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vanillalimeI have a long, rambling tale to tell! It's a little exciting, even if the ending is rather anti-climactic.
Using the Wayback Machine, I've been poking around HBO's old official Oz website, which includes their old fan message boards. The whole experience has been frustrating at times, probably because I have a limited understanding of how Wayback really "works" (some of the website's pages were captured, while others weren't; some of the captured links work, but many don't, etc.).
BUT I was able decipher from several posts at the message board that APPARENTLY never-before-seen (not legally, anyway) additonal episodes of Oz exist! The details are still murky on how they came about, but I can explain the gist of it. (It's been like trying to put together a puzzle when you only have a handful of pieces.)
These so-called lost episodes of Oz can be divided into two distinct categories: (1) episodes made from additional footage that was created during the course of the show (!), and (2) at least four episodes of a Season 7 that was filmed after Season 6 had aired (!!!).
The story behind Season 7
So, this is basically what happened: rap duo Method Man and Redman produced at least four (and maybe as many as eight) episodes of a Season 7. (Method Man played the character Tug Daniels in four episodes of Season 4b, and he and Redman were branching out into TV production around this time.) I'm not sure who wrote the episodes, but it was NOT Tom Fontana, who was not personally involved in this endeavor. Season 7 was supposed to premiere on Showtime's pay-per-view channel ("SET") in late spring 2004 at a cost of $20 per episode. But there was a legal dispute between Viacom and HBO over the rights to Oz, and these episodes never aired.
The people on the message board had mixed feelings about a Season 7 when they first caught wind of it in early 2004. One of them emailed Tom Fontana, and Fontana replied to him with a quasi-explanation of what was happening. (Fontana was known to personally answer fans' emails, so I don't have a problem in believing that this is legit.) This fan summarized Fontana's explanation and posted it to the board in March 2004. Here is part 1 of his post (part 2 to come later):
Okay, obviously parts of this are confusing, so it's hard to tell EXACTLY what was going on and who was involved. But it sounds like Lee, Kirk, and Dean all continued their roles? The Wayback Machine only captured certain pages of the board over time, so it was impossible to find context or follow any discussion for long. I'm sure there was more discussion about the content of Season 7 that I just couldn't access.
Time went by, and confusion regarding the status of Season 7 grew among board members. And then, in the fall of 2004, a fan posted the following messages as part of a discussion:
Which, yeah, I know it sounds a little suspicious. Vahue as warden? But, hey, maybe they were just trying to find roles for the people who were available and willing to do the show again? It's not like it would be the craziest plot devolpment in the history of TV. (Remember when Fonzie became a teacher on Happy Days? Heh.)
Anyway, it seems clear that SOME kind of additional season was created, but I doubt that it will ever see the light of day. And in all honesty, I have a hard time believing that the quality of these episodes was on par with the original series, so maybe it's just as well.
HOWEVER
The story behind Fontana's additional footage
That email from Fontana to the fan explaining the Season 7 situation also contained information about TEN HOURS worth of additional footage from the original show! Here is part 2 of the fan's post to the message board:
Okay, first and foremost, "MURPHY ALSO HAS AN UNRELEASED NUDE SCENE."
Let me repeat that: MURPHY HAS AN UNRELEASED NUDE SCENE
Be still, my Murphy-lovin' heart! ♥ ♥
I always figured that there had to be a lot more deleted footage than what we were given on the DVDs, but I had no idea how much! Possible movies? Four episodes after Season 2? (Does that mean there was more B/K?!) And it sounds like they filmed alternate endings for all the characters at the end of Season 4 when they didn't know if the show was coming back or not, similar to how they filmed Toby being paroled and dancing off into the forest with Katherine (which we know they edited into the show as a dream sequence because Fontana liked the final product so much). Filming alternate endings for other characters makes sense, and that Schillinger still dies in this version as well. His death must have always been a part of Fontana's overall plan for that character arc.
