Oz : Straight Life

Oz : Straight Life (1997)

Genres - Drama, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Prime-Time Drama [TV], Prison Film  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis by Josh Ralske

The drug trade at Oz is thriving, and McManus (Terry Kinney) wants to stop it. He offers Schibetta (Tony Musante) a deal to testify against the suppliers. When Schibetta refuses, McManus transfers all the other Italians out of Em City, leaving the capo isolated. Pressured by his new partners, Markstram (O.L. Duke) and Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), Schibetta tells them the drugs are coming through the post office. The manipulative O'Reily (Dean Winters) overhears the information, and passes it along to Pokelwaldt (Brian Tarantina), a snitch. Then Markstram turns up dead in his cell, and Glynn (Ernie Hudson) belatedly tells McManus that the dead man was an undercover cop. McManus tells Diane (Edie Falco) that he loves her, but she says their night of passion was a mistake. A new prisoner arrives, Scott Ross (Stephen Gevedon), who has a history with Diane. She lets him know he'll get no special treatment, but when her overtime is cut, she's financially strapped, and agrees to help Ross smuggle cigarettes into Oz. Said (Eamon Walker) is suffering from hypertension, but refuses to take medication that might dull his mind. Schibetta asks O'Reily to help him eliminate competition by shutting down the guards' drug operation. O'Reily accomplishes this by convincing Pokelwaldt to rat on him when he makes a deal with his drug-running partner, Officer Healy (Steve Ryan). O'Reily gets thrown in the hole for a month and Healy gets fired. Sister Pete (Rita Moreno) gets Beecher (Lee Tergensen) to enter drug counseling, but he has a panic attack and races out during his first session. Schillinger (J. K. Simmons) continues to torment Beecher, making him wear lipstick and dress like a woman.

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Keywords

prison, inmate, criminal, murder, life-of-crime, maximum-security, unrest, death-row