Watching OZ! (1 Viewer)

[Henry Colonna]

Does anyone else find that watching OZ is difficult? I have discovered that I should not watch OZ past about 8pm. I had this awful dream last night that was a story right out of OZ except that I was at the center.
I can watch all kinds of stuff on TV, including horror movies, with no ill effects.
Anyone know when Season 2 comes out on DVD?

 

[Mike Graham]

Heh, I think its a good thing you're disturbed by this series! The main reason its so hard to sit through is because its extremely easy to imagine a convict actually having to go through some of that stuff in real life.

I believe if the first sets sell reasonably well, HBO will produce the second season on DVD.

 

[Dharmesh C]

I've watched 6 episodes so far, not a bad show at all! Picture quality is questionable, could it be better?

 

[Butch C]

Ever harder than watching how disturbing season 1 of Oz is how bad seasons 3 and on are!

That show went from a must watch ultra talk-at-work-on-monday supershow to a soap opera quick!

 

[Bruce Cadotte]

Anyone know when Season 2 comes out on DVD?

October

 

[David Lawrence]

Dharmesh: I've not watched the DVDs yet other than a brief check of all the discs, but from what I saw the picture quality is slightly better than the TV broadcast quality here, certainly no worse. The show has a very deliberate gritty look to it.
Also I personally rate S4a as the best season since the first; I've not seen 4b onwards so I can't comment on them. Roll on more DVD releases .

 

[Paul D Young]

Does anyone else find that watching OZ is difficult?

I have found it difficult to watch for another reason. I cannot stand the narration from Harold Perrineau Jr. Especially when he is on camera spinning around in that glass box. WTF is that!?

I don't much care for those flashback sequences either. Why in the hell do those sequences keep switching between black & white and color? Just to see if I'm paying attention?

Anyway, I started watching the Season 1 that I rented from Netflix. At first I was a little annoyed with the Harold Perrineau Jr. narration stuff and now I can't stand it. I've been fast-forwarding through it everytime I hear his voice! I find the show enjoyable otherwise (although not spectacular) and I would like to continue watching it.

Can anyone tell me if this narration stuff tapers off at all or if maybe Harold Perrineau Jr. suddenly disappears from the show? I need to know the answer because I don't think I can continue to watch it if it doesn't. I've watched the first 3 episodes so far and I can't take much more of him.

P.S.

Dear Harold Perrineau Jr.,

It's nothing personal, I just cannot stand the character and the dialog which I'm sure you had nothing to do with.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

What, Augustus? I love his narration! I've only seen seasons 3 and 4 but he has some excellent points in his monologues.

 

[Dharmesh C]

Is season 2 any good??? If it's like season 1 then I'm happy.

 

[Andre F]

I agree it's a very scary show indeed. I need at least a six pack to even think about watching it...

-Andre F

 

[Chris Bardon]

Bruce-where are you getting the October release for S2? I did some searching on HBOs site and found nothing. Actaully, I'm sorry that I did, since their main OZ site assumes you've seen season 5 (which hasn't been on in Canada yet...).

 

[dave_brogli]

I have watched every single oz episode up until now and i love it. every episode has rocked and the characters just keep building into great characters(make sense). and Augustus is in every episode... but he does get better. yup hes in every season!

 

[David Lawrence]

efilmcritic is reporting S2 for Oct 22nd, I've not seen that date listed anywhere else though.

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

I believe if the first sets sell reasonably well, HBO will produce the second season on DVD.

Well, according to tomfontana.com it sold more in its first week than Sopranos or Sex and the City's season 1 boxes, so I guess that's a good sign.

I've been watching season 4a, which is currently airing on Canadian Showcase. Gruesome stuff.

Anyway, the crime flashbacks keep changing styles in order to keep the viewer on his feet. If you listen to the commmentary, Fontana explains that it's all about creating unease within the viewer, since the only scenes which are outside are brutal crime scenes which are difficult to watch. It makes the show all the more claustrophobic.

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

I've seen EVERY episode EXCEPT the first one of whatever season just finished up (the seasons are hard to follow, at least for me and they just seem to pop up every now and again...very frustrating!)

As for Augustus, he has been the narrator from the beginning, but I'd be interested to see what happens now...

Since he was apparently badly wounded in the season ender, and appeared to be dying!


Also, I've heard that the next season will be the end...anyone else heard that?

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

Paul,

Season 6 will be the final season. They're filming now, and it will air in early 2003, according to the official sites (HBO.com and tomfontana.com).

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Does anyone else find that watching OZ is difficult? I have discovered that I should not watch OZ past about 8pm. I had this awful dream last night that was a story right out of OZ except that I was at the center.

If one accepts Oz as prison reality, an opponent of capital punishment could be brought to perceive it as a humane alternative to incarceration, and a proponent of capital punishment could be brought to perceive it as less of a deterrent than incarceration.
BTW I am in no way weighing in on either side of that hot-button issue (not the forum for it), just smarmily illustrating how mind-bendingly horrifying they make prison look on this series.
Regards,

 

[TerryW]

Also, according to www.tomfontana.com , HBO will release season 2 in January 2003 not in October but who knows they may sneak it out this year.

 

[Paul E. Fox II]

Thanks Mark. I remember having read that somewhere (probably here) but just wasn't sure.

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

And don't forget, folks: Season 2 starts this Thursday on HBO, while season 3 has been airing for a while now, so you might have to wait a while if you want to watch the show in its purest order. Now I just need to find someone who gets HBO to record it...