| Great Men | |
|---|---|
| Oz episode | |
| Episode No. | Season 2, Episode 3 # 11 |
| Directed by | Bob Balaban |
| Written by | Tom Fontana |
| Original Air Date | July 27, 1998 |
| Episode Guide | |
| Previous Ancient Tribes |
Next Losing Your Appeal |
Great Men is the third episode of the second season, and the eleventh overall episode of the HBO television series Oz. Written by Tom Fontana with the teleplay by Tom Fontana & Sean Jablonski and directed by Bob Balaban, it originally aired on July 27, 1998.
Theme[]
History - Who will be remembered 1000 years from now?
Summary[]
Alvarez knows who raped Glynn's daughter, but refuses to tell the warden. Wangler is making progress at school, but his cellmate, Adebisi, isn't a fan of higher education. When Hill's judge is convicted of accepting bribes, Said takes up Hill's case.
Plot[]
Alvarez gets a phone call from the man who raped Glynn's daughter. Richie overhears him brag to Bob Rebadow that he knows the rapist's identity, and Richie tells Mukada who tells Glynn what Alvarez knows. Alvarez won't tell Glynn because of the abuse suffered in the previous episode. Glynn prepares to beat the information out of Alvarez, but Mukada intervenes. The phone logs are monitored randomly and this call wasn't documented. Peter offers to help persuade Alvarez, but Glynn refuses the help, both because he knows how Peter would get the information and because he doesn't want to owe Peter another favor.
Augustus Hill discusses the theme of History: Evil Men, Great Men, end of millennium lists.
Montage of the prisoners in their cells at night. Introduction of "The Mole", digging his way through the floor of his cell. Bob warns him that the CO is coming and he returns to his bunk. Beecher disturbs Hill with his stinky farts.
Later, Wittlesey asks McManus out to dinner to celebrate her first day back in Em City - he declines, saying he has a date. She endures the leers of the inmates as she patrols the main floor.
Adebesi is causing more trouble, from threatening Wangler about going to school to spreading rumors that Italians are running the kitchen because Glynn wants a war.
William Giles, an inmate with dementia, keeps repeating "Peter Marie". He's in solitary for killing another inmate. Sister Peter Marie asks Glynn to remove him from solitary, but he refuses.
Said, who has been reading up on judicial litigation, decides to help Hill when it is confirmed that the judge presiding over Hill's trial may have taken a bribe, as he did for other trials he presided over. Said cannot fully help Hill because he is an inmate and not a real lawyer.
Ryan O'Reily is diagnosed with breast cancer. Prison staff (except for prison doctor) agree to save money by giving him a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. Ryan is visited by his mentally-challenged brother, Cyril (played by Dean Winters' real brother Scott), before undergoing the surgery at the prison's expense.
Meanwhile, Schillinger is caught bribing a CO to kill Beecher, and is told he will be transferred out of Em City and charged with conspiracy. He tries to trade what he knows about Wittlesey killing Ross for a deal, but it doesn't work. He sends his lawyer to find his meth-using sons. Before the transfer, Beecher taunts Schillinger in the mail room. Schillinger gets beaten by the home-boys, then proposes to murder someone (Vogel) just to strengthen the reputation of the Aryans. After receiving credit from all the inmates for the Vogel murder, Shillinger names Beecher as his next target.
The episode ends with the arrival of Shirley Bellinger, who has drowned her daughter, is the first woman sent to Death Row in the state since 1841.
Narrations[]
End of the century is coming, y'all! End of the millennium! A lot of lists being printed about "who's the greatest person of the past thousand years?!" By great, they mean who had the most impact? Einstein, Edison, Freud. I can tell you one thing for sure: my name won't be on that list! Hahaha! And neither will anyone else's here in Oz.
Bad men have their impact, too. But you gotta be really bad. Like Ivan the Terrible, Jack the Ripper, Adolf Hitler. Yeah, old Adolf was an evil fuck. And let's face it, evil is the only thing that has survived intact these past thousand years.
Prisoner number 98B242, Agamemnon Busmalis, A.K.A. The Mole. Convicted March 10, '98. Grand theft larceny, breaking and entering. Sentence: 10 years, up for parole in 4.
Booker T. Washington. Now, he belongs on that list. Born a slave, he rose up and shook the tree. Everyone knew who he was. Everyone all around the world. Even the president of the United States asked for his advice. Now, how the fuck did Booker T. do that?
Mr. Booker T. Washington writes in his book, "I have great faith in the power and influence of fact. It is seldom that anything is permanently gained by holding back fact." You want some facts? The U.S. Department of Justice reports that the typical prisoner in America is an under-educated, young male minority. But you could of guessed that. If that under-educated, young male minority receives his GED in prison, he is far less likely to come back. If that same kid manages to go to college while he's inside, he'll almost definitely never see a prison cell again. Last year, one state; California, spent more money on it's penal system than it did on higher education. These are the facts and figures. You ain't got to be that smart to add them up.
Prisoner number 58G714, William Giles. Convicted February 6, 1958. Second-degree murder. Sentenced to life, up for parole in 60 years.
Do you think that when the first millennium ended, back in 999, that they made lists? Did they even know the millennium was ending?
Now, you'd think a doctor or two would be on the top of the list of the greatest person of the millennium. I mean, doctors do research, discover diseases, syndromes. But no one's gonna put Drs. Epstein and Barr, Drs. Guillain and Barre, Dr. Down or Dr. Alzheimer on any list. Because for all their hard work, hearing their names fills us with dread. Their names make us sick.
Prisoner number 98V238, Alexander Vogel. Convicted June 1, '98. Two counts murder in the second degree, theft. Sentence: 50 years, up for parole in 30.
Maybe the greatest man of the millennium was a woman. Princess Di, Mother Teresa, Catherine the Great, Madam Curie, Marilyn Monroe. Say what you want about her, yo. She made her little slice of the millenium a shitload more interesting.
Yo, imagine being remembered for a thousand years. The things you did when you was alive reaching across time and touching the lives of people not yet born. That's some dream. Yeah, that's why people write books, start religions, find cures, run for president. But me? I don't want to be a great man. I don't care if I'm remembered for the next thousand years. All I ask, is that if we pass on the street, notice me.
Deceased[]
- Unnamed Man (flashback) - Pushed in front of truck by William Giles.
- Mrs. O'Reily (mentioned) - Died of complications during operation.
- Elderly Man and Woman (flashback) - Stabbed to death by Alexander Vogel.
- Alexander Vogel - Stabbed and cut to death by Vern Schillinger and Mark Mack.
Crime Flashbacks[]
Agamemnon Busmalis A.K.A The Mole - Grand Theft Larceny, Breaking and Entering
William Giles - Second Degree Murder
Alexander Vogel - Two counts murder, theft