HBO has had an amazing run over the past few years, hasn't it? Fan favorite The Sopranos certainly needs no introduction. Six Feet Under proved that funeral homes can actually be quite lively. Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm is easily one of the funniest half-hours on television. Carnivale, despite its short lifespan, was perhaps the most uniquely fascinating attempt of them all. But in most fans' eyes, nothing really broke the mold quite like Tom Fontana's Oz, a gritty, disturbing drama set in the fictional Oswald Maximum Security Prison.

Premiering in 1997, Oz finally closed its doors in 2003 after a successful 56-episode tenure. Though plenty of other hard-edged crime dramas helped to fill the void (including The Wire and The Shield), Oz was simply one-of-a-kind in all respects. The heavily claustrophobic setting---not to mention the unique, multiple perspectives---certainly gave it a good head start.

First and foremost, what made Oz so successful is the strong writing. Although performances were universally excellent, the raw feel of the stories and dialogue really put this show over the top. Often times, the viewer might think a new character is brought on board for the long haul, only to witness their death 15 minutes later. It's truly a series that commands the complete attention of the audience; not just for the character interaction, but for how quickly events transpire. The pacing is steady but tight, while the overall atmosphere is one of the strongest of any television show. Oz is so emotionally taxing that it's though to watch more than one episode per sitting---in fact, you'd almost think each episode was a feature-length film, not a mere 60 minutes. Even in its weakest moments, Oz never drags its feet.

After more than three seasons of consistently strong episodes, Oz finally stumbled a bit. The fourth year was actually quite consistent---especially considering it contained twice as many episodes---yet things just didn't quite feel the same. Season Five took a turn for the worse (and is, in my opinion, the least impressive of all six), introducing a few supernatural elements into the mix that seemed seriously out of place. Still, this wouldn't be the first HBO series that managed to rebound from a weak penultimate season: Six Feet Under's fourth year wasn't especially impressive, but the fifth showed a marked improvement. It's basically the same story with this sixth and final season of Oz: it may not be quite as potent as the first several years, but it represents a notable step in the right direction.

In more ways than one, Season Six of Oz offers a fair amount of closure to the series. From the very first episode, we get the feeling that it's the beginning of the end; thankfully, it manages to retain a few strengths from the first few years. The relationships between the inmates and the guards---both with and apart from each other---are complex and well-rendered, offering a potent mix of realism that helps ground a few far-fetched themes. Only a handful of elements feel rushed this time around, as if Oz wanted to go a seventh season but cut things short midway through: characters are killed off as quickly as ever, but it feels as if Oz is nearing the breaking point. The feature-length series finale is mostly satisfying, though the extended cut (exclusive to this DVD set) is perhaps a more fitting conclusion. Even with a few nitpicks, most fans who toughed it out through Season Five should be happy with this collection of episodes.

Presented by HBO in a three-disc package, Oz: The Complete Sixth Season took long enough to arrive but seems worth the wait. All eight episodes are presented in their original format---and though the technical presentation is a bit disappointing, the season is supplemented by a few interesting extras. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Strangely enough, Oz doesn't look as good on DVD as it really should---even worse, it seems to be a mild step down from the original broadcast presentation! Image detail is fine, but the color seems off and many scenes appear a bit darker than they need to. Additionally, a number of these darker scenes suffer from digital artifacting and mild pixellation. There are several occasions where color distortions and other visual effects are used, so the show shouldn't be penalized for "bending the rules" a little. Still, Oz: Season Six isn't the best-looking effort in HBO's catalogue.

As with previous seasons, the audio is presented in three options: Dolby 5.1 Surround (English) and Dolby 2.0 Surround (English or Spanish). Dialogue is clean and clear, boasting a natural but satisfying mix that puts you right in the middle of the action. Although Oz is primarily a dialogue-driven series, many small details make their way into the surround channels. Each of the episodes also includes Closed Captioning, as well as English, French or Spanish subtitles.

Also here is an Extended Cut of the series finale---and though the strange organization of chapter divisions prevented me from timing the episode, it adds in roughly ten minutes' worth of deleted scenes. Here's the bad news: these new scenes are presented in fairly rough form, often displaying time codes and muddy video quality. On a related note, there's also a separate collection of Deleted Scenes for the complete season (18 clips, 21:42 total); they're worth watching, but also display the same visual problems as the extended episode. Last but not least is a collection of Cast Audition Tapes (circa 1997, 18:59 total); while only the most ardent fans will find this interesting, it's nice to revisit Oz from the very beginning…and see a few key players try for completely different parts, of course. This is certainly a decent mix of goodies, but a retrospective featurette with the cast and crew would've really hit the spot.

Harsh and unforgiving, the final round of HBO's landmark series Oz marks an improvement over the slightly disappointing fifth season. Though the final episode aired three years ago, this three-disc collection provides additional closure that fans should appreciate. The technical presentation is a bit underwhelming (at least in a visual sense), but most of the included bonus features are appropriate and worth checking out. Those who own the first five seasons of Oz will obviously want to complete their collections, while newcomers are encouraged to start from the beginning. Recommended.