kramdenfan

Hey Everyone!

This Sunday at 9:00 is the final episode of the final season of what I feel is one of the greatest shows on TV. It's a special 100 minute episode-

So what are some of your predictions?

* Will Beecher kill Shillinger in the play?
* Is Keller working with Shillinger, or double crossing him to prove himself to Beecher?
* Will Cyril ever get executed?
* Do we find out the reasons for Joel Grey killing Said, and then White?
* What will happen now that the O'Reilly brothers' father is "among them?"
* Who will become the new warden, since Glynn is dead?
* Any thoughts on the final narrators (if there are any)?

I know there are many other questions- but I thought I'd post a few of them. I'm pretty psyched about this episode, but disappointed that it'll be over-
Kramdenfan

By the Way- I bought the OZ book- I'd HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the show. It's written in the first person narrative by Augustus Hill- and it's told in the same fashion as he narrated for the show... so far so good!!

das Monkey

... it's over ...

das

joltaddict

Im a little depressed. I feel like when I heard Kurt Vonnegett was never going to write another book.

kramdenfan

As Das nicely put it: "It's over."

At first, I was a bit disappointed by the final episode, but as it progressed, I realized that many of the loose ends were tied. Granted, there were a few that were left untied:
* Will Beecher make parole, get the death sentence, or just finish up his sentence?
* What will happen to MacMannis? Will he get fired, or promoted (after Quanns (sp?) realizes he isn't cut out for the warden position)?
* What about the Governer? Is he going to become a "guest" of Oz?

And there are some obvious loose end finishes:
* Alvarez will die, sooner or later, of an OD
* Oz will reopen, once the "toxin" is cleared (which, by the way, I was extremely suprised that the white toxin (which is assumed to be Anthrax), was even in the story!)

Over all, I thought the finale was a good one- it's definitely left the Kramdenfan Household wishing for another season! I don't think there is anyway they could have tied all loose ends. After all- it is a story about prison!

madara

Its over I got a strong feeling to expect 90 percent of viewers to be very unhappy with this "series finale". Lets posts begin!

joltaddict

I am most surprised that ORiley is the charactor that finds redemption. Its been a major theme throughout all the seasons and I always thought it would be Beecher or Said. Beecher is exactly where he was when it started. And Said was killed by his past.

Blaster1

A little disappointed in the episode, but more disappointed that the show is over and there will never be another episode. I guess they just decided to drop the special guest narrator the last 2 shows, which sucks because I wanted to see Kenny "Bricks" Wangler and Adebisi.

Buck Turgidson

A wonderful end for a great show. I will carry memories of these characters for a long time. It was never supposed to be strictly naturalistic and complaints about it's lack of realism (especially compared to the overrated The Sopranos), have always caused me a mix of dismay and amusement. It's no more supposed to be completely "realistic" than Marat/Sade or even MacBeth itself.

I'm just sorry Devlin didn't join the gang in Em City. Hopefully we can have a one-shot movie in a few years to explore some of these things.


Excellent article from the gifted TV critic Tom Shales:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2003Feb21.html

(A good read, worth the small time to fill out the form...trust me.)

jackepstein

Since 1997, I have been enamored with "OZ."
In the six years that have passed, I see all the changes in my life, and the only constant that existed was the fact that for two months every year, I would be treated with eight episodes of my favorite television show. Now it is over.

Am I sad? Yes.
Am I okay with it? Yes.

Now its time to deconstruct kramdenfan's comments....

Death is certain... life is not.
I'm fairly confident that Beecher would end up paroled a few years down the line (I believe his original sentence was eight years, so by 2005 he'd be out). Everything has come full circle for him. I'm okay with this ending. OZ was never meant to be a "Happily Ever After" kind of show.


Devlin is going down once and for all. What happens to McManus and Querns is subject for debate. It's funny, but I got chills when Querns returned. I always loved his character.

OZ will be the only home he will ever know. While in OZ, he cut up his face, was one of the riot leaders, cut the eyes out of a CO, killed two Latinos, and escaped from OZ... I'm glad a man like that won't be paroled anytime soon. And yes, he will eventually self destruct.

Funny... It's all because of Keller's love for Beecher. I had an awful feeling it was going to be a bomb.

Now... Let's look at the rest of the episode......

* Busmalis doesn't get a happy ending (literally). Eh, I didn't care either way. Same goes for Rebadow and Stella. Not every story has to end with everybody happy.

* Idzig doesn't get to die. Interesting in theory, but it's only a matter of time before he begs someone to kill him again. Why send him back to Em City? Shouldn't he be in solitary?

* Cyril finally meets his end. This would have been more effective two weeks ago, but it still worked for me. I've been waiting for his demise for four years now. Dr. Nathan and Ryan finally hookup, and Ryan forgives his father. Personally, I'm not a fan of that ending, especially considering how wicked a person his father is. I understand the "forgiving" aspect of the story, but still, it did nothing for me.

* The mystery of Cloutier is finally revealed. Works for me.

* Arif loses the respect of the muslims. Just like Said a few years ago, he will have to work his way to regain their respect, and eventually become a better, and stronger leader. I just wish we'd know why he was sent to OZ. IIRC, he's the only main cast member never to get a "flashback."

* Robson is HIV+. I feel no sympathy. Remember when he cut up that Muslim in the storage closet? One can only wonder how many people he infected with the disease (I doubt that he got it from Cutler).

