecher/Keller love affair felt authentic because they were fucking in real life.

[quote] What it needed to make it "refreshingly and unabashedly gay" was a Hope Emerson character.

Or a Franklin Pangborn one.

I loved when they walled up Luke Perry's preacher! JK Simmons (Schillinger) has an Oscar. Supporting, but still. Just like Sr. Pete.

Luke Perry was really good in his guest spot.

Cyril walking to his death- makes me weep.

He really was, R109.

R103 the other day I was just discussing with my hairdresser that they should make a pill that will make you forget movies/TV shows you've already watched so that you can experience watching them anew.

R112 This show is so good, it feels like your experiencing it anew each time you rewatch it.

r112 Wait until you get older. You won't need a pill for that. (But you probably will for other things.)

R114 LOL

It has the same effect on me The Twilight Zone and Star Trek have. Something about the monotone setting and the talkiness of it all, which is very soothing and relaxing and, due to the topic matter, at times even a bit contemplative.

A poignant classic.

[quote]Kathryn Erbe was so evil as Shirley Bellinger that I rejoiced when she started playing a good guy on L&O: Criminal Intent.

And I rejoiced when JK Simmons played the kindly dad in Juno.

I met a guy whose introduction to JK was Juno so he was shocked how good he was at playing a hardass in Whiplash. I told him to look up his scenes in Oz if he really wanted to be shocked.

Believe it or not, the only thing I really remember about Bellinger was when she was bring dragged to the gallows and then started screaming for God to forgive her. I thought the character was just ridiculous and the situation of her being the only female inmate in Oz being absurd.

OT: Kathryn Erbe was set to replace S. Epatha Merkerson on the original Law & Order playing her Criminal Intent character. (Merkerson was leaving voluntarily, which was why she got that nice little story arc the final season.) And then the show was unexpectedly canceled at the last minute

To enter Oz you must be willing to relinquish your ego and to set aside petty desires, needs and wounds. It is a tour de force of surrealism and gritty reality juxtaposed to make the exploration of the infinite and inevitable relatable and palpable, which it does with total abandon.

It is also one of the very best "gay shows" ever because it wasn't trying to be that but totally was that and so much more.

Howard Stern aptly noted that the reason it was a hit was because there was so much cock shown and it had a huge gay following.

OZ and QUEER AS FOLK were on around the same time. Which was more popular with gays?

R110 I keened when they finally, FINALLY killed Cyril, it had been building for many seasons, ( and we all know how OZ raced thru storylines), and when it finally happened I was devastated. Great acting and writing all round

Not to mention her sparkling turn as Patsy Nixon, r99!

Pat or Patricia, never Patsy.

R126 wasn't her full name Thelma Catherine Nixon (née Ryan;)? Where the hell did "Pat" come from?

It wasnt popular, really. Ratings were bad, as i remember.

"All hope abandon ye who enter here" is from Dante's 'Divine Comedy', all the way back from the 1300s. 'Oz' is almost like a tour of purgatory, or even hell. Every time I watched Beecher and Keller kissing, I had a lurking terror that Keller was going to turn around and snap Beecher's neck. The fear never dissipates, the tension never evaporates. I liked watching a show that depicted some intimacy between men, but it also showed some tremendous brutality, which is why I couldn't watch after a few seasons.

R128 Yeah, rating were so bad it ran for six seasons.....

"Oz" bears no resemblance to reality. Even the worst American prisons were never like THAT.

[quote]"Oz" bears no resemblance to reality.

You don't say? It was a prime time soap, not a docudrama.

R131 Oh My God, do you mean it was a TV show?

R133 I have noticed that the younger generation expects realism in everything, including cartoons. I was watching a FAMILY GUY clip where Lois asks Peter what happened to his wallet, and he said "I must've left it with my other family." Then there's a cutaway of Peter bidding adieu to Lois et al., getting on a plane, arriving in Chicago, changing into women's clothing in the taxi, and arriving at his other home all made up where his husband and three children await him. Funny, right? But the young'uns in the comments section are all like "How is that possible?" "Did they adopt?" "Is Peter gay?" They can't just take a joke at face value.

R130

It were different back then. I think Oz was first HBO drama, before Soprano, before The Wire. It made the way but it never was as succesful with viewers and critics and awards as those other iconic HBO shows. I love this show to death. So many terrific moments.

"Oh My God, do you mean it was a TV show?"

I'm sure a lot of the fans of this show thought it was an accurate depiction of a tough prison. TV audiences are not known for any substantial intelligence, and you, most certainly, are proof of that.

R136 'You are sure...', oh then it MUST be real cause you are sure. So sure.....

R137 must be truly ignorant if he thinks tv audiences don't believe in the "reality" of what they see on their tv screens, even if the show is fictional. Very ignorant indeed.

