OZ: A WORD TO THE WISE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas set in the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, nicknamed "Oz."
A number of prisoners are being transferred out of Em City, and Adebisi takes the opportunity to force another prisoner to give him oral sex in full view of Said. Said complains about the situation to Querns, who refuses to do anything about it. Said threatens to bring the matter to the warden, but Querns believes he can stop him. Said then talks to Arif, urging him to take action and do something about the increasingly precarious situation before them. After a few days, Arif finally secures an appointment with Querns and complains that the Muslim population of Oz has not been given proper representation. Querns retorts that they are “rudderless” and cannot exercise proper authority in the prison, but Arif threatens Querns that they will soon rise up and assert themselves. Querns is bemused by this and tells Arif to leave his office. Arif grows concerned that some of the other Muslims in Emerald City are getting too close to Ketchum and he warns them to stay away, leading to a confrontation between Arif and Ketchum in the commissary. Later, Arif speaks to Adebisi about Ketchum, and Arif claims that he is a danger to both of them, and he asks Adebisi to murder him. Adebisi refuses, claiming that he and Ketchum have an “understanding” and calling Arif a hypocrite for condoning murder.
Sean is reassigned to the front desk at Oz after his disagreement with Querns. Tim apologizes to him for getting angry at him for not quitting when he was fired, and Sean appreciates the apology. Tim asks him out to dinner that night and Sean accepts. A fistfight breaks out in the corridor as Tim comes in. Querns visits Glynn in his office and asks him to transfer staff around in response to Sean’s attempts to get his allies from Em City over to his posting, and Glynn agrees. Sean gets word that Querns is replacing the officers in Em City with his own hand-picked choices, and he, Tim, and the other guards discuss the matter, contemplating going to Glynn or the union for help. Tim offers to give positions to Sean and his friends in Unit B and says he’ll ask Glynn to make the appropriate transfers. Glynn agrees to Tim’s request and starts the appropriate paperwork. While there Tim brings up Querns’s questionable hiring practices, particularly that all of his choices are African-American. Glynn, however, does not care as long as Querns is successful in curbing violent outbreaks in Em City. Tim discovers that Officer Phelan is being transferred to Em City, much to his surprise.
Ginzburg’s symptoms from AIDS are increasing in severity, and he has Sister Pete ask the warden on his behalf if his execution can be performed early in order to spare him his constant pain. Glynn is taken aback by this request and says there is no legal precedent for early executions, and is surprised that Sister Pete is in favor of “euthanasia.” Nevertheless, he calls legal counsel to explore the matter further. Soon Ginzburg’s request is granted and his execution is moved up. Ginzburg has Sister Pete help him get dressed up as a woman preceding his execution, and she asks him to lie down when it becomes clear that he is extremely nervous. The night before his execution, many prisoners lie awake discussing his fate. Glynn, Sister Reimondo, and Father Mukada arrive in the morning to take Ginzburg to be executed, but find that he is already dead, apparently having perished in his sleep from natural causes.
Adebisi announces that a new drug shipment is coming in and gives orders to his followers to fetch new “babies,” i.e. new customers. Basil, as “Mobay,” chafes somewhat under Adebisi but says he will follow orders. Later Basil meets homicide detective Guinevere McGorry in Glynn’s office; she is investigating the death of a prime witness in a gun smuggling case who supposedly accidentally perished by falling down an elevator shaft. McGorry is not convinced that this was an accident but does not know any specifics; she is unaware that it was Mobay who pushed the man down the shaft, albeit while he was defending Hill. In private Basil reports to Glynn about his infiltration into Adebisi’s drug ring. He produces money for Adebisi to allay suspicion, but his newfound drug habit has impeded his progress considerably. It causes him to slip up and drop his accent in front of Hill, making him suspicious. The next day, Basil meets with Sister Pete in private and talks about his worried family and how important his undercover assignment is to him, as his entire career depends upon it. With great difficulty, he confesses to Sister Pete that he has become an addict.
Beecher still has emotional difficulty getting over his son’s death, and Said advises him that killing Keller will not ease his pain. Father Mukada arrives and informs Beecher that the FBI found his daughter Holly, and that she is alive. Furthermore, he is informed that the man who he thought committed the murder of his son was in prison at the time, and thus Keller is innocent; Hank Schillinger is the real kidnapper and he was arrested that morning. Vern is brought under investigation for this revelation. Querns brings both Beecher and Keller to his office and threatens to transfer them to Gen Pop if either of them attacks or sexually harasses the other. Querns tells Beecher that his movements are to be restricted through Oz for the time being due to Vern’s suspected involvement in his son’s death. Querns claims that this is for his own safety. Later Beecher confronts Keller, who is surprised that Beecher believed he was capable of ordering the murder of his child. Beecher begs for Keller’s forgiveness, but Keller is finished with Beecher and leaves. Beecher’s new cellmate Mondo enters and tries to assert dominance, but Beecher resists. Adebisi gets Mondo to stand down.
Keller goes up to Vern and insults him for his treatment of his children and loudly berates him as he tries to walk away. In the shower, Mondo and his friend taunt Keller and voice their plan to sexually assault Beecher while Beecher himself is in the same room. Later, Keller confesses his “homosexual acts” to Father Mukada, and confesses that before coming to Oz he had sex with several men and before murdering them. He explains that he did not want these men to reveal that he had sex with them. Father Mukada tells him to go to the police and confess his crimes, but Keller only wants absolution for his sins. Father Mukada refuses and Keller curses him out before leaving. That night, Beecher has sex with Mondo while Keller watches from a different cell.
