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(More customer reviews)With the reality TV glut mercifully showing signs of abating, it looks like there could be a new flourishing of quality scripted TV, and FX's Rescue Me deserves to be at the forefront of any such charge. Much has been made of the complex, extended storylines incorporated by so many shows in the past decade or so (e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, ER, etc. etc. etc.), and this one is no exception, but it still deserves credit for its boldness, realism, and skillful avoidance of predictability. Surprised as I was to realize it about halfway through the season, Rescue Me reminds me a great deal of a show I used to watch with my wife back when we were engaged, also known for its odd poignancy, its emphasis on bonding and complicated relationships, its bawdy set pieces, and its heavy use of New York City as an ancillary character. Yes, that's right, at bottom Rescue Me has a great deal in common with Sex in the City, except with a lot more fires and death.
It becomes apparent pretty quickly in the premiere episode of this show that it's not the politically correct post-9/11 tribue to firefighters that one might be given to expect. In the opening few minutes, we see Denis Leary's Tommy Gavin having the first of many lenghty coversations with his cousin and best friend Jimmy, which wouldn't be all that unusual if Jimmy hadn't been killed in the World Trade Center attacks. It's only about five minutes later that another firefighter complains about the decline in his level of action (only he uses a much more explicit word) as the memory of the attacks fades. As introductions go, it's a pretty appropriate one.
Things don't go too far uphill from there. Filled with realistic dialogue and compelling performances, Rescue Me strips away the layers of adulation that have surrounded firefighters since 9/11 and reveals them as what they are: people doing a job. Yes, they might be braver than most, but the firefighters depicted here are still flawed, multifaceted characters faced with all the recurring problems and bad habits of real people. This is intelligent, challenging stuff, and while it can get a bit sensationalistic, it's considerably more grounded in reality than, say, Nip/Tuck. At its best, it's a savagely funny, darkly moving testament to the chaotic tragicomedy that is our existence.
This first season is some of the most compulsively watchable television around, becoming as addictive as a crack habit as it careens from one compelling plot line to another, combining its delirious vulgarity with an almost total lack of romance. One of the show's underlying themes is the idea that people crazy enough to run into burning buildings for a living might not be entirely stable in their personal lives, and one of the most endearing qualities of Rescue Me is the way it manages to capture its characters at both their strongest and their most vulnerable. Even during the more emotionally charged plot threads-the fallout from Chief Riley's beating of a gay ex-firefighter; Lieutenant Shea's poetry writing; Franco's discovery that he has a five-year old daughter; the introduction of a woman into the house-Rescue Me exhibits a noble refusal to give in to sentiment. With few exceptions, the characters here don't have grand epiphanies or act in completely contradictory ways from episode to episode and they certainly don't always do the right thing; they're presented as is, with all the nagging inconsistencies associated with our species.
Leading the way is Leary as the protagonist Tommy, a walking contradiction whose dedication to his job and his family is matched by his anger, self-destructiveness, and guilt. Tommy talks to the ghosts of the people he's seen killed; cheats on his semi-estranged wife when he's not tormenting her yuppie boyfriend; drinks compulsively; and starts an ultra-illegal affair with the widow of the aforementioned Jimmy, and all along it's nearly impossible to stop watching him. With Leary clearly having fun snarling and shouting his way through the role, Tommy easily makes for one of the more compelling anti-heroes in TV history, especially when he begins his major downward spiral in the season's final few episodes. While Tommy's (and the show's) excesses can get a bit numbing after a while (do firefighters really score as much as these guys do, or talk about it as explicitly?), in the end it's all part of the fun. For those poor souls who can't afford HBO (this writer included), Rescue Me is about as daring and fascinating a show as you're likely to find on cable. Oh, and the Von Bondies' Come On, Come On makes for quite possibly the single best introductory song in TV history, having managed to make Rescue Me the one show whose opening credits I always make it a point to watch.
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Rescue Me: The Complete First SeasonTommy Gavin is a lifesaver. Whether he is pulling survivors from fiery high-rise infernos or the twisted steel of a subway collision, Gavin takes great pride in leading the heroic but often overwhelmed firefighters of New York City's Truck Company 62. Gavin (Denis Leary) is also a man drifting between sorrow and anger over a recent separation from his wife (Andrea Roth) and three kids, and recurring memories of comrades and New Yorkers fallen victim. Leary and multiple Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Peter Tolan (The Larry Sanders Show, Murphy Brown), the team behind the critically-acclaimed cop drama The JobRescue Me.
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