OZ: CUTS LIKE A KNIFE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas set in the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, nicknamed "Oz."
In this episode, Hill describes the varieties of prison weapons as Alvarez finds himself trapped when Glynn, Morales and Redding all reject his various offers of "loyalty," resulting in him murdering another inmate and landing back in solitary. Busalis is deeply grateful when Rebadow convinces Glynn to release him from solitary with a stern promise of "no more tunnels." The "aging pill" medical trials continue despite McManus' angry protests that it undermines the entire concept of rehabilitating criminals. Ryan is shocked when the pill begins to take effect on Cyril but not on himself; when another patient suddenly drops dead, Nathan laments that she is now just a "drug dealer." Feeling lonely, she finally accepts McManus' offer of dinner. Tidd is formally accepted into the Muslim Brotherhood and renamed "Salah Yudin"; when Said claims that he truly tried to "save" Adebisi before killing him, Tidd finds that he cannot bring himself to murder Said after all.
Poet and White are thrilled to meet famous basketball star Jackson Vahue, but White then decides that he does not sufficiently "impress people" and decides to make a name for himself by stabbing McManus. Basil tries to apologize to his former partner, Detective Nancy Mears, but she remains angry at how his actions damaged the reputation of the police as corrupt. Yood is skeptical when Hughes declares himself a "political" prisoner, and Gongjin, one of the Chinese refugees, learns that Jia Kenmin, the criminal who arranged their disastrous emigration, has been convicted and is coming to Oz. Once allowed to meet, Gongjin urges Kenmin to "redeem" himself by killing Morales as revenge for Bian. Kevin Ketchum, a.k.a. "Supreme Allah," is finally released from solitary, and Redding informs Hill that Ketchum was the one to inform on him, resulting in his paralysis and imprisonment. Morales quickly recruits Ketchum to kill Redding, and when Hill confronts Ketchum in the showers, Ketchum angrily attacks him and sends him to the hospital wing.
Keller correctly guesses that Ketchum has deduced that he and Riley are responsible for the crime that put him in solitary -- the murders of fellow inmates Nate Shemin and Mondo Browne. Keller offers to assist Redding with their mutual enemy, but Redding assures him that "they're all set"; Tug, under the guise of visiting Poet, stabs Ketchum, who is sent to the hospital and ends up right next to Hill. Father Mukada returns and is shocked to find that Reverend Cloutier has successfully turned Timmy Kirk against Catholicism. The two banter about their differing beliefs, and Cloutier later baptizes Kirk as "a true Christian." Schillinger is devastated to learn that his son Hank has been murdered, and he takes immediate revenge against Beecher by attacking his brother during a visit. Beecher begs Harrison to take his daughter into hiding and decides that he must allow Schillinger to kill him in order to protect his family; a desperate Keller hurries to Cloutier and falsely claims to have ordered Hank's death himself. Robson is skeptical, but Schillinger believes the claim and exchanges forgiveness with Beecher for their respective sons' deaths. Sister Reimondo guesses that Keller has lied for "a greater truth," assuring him that it is never too late to redeem himself. Keller is then transferred to a Massachusetts prison to await trial on the new charge, bidding Beecher a passionate farewell as he assures him that they will – somehow – be reunited someday.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: December 31, 2000 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:26
- COLOR/B&W: Color.
- CATALOG ID: B:63096
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection - Drama; African-American Collection - Drama; Hispanic Collection - Drama; Drama; Prisoners; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 1997-2003
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jim Finnerty … Executive Producer
- Barry Levinson … Executive Producer
- Tom Fontana … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Bridget Potter … Supervising Producer
- Sean Whitesell … Producer
- Adam Bernstein … Producer
- Mark A. Baker … Associate Producer
- Irene Burns … Associate Producer
- Steve Buscemi … Director
- 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
- Rick Fox … Cast, Jackson Vahue
- 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
- B.D. Wong … Cast, Father Ray Mukada
- Michael Wright … Cast, Omar White
- Granville Adams … Cast, Zahir Arif
- Anthony Chisholm … Cast, Burr Redding
- Robert Clohessy … Cast, Officer Sean Murphy
- Seth Gilliam … Cast, Clayton Hughes
- Lord Jamar … Cast, Kevin 'Supreme Allah' Ketchum
- Tom Mardirosian … Cast, Agamemnon Busalis
- muMs (See also: Craig Grant) … Cast, Arnold 'Poet' Jackson
- Lance Reddick … Cast, John Basil
- Kristin Rohde … Cast, Officer Claire Howell
- Jacques Smith … Cast, Leroy Tidd / Salah Yudin
- David Zayas … Cast, Enrique Morales
- Chuck Zito … Cast, Pancamo
- Edward Herrmann … Cast, Harrison Beecher
- Timothy L. Brown … Cast, Officer Jason Armstrong
- Carl DiMaggio … Cast, Officer Len Lopresti
- Sean Dugan … Cast, Timmy Kirk
- Michael Gregory Gong … Cast, Jia Kenmin
- José Hernández Jr. … Cast, Vasquez
- Jinn S. Kim … Cast, Gongjin
- Tom Ligon … Cast, Alvin Yood
- Chazz Menendez … Cast, Fred Wick
- Stephanie Pope … Cast, Detective Nancy Mears
- R.E. Rodgers … Cast, James Robson
- Michelle Schumacher … Cast, Norma Clark
- Elaine Tse … Cast, Gou Liu Xio
- Evan Seinfeld … Cast, Jaz Hoyt
- Peter Benson … Cast, Reporter