Rebadow speaks to Morales, asking his permission to carry out another hit like the one on Hernandez. However, Morales says he doesn’t need anyone killed, and furthermore notes that he promised Querns to help quell violence in Em City. Rebadow decides to secure Morales’s protection no matter who he decides to kill, and Morales warns him not to try anything “crazy.” Rebadow does not disclose the identity of his intended target. That day he has lunch with Busmalis, and apologizes for treating him badly earlier. That night, when Busmalis falls asleep, Rebadow attempts to murder him with a shiv, but he only succeeds in injuring him before the guards take Rebadow away. As punishment Rebadow is placed in solitary confinement, although this does not seem to bother him. Stanislofsky asks Querns why Hoyt has not yet been placed in solitary confinement; Querns notes that while Hoyt tried to kill him, neither of them will explain why. Querns threatens to remove the personal protections afforded to Stanislofsky, forcing him to reveal the truth about the smuggled cell phone and how it is in O’Reily’s possession. Querns institutes a search throughout Em City for the cell phone, although O’Reily feigns ignorance of the whole affair. Querns is unable to find it and doubts the veracity of Stanislofsky’s story. Stanislofsky, realizing that he will soon be sent back to Em City and likely killed, asks to see his girlfriend and a rabbi, and Querns agrees to his requests. He asks his girlfriend to dial a specific phone number at precisely five o’clock that night.
Stanislofsky’s instructions are followed and O’Reily’s cell phone rings while within earshot of every guard and inmate in Em City. The guards quickly discover its hiding place and O’Reily realizes that his deception is revealed. O’Reily claims to the guards that he never touched the cell phone and that Stanislofsky is responsible for Gallino’s death. O’Reily asks Adebisi to kill Stanislofsky, but Adebisi refuses. O’Reily then finds that Cyril is catatonic and alerts the guards. He is taken in for medical attention, and it is discovered that he overdosed on his medication. Said tries to calm down O’Reily, who blames Dr. Nathan for Cyril’s current state. Sister Pete speaks to Dr. Nathan in private, believing that recent events have impaired her ability to remain impartial about the O’Reily brothers, particularly O’Reily’s apparent admission that he hired Keenan to rape her. Sister Pete tries to convince her otherwise, but she does not listen. O’Reily speaks to Keenan and asks him about the experience of raping Dr. Nathan. Cyril regains consciousness and speaks to Dr. Nathan, claiming that his brother is not a bad person despite everything he does, and that he loves her. O’Reily murders Keenan by caving in his skull with a barbell. Arif witnesses the murder and runs off. O’Reily leaves a note for Dr. Nathan claiming that the murder was “all for you,” and includes Keenan’s necklace in the envelope. She brings this to Glynn’s attention and decides that she needs some time off to sort through her emotions. However, she is uncertain if she will return to Oz.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: November 30, 1999 11:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:55:55
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:60854
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBTQ+ Collection - Drama; African-American Collection - Drama; Drama; Prisoners; Prisons; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 1997-2003
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Barry Levinson … Executive Producer
- Jim Finnerty … Executive Producer
- Tom Fontana … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Bridget Potter … Supervising Producer
- Mark A. Baker … Associate Producer
- Irene Burns … Associate Producer
- Keith Samples … Director
- Sunil Nayar … Writer
- Bradford Winters … Writer
- David Darlington … Music by
- Stephen Rosen … Music by
- Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje … Cast, Simon Adebisi
- Ernie Hudson … Cast, Warden Leo Glynn
- Terry Kinney … Cast, Tim McManus
- Rita Moreno … Cast, Sister Peter Marie Reimondo
- Harold Perrineau … Cast, Augustus Hill
- J.K. Simmons … Cast, Vern Schillinger
- Lee Tergesen … Cast, Tobias Beecher
- Eamonn Walker … Cast, Kareem Said
- Dean Winters … Cast, Ryan O'Reily
- Robert John Burke … Cast, Pierce Taylor
- Reg E. Cathey … Cast, Martin Querns
- Christopher Meloni … Cast, Chris Keller
- George Morfogen … Cast, Bob Rebadow
- Lauren Velez … Cast, Dr. Gloria Nathan
- B.D. Wong … Cast, Father Ray Mukada
- Granville Adams … Cast, Zahir Arif
- Charles Busch … Cast, Nat Ginzburg
- Philip Casnoff … Cast, Nikolai Stanislofsky
- Robert Clohessy … Cast, Officer Sean Murphy
- Lord Jamar … Cast, Kevin "Supreme Allah" Ketchum
- Erik King … Cast, Moses Deyell
- Tom Mardirosian … Cast, Agamemnon Busalis
- muMs (See also: Craig Grant) … Cast, Poet
- Pepa (See also: Sandra Denton) … Cast, Officer Andrea Phelan
- Lance Reddick … Cast, Johnny Basil/Desmond Mobay
- Kristin Rohde … Cast, Officer Claire Howell
- Scott William Winters … Cast, Cyril O'Reily
- David Zayas … Cast, Enrique Morales
- Jerome Preston Bates … Cast, Smith
- Peter Benson … Cast, Reporter
- Timothy L. Brown … Cast, Armstrong
- Dylan Chalfy … Cast, Keenan
- Carl DiMaggio … Cast, Lopresti
- Sean Dugan … Cast, Kirk
- Gano Grills … Cast, Raymond "Mondo" Browne
- Ra Hanna … Cast, Bismilla
- Connie Nelson … Cast, McGorry
- John Palumbo … Cast, Zanghi
- Michael Quill … Cast, Miles
- R.E. Rodgers … Cast, Robson
- Otto Sanchez … Cast, Guerra
- Philip V. Scozzarella … Cast, Mineo
- Evan Seinfeld … Cast, Hoyt
- Jacques Smith … Cast, Tidd
- Chuck Zito … Cast, Pancamo