Customer Reviews

Oz: The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What is it that makes HBO's ultra volitale men in prison drama Oz such compulsively addictive viewing? Perhaps it's the layers of storylines being told over one another, perhaps it's the fact that this is one of the finest ensemble casts ever assembled, or, possibly, because one is so shocked at what is seen on screen that they anxiously, or dreadfully, await to see just who gets shanked next or what else develops. Whatever the case, Oz remains one of the best shows to ever grace HBO, and one of the most underrated. The fifth season of Oz begins with the aftermath of the kitchen fire, followed by the power control triangle between Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen), white supremiscist leader Vern Schillinger (J.K. Simmons), and Kareem Said (Eamon Walker). In the meantime, the mother of Ryan and Cyril O'Reilly (Dean and Scott William Winters) comes to the prison to teach the prisoners of performance arts, while a few inmates train some dogs to be guides for the blind. Of course not all of this ends well at all, but what else would you expect while taking a trip down this blood soaked yellow brick road? Standout performances from Tergesen, Simmons, Walker, the Winters brothers, Kirk Acevedo, B.D. Wong, Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, and the rest of the usual suspects are highlights here, but it's Law & Order: SVU's Christopher Meloni who steals the show as Beecher's psychotic lover Keller, who has coming agendas of his own. By the time season five comes to a close, it is apparent that the end is soon near, and by the time it reaches it's climax, you'll be begging to see how it all comes to an end.

Oz, that's the name on the street for the Oswald Correctional Facility - Level Four.

Season Four ended with a gas fire in the kitchen. We start out the fifth season, some months later, with the first visitation from the inmates' family and friends since the fire.

In the fifth season, Em City plays host to a 'seeing-eye-dog' program, where three inmates attempt to train some dogs for the blind.

A lady named Eleanor joins the staff at Oz as a liasion to the governor.

Ryan O'Reilly's mother, Suzanne, comes to Oz to teach the inmates some performance arts (as an act of community service) - in this season she teaches singing lessons. Something which the ever-so-annoying Omar White takes part in.

Peter Schibetta, who was sent to the psych ward at the end of season two, returns with revenge on his mind - hoping to take care of some Italian business.

As for the Tobias Beecher-Vern Schillinger storylines, last season ended with Schillinger and Robson attempting to kill Beecher and Keller - but Kareem Said shanks Schillinger and Robson from behind (saying afterwards, "Adebisi lives!"). This season starts with Beecher, Schillinger, and Said in Sister Pete's interaction sessions.

An old friend of Beecher's family gets sent to Oz - Adam Guenzel (along with his friend Franklin Winthrop) for raping a woman. Adam seems pretty happy to have an old friend like Beecher as his sponser, until he finds out about Beecher's first few months in Oz.

Not one of my favorite seasons, but not a bad one. Check out the beginning of this set for an inmate played by rock band Kiss's Peter Criss. And later, an embarrasing experience for Aryan member Robson at the dentist. My least favortie group in Oz (probably most people's)

Warning: This review may contain slight episode spoilers. My summary of the first episode (the following paragraph) and the final paragraph are safe to read if you have not yet seen Oz season five.

The first episode, "Visitation", focuses mainly on the return of normalcy to Oz after the gas explosion in the season four finale. Whilst the prisoners are reassigned pods, Father Ray Mukada (B. D. Wong) travels with the first group of people to visit inmates at Oz after reopening its doors and converses with several of the passengers. Due to complications with the air vents in the solitary unit, Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo), Omar White (Michael Wright), and their fellow prisoners are returned to Oz for the time that it will take to repair the ventilation system in their unit. Sister Peter Marie Reimondo (Rita Moreno) talks to Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen) about having him take part in a group counselling session between him, Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), and Vern Schillinger (J. K. Simmons), which does not start off well as one can imagine due to past conflicts, religious differences, and flaring tempers. Zahir Arif (Granville Adams), unable to keep his guilt to himself any longer from seeing Ryan O'Reily (Dean Winters) kill Patrick Keenan (Dylan Chalfy), unknowingly starts a chain of events that leads to an investigation of Keenan's murder.