SISTER PETE...shouted a la Austin Pendelton after decades in solitary.....

R138

Nobody believed in reality of Oz. They had aging pills, for God sake.

"Nobody believed in reality of Oz."

Oh, come on. TV audiences aren't that bright. A lot of them believe in what they see on these shows, no matter how outlandish is it. There are some people who believe that "Grey's Anatomy" is an accurate depiction of a hospital and its staff. And THAT show is just as implausible as "Oz."

[quote] Nobody believed in reality of Oz. They had aging pills, for God sake

Ryan O'Reilly, the biggest puller of ploys and all around snake not being killed was the biggest implausible aspect of that show.

R141, my friend worked as a telephone operator in Washington during the '70s. She would routinely get calls from people who wanted to know the phone numbers of people on Soap Operas so they could warn them of what was happening in Pine Valley, Genoa City, etc.

R142 Balls, Ryan played the game the best, and he lost everything except his life, because of his machinations.

R141

Well, some members of tv audience are dumb. But i doubt OZ attracted same audience as Grey' Anathomy. It was particular type of show. Cant imagine dumb person liking it.

That was a reference to this Fannie Flagg album which, apparently, I was the only person to own, r126.

R145 I really doubt watchers of 'Young and the Restless' watched OZ, judging by the retarded threads on Y and R here

r144 Exactly, Ryan was the smartest man in OZ and had protection from people who needed him for his scamming abilities, he had his fingers in all the pies.

I hate that storyline of Ryan pining over that stupid doctor played by the awful Lauren Velez.

It also was the start for Edie Falco on HBO which, I'm sure, lead to her being cast as Carmella Soprano.

R150 Sure was, she moved to England to fuck a British bobbie in the show, via a letter to McManus, God who would fuck McManus, that moron

This thread is making me horny as fuck!

Especially the Meloni hole presentation!

R152 lol.

omg, so hot

Richard Speck grew some nice titties for all the BBC in jail.

A former white supremist gang member speaks to Louis about his relationship with a Jewish male prisoner

Starting season 2 tonight.

Omg. Ahhh!

Keller has finally arrived. I'm midway through season 2.

Almost done with season 2.

So good.

Was the actual gay actor on the show the one that played the gay inmate that gets his throat slit with a razor blade in the shower by a guy that pretends to come onto him to get him alone?

R161 How dare you?

fuck. the gay guy on death row is painfully beautiful. Season 3.

R163 what's his name?

R164 Too lazy to look it up, but he's in ep 1 of season

I liked him too. I think he shows his dick to Shirley Bellinger.

R166 yes!

R166 Richie was a darling, great death, great bod. God I love this show.

I love that Russian who turns up after the big buildup in season one, he has one scene and is then killed and left hanging upside down in the rec area, so fucking funny

Bump, cuz I just got sucked into streaming this show out of nowhere. It was originally on when I was way too young to watch it (like, kindergarten age), and while I've heard it whispered about ever since I've never really bothered to check it out because it didn't seem my cup of tea (and I was a BAD GIRLS fan, so I don't know why I maintained that). Now I'm eating my hat.

My favourite character so far is Jason Cramer, the gay boxer. His character was a refreshing example of a totally masculine and completely gay prisoner, and his arc is the only uplifting 'happy ending' story in the whole show' I love how he just walks away free with a triumphant smile, a swish, and a middle finger at the end. Don't ask me why I get this impression, but the way the actor plays the character reminds me a little of Corey Haim (RIP).

I'm also with a lot of the above posters with stanning Ryan O'Reilly and his wicked schemes, and wishing he had been in the show way more. I find Sister Pete enthralling, and I also like her assistant colleague the nelly Asian priest (don't come for me, but I keep forgetting his damn name) who is very adorable and sweet in an understated way and in marked contrast to his surroundings. Keller fucking terrifies me, and that along with the soapy swerves in his s/l puts me off the epic Beecheller romance, though I get that is part of the charm for others. I always look forward to Augustus Hill's monologues, too - why isn't Harold Perrineau getting big roles, now? (last thing I saw him in was LOST).

Actress Kristin Rohde who played the nasty corrections officer Claire Howell to great effect died of cancer in 2016 at age 52.

R170 so young. She was a fine actress. What sort of cancer got her? I can’t find info online.

Never forget Claire fucked Ryan & Chris, electrocuted Stanislofsky, and cut Morales tendons. Bitch was fearless.

Meloni had more chemistry with Winters than with Tergesen.

Like at the end of this episode, when Keller warns O'Reilly not to hurt Beecher, and Ryan retorts "don't make any threats, K-Boy. Might put me in a bad fucking mood." all up in Chris's face.

The lineup of guest stars from Broadway is remarkable. Not just betty Lynn and Patti, but Elaine, Uta Hagen, John McMartin, Dana Ivey, Joel Gray, Natascia Diaz, Charles Busch, Austin Pendelton, Rita Moreno, B.D Wong....it really was incredible.

