My favorite tv-series with breaking bad. Great analysis, i love it. Have you seen the short-film “ZO”… it’s canon since Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters & Tom Fontana are involved all in it too. You’ve got a like and two follows mate 🤝
Also at the time I think people understood it was a comic book/cartoon version of prison,or even a grind house movie version. Plus it’s hilarious that they call all drugs “tits”,they never say what drug it is
I remember reading the synopsis of this show and searching for like 20 minutes for what the experiment of the prison was. Thank you for finally confirming that for me.
I started watching Oz on its release, always loved this show. The best way i can describe it is its like prison star-trek. There is a congruent story in the background but each episode almost occurs in its own microcosm. As it goes for the speed in the show, i believe the way the story telling works is theyll stick with one character through what is probably a few weeks to months of time and then jump back to what is approximate to present time. To be fair to the showrunners, if they were trying to go for a disorienting view of time, losing track of it while inside this box for months and years, they succeeded. Also the McManus experiment was that he wanted the inmates to live in a community to represent how they would have to live on the outside. From what i remember the rest of the prison didnt need to work jobs or go to class, but in Oz you had to. This breaks down a few times in the show, but it was sort of there. McManus was also a friend with a state Senator, which is why he had considerable influence with everyone except the governor.
I think u meant em city but I understand. The problem with this line of thinking is that in society, everyone has the same thing to lose which is their freedom. In em city, the old people had less to lose than the young people and the lifers had little to lose compared to the people who had parole. I always thought that lifers should be together. That way if they kill each other, so TF what. There should be a second for people who behave and there should be a sector for people who misbehave with high security and less free time. This show was good but I couldn't tell if it wanted to use prison as a pretext for the drama they wanted to portray or if it was supposed to be a commentary on the prison system. I struggled knowing when to take the show seriously and when to just sit back and enjoy lol
@p0pimp2004 I agree that it's hard to tell when they are delivering a message about the justice system and when Oz was just a vehicle for the story. The purpose behind emcity was always flawed, but McManus was also an idiot who didn't understand the men he was in charge of.
@@hyperbomb02 precisely and I'm also struggling to understand if this is the intended effect of McManus' character. Like was he supposed to be naive. It wasn't even just naivete, it was blatant negligence imo. Even if u buy that prisoners are running the kitchen, y would u not have a guard watching them at all times. I worked in a detention center for kids and they absolutely had zero access to certain areas, let alone access by themselves. Then why was there no cameras? I think cams were a thing in the late 90s lol. I'm ok with suspending disbelief but it's difficult to know when to do so. I watched this show as a teen and really had no idea what I was watching. I'm rewatching it now for the first time as an adult, and while I remember a lot of things, the context is completely different as an adult. This show was wilder than I remember 😅
@p0pimp2004 the show is absolutely ridiculous, camera wise, i believe there were and there were cameras in the guard room at the entrance to em city. After the riots in S1 they never really showed the room again. Mcmanus was 100% supposed to be an out of touch moron. He was also essentially a sociopath with poor impulse control who constantly took advantage of people, everything he did was a quid pro quo. Basically he was a step away from being an inmate himself. This is why I say the show is prison star trek. It's not realistic, with the exception of the human elements. The people and their interactions are all extremely realistic to me, I think the drama is great and that's what makes Oz great. The prison is just a back drop and a distraction. The prisons unrealistic nature stands in stark contrast to the human element being very realistic.
@@p0pimp2004 yes, it sometimes was hard to tell what McManus' angle or mentality really was. The way I interpret it is blind idealism and hubris--truly believing he can change people and improve the world with a system that's already broken and filled with flawed characters. Tim is both admirable and deplorable at the same time for standing by his principles, and as we see the human cost ends up being high. I believe Tom Fontana once said in an interview that the character was originally going to share his first name, and that McManus was also inspired by the Wizard of Emerald City in the original Wizard of Oz stories (a ruler who turns out to be a powerless fraud)--food for thought
Schillinger and Tobias's final duet dance is the biggest wtf did I just see moment in tv history. I rewound like 11 times. My brain could not process what I was seeing.
