Culture of Pop

‘Oz’ Characters Examined Part 5 – Bob Rebadow

bobrebadowOngoing for 25 total entries, I will be examining the best and most memorable figures from Oz. The prison show was HBO’s first venture into dramatic television, making the series a critical point of progress for the network. Many cast members went on to have bigger careers that partially spawned due to excellence on Oz. The majority of TV shows, past and current, don’t provide enough characters to justify a list of this length. 25 feels like an ideal total that should please fans of the show in addition to detailing a reasonable number of top notch personalities.

Subjective lists are inherently debatable as personal tastes and individual responses determine how a given character is viewed. In other words, disagreements/omissions will be a reality. The majority of days (weekends included) will feature either one or two articles from this list being published. Exceptions will be if I have an interview or otherwise important project to publish, in which case the Oz series may take a brief break. All prior entries will be linked at the bottom of every fresh article. If you’re a fan of the show and appreciate this project, please promote it widely and spread the word. Pop Culture Spin appreciates your efforts. Up next in the list, we have Bob Rebadow, played by George Morfogen.

What a strange person Bob was. The elder of Oz, a survivor of a failed execution attempt, and one who blended in rather than pursuing trouble, Bob was truly a unique character. He was a short, bald man who other inmates largely left alone because of his age and harmlessness. Bob usually represented comic relief of sorts – his botched execution was the result of a power surge that saw Bob go to the medical unit for injuries rather than the grave for his death. As he received treatment, the death penalty was abolished, causing Bob to be a lifer rather than a death row inmate.

In spite of his age, Bob survived Oz‘s entire run, a rare feat for a show that loved to kill off primary characters. As mentioned in Simon Adebisi’s article, the debut piece of this list, HBO’s commitment to destroying those we love has grown into a regularity for the network giant. It was nice to see Bob survive since any situation in which he died would’ve been difficult to watch. He was hopeless to defend himself and lived out of other inmates having the collective decision not to kill him instead of any great self defense practices Bob had.

Beyond his inability to die as a character, Bob was known for strange rants and odd statements. He could sometimes speak in a chilling style which bordered in nonsensical lunacy. Bob also had a period of aggressive behavior, but this was later attributed to a brain tumor which was removed and made Bob return to normal. Since he survived the entire show, was one of the oldest and wisest inmates in the prison population, and certainly carved out an individual personality, Bob deserves to be remembered.

Published Entries of my Examining Oz Characters List
Part 1 – Simon Adebisi / Part 2 – Father Ray Mukada / Part 3 – Chris Keller
Part 4 – Diane Whittlesbey / Part 5 – Bob Rebadow / Part 6 – Augustus Hill
Part 7 – Jaz Hoyt / Part 8 – Ryan O’Reily / Part 9 – Arnold “Poet” Jackson
Part 10 – Sister Peter Marie Reimondo / Part 11 – Shirley Bellinger / Part 12 – Miguel Alvarez
Part 13 – Warden Leo Glynn / Part 14 – Chucky Pancamo / Part 15 – Gloria Nathan
Part 16 – Cyril O’Reily / Part 17 – Governor James Devlin / Part 18 – Kareem Said
Part 19 – Kenny Wangler / Part 20 – Vernon Schillinger / Part 21 – Agamemnon Busmalis
Part 22 – Tim McManus / Part 23 – Enrique Morales / Part 24 – Burr Redding / Part 25 – Tobias Beecher

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