Episode two, "Laws of Gravity", focuses a great deal on newness. One example is that Alvarez, who knows if he stays out of trouble has one last chance to stay in Oz instead of going back to solitary, adopts a new way of handling his issues with Carmen "Chico" Guerra (Otto Sanchez). A second example is of Ryan's mother, Suzanne Fitzgerald (Betty Lynn Buckley) arriving at Em City to complete her community service. She begins to have music lessons with the prisoners, the highlights of which are Omar and Cyril O'Reily (Scott William Winters), who due to these lessons forms a bond with Suzanne. A third example is The Governor of the mystery state Oz exists in (Utah has been ruled out as a suspect) appears to form a liaison between the prison and the government and of course she happens to have some history with a certain womaniser who will remain blatantly obvious. This is also the first episode in the season that Bob Rebadow (George Morfogen) begins to take a larger step toward centre stage due to his grandson's fight with leukemia. The investigation into Keenan's death continues as Ryan continues to thwart any attempt made to prove him the guilty party. Meanwhile, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) comes up with a plan to not only to help Omar, who he does not want to give up on despite all that Omar has done to him, but Said as well whose barely suppressed rage worsens with each passing episode until he reaches his breaking point later on in the season.

Episode three, "Dream a Little Dream of Me", includes a questionable truce between Alvarez and Enrique Morales (David Zayas) and an alliance between Burr Redding (Anthony Chisholm) and Morales that is unbelievable to say the least. Just as Ryan is returning to his smug attitude, difficulties arise when Jia Kenmin (Michael Delmare) returns to Oz and Sister Peter Marie arranges for a victim/offender counselling session between Kenmin, Ryan and Cyril. Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) returns to Oz only to be sent to protective custody within moments of entering the building. Whilst all of this is happening, Rebadow continues searching for a way to save his grandson, and despite its rocky start, Said continues to try and save Omar from himself through the sponsorship, which is not an easy task.

Season four, "Next Stop: Valhalla" introduces a programme that gives three inmates the ability to take care of three dogs whilst training them as guide dogs. Katherine McClain (Sandra Purpuro) agrees to be Chris's lawyer, but due to her feelings for Tobias and her personal belief system it is evident that this will, thankfully, be a short-lived arrangement. Tobias is temporarily distracted from the knowledge that he is being kept from seeing Chris when an old family friend is brought into Oz and needs his protection from the Aryans. Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) reverts to his old habits and Omar finds release in music.

Episode five, "Wheel of Fortune", was possibly one of the least interesting in the season, in my opinion, although the O'Reily brothers' storyline definitely hits new levels of intense emotions. Said loses his patience with Omar. Schillinger attempts to get Tobias to trade the chance to see Chris for the man Tobias is trying to protect from the Aryans. Rebadow discovers that his idea of getting money for his grandson's cure was successful, but complications arise. Augustus ends up in the infirmary and Redding searches for the one responsible.

Episode six, "Variety", contains segments of some of the stars of the show singing, including a very interesting solo by Wong and a truly frightening duet with Tergesen and Schillinger, instead of the usual narrative by Harold Perrineau Jr. due to the fact that he was needed on the set of The Matrix Reloaded. Omar and Said become closer although Omar chooses to secretly betray McManus and Said when he needs to come up with the courage to stand up in front of his fellow inmates to sing. McClain, fed up with Chris's lies and Tobias's feelings for Chris, leaves Oz and drops Chris's case. Tobias, growing more anxious by the day to see Chris decides to take Schillinger up on his offer but circumstances beyond his control proves the entire thing to be a huge mistake and Tobias is confronted (literally) with the consequences of his actions.

Episode seven, "Good Intentions", is another rather slow episode in this season, again, in my opinion. A few highlights though from the episode includes McManus trying to help Rebadow find some help for his grandson whose condition is getting worse and worse with each passing day. James Robson (R. E. Rodgers) is dismissed from the Aryan brotherhood upon his return to Unit B after dental surgery leaves him forever changed in their eyes. Tobias has a conversation with Said about his guilt over accepting Schillinger's offer and arrives at a fair but displeasing conclusion.

Episode eight, "Impotence", brings the entire season to a head, and I did not at all mean for that to seem like a bad pun but you may take it as one if you wish. Robson makes up his mind that he will get the brotherhood to accept him once again despite however they feel about it. Omar tries to protect Said against a prisoner in Unit B who is looking to join the Aryan brotherhood. Busmalis finally receives a visit from the woman who left him at the altar but it does not go as he would have preferred. Thanks to Tobias who has proven once again that he is a good man despite his many flaws, justice finally prevails. The Latinos and Sicilians form an alliance that proves deadly after Augustus returns to Oz after recuperating.

