From the very first episode, we get the feeling that it's the beginning of the end thankfully, it manages to retain a few strengths from the first few years. In more ways than one, Season Six of Oz offers a fair amount of closure to the series.
It's basically the same story with this sixth and final season of Oz: it may not be quite as potent as the first several years, but it represents a notable step in the right direction. Still, this wouldn't be the first HBO series that managed to rebound from a weak penultimate season: Six Feet Under's fourth year wasn't especially impressive, but the fifth showed a marked improvement. Season Five took a turn for the worse (and is, in my opinion, the least impressive of all six), introducing a few supernatural elements into the mix that seemed seriously out of place. The fourth year was actually quite consistent-especially considering it contained twice as many episodes-yet things just didn't quite feel the same. Even in its weakest moments, Oz never drags its feet.Īfter more than three seasons of consistently strong episodes, Oz finally stumbled a bit. Oz is so emotionally taxing that it's though to watch more than one episode per sitting-in fact, you'd almost think each episode was a feature-length film, not a mere 60 minutes. The pacing is steady but tight, while the overall atmosphere is one of the strongest of any television show. It's truly a series that commands the complete attention of the audience not just for the character interaction, but for how quickly events transpire. Often times, the viewer might think a new character is brought on board for the long haul, only to witness their death 15 minutes later. Although performances were universally excellent, the raw feel of the stories and dialogue really put this show over the top. The heavily claustrophobic setting-not to mention the unique, multiple perspectives-certainly gave it a good head start.įirst and foremost, what made Oz so successful is the strong writing. Though plenty of other hard-edged crime dramas helped to fill the void (including The Wire and The Shield), Oz was simply one-of-a-kind in all respects. Premiering in 1997, Oz finally closed its doors in 2003 after a successful 56-episode tenure. But in most fans' eyes, nothing really broke the mold quite like Tom Fontana's Oz, a gritty, disturbing drama set in the fictional Oswald Maximum Security Prison. Carnivale, despite its short lifespan, was perhaps the most uniquely fascinating attempt of them all. Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm is easily one of the funniest half-hours on television. Six Feet Under proved that funeral homes can actually be quite lively. HBO has had an amazing run over the past few years, hasn't it? Fan favorite The Sopranos certainly needs no introduction.
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