I'm not sure how so much of Jeffereson Keane's story could continue, seeing how he was dead and all. Maybe it was done as flashbacks?
And, oh, I'd have LOVED to see Agent Taylor with Hank. MABYE YOU SHOULD'VE LISTENED TO TOBY AND GONE AFTER SCHILLINGER AND NOT CHRIS, YOU DUMBASS
The circumstances of Kosygin's death (at the hand of a character played by Amy Madigan while he was in the Hole) are known because TV Guide had included it in the episode's official description, so that lines up.
My goodness, it would be wonderful if we could get a new release of the complete series (in high-def, please) with all this bonus footage (MURPHY NUDE SCENE) as an extra feature! Maybe someday! Maybe the upcoming 20th anniversary of the premiere will inspire someone over at HBO!
And that's it for this week's discovery! No actual footage, sadly, so perhaps it's not quite as exciting as my discovery of "Starwater" (which I think will forever be my shining moment of Oz fandom glory), but it's still interesting!
Using the Wayback Machine, I've been poking around HBO's old official Oz website, which includes their old fan message boards. The whole experience has been frustrating at times, probably because I have a limited understanding of how Wayback really "works" (some of the website's pages were captured, while others weren't; some of the captured links work, but many don't, etc.).
BUT I was able decipher from several posts at the message board that APPARENTLY never-before-seen (not legally, anyway) additonal episodes of Oz exist! The details are still murky on how they came about, but I can explain the gist of it. (It's been like trying to put together a puzzle when you only have a handful of pieces.)
These so-called lost episodes of Oz can be divided into two distinct categories: (1) episodes made from additional footage that was created during the course of the show (!), and (2) at least four episodes of a Season 7 that was filmed after Season 6 had aired (!!!).
The story behind Season 7
So, this is basically what happened: rap duo Method Man and Redman produced at least four (and maybe as many as eight) episodes of a Season 7. (Method Man played the character Tug Daniels in four episodes of Season 4b, and he and Redman were branching out into TV production around this time.) I'm not sure who wrote the episodes, but it was NOT Tom Fontana, who was not personally involved in this endeavor. Season 7 was supposed to premiere on Showtime's pay-per-view channel ("SET") in late spring 2004 at a cost of $20 per episode. But there was a legal dispute between Viacom and HBO over the rights to Oz, and these episodes never aired.
The people on the message board had mixed feelings about a Season 7 when they first caught wind of it in early 2004. One of them emailed Tom Fontana, and Fontana replied to him with a quasi-explanation of what was happening. (Fontana was known to personally answer fans' emails, so I don't have a problem in believing that this is legit.) This fan summarized Fontana's explanation and posted it to the board in March 2004. Here is part 1 of his post (part 2 to come later):
I got an email from Tom Fontana late last night. I had emailed him to ask him about those stupid rapper guys taking over his show. He told me about the continuing management conflicts involving viacom and their relationship with HBO. He said the only way to continue writing oz was to move it to a viacom owner network, not HBO. He said he has ties to HBO and wasn't willing to jepodize that relationship. He said he signed a 4 year deal to have the oz set in Bayonne, NJ. He has used it for 2 and has 2 years remaining for the next writers. He said he left oz with 3 of the 4 main characters from the first episode until season 6. Only Said, who express interest in pursuing movie role was removed. He said he left Beecher, Alvarez and O'Reilly for the new writers. He said he could have paroled Beecher and Alvarez to ruin the writing possibilities but he didn't know Chuck Zito and Chris Meloni would already be casualties of not wanting to be involved in a project he is not involved in. He also said by killing Schillinger, he got to tell his story.
Okay, obviously parts of this are confusing, so it's hard to tell EXACTLY what was going on and who was involved. But it sounds like Lee, Kirk, and Dean all continued their roles? The Wayback Machine only captured certain pages of the board over time, so it was impossible to find context or follow any discussion for long. I'm sure there was more discussion about the content of Season 7 that I just couldn't access.