Pretty sure the experiment is stated at the very beginning of S1. They give the inmates more personal freedoms, responsibilities, group activities and classes. Hardly an experiment, but a little more than just having the open communal area.
it is NYC for the most part they just never come out and say it. they avoided using NYPD cars but you occasionally catch them in the background. majority of the series was filmed in the Chelsea Market building and a warehouse in Bayonne NJ.
It's a very evolved 90s show... just unique. I loved watching this and the Wire back to back, so much cast crossover. Some playing basically the same character, some vastly different. Also, Peter Dinklage is in Oz!
I love It OZ and agree with your review. I think it was very clever writing as it could be classified as science fiction in terms of its links to a real life prison ( as you pointed out ). However, it does write great scenarios within a prison setting and the quality of the writing and cast allows you to suspend disbelief over the reality gap. The use of the narrator means they can switch tones and themes from show to show. Also the “prisoner number “ intros meant they could parachute in an entirely new character / dynamic in less than 30 seconds as the intro scenes were so well shot and the actor playing the new character was so good Also the prison setting gave them an excuse to drop / introduce characters or just skip whole parts of a character’s life if it wasn’t needed for the plot If you can get the right perspective I found OZ absolutely gripping pretty much all the way through
Oz's non-linear Shakespearean surrealism, camp and soapiness is what makes it so compelling for me. I dislike most other HBO dramas that are more realistic, because they don't have that Oz magic. Except Carnivale, which is godtier (sorry, I had to)
4:25 not Tim catching strays Honestly he and Warden Glynn had so much blood on their hands that they never took accountability for. Probably explains why Tim seemed to develop a soft spot for Ryan by the end, they were both indirectly responsible for so much death
I feel the same exact way. I was just describing this to my girlfriend. It’s all about the characters. The actors, the relationships, and to the least extent is the overall story. It’s not a bad show, but I feels like they didn’t go In with a long term plan or something. The experiment is the show itself.
Loved oz. I agree with you, the entire "experiencemental prison" thing confused me from the beginning. It was just prison. Either way the last duet scene with schillenger and tobias is one of the greatest things ever filmed
In 89 I got locked up for weed. When I got upstate to the first prison, there was a few people I knew from the county jail and the streets. Sure its big, but got to remember its a small world.
My favorite part of oz’s roster of duplicate individuals is that even when they are pure poison they shin a light of humanity whether as a moving moment or a gag like two guys trying to wack a third guy whom then has a heart attack before either one can claim him.
It was a really entertaining show and had some great characters and storylines but also so many stupid story plots like the aging pill and the whole last 2 seasons
2:40 one of the few persistent points I dislike about Oz is the focus on the Ryan O'Reily character, whom I care about less on every rewatch. Don't get me wrong, Dean Winters is a capable actor and the character Ryan is interesting, but an unremitting sociopath who never gets a single significant comeuppance becomes tiresome to watch and root for after a while. I end up with compassion fatigue watching his arcs, by the final seasons I just want someone to take him out.
Honestly, in my opinion this show feels like the blueprint for the geopolitical drama you would see in Game of Thrones, except most of the characters haven't matured past their elementary school playground rules mentality
Hello my Man. I liked your video. I dont want to be critical or too critical. You Saw Oz only once? I think you should do a video "what Oz is". Like your arguments are ALL valid soecially where Oz is located and the realism. But giving the context of the 90s, Oz touched in real subjects about prision, faith and life. You talked about How em city hás no porpouse of the experiment. Em city is mandatory to have work, exercise and shit. Gen pop is not. Oz shows How Tim tries to make this utopia but his human factor a Lot of times makes he the one that makes problem rise. In the Episode about drugs It even shows mc manus smoking weed showing about the pain and drugs relation. Oz is not to be taken as realistay, but as a portray of something. In the wire is about the chess, "it's ALL in the game". Oz is a portray about something Else. I could rant a Lot but i dont want to seems disrespectfull and internet kind of fight. I Just shared my toughts and liked yours in the video. I love Oz Sorry lol. Bye prag.
