Straight Health B Checkers

In this podcast Susan, Amelia, and Chris conclude the discussion of OZ season one with Straight Life, To Your Health, Plan B, and A Game of Checkers.

Sorry, there were some problems with the audio starting around 28 minutes to the end, the result of which makes Susan seem like a mind reader.

***WIRE SPOILERS*** From 1:02:30 to 1:06:00 we start talking about another HBO show, The Wire. The conversation is quite spoilery if you haven't seen the series.

All written by Tom Fontana

Straight Life (directed by Leslie Libman & Larry Williams/ Theme: drugs)

The infiltration of drugs into Oz has reached unprecedented levels, and the undercover efforts of McManus and Glynn to find out who's smuggling the drugs in have backfired in a deadly way. Despite a lockdown in the Emerald City, drugs continue to trickle in--and the blame shifts from prisoners to corrupt officials.

To Your Health (directed by Alan Taylor/ Theme: health)

The prison's health service is kept busy by a variety of prisoner complaints: Beecher flips out after taking PCP and sends Schillinger to the hospital, mob boss Schibetta has stomach pains caused by ground glass intentionally mixed in with his food, and Muslim leader Kareem Said has a heart attack.

Plan B (directed by Darnell Martin/ Theme: unplanned events)

A recovered Said ostracizes Huseni Mershah for turning his back on him when he was dying. Impressed by Said's power, Groves decides to kill Glynn in his honor, but kills an officer by mistake. Condemned to death, Groves chooses death by firing squad. Schibetta is still being fed ground glass by O'Reilly and Adebisi, and Beecher finally gets revenge on Schillinger.

A Game of Checkers (directed by Jean de Segonzac/ Theme: revolution)

In the Season One finale, a riot breaks out and frustration, sexuality, hate, revenge and racism all rear their ugly heads, causing the violence to escalate. Finally, after several prison officers are taken hostage, tear gas is thrown into the Emerald City and the SORT Team arrives, guns blazing.

NEXT: S2 The Tip, Ancient Tribes, Great Men, Losing Your Appeal