The greatest aspect of Oz is the relentless intensity of human emotion ranging from grief to love to fury. The actors and actresses that make up the cast are all incredibly talented men and women. This season through all the emerging and unfolding storylines, there were a few actors who particularly caught my attention with their talents. For instance, Kirk Acevedo, Michael Wright, Eamonn Walker, and Dean Winters all had very challenging scenes in nearly every episode that with the wrong actor, just could not have caused the viewing audience to care so much for their individual predicaments. What continually attracts me to this show is not the drama, violence, or full frontal nudity shots, but the characters' relationships with one another and their personal developments. There are a lot of good shows either currently on air or on DVD but there are very few truly great shows. This just happens to be one of those "truly great shows" that more people should watch for the refreshing, fast-moving episodes that are brimming with intensity, intrigue, and emotion.

HBO's website shows that there were six seasons of OZ, (episodes 49-56) but only five have been made available. Any reason why the last season is not available several years after the show went off the air (er, off the cable)?

Oz has had a bloody awful lack of publicity in the UK. It has been broadcast on Channel Four in the UK. However,due to a mix of lousy scheduling and concerns over watersheds for children and family viewing, it has been generally aired at some ridiculous time between 0100 and 0300 in the morning on a working weekday.It never even gets the slightest piece of publicity outside of its timeslot, so I managed to miss the first half of Season 5.

The amount of violence,non-pc language and atitudes,and full frontal shots on this programme does in someway account for the poor scheduling.

But it is too easy to focus on the drugs,nudity and violence. The programme has some excellent acting and some thrilling and intense writing. The characters are believable,not just cyphers. You take an interest in the characters (sometimes sympathetically supporting some really reprehensible buggers)and see them develop over the arc of each series. The season has several over-arching stories, but episodes can be watched and enjoyed without too many worries over continuity.

In season 5 we get to see what happened after the explosion that destroyed Oz. Several of the previous Oz inmates who were in solitary are temporarily transferred to Em City while repairs are being made. The war between the Aryans and the Muslims continues. Rev.Cloutier is discovered due to the explosion and his fate is explored.There is another signficant plot thread in the first episode,"Visitation", but it is best left seen than given as a spoiler.

One ongoing plot thread concerns Rebadow. He receives some bad news about his grandson and Officer Brass returns to Oz searching for who attacked him but also gets involved in Rebadow's plan to fundraise for his grandson's treatment.

Another continuing story occurs once McManus persuades Said to act as mentor to White in a bid to alter his behavior.

A new twist to the wars and rivalry presents itself when Ryan's mum comes to Oz to instruct inmates in performance arts as part of her community service.This leads to new develoments for Ryan and Cyril.

Other developments include Busmalis's letter writing campaign to get "Miss Sally's Schoolhouse" back on the air; Beecher getting his own room mate whom he tries to protect from the Aryans; Keller having new evidence against him leading to the likelihood of going on Death Row; and some of the inmates get involved in training seeing eye dogs.

Overall,Oz maintains the same high standard of drama that it always has.

OZ is by far my favorite drama series ever put on television. What makes this show so unique is the amount of characters on the show. There are about ten main characters and everyone else is part of the supporting cast and yet everyone manages to get their own storylines. Many shows suffer from the sophmore slump in which they continue to do more of the same rather than to explore new territories. When I rented the first disc of season 1 a couple years ago i loved it so much that i just went out and bought it. Then I bought season 2, 3, 4, 5 as they would come out. Each season is just as good, if not better than the last. Season one is the hinter as to what may come later. Season two is the most violent and is also the beginning of long lasting relationships (ex. Beecher and Keller), season three is very much a charater focuser. It's still violent but they focus more on characterization probably more than any other season. Season four is a combination of everything. At the time they thought it was going to be their last season and so it has 16 episodes, almost like having two new seasons at once! At first everything goes extremely well for some of the baddest characters (like Adebisi) and then when you get to about episode 9, everything goes back to normal, well normal in an Oz sense! Then season five (which oddly enough is just as good as 4 even though its only 8eps again) kind of slows us down and takes some time sort of to reflect on things that happened and things to come. Four and Five are my favorite seasons but each one before that is just as great. A lot of shows suffer because the creator of them doesn't write a lot of the episodes for the show. Tom Fontana (creator of OZ) writes almost all of the episodes. This show is so well written, and in my opinion quite unbiased, that you can't help but love this show. I cannot wait until season 6, i mean how the heck could they end this show?!