Time went by, and confusion regarding the status of Season 7 grew among board members. And then, in the fall of 2004, a fan posted the following messages as part of a discussion:
Go get season 7 from a corner near you. Method Man produced season 7 with Vahue as warden and Querns as governor, some of stars were missing but worth the 4 episodes that they made for SET that never aired.
**
They had season 7 on the streets here in Brooklyn awhile ago, its bootleg. O'Reilly is running the homeboys now.
**
Only the first 4 eps of season 7 were make, Method Man wrote pt.2 coming soon on the back but SET never aired the episodes because Viacom is in a legal dispute with HBO over rights.
Which, yeah, I know it sounds a little suspicious. Vahue as warden? But, hey, maybe they were just trying to find roles for the people who were available and willing to do the show again? It's not like it would be the craziest plot devolpment in the history of TV. (Remember when Fonzie became a teacher on Happy Days? Heh.)
Anyway, it seems clear that SOME kind of additional season was created, but I doubt that it will ever see the light of day. And in all honesty, I have a hard time believing that the quality of these episodes was on par with the original series, so maybe it's just as well.
HOWEVER
The story behind Fontana's additional footage
That email from Fontana to the fan explaining the Season 7 situation also contained information about TEN HOURS worth of additional footage from the original show! Here is part 2 of the fan's post to the message board:
[I got an email from Tom Fontana late last night.] Also, he said he has up to 10 hours of unreleased footage. This includes material for future DVD released and possible movies. He said he has not only deleted scenes but also 2 sets of 4 1hour lost seasons. 1 set occuring after season 2 and another after season 4 part 2. He has several alternate endings not just the death of Schillinger after season pt.2. He also has Leon, Jefferson Keane from season 1 in an expanded role throughout the first season with a different climax after the riot. He said Leon, a friend of Fontana continued filming because he had asked to only work 4 episodes but was unhappy the way his character demised. Murphy also has an unreleased nude scene and Hank has a "weird" interaction with agent Taylor. Kosygin also has extended footage explaining his departure. There are many dream sequences not shown that character's including but not limited to: Cyril, Alvarez, McManus, and Poet.
Okay, first and foremost, "MURPHY ALSO HAS AN UNRELEASED NUDE SCENE."
Let me repeat that: MURPHY HAS AN UNRELEASED NUDE SCENE
Be still, my Murphy-lovin' heart! ♥ ♥
I always figured that there had to be a lot more deleted footage than what we were given on the DVDs, but I had no idea how much! Possible movies? Four episodes after Season 2? (Does that mean there was more B/K?!) And it sounds like they filmed alternate endings for all the characters at the end of Season 4 when they didn't know if the show was coming back or not, similar to how they filmed Toby being paroled and dancing off into the forest with Katherine (which we know they edited into the show as a dream sequence because Fontana liked the final product so much). Filming alternate endings for other characters makes sense, and that Schillinger still dies in this version as well. His death must have always been a part of Fontana's overall plan for that character arc.
I'm not sure how so much of Jeffereson Keane's story could continue, seeing how he was dead and all. Maybe it was done as flashbacks?
And, oh, I'd have LOVED to see Agent Taylor with Hank. MABYE YOU SHOULD'VE LISTENED TO TOBY AND GONE AFTER SCHILLINGER AND NOT CHRIS, YOU DUMBASS
The circumstances of Kosygin's death (at the hand of a character played by Amy Madigan while he was in the Hole) are known because TV Guide had included it in the episode's official description, so that lines up.
My goodness, it would be wonderful if we could get a new release of the complete series (in high-def, please) with all this bonus footage (MURPHY NUDE SCENE) as an extra feature! Maybe someday! Maybe the upcoming 20th anniversary of the premiere will inspire someone over at HBO!
And that's it for this week's discovery! No actual footage, sadly, so perhaps it's not quite as exciting as my discovery of "Starwater" (which I think will forever be my shining moment of Oz fandom glory), but it's still interesting!