I believe the show is in California... The guard gets drafted by the Sacramento kings and the miss Sally show & the game show they enjoy have also mentioned being filmed in Pasadena .... Only thing that throws me off is the snow in a few episodes. It's snows in a few places in California but idk by any prison
Who are the handful of inmates the creator thinks deserved freedom or redemption? Am guessing maybe: Alvarez, Augustus, Poet, Said, Busmalis and Rebadow, Omar, Cyril, Fiona, and Peter Schibetta? At least Jason Cramer who seemed like a decent-ish guy walked free
There is so much you have wrong about this show. For starters....... I did 7 years in state prison two and a half of them in a level 6 super Max. The show is extremely realistic. The only thing unrealistic about it...... Is that all the stuff happens all the time. But believe me when I tell you that oz is extremely realistic...... They just cram five years worth the prison, politics and happenings into a shorter period of time. State prison, especially a level 6 supermax, all of that stuff happens. You might have a couple weeks where nothing happens at all...... But every now and then somebody does get banana. Somebody does get killed, people do plot power. Programs do get abused, And yes you do see people you know from the street including your family. Each date has several state prisons...... But more often than not, the populations are only divided by classification of inmate or convict. In Massachusetts, you go to the medium security prison in the area you're from. If you are a high risk, do you go to a higher level prison. There is only one level six in the entire state. Concord State prison is just a classification prison. You only go there while they determine where you're going to go, how much of a threat to you owes, and the nature of your crime. If you are a sex offender or have mental issues, there are really only two state prisons in Massachusetts that you will end up. If you are a gang member, there is only a couple STG status prisons. So yes you are wrong. And that is just one example
@@theplebe6342 it's all subjective anyways buddy. I love the video..... I have been a fan of Oz since it was on the air. I pride myself in being one of the few people like you who believe Oz was actually the first "epic" show.... Everybody else gives sopranos that title. But we know better 🍻
oz is a great show ... in moderation ive seen it back in the day and tried recently to binge watch it like back to back aaaand it just depressed the shit out of me 🤣...😥
My favorite tv-series with breaking bad. Great analysis, i love it. Have you seen the short-film “ZO”… it’s canon since Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters & Tom Fontana are involved all in it too. You’ve got a like and two follows mate 🤝
Also at the time I think people understood it was a comic book/cartoon version of prison,or even a grind house movie version. Plus it’s hilarious that they call all drugs “tits”,they never say what drug it is
I'm pretty sure it's heroin.
I remember reading the synopsis of this show and searching for like 20 minutes for what the experiment of the prison was. Thank you for finally confirming that for me.
I started watching Oz on its release, always loved this show. The best way i can describe it is its like prison star-trek. There is a congruent story in the background but each episode almost occurs in its own microcosm.
As it goes for the speed in the show, i believe the way the story telling works is theyll stick with one character through what is probably a few weeks to months of time and then jump back to what is approximate to present time. To be fair to the showrunners, if they were trying to go for a disorienting view of time, losing track of it while inside this box for months and years, they succeeded.
Also the McManus experiment was that he wanted the inmates to live in a community to represent how they would have to live on the outside. From what i remember the rest of the prison didnt need to work jobs or go to class, but in Oz you had to. This breaks down a few times in the show, but it was sort of there. McManus was also a friend with a state Senator, which is why he had considerable influence with everyone except the governor.
I think u meant em city but I understand. The problem with this line of thinking is that in society, everyone has the same thing to lose which is their freedom. In em city, the old people had less to lose than the young people and the lifers had little to lose compared to the people who had parole. I always thought that lifers should be together. That way if they kill each other, so TF what. There should be a second for people who behave and there should be a sector for people who misbehave with high security and less free time. This show was good but I couldn't tell if it wanted to use prison as a pretext for the drama they wanted to portray or if it was supposed to be a commentary on the prison system. I struggled knowing when to take the show seriously and when to just sit back and enjoy lol
@p0pimp2004 I agree that it's hard to tell when they are delivering a message about the justice system and when Oz was just a vehicle for the story. The purpose behind emcity was always flawed, but McManus was also an idiot who didn't understand the men he was in charge of.
