Watching the latest compilation from creator Tom Fontana's exciting prison series Oz is like getting out of "the hole" early, finding a loophole in your conviction, and assembling the perfect toothbrush/razor shank all in the same week: the 2000-2001 season features 16 episodes, double the number of any previous season. Plenty is going down in Em City; picking up where the third season left off, violent psycho Adebisi still has a gun, which ultimately ends up in the hands of a newbie who kills several people, including Adebisi's small potatoes drug rival Kenny “Bricks” Wangler. Preoccupied with his ambition to become lieutenant governor, Warden Glynn places hard-ass Martin Querns in charge, whose idea of managerial skills includes condoning Adebisi's drug-doing sexcapades and shifting Em City population to create a black majority in return for so-called peace. But harmony ain't happening in Oz, thanks in part to the no-goodnik duo of leaders Pancamo and Morales who dissuade anyone getting too close to their drug ops. Meanwhile Ryan O'Reily's affair with nutjob cop Claire Howell results in electrocution for Russian thorn-in-his-side Nikolai; black Godfather Burr Redding's streamlined takeover of the homeboys stokes the anger of paraplegic Augustus Hill; Beecher and Schillinger are still at odds, retaliating against one another through their sons; and Muslim head Kareem Said finally reaches the boiling point, abandoning his diplomatic outlook. There are betrayals and murders aplenty, memorable guest stars (Christopher's wife Dana Reeve; Ally Sheedy as a nosy journalist), and new inmates (90210's Luke Perry as a crooked evangelist; rappers Method Man and Master P) in this unpredictable fourth season that culminates with a gas leak, a cigarette-smoking cop, and (not surprisingly) an explosion. DVD extras include audio commentaries by Fontana and stars Rita Moreno, Dean Winters, and Lee Tergesen on the episodes “You Bet Your Life” and “Famous Last Words,” as well as deleted scenes. Recommended. (J. Williams-Wood)
Oz: The Complete Fourth Season
HBO, 3 discs, 960 min., not rated, DVD: $64.98 June 13, 2005
Oz: The Complete Fourth Season
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