Being a long time Oz fan, the release of the series on DVD is a God send and true to memory it doesnt disappoint! The 5th series offers the usual mix of high drama, ultra violence , plot twists and the occasional moments of comedy to 'lighten' the mood, as much as can be expected from Oz anyway...

The fifth season opens with a brand new cafeteria and a redecorated Em City due to the fire from the climax of season 4, but while its a different look, everyone else is most definitely the same.. as usual each episode is divided into several different story arcs that generally tie into the theme of that particular show, still narrated by the excellent Hill (Harold Perrineau).

The mood of season 5 is a lot more reflective and introverted than previous seasons, as all the major characters actions from seasons past begin to catch up with them all to a degree and each person begins to come to terms with their doings and the consequences of those actions, leading to some quite emotional scenes between our heroes/villains...

As usual, the main players take centre stage, everyones favorite, Beecher (Lee Tergesen) struggles with his sense of morality especially over the returning Keller (Chris Meloni), and later on in the season in a complete turnabout sacrifices a young inmate to Schillinger (the fantastic J.K. Simmons)and the brotherhood just so he can see Keller, this however leads to an even bigger crisis of conflict which culminates in Schillinger being locked up indefinitely... Said (Eamonn Walker)also continues his struggle with his demons and in attempt to redeem his soul is given White (Played brilliantly by Michael Wright) to rehabilitate by McManus (Terry Kinney) which climaxes in White making a decision in good faith which ends him back in solitary...the other major character is of course the insufferable Ryan O'Reilly (Dean Winters), i have a real dislike of Ryan and im not sure whether its the character or the actor that im not keen on however it just doesnt work for me as i cant believe in 6 years he lasted without getting at least stabbed!! Anyway, the main story is his mentally challenged brother Cyril (Scott Winters) trial for murder, the big focus of course is he's brain damaged and not culpable for his actions, the season follows the attempts of Ryan, alongside his mother Suzanne (Betty Lynn Buckley), Sister Pete (Rita Moreno) and later on new inmate Father Meehan (Malahy McCourt) to quash the conviction or at least the death penalty sentence handed down to him...


Other notable occurances during the 5th season, the miraculous survival from season 4 of Rev. Cloutier (Luke Perry) who then in a really daft sequence 'appears' as a vision to those who entombed him and encourages them to avenge him, and then completely disappears from hospital with no explanation or investigation at all ( I'm sorry to blow what happens before anyone sees it but it REALLY annoyed me )... Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) manages to stay on the straight and narrow and even aids the officer he blinded back in season 2 culminating in an attempt at parole...Rebadow (George Morfogen) searches desperately for a cure for his dying grandson and is dealt a crippling blow when it appears he may have a chance,not once but twice... Hill (Harold Perrineau) begins a downward spiral after a family tragedy that may see him slide irreperably...

These are, of course just some of the happenings in season 5, as per usual it has so many twists and turns involving characters i could be here all day! The feeling i had when viewing season 5 was that the end was close, as the major characters all began to reflect and become or at least attempt to (This is Oz remember!) become better people, and the writers were already preparing to tie things up.. As a result the body count is i believe the lowest out of all 6 seasons and violence whilst still prevalent is also used sparingly which to a degree is a refreshing change of pace compared to the previous seasons... Standout episode for me was episode 6 'Variety' purely because we get to see Beecher and Schillinger sing and dance (sort of)!! Seriously though, its another quality season , and the thing that always amazes me about the writing and acting, is that even though these guys have done just about every sadistic and evil thing you can imagine, you still empathise and sympathise with them, Alvarez is a prime example of that, yet you still think 'hey he's not such a bad guy'! Now THAT'S great writing and acting...