@@hyperbomb02 precisely and I'm also struggling to understand if this is the intended effect of McManus' character. Like was he supposed to be naive. It wasn't even just naivete, it was blatant negligence imo. Even if u buy that prisoners are running the kitchen, y would u not have a guard watching them at all times. I worked in a detention center for kids and they absolutely had zero access to certain areas, let alone access by themselves. Then why was there no cameras? I think cams were a thing in the late 90s lol. I'm ok with suspending disbelief but it's difficult to know when to do so. I watched this show as a teen and really had no idea what I was watching. I'm rewatching it now for the first time as an adult, and while I remember a lot of things, the context is completely different as an adult. This show was wilder than I remember 😅
@p0pimp2004 the show is absolutely ridiculous, camera wise, i believe there were and there were cameras in the guard room at the entrance to em city. After the riots in S1 they never really showed the room again.
Mcmanus was 100% supposed to be an out of touch moron. He was also essentially a sociopath with poor impulse control who constantly took advantage of people, everything he did was a quid pro quo. Basically he was a step away from being an inmate himself.
This is why I say the show is prison star trek. It's not realistic, with the exception of the human elements. The people and their interactions are all extremely realistic to me, I think the drama is great and that's what makes Oz great. The prison is just a back drop and a distraction. The prisons unrealistic nature stands in stark contrast to the human element being very realistic.
@@p0pimp2004 yes, it sometimes was hard to tell what McManus' angle or mentality really was. The way I interpret it is blind idealism and hubris--truly believing he can change people and improve the world with a system that's already broken and filled with flawed characters. Tim is both admirable and deplorable at the same time for standing by his principles, and as we see the human cost ends up being high. I believe Tom Fontana once said in an interview that the character was originally going to share his first name, and that McManus was also inspired by the Wizard of Emerald City in the original Wizard of Oz stories (a ruler who turns out to be a powerless fraud)--food for thought
8:40 Governor Devlin is a scathing parody of 1990s Rudy Giuliani, probably the first mainstream caricature of the man
6:49 only reason Cyril O'Reily was in Em City and not Psych, was because Ryan cut a deal with McManus to put Cyril with Ryan
So many awesome characters in this show. My favorite is O'Reilly, followed by Schillinger.
O'Reilly is also my favorite character.
Schillinger and Tobias's final duet dance is the biggest wtf did I just see moment in tv history. I rewound like 11 times. My brain could not process what I was seeing.
IT'S SCHIL-ING-ER AFTER 6 FUCKING SEASONS YOUD THINK YOUD GET IT RIGHT
Tobias, Ryan, Leo, Burr, & Kareem are definitely without a doubt my top five favorite characters on in OZ
@@K37-h1zgreat song, characters, and obviously ofc, show
Great analysis and video! Would you ever consider doing an Oz Iceberg? I actually have one created with many entries!
Pretty sure the experiment is stated at the very beginning of S1.
They give the inmates more personal freedoms, responsibilities, group activities and classes. Hardly an experiment, but a little more than just having the open communal area.
The experiment is if they can exhibit enough human decency for the small amount of privilege provided by em city and the answer is no 😂😂
Also I’m pretty sure this show took place in New York
Yeah they had very 90s/2000s New York slang also
it is NYC for the most part they just never come out and say it. they avoided using NYPD cars but you occasionally catch them in the background. majority of the series was filmed in the Chelsea Market building and a warehouse in Bayonne NJ.
Was gonna add this but you beat me to it by 6 months 😂
It's a very evolved 90s show... just unique. I loved watching this and the Wire back to back, so much cast crossover. Some playing basically the same character, some vastly different. Also, Peter Dinklage is in Oz!
Absolutely loved this show! Beecher was my favorite character, especially Season 2 crazy beecher
I love crazy Beecher.
