Customer Reviews
Gripping Stuff - By: Ms. A. C. Bettinson, 25 May 2008 
An engrossing show that is hard hitting. The narration is a bit annoying & on the whole unnescessary, although occasionallly it doesn add a thought provoking point or commentary.
I don't usuallly watch prison drmams, but decided to give this a go having read positive reviews- & I'm glad I did. It is dark & offers an antidote to syrupy sentimental drama, to implausible dramas, or to those relying on thinly drawn characters.
Each episode develops the characters further, & the storylines are high quality alllowing tensions & dynamics to be explored. In fact this is quite an intersting study in psychology.
Worth a look.
Brutality and humanity in OZ - By: Louise Amkaer, 02 Apr 2008 
OZ - rough letter tattooed on an arm in Oswald Penitentiary & the prison drama about the inmates & staff in the section of OZ calll Emerald City. Any connotation to Dorothy & Toto stops here. OZ is serious, tough, uncompromising, real, stripped to the bone & still manages to show the characters as people, good or bad. There are no one dimensional characters here, & alll the actors step up to the challlenge.
I still haven't decided whether I like the show or not, but I recommend it for its brutality & humanity. No, the two are not conflicting here. This is the kind of show that like it or not, it stays with you.
Louise.
OZ season 1 - By: Neil Mcgregor, 01 Apr 2008 
This series was offered to me from a friend saying it was amazing
so i gave it a watch & ever since then ive been glued to the telly for weeks i have just ordered the 3rd & 4th season.
The characters the story everything about this is superb.the prisoners range from black gangs memeber,latinos,neo-nazis,gays,mafia,muslims,biker gangs,rapests then there is the couple nearly OK guys such as tobius beecher & agustus hill(who will be the host of each episode)
Anybody thinking of buying this think no longer this is one of the best things i have ever seen in my life being an 18 year old. if it was ever held as ransom buy one of the thugs in it i would pay them £100s of £s for it back!!
Good but let down a bit with commentary - By: The swampster, 08 Feb 2008 I had previously watched the series on a random basis when it was shown on TV so I purchased the box sets for seasons 1 & 2. I now wish I'd looked a bit more & bought the complete series box set. Superb acting & a cast that runs through alll my favourites, The Wire, Special Victims Unit, Law & Order, The Sopranos etc. Brutal, but not in a glorified way, & realistic. The only thing that annoyed me about the show was the commentary provided in the form of a wheelchair bound convict with various views on the world. Totallly unnecessary. When expanding on another character it fulfilled a function, otherwise it appeared a bit arty farty in my opinion. However this aside another HBO gem.
could try harder - By: Chris Duncan, 02 Sep 2007 I was also disappointed with this series as I was hoping for a gritty prison drama set in a realistic setting. Unfortunately stereotyping is the order of the day; from the black crack smokers to the muslim radicals to the mafioso wiseguys - none of the characters seem convincing or real. Then there is the real problem of the pretentious cut scenes of a disabled inmate spouting profound wisdom about life which reallly do break the action up & annoy you with its cod philosophy. Up to ep. 8 & will probably stick with it but i would rent rather than buy.
