OZ: CONVERSIONS (TV)

Summary

One in this series of dramas set in the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, nicknamed "Oz."

In this episode, Hill discusses faith and the allure of conversion, and McManus introduces a new punitive measure: a cage in which misbehavers will be held; Keller is naturally the first "volunteer." Omar is finally let out of solitary confinement, and as Poet advises him to consider entering rehab, the inmates learn that Miguel Alvarez has been recaptured and will return to Oz. Alvarez taunts Warden Glynn, assuring him that he will escape to South America "next time." When Chico asks Omar to kill Alvarez for him, Omar refuses and stabs him, informing Alvarez that he "owes him" as he is thrown back into solitary. Keller is impressed as Ryan describes his secret liaisons with Officer Howell, though Ryan worries that she has become "weird" and obsessive. Sister Reimondo warmly greets Dr. Nathan as she returns to the prison and treats Cyril, who notes that he, like her, also survived a rape. Howell suggestively tells Nathan that she has been giving Ryan "a helping hand"; Nathan soon realizes that Ryan killed her rapist, Keenan, because of his "enormous" love for her. Sister Reimondo reminds her that Ryan is a dangerous criminal, but Nathan confesses that, despite everything, she loves him in return.

Devlin is re-inaugurated as governor as Glynn, exasperated with Busalis' incompetence as an assistant, fires him and hires the cheerful and efficient Floria Mills, recommended by Reimondo. Glynn admits to Mills that he is recently separated from his wife and intends to sleep in his office; Busalis proposes to his girlfriend Norma, revealing that he plans to escape Oz through a tunnel. Said coldly rebuffs Tidd's pleas to convert to Islam, sure that he is not sincere in his faith, though Beecher suggests that Said is experiencing feelings of guilt over killing Adebisi in so-called self-defense. Robson is thrown into the hole after fighting with Said, and Tidd approaches Schillinger and offers to kill Said, explaining that he has a plan for getting close to him. Schillinger tells a worried Howell that his son Hank will surely resurface in time for the birth of their child; meanwhile, a new inmate, televangelist Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier, imprisoned for embezzlement and larceny, tries to have a heart-to-heart with Schillinger about true happiness. Keller watches as Beecher's brother and niece pay him a visit; during a church service, Schillinger is startled when Cloutier appears to exorcise the "demons" out of belligerent prisoner Jim Burns.

Beecher is skeptical when Schillinger suggests a reconciliation between them; Beecher receives a new bunkmate, car thief Ronnie Barlog, who has a past history with Keller. McManus, wanting to avoid further trouble with the Homeboys, asks Said to befriend their potential new leader, cop killer Burr Redding. Redding praises Said's murder of Adebisi, but informs Poet that he has every intention of seizing control of the Homeboys, as he considers himself a "born leader." Morales tries to bargain with Redding, and the prison is thrown into further disarray when a group of refugees from China, pulled from a sinking freighter, are brought to Oz for temporary housing. Bian Yixue, who speaks some English and is determined to remain in America, agrees to help McManus however possible; Morales, seeing an opportunity, urges Bian to kill Redding, claiming that he has a murderous hatred of all Asians because of his experience in the Vietnam War. Shocked, Bian refuses, so Morales instead kills him and frames Redding, who is outraged to find himself thrown into the cage. Hill muses that fanatics, the ones who "think they've got God on their side," are the true dangers.

Details

NETWORK: HBO
DATE: December 31, 2000 10:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:58:03
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: B:62387
GENRE: Drama
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Prisons; Religion; African-American Collection - Drama; Hispanic Collection - Drama
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
Sean Whitesell … Producer
Adam Bernstein … Producer, Director
Mark A. Baker … Associate Producer
Irene Burns … Associate Producer
David Darlington … Music by
Stephen Rosen … Music by
Kirk Acevedo … Cast, Miguel Alvarez
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
Zeljko Ivanek … Cast, Governor James Devlin
Christopher Meloni … Cast, Chris Keller
George Morfogen … Cast, Bob Rebadow
Luke Perry … Cast, Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier
Lauren Vélez … Cast, Dr. Gloria Nathan
Scott William Winters … Cast, Cyril O'Reily
Michael Wright … Cast, Omar White
Granville Adams … Cast, Zahir Arif
Brian Bloom … Cast, Ronald 'Ronnie' Barlog
Anthony Chisholm … Cast, Burr Redding
Robert Clohessy … Cast, Officer Sean Murphy
Lord Jamar … Cast, Kevin 'Supreme Allah' Ketchum
Ken Leung … Cast, Bian Yixue
Tom Mardirosian … Cast, Agamemnon Busalis
muMs (See also: Craig Grant) … Cast, Arnold 'Poet' Jackson
Kristin Rohde … Cast, Officer Claire Howell
Jacques Smith … Cast, Leroy Tidd
David Zayas … Cast, Enrique Morales
Dena Atlantic … Cast, Floria Mills
Jerome Preston Bates … Cast, Officer Travis Smith
Timothy L. Brown … Cast, Officer Jason Armstrong
Stephen S. Chen … Cast, Liung Jiu Pinghao
Cyrus Farmer … Cast, Officer Adrian Johnson
Peter James Kelsch … Cast, Jim Burns
Jinn S. Kim … Cast, Gongjin
Jenna Lamia … Cast, Carrie Schillinger
R.E. Rodgers … Cast, James Robson
Otto Sanchez … Cast, Chico Guerra
Michelle Schumacher … Cast, Norma Clark
Philip Scozzarella … Cast, Officer Joseph Mineo
Evan Seinfeld … Cast, Jaz Hoyt
Elaine Tse … Cast, Gou Liu Xio
Chuck Zito … Cast, Pancamo
Peter Benson … Cast, Reporter