I love It OZ and agree with your review. I think it was very clever writing as it could be classified as science fiction in terms of its links to a real life prison ( as you pointed out ). However, it does write great scenarios within a prison setting and the quality of the writing and cast allows you to suspend disbelief over the reality gap.
The use of the narrator means they can switch tones and themes from show to show. Also the “prisoner number “ intros meant they could parachute in an entirely new character / dynamic in less than 30 seconds as the intro scenes were so well shot and the actor playing the new character was so good
Also the prison setting gave them an excuse to drop / introduce characters or just skip whole parts of a character’s life if it wasn’t needed for the plot
If you can get the right perspective I found OZ absolutely gripping pretty much all the way through
Oz's non-linear Shakespearean surrealism, camp and soapiness is what makes it so compelling for me. I dislike most other HBO dramas that are more realistic, because they don't have that Oz magic. Except Carnivale, which is godtier (sorry, I had to)
4:25 not Tim catching strays
Honestly he and Warden Glynn had so much blood on their hands that they never took accountability for. Probably explains why Tim seemed to develop a soft spot for Ryan by the end, they were both indirectly responsible for so much death
I feel the same exact way. I was just describing this to my girlfriend. It’s all about the characters. The actors, the relationships, and to the least extent is the overall story. It’s not a bad show, but I feels like they didn’t go In with a long term plan or something. The experiment is the show itself.
Loved oz. I agree with you, the entire "experiencemental prison" thing confused me from the beginning. It was just prison. Either way the last duet scene with schillenger and tobias is one of the greatest things ever filmed
Perhaps Oz is hell 😳
And finally I love your delivery and the way you deconstruct things. Well done
Thank you!
It takes place in new York.. they say it like a million times
Somebody please tell this host we're watching a fuckin TV show
Honestly
In 89 I got locked up for weed. When I got upstate to the first prison, there was a few people I knew from the county jail and the streets. Sure its big, but got to remember its a small world.
Jail is very different from prison. That sucks btw, the justice system screwed you over some ganja. Fuckin judge was a prag
Going to prison for weed is crazy 💀
Just finished Oz, i think you hit the nail on the head! Good stuff
I fucking love Oz. By far the most entertaining show for me. The finale of season one is my favorite television episode of all time.
Oz is in NY
This was the first show I got hooked on at 17,there had been nothing like it yet
I’m glad Oz is finally getting its roses. Truly nothing can do for me what Oz is solely capable of. So ethereal and fantastic.
My favorite part of oz’s roster of duplicate individuals is that even when they are pure poison they shin a light of humanity whether as a moving moment or a gag like two guys trying to wack a third guy whom then has a heart attack before either one can claim him.
Finally someone said what I’ve been saying since I scarred myself in sixth grade by watching this whole show
That's a lotta dicks for an 11 year old to be looking at.
It was a really entertaining show and had some great characters and storylines but also so many stupid story plots like the aging pill and the whole last 2 seasons
2:40 one of the few persistent points I dislike about Oz is the focus on the Ryan O'Reily character, whom I care about less on every rewatch. Don't get me wrong, Dean Winters is a capable actor and the character Ryan is interesting, but an unremitting sociopath who never gets a single significant comeuppance becomes tiresome to watch and root for after a while. I end up with compassion fatigue watching his arcs, by the final seasons I just want someone to take him out.
Honestly, in my opinion this show feels like the blueprint for the geopolitical drama you would see in Game of Thrones, except most of the characters haven't matured past their elementary school playground rules mentality
Not very realistic,yes,but its a wonderful show that never gets boring
Also YES!!!!!!!
