Great Performances: Tergesen as Beecher and Meloni as Keller

There were many unexpected things viewers of the HBO series Oz saw when the series began its six season run ten years ago (in the pre-Sopranos days, mind you). But amongst all the shankings, drug overdoses and gratuitous male nudity, most never expected to see a man-on-man love relationship as tender and complex as the one between Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen) and Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni).

Beecher, an alcoholic lawyer, and Keller, a violent sociopath, shared a rocky history on the series, beginning with the second season. Their unconventional love affair was often jeopardized by the machinations of the resident white supramicist Vern Schillinger (an electrifying J.K. Simmons), and the dynamics of this unlikely "love triangle" played out until the ultimate tragedies of the final episode. Nevertheless, even with all the death and drama inherent in a show set in a maximum security prison, the obsessive love between the two characters, as embodied realistically and honestly by Tergesen and Meloni, struck a chord with viewers.

Even now, four years after the series ended, Beecher and Keller still inspire fan fiction, video tributes and even homemade action figures (complete with swastiska tattoo and handy K-Y Jelly accessory, of course).

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