So I've been rewatching Oz for like the fifth time now, and its interesting how viewing a series multiple times at different points in my life always causes me to reflect differently on it. Oz was basically the genesis of the one hour serial drama concept as exemplified by later classics like the Sopranos, the Wire, Breaking Bad, etc. It was the first HBO one hour series, and you can see the ensemble cast all over television ever since.

My general take of Oz since I first watched it when I was a teenager is that the years haven't treated it nicely. Lined up next to the current top TV series contenders, it has this really dated soap opera style. The violence and drama is super exaggerated and its extremely hard to suspend disbelief. Time seems super compressed. Characters go through entire emotional arcs that should take years over the course of an episode or two. Even real aspects of the penal system are time-compressed, like how death row inmates get executed within weeks of conviction and HIV-infected inmates progress to full blown AIDS within a few episodes.

It took this re-watch for me to realize that those aspects of the show weren't really flaws. I think while Oz was billed as this realistic, gritty show, its actually a show meant to showcase its actors. There's a real element of theatricality to it. The show just puts these characters in as many tight spots as possible during the limited running time and hopes they shine. Oz didn't have anything really to emulate. Filmmakers and film actors didn't really mingle with TV at this point in time like they do now, so they had to draw from theater. I believe many of the actors and writers probably had a lot more experience doing plays than doing movies or shows, and it really shows in the way Oz is put together.

Anyway, watch Oz guys.