Hello my Man. I liked your video. I dont want to be critical or too critical. You Saw Oz only once? I think you should do a video "what Oz is". Like your arguments are ALL valid soecially where Oz is located and the realism. But giving the context of the 90s, Oz touched in real subjects about prision, faith and life. You talked about How em city hás no porpouse of the experiment. Em city is mandatory to have work, exercise and shit. Gen pop is not. Oz shows How Tim tries to make this utopia but his human factor a Lot of times makes he the one that makes problem rise. In the Episode about drugs It even shows mc manus smoking weed showing about the pain and drugs relation. Oz is not to be taken as realistay, but as a portray of something. In the wire is about the chess, "it's ALL in the game". Oz is a portray about something Else. I could rant a Lot but i dont want to seems disrespectfull and internet kind of fight. I Just shared my toughts and liked yours in the video. I love Oz Sorry lol. Bye prag.
I would love if you did a deep dive on this series
I believe the show is in California... The guard gets drafted by the Sacramento kings and the miss Sally show & the game show they enjoy have also mentioned being filmed in Pasadena .... Only thing that throws me off is the snow in a few episodes. It's snows in a few places in California but idk by any prison
Still in my top three shows of all time.
I loved it start to finish this show doesnt get the respect it deserves
Who are the handful of inmates the creator thinks deserved freedom or redemption? Am guessing maybe: Alvarez, Augustus, Poet, Said, Busmalis and Rebadow, Omar, Cyril, Fiona, and Peter Schibetta? At least Jason Cramer who seemed like a decent-ish guy walked free
Avon Barksdale started the Riot......
ZO is worth checking out.
Do you plan on making another movies I hate that everyone else loves video, maybe a disney one?
I'm sure I will at some point. A Disney version is a good idea.
Just gotta find enough worth talking about to make a whole video.
3:44 it is batshit and beyond unfair that Shirley Bellinger got the chair while Adebisi did not
Yes, absolutely… Adebisi murdered a cop with no remorse or guilt and is a literal RXPIST too
dude u forgot HBO had shows like Tales frome the crypt, that came out in the 80s
Very underrated show
HBO needs to bring it back
There is so much you have wrong about this show. For starters....... I did 7 years in state prison two and a half of them in a level 6 super Max. The show is extremely realistic.
The only thing unrealistic about it...... Is that all the stuff happens all the time.
But believe me when I tell you that oz is extremely realistic...... They just cram five years worth the prison, politics and happenings into a shorter period of time.
State prison, especially a level 6 supermax, all of that stuff happens. You might have a couple weeks where nothing happens at all...... But every now and then somebody does get banana. Somebody does get killed, people do plot power. Programs do get abused,
And yes you do see people you know from the street including your family. Each date has several state prisons...... But more often than not, the populations are only divided by classification of inmate or convict.
In Massachusetts, you go to the medium security prison in the area you're from. If you are a high risk, do you go to a higher level prison. There is only one level six in the entire state.
Concord State prison is just a classification prison. You only go there while they determine where you're going to go, how much of a threat to you owes, and the nature of your crime.
If you are a sex offender or have mental issues, there are really only two state prisons in Massachusetts that you will end up. If you are a gang member, there is only a couple STG status prisons.
So yes you are wrong. And that is just one example
I don't say this very often, but I stand corrected.
@@theplebe6342 it's all subjective anyways buddy. I love the video..... I have been a fan of Oz since it was on the air.
I pride myself in being one of the few people like you who believe Oz was actually the first "epic" show.... Everybody else gives sopranos that title.
But we know better 🍻
Thank you!
Fun trivia. How much banana happened in the show
Schillinger alone is a got damn banana tree.
@@theplebe6342 no bull! He was handing out bananas like dietician
@@tmasst07 And he was only doing 8 years for beating up a drug dealer.
Dude the show is based in New York, in a world where the death penalty is legal here. How tf did you miss that? It’s integral to the whole show.
@@lizzydakid Yeah how could I miss that haha
Tbh it feels like he intentionally misses alot of things about the show
Don't over think it
Stop talking so much please
it’s a video essay talking about a show of course he’s gonna talk dipfuck
oz is a great show ... in moderation ive seen it back in the day and tried recently to binge watch it like back to back aaaand it just depressed the shit out of me 🤣...😥
Definitely a pain show, something to watch for catharsis when you're already going through something or depressed