Q 01/05

Oz was created and principally written by whom?

A) David Simon

B) Tom Fontana

C) David Chase

D) Steven Bochco

Answer · why

B) Tom Fontana

Tom Fontana got his start in television writing for St. Elsewhere, after producer Bruce Paltrow hired him.

Q 02/05

Oz holds what distinction in HBO's history?

A) Its first original series

B) Its first Emmy winner

C) Its first one-hour drama series

D) Its first show shot on film

Answer · why

C) Its first one-hour drama series

HBO made Oz its first one-hour drama series, following inmates in an experimental prison unit built around rehabilitation.

Q 03/05

In what year did Oz premiere?

A) 1997

B) 1998

C) 1999

D) 2000

Answer · why

A) 1997

It ran for six seasons, ending in February 2003.

Q 04/05

Which Shakespeare play turns deadly when Oz's inmates stage it?

A) Hamlet

B) Othello

C) Macbeth

D) Coriolanus

Answer · why

C) Macbeth

Macbeth turned deadly when Keller swapped a prop knife for a real one, so Beecher, playing Macduff, really stabbed Schillinger in the title role.

Q 05/05

'Oz' is the nickname of which fictional prison?

A) Osborne State Penitentiary

B) Oswald State Correctional Facility

C) Ozark Federal Prison

D) Oswego County Jail

Answer · why

B) Oswald State Correctional Facility

Oswald State Correctional Facility, formerly Oswald State Penitentiary, is the fictional level 4 maximum-security prison the show nicknames Oz.