[quote]Never forget Claire fucked Ryan & Chris, electrocuted Stanislofsky, and cut Morales tendons. Bitch was fearless

And showed off her A cup tits. FEARLESS. RIP to a real one.

Kirk Acevedo was so fucking hot. Hot Latino. Wow. Sex on legs. I still want him.

I love Oz when I’m done rewatching P Valley I’m going to watch it again.

I cried like a bitch at the Beecher and Chris meloni romance

[quote] You can watch the entire series on Amazon Prime Video. There is no need to buy DVD's.

You can also check out books from the library. That doesn't mean I don't want to own many of them.

Chris Meloni was the hottest actor on TV, then and now.

Here is a Beecher and Keller fanfiction written by a gay man and not a woman which is rare.

Is this on streaming anywhere?

R131, As someone who may or may have not worked in correctional facilities in an earlier life, it did strike a chord for me in certain respects.

I loved ALL the male peen action. Only show I can remember being so male nudity friendly.

Brian Bloom was so hot in the show.

I love when Luke Perry was on as a preacher

R183 He sure was. I still love watching his nudes scene in the shower with Chris Meloni.

Poet died.

And, Shit, Granville Adams is ill as fuck. At least he got off the murder charge. That was some totally OZ shit.

My favourite was always Ryan. It’s so sad hot af Dino Ortelani didn’t make it past episode one

Did bd Wong go full-frontal?

^ No. But everyone else did.

We must thank the advisor who told Ryan O'Reilly that men were thrown into the hole naked. He demanded this happen to him so for the rest of the show, when everyone was thrown in the hole they were naked. And then....at the final cast party he admitted he had lied, as a joke, but Ryan had believed him, and the rest is TV cock history.

Thank goodness he didn't say they were thrown into the hole in a peignoir and marabou mules!

BD Wong was so hot. I loved father Mukada as a character.

[quote]But everyone else did.

I beg your pardon!

^ Ha, indeed. I don't think JK got his cock out either. Forgot Sayid did a fucking beautiful long cock shot when he was getting out of the hole.

Meloni's cock and ass belong in the Smithsonian.

I tried watching some episodes of this series to see what the fuss was about. But I couldn't stomach the endless gratuitous violence. And the writing really wasn't all that. It was the same thing. over and over. On every episode somebody got raped, maimed or killed. Same old same old. Seeing naked cocks and asses didn't make up for that.

R196 Cannot recall a TV show that has ever ventured into the areas the show does. The effects of rape on men, where does violence come from, how men who fuck other men but see themselves as 'straight' make that distinction, the effects of religion. BUT, I have had many friends who cannot get over the violence of the show, so you are not alone.

I can't decide which Winters brother is the hottest. I'll take both!

We almost lost Dean.

What I loved about OZ and still love about it now was that it was a show where the majority of the protagonists were the worst of the worst, yet the show still made you want to care about them and root for them. This was way before the anti-hero era of HBO like THE SOPRANOS and DEADWOOD.

To have a show where these people do the most heinous things to each other and others and you are still invested to them is a testament to the writers and the casting agent who assembled that cast. It showed the darkness in people that no one really wants to explore.

I loved that too

I’m rewatching Oz now and I must have softened because seeing poor Cyril being tormented by the mean inmates almost makes me cry. Poor Cyril 😔

SPOILER. Wasn't almost the entire cast killed off in the final episode? I thought that was excessive. But then everything on this show was excessive.

No Keller sent anthrax post death and the show ends with Oswald being evacuated. Season four finished with Emerald City blowing up but few died.

This show is excellent. Top 5 television dramas of all time.

It’s almost too real. The kind of thing that will stay with you for 20 years.

Sorry, thought this was ‘the Wire’ thread.

I never could get into OZ. Too stark and dreary.

Soap opera for homoerotically-inclined straight dudes.

For being such a man-centric show, it had some great and memorable female characters -- Officer Claire, Shirley Bellinger, Sister Peter Marie.

"Keller sent anthrax post death and the show ends with Oswald being evacuated."

The final episode "Exeunt Omnes" did feature a lot of deaths. They were:

Jeremiah Cloutier - buried behind a wall.

Jaz Hoyt - stabbed to death

Cyril O'Reily - executed by electric chair

Vernon Shillinger - stabbed in the heart

Chris Keller - committed suicide

Aryan Brotherhood- died after exposure to some unknown substance while sorting mail

Two named COs: died after exposure to unknown substance.

^ And yet, still. Not the entire cast. And Clothier had been dead for a season and a half.

[quote]Jeremiah Cloutier - buried behind a wall.

Of all the vicious deaths on OZ, Cloutier was one that got to me the most. He was set afire, if I remember correctly, then the Aryans put him behind the wall. Just imagining dying that way is too much for me.