* Schillinger is dead. Keller is dead. The Schillinger/Beecher MacBeth finale was perfect, as it was the resolution we all needed. Its funny, but in the grand scheme of things, Beecher's main story arc with Keller has had more impact than his feud with Schillinger this season. All in all, Schillinger will go down as the most evil man in the history of television...

Thank you Tom Fontana and the cast of OZ for putting together a masterpiece.

-r

Supreme Sean

A fitting end to a great show. I'm just happy the writers didn't kill my boy, Officer Murphy. Even though this show was set almost entirely inside the confines of the same prison every episode, the show never got boring to watch. That's a testament to the writers and cast who worked to make it what it was. But.....every thing ends sometime. Now that Dean Winters is free, somebody cast him as Max Payne in that movie!

das Monkey

• Quoth jackepstein •<HR SIZE=1>All in all, Schillinger will go down as the most evil man in the history of television...<HR SIZE=1>

I see you two have not been formally introduced. Ron Epstein, meet Arvin Sloane.

das

jackepstein

das, who be Arvin Sloane?
-r

das Monkey

• Quoth jackepstein •<HR SIZE=1>das, who be Arvin Sloane?
-r <HR SIZE=1>

He's from Alias. Makes Schillinger look like a Care Bear, a cute, cuddly Care Bear.

das

P.S. I loved how O'Reily's father kept pronouncing it "Skillinger" ... Vern ruled.

Red Dog

Yeah I was hoping the final shot would be Devlin "checking in."


Skillinger

j123vt_99

Question about Rev Cloutier... How did he get burned? I thought he was put behind the wall and then the explosion occured then he went to the hosipital and died..I must've missed one episode there

Red Dog

I thought the explosion still burned him - it obviously brought down the wall so he had to have been exposed.

I'm glad they resolved his situation - I didn't think they would get around to it.

j123vt_99

so he got burned behind the wall.. got taken to the hospital and then put again behind the wall and died??

Red Dog

This is how I understand it. I don't recall them ever showing him being placed behind the wall a 2nd time.

j123vt_99

was I the only one who laughed out loud 2x when O'Rielly's father called Shillinger. "Skillenger"?

KingSmoth

From what I remember(and I only started watching OZ in 2001, so maybe I missed something), the last scene I saw of Cloutier was him in bed, then he sat up with this look on his face. The next scene he was gone from his room.


Anyway, I thought this was a great episode, I just wish it wasn't the last . The part where had me rolling.
I just stumbled across OZ one night back when I got HBO in early 2001, and was instantly hooked. It has become my favorite show on TV(followed by The Sopranos) and I'm really going to miss it. Time for me to buy the box sets so I can catch up on everything I missed......

Red Dog

Yeah - the audience reaction was hilarious.

I'm like you - I picked up Oz in its 4th season (2001) when they had new eps of Sopranos and Oz back to back. I gradually became more of a fan of Oz than Sopranos. I too have to go back and watch the earlier seasons - I have watched the 1st season on DVD.

SteveOVig

I'm trying to figure out exactly how no one noticed Cloutier being taken to the cafeteria. Eithers the COs are stupid or they don't have enough of them around. Not to mention, wasn't Hoyt supposed to be in a mental institution?

Other than those problems I enjoyed this episode mainly the "3" endings and the Macbeth play(the Beat It video comes to mind with the Gangstas vs the Nazis)

Samuel

Pretty good finale, kind of sad.

I was watching Wayne's World not to long ago and the guy who always tells everyone "I love you man" looked really familiar and I couldn't figure out where I saw him before. It was nagging at me for awhile then I finally realized it was the actor who plays Beecher on Oz.

kramdenfan

No Way, Samuel!!! That's too cool- I'll have to watch Wayne's World again (I just picked up the DVD cheap, but haven't watched it recently)!

Thanks for the info-
Kramdenfan

harpo787

It could be that the hacks that were on duty were bought off by someone...it's obviously not that hard to do in Oz.


On another post....yup, it sure is Beecher in Wayne's World. Other appearances for him and other Oz alumni in movies:

Beecher also played "Chet" in the tv version of Weird Science!

Alvarez was in Boiler Room for about 3 seconds...

Adebisi was in The Mummy Returns and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls!

Warden Glynn has been in tons of stuff including Airheads, The Crow, and No Escape

McManus was in Last of the Mohicans and Sleepers.

Sister Peter Marie has been in over 86 things...check her out her picture on the IMDB....did she ever look that young?

Augustus Hill has been in The Edge and the upcoming Matrix sequels.

Vern "Skillinger" has been in The Mexican (nice hairdo!), Spider-Man (no one else could have nailed J. Jonah Jameson that well!) and has been on tv's Law & Order.

Kareem Said was briefly in Unbreakable and is in the upcoming Tears of the Sun.

The O'Reily bros have been in Good Will Hunting (Cyril), Conspiracy Theory (Ryan), and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (Cyril).

Keller was in 12 Monkeys, Wet Hot American Summer, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!

Father Mukada did a voice over in Mulan, and was in Salton Sea, Karate Kid 2 (as Brad Wong!), and in Joe's Apartment (as a Cockroach)!.

Incidentally, Jazz Hoyt was (and is) in metal band Biohazard.