Oz: Season 3, Episode 8Out o' Time (1 Sep. 1999)Director:Barbara Kopple |
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Oz: Season 3, Episode 8Out o' Time (1 Sep. 1999)Director:Barbara Kopple |
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| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Kirk Acevedo | ... | ||
| Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje | ... | ||
| Ernie Hudson | ... | ||
| Terry Kinney | ... | ||
| Rita Moreno | ... | ||
| Harold Perrineau | ... | ||
| J.K. Simmons | ... | ||
| Lee Tergesen | ... | ||
| Eamonn Walker | ... | ||
| Dean Winters | ... | ||
| Kathryn Erbe | ... | ||
| Edie Falco | ... | ||
| Luis Guzmán | ... | ||
| Zeljko Ivanek | ... | ||
| Christopher Meloni | ... | ||
OZ can be a very irritating series . Season two was disappointing and the third season is an improvement on its immediate predecessor but doesn't come anywhere near as being as good as the debut . There's also something else and that is some of the characters and a couple of the subplots aren't carried on in to season three . If you remember the " cliffhanger " to season two featuring Hill sneaking in to a coffin you'll be surprised this is never referred to in series three . I suppose Augustus changed his mind ? It seems strange in an era where television shows are taped by fans so they can watch them over and over again Tom Fontana hasn't tried to make the narrative more cohesive and less episodic and disposable
Season three sees the introduction of memorable characters . Officers Claire Howell and Clayton Hughes and Russian gangster Nikolai Stanislofsky .Hughes works very well as a character in his debut season . He's someone who comes across as an idealistic young man who becomes a hack out of a misguided duty to his dead father and soon finds himself out of his depth in the prison system which is an unforgiving jungle . With hindsight maybe his character should have disappeared at the end of series three without leaving a gun in a pod ? Howell is a sadistic b*tch who finds herself rejected by McManus but one can't help thinking why on earth he'd be interested in her in the first place . Indeed one can't help noticing his taste in women leaves much to be desired . Officer Whittseley ! Officer Howell ! He'd be better off with Sister Pete . Stanislofsky quickly gains his revenge on the person he believes killed his friend though it's never revealed how Hanlon got off on the murder rap for killing Vogel . See what I mean about it being an irritating series ?
As for the other characters we saw several of them introduced in series two but sometimes they seem surplus to requirement . Karl Metzger gets written out in episode one but his demise is never followed up on . Think about it - a correctional officer is murdered and no investigation is held to find out who killed him ? It wouldn't happen in real life would it ? Shirley Bellinger left me with indifference in season two and my feelings remain in season three while Adibisi undergoes more character development as he did in season two but is never entirely convincing though he does have a hidden agenda for working in the AIDS ward
All in all season three is an improvement over season two but still nowhere as compelling as season one . This probably won't matter much to an OZ addict and writer Tom Fontana does try to bring a running thread to the narrative by introducing a boxing contest . It's at this point however you realise we won't be seeing anymore of the realism of season one and that in order to continue enjoying the show a large amount of suspension of disbelief is needed to continue enjoying OZ which is something of a pity