I’m now on season 2 I’d forgotten how soapy it got. It’s still good though I love when Luke Perry is astral projecting and terrorizing Jaz Hoyt

Season 5 I mean

In the process of rewatching Oz now. My husband and I are hung up on the whole Cyril O'Riley "I was hit on the head and now I'm a little girl" thing. Does this happen? I don't think this happens.

Lol neither 213 I love Cyril though. I forgot about the hot Asian inmates we see in season 5.

My favorite character was the Warden. He always seemed fair and sensible.

One time, Rita Moreno (Sister Pete?) had a disagreement with him and he had to fire her. It was really because she had been in Gantry, and later, when she asked for her job back, he just said, "Okay."

She was stunned. "You mean I don't have to beg for it?" she asked.

I felt sorry for the young guy whose shoes kept being stolen. But then why did he deface that statue (painting?). He had a major role in that one episode, yet I don't think we ever heard him speak.

R213 how do you mean?

I love when the two rapists douche bros came to prison and the aryans made one of them a prag. And then we got this amazing scene.

R215 Leo was an asshole. Worst Warden ever. For the whole show she was a cunt to prisoners he hated. Mainly directed at Peter Schibetta and Alveraz. But others as well.

Robson was my favourite prisoner. From Nazi fuck to destroyed rape victim. Good writing.

The Robson "spooning" scene is epic, particularly because of R.E. Rodgers phat ass...

It’s hard to pick a favourite because there’s such great characters on this show but I’d have to pick Ryan O’Reilly

R219 Robson seems to be fucking trannys in real life now. What a waste.

Watching Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and JK Simmons rape the stuck up fresh meat is alone worth the purchase price!

I loved Adebisi

Nice that Rita Moreno got a revival. And then got cancelled.

Yes R32 and R36 it would (unfortunately) be hard to do a reboot with a lot of the favorite characters now deceased.

You're lucky OP. Things go in and out of streaming to make way for other shows, but a box set lasts forever!

Any Details R221?

This is one of my most favorite shows ever. The characters were so unique and well-acted. So many great actors. Dean Winters is not a 'great' actor, but he was really good in this because Ryan O'Reilly's character fit his skills and personality so well. J.K. Simmons created a truly unique characterization, and he's immensely talented (although I was disappointed in his SNL episode, he didn't come off as versatile).

[quote]In the process of rewatching Oz now. My husband and I are hung up on the whole Cyril O'Riley "I was hit on the head and now I'm a little girl" thing. Does this happen? I don't think this happens.

That's the premise of the book/film/musical LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. A young woman is kicked in the head by a pony and becomes childlike.

Reading this thread reminds me of all the hot hot hot men of every race and age and type on this show! There is something for everyone. It is a fucking gay man's smorgasbord!

No show before or since compares in terms of male hotness, nudity and m2m sex acts! It was truly groundbreaking!

[quote]Cannot recall a TV show that has ever ventured into the areas the show does. The effects of rape on men

I beg your pardon?

I also loved OZ. Such a fantastic show.

The series was one of the first on DVD and I regret now not buying it. It was expensive though and the prices now are even higher.

I was happy that J.K. Simmons and Chris Meloni went on to big things, although Meloni was already doing Law & Order: SVU. I kept hoping Lee Tergesen would, too, but it hasn’t seemed to happen for him. He is working steadily though.

R230 Ha, you're right, but it was Boomer. And to clarify, I meant the season six collapse of Robson, the rape group, and the many men who talked about the effect of the rapes upon them. But you are right. Go Boomer.

The dude in the wheelchair always annoyed me.

Incidentally, around the same time (c. early 2000s) I remember there was a controversial episode of THE SHIELD in which one of the main cops was overtaken by some thugs and forced to suck their cocks.

R231 (and all others with pics and clips) Thanks for posting. It was good seeing some of the old gang.

And special thanks to R22 for the AZNude of Evan, it led to dick clips of a lot of the cast!

There is also an 80s made for tv movie dealing with this subject where a cop gets raped by some thugs R234.

He had a hot ass...

OZ is like the punishment of Law & Order and many many actors from L&O dropped by OZ to present dong, many many dongs!!!

OZ was a fabulous show and was well before it's time. Several police and prison dramas tried to copy, but none have come close.

Mary Alice died, who played Augustus Hills' Mom. She died in the Season 5 bus crash episode.

[quote] And wonderfully gay.

These characters weren't gay.

They may have performed homosexual acts; but that doesn't make them homosexual

Fucking a man is kinda gay.

Lance Reddick has died. He was a terrible cop, just the worst.

Clayton was so naughty.

I have the whole entire show on dvd but haven't watched it or a while. This thread, however, makes me want to watch it again!

Silly death.

Tony Nappa - killed by Charles Busch.