Round 1, Heat 3 - ER v Oz

[Uncle Leo]

Which are better, hospitals or prisons? There's only one way to find out....VOTE!

 

[Pubey]

Oz was excellent, an innovative show and a good opportunity for HBO to develop its roster of actors, writers and directors.

Never really watched ER much. The missus loves it though.

 

[Pubey]

 

[MK Shrimper]

ER - Without a doubt THE best medical drama ever. I remember the media buzz around the pilot and I thought, meh, I'll give it a watch to see what the fuss was about....and it was absolutely electric.

Dr Mark Green being woken after a scant bit of sleep and then running through 24hrs of his life - the battles he faced in the hospital and his personal life, with the mountains of red tape (which was always skillfully avoided!) and then after he's saved a few lives, he goes to get some sleep....and pow, another emergency.

Developed by Michael Crichton (of Jurrasic Park and others) fame, produced by Speilberg. It became the most nominated programme in TV history, winning 24 Emmys in total. It brought us such talents as George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Julianna Marquiles, Mekhi Phifer and many others....for me it was must see TV, and I have watched every one....from kidnaps in Africa, to a ******* doctor being crushed by a helicoper, to the tragic earty death of Mark Green (which I don't mind admitting I had trouble watching)....rollercoaster TV and sadly, sadly missed.

Vote ER!

 

[Uncle Leo]

ER - Without a doubt THE best medical drama ever. I remember the media buzz around the pilot and I thought, meh, I'll give it a watch to see what the fuss was about....and it was absolutely electric.

Dr Mark Green being woken after a scant bit of sleep and then running through 24hrs of his life - the battles he faced in the hospital and his personal life, with the mountains of red tape (which was always skillfully avoided!) and then after he's saved a few lives, he goes to get some sleep....and pow, another emergency.

Developed by Michael Crichton (of Jurrasic Park and others) fame, produced by Speilberg. It became the most nominated programme in TV history, winning 24 Emmys in total. It brought us such talents as George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Julianna Marquiles, Mekhi Phifer and many others....for me it was must see TV, and I have watched every one....from kidnaps in Africa, to a ******* doctor being crushed by a helicoper, to the tragic earty death of Mark Green (which I don't mind admitting I had trouble watching)....rollercoaster TV and sadly, sadly missed.

Vote ER!

Pratt's death really got me. You thought he'd survived, then he slowly started fading, then his younger brother led the gurney out of the ER. :'(:'(:'(

 

[steveo]

Not seen either so in the interests of fairness i wont vote.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Pratt's death really got me. You thought he'd survived, then he slowly started fading, then his younger brother led the gurney out of the ER. :'(:'(:'(

They knew how to pull at the heartstrings indeed. Fantastic writing.

 

[WightShrimper]

Also cannot vote as I've never watched Oz.

 

[Uncle Leo]

For people not voting as they've not seen one show or both - don't let that put you off! Nominators should try and win round the neutrals with pics, clips, reviews and suchlike.

 

[Pubey]

[video=youtube;6wQEmBWKDwg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQEmBWKDwg[/video]

 

[Napster]

Not seen either but Oz looks amazing. ER looks like Holby on speed.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Can't do clips, but here's some ladydees....

...one for the ladies out there...

 

[MK Shrimper]

Not many chicks and lots of bumming in Oz I seem to remember :whistling:

 

[Nestudas]

Not that it swayed my vote but good use of pics MK :smile:

ER was superb but lost its way towards the latter stages and was good to be finished before it got any poorer imo.

Not seen Oz so shall look out for it.

 

[madaboutblues]

Gorgeous George - mmm say no more - ER all the way

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Oz brought tough, uncompromising viewing to HBO long before The Sopranos and The Wire, and was a springboard for many of the actors that you've seen in those shows, as well as Lost, Law & Order etc. There was far too much male nudity and bumming in it, but I guess to tell the story of prison life and not pull any punches, it had to be there. Violent, nasty, thought provoking and gut-wrenching, the execution sequences always stand out to me as drama at its very peak.

NSFW:

[video=youtube;rLVntUMb96o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLVntUMb96o[/video]

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

And here's another:

[video=youtube;pq8t9qv4r8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq8t9qv4r8A[/video]

 

[Pubey]

The thing I really liked about Oz was the 'theatrical' style, with dark backgrounds, the narrator at the start and the fact that it was a very small set. It really added to the claustrophobic feel of prison life. Very well done and very unique.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Difficult to do clips as you really got to know the characters and the storylines, but here's a great scene....Doug & Carol (gorgeous George and Julliana Marguilles) are back after about 10 years, dealing with organ donation for Neela and Doctor Carter.

[video=youtube;TfbtRMm8i5A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbtRMm8i5A[/video]

Stars Susan Sarandon, one of a legion of A-list celebs who made cameos in its long run.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Unlucky Rusty, I loved Oz twas as you said, pretty groundbreaking telly.