OZ: The Complete Fifth Season

Put grown men from f**cked up-broken homes, thieves, murderers, rapists, husbands, fathers, then go on and add some egos, revenge, pride and pain together, and what do ya get? Why OZ, of course. If you’re already a hard core OZ addict, then Season 5 is no doubt one of your drugs of choice. But if you’re not, then this season may fall kinda flat compared to the prior ones. I mean, was this season on some kind of strange limited budget? Hmm, it makes me wonder because last season, fans were fed a big chunk of episodes, and this season, the pie has been sliced down to only eight episodes. Wassup with that? Want to leave them wanting more, huh? Maybe, but going from sixteen episodes to eight episodes maybe shows trouble in paradise. HB0, stop being cheap! Give the people what they want! Duh, more Oz.

Yes, the actors do their homework and always deliver grade A performances. Any actor that can tackle such heavy, complex characters is one worth being recognized, but the writers– eeeehhh. I don’t know if this season's storylines are really that new and innovative. It’s not their fault either because how new can the plot be the fifth time around? After all, it is a jail. Things are bond to repeat themselves. Murder, punishment, betrayal, conspiracy… isn’t that the name of the game? If the game isn’t going to change, the storyline can only stretch it so far. So writers, we understand. Nevertheless, the series can satisfy many people’s curiosity about the life behind the cell. There’s no other show like it; it’s a combination of different human emotions: fear, anger, desperation and hope.

However, while the storyline may not keep us always jumping out of our chairs, the narration is still as excellent and effective as it was in the very first episode. Some of the lines are still stunning and simple, such as, "What lifts a man out of the ordinary is who he loves and who loves him.” When you watch this show, you are definitely promised your punch of violence and confinement stories, but the beauty of this show is that under all of that, it actually conveys a message. It makes the audience think, but it never tells you what. It only remains slightly suggestive. Some of the facts are also a little terrifying such as "In the 2053, there will be more people in jail than out." Oh God. Let's hope that doesn't happen. Life in Oz seems like a bitch. Most of us wouldn't survive a day.

The main episode that I think everyone needs to watch is the season finale entitled, Impotence. It seems as though everyone put their thinking caps on and came up with the ending to end all endings. Side note, Miguel Alverez (Kirk Acevedo) is

'da man.' They better not kill him off. In the season finale, he gets a parole hearing but winds up in solitary for the 50th time after losing his cool again and kicking someone's ass. Omar (Michael Wright) nearly kills Cutler, the new guy (Brenden Kelly). He had overheard Schillinger (J.K Simmons) tell Cutler the initiation into the membership to the Brotherhood was murdering Said (Eamonn Walker). Then, of course, Omar gets sent to solitary. (Solitary is almost a joke. They practically live in solitary). Anyway, moving on, Keller (Christopher Meloni) gets sentenced to death for murder. There is also a depressing story, which includes Rebadow (George Morforgen). He leaves the prison for the first time in 35 years to visit his dying grandson. An ironic karma event concerning a short-circuit cut leaves us thinking about life's poor sense of humor. Cyril (Scott William Winters) is also sentenced to death row, and Father Meehan (Malachy McCourt) discovers the true reason behind Cyril and Ryan's inner pain. Their father shook their baby sister, Carolyn, to death, and Ryan saw the whole thing happen. OK, can you say messed up for life? Gone. Yup, there's no healing this kid. So, this season finale did keep things on edge for us, but the biggest surprise was the ending. It leaves us all thinking about the future of the show. Something happens to the narrator, Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr)- and hey, if you haven't seen the back of the DVD Box yet or this episode, I won't spoil it for you. Keep watching and see what happens in OZ.

OZ, man, they know how make a good DVD. You know when you love a season so much so you buy it, but you were a late watcher and missed the first couple of seasons? Now, you don’t have to go around and ask people or look it up online, OZ recaps it for you so you can get a clue. More DVD's should be set-up like this. Kuddos. It also has commentary and a preview for season 6, looking like the best season yet, and it satisfies your thirst for what did not make it on television: deleted scenes. I think those scenes should have stayed deleted, but, nevertheless, they are there for you to decide. At the end of the day, whether short or long, Oz always promises to deliver blood, sweat and tears. Can you handle it?

Season Grade: B+

DVD Grade: A-

Overall Grade: B