All in all, another great season however you do feel the end was nigh to a degree which makes me sad hence 4 stars!! Word of note though if you havent watched Oz before this season, go back and buy the previous seasons , purely because you need to know the characters history to truly understand their actions and attitudes in this season... Hope this was useful to somebody, definitely purchase it, cant wait til season 6...

The best HBO drama I have ever watched. It beats The Sopranos by miles, and it has --- an ending.
Some parts of the series are so tense - that I had to turn it off and come back later. It's brutal, and I had
to keep reminding myself that these were actors - it's that real and the actors are that good.

In Season 5 we get more of the same, i.e., rapes, drug sales, killings, gang warfare. Sister Pete is still trying to get those who hate each other to sit down for face-to-face interaction. The CO's at times are as violent as the inmates; and occasionally an inmate convinces you that he might be a human being, if only for a moment. There is a particularly moving scene near the end of this season when Beecher, being chastised by Said for his feelings toward Keeler, responds, "How is love wrong?" Alvarez gets involved in a program to train guide dogs for the blind and shows a side of his character that we seldom see, even training the dog to respond to bilingual commands in order that the Spanish-speaking former CO he blinded eventually can get the guide dog. McManus opines that as difficult as his position at Em City is, that it is worth it"if we can save one," a difficult task for even him to accomplish.

I had just about concluded that this series as a whole is way over the top and a gross exaggeration of what really happens in a maximum security prison when I read a news item about an inmate in a prison in Indiana, having been just transferred there, gets inside the cell of another prisoner, closes the self-locking cell door, and proceeds to tattoo on his forehead "Katie's Revenge," It seems that prisoner number 2 had raped and killed a young girl named Katie, who was the cousin of prisoner number 1. I was obviously wrong.

This series for all its excesses is so much better than much of what is coming out of Hollywood these days.

Mature Adults Only! Contains full frontal male nudity, violence, foul language. Shown in standard format. Broadcast in 2002.
Finally, the long awaited DVD set of the HBO prison drama "OZ"--Season 5 is here and man what a cliff-hanger Season 4 left us with.
Due to the gas explosion, the Emerald City had to be rebuilt. The new facility is modern and spanking brand new. With a little spit and polish it will be like home again.
It's the Grand Opening and the prisoners of the Oswald Correctional Facility are assigned back into their new digs.
It doesn't take too long before the fights start again. The rage between the prisoners continue. Some of the prisoners are about to loose the last bit of hope they have left.
OZ decides to experiment with allowing a prisoner to have a guide dog in its cell. A Prisoner's mother (Betty Buckley) comes aboard to teach the prisoners how to sing. Rumor is someone wants to rape her.
Prisoner James Robson (R.E. Rodgers) has receeding gums and requests the gum tissue of a cadaver instead of the painful way of using his own skin, however what race did the gum tissue come from?
Prisoner Rebadow (George Morforgen) asks Guard Brass (Blake Robbins) to buy him a lottery ticket with the numbers. Bob won the lottery, but the guard is keeping the ticket and millions for himself. he disappeared. Bob wants to settle the matter honestly.
A prisoner we have known for 5 years is killed.
In the episode, "Variety", Rita Moreno sings and other cast members too. In episode "Impotence", Prisoner Robson has a penis gland bit off, to see the effects, you will have to freeze-frame the DVD.
Guests:
Mary Alice in episode 1. Peter Criss in episode 1,2. Luke Perry in episodes 1,2,3. Anne Meara in episode 5. Ben Vareen, Ray thinnes, Joyce Van Patten in episode 7. Kathleen Widdoes in episode 8.

DVD includes Special Features with 40 deleted scenes and a preview of Season 6. Audio commentary for episode 8.

The cast includes: Chris Meloni, Kirk Acevedo, Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, Rita Moreno, Harold Perrineau, J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen, Eamonn Walker, Dean Winters, Scott Williams Winters, B.D. Wong, Anthony Chisholm, Zeljko Ivanek, George Morfogen, Lauren Velez, Michael Wright, Granville Adams, Robert Clohessy, Tom Mardirusian, muMs, Kristen Rohde, David Zayas, Chuck Zito, Sandra Purpuro, Mike Doyle, Toni Lewis, Eddie Malavarca, Malachy McCourt, Pepa.
Betty Buckley joins the cast.

HBO's "OZ" returns for Season 6 (2003), the final season.