"Medium Rare" is the first episode of the second part of the fourth season and the thirty-third overall episode of the HBO television series Oz.
Plot:[]
Narrations:[]
Oz. The name on the street for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, Level 4. Now, in Oz, our entire day is structured. We know when we'll eat, sleep, work, when we'll have free time. Now, giving a man who's locked up free time is a joke, 'cause there are till all kinds of restrictions as to what you can and cannot do. Some people try to better themselves by reading or exercise. Some pray. Some plot. Some just watch TV... Yes, television keeps us busy. Keeps us happy.
Prisoner number 01W711, Omar White. Convicted January 4th, 2001. Murder in the first degree. Sentence: 75 years. Up for parole in 20.
Television is a medium rarely well done. My uncle Bilbo said that. Okay, somebody said it first, but my uncle Bilbo was the first one to say it to me. Now, don't get me wrong. I love watching the news on TV. Dan and Tom and Peter, and maybe a little Jim Lehrer if I'm feeling brainy. I flip back and forth between news shows in hopes of catching the same story, 'cause each news show tells a story in a different way. ABC leaves out a fact that CBS makes a big deal of. CBS interviews its expert who totally disagrees with NBC's expert. NBC goes in depth, while ABC gives the same story five seconds' air time. You see, I figure if I catch all three versions, maybe combined, I get a little taste of the truth.
Journalists are supposed to be impartial. They're supposed to keep their personal opinions to themselves. However, on TV, we know what the reporter is feeling. We see Sam Donaldson or Andrea Mitchell giving us the facts, but with the camera that close up, we can also tell by a raised eyebrow, a tiny inflection, what they really think about the person who they're reporting on. Now, Walter Cronkite, he had the poker face. Nobody ever knew what old Walt was thinking. So, while he was telling the truth, he was also lying to the camera. That's genius!
Television has the power to enlighten, to inform, to lay the bare truth before the eyes of the public. Television is an extraordinary gift. As much a miracle from God as Lazarus, rising from the dead. But do we use the gift wisely? Have we ever?
Deaths:[]
(Unnamed): Killed off-screen by Omar White's cousin
(Unnamed woman): Shot to death by Omar White
Crime Flashbacks:[]
Omar White: Murder in the first degree