Rescue Me SPOILERS BELOW... yeah... not like much really went on this week. It's more of what you'd call a transitional episode, I think. Lots of new thoughts, brief touches on most of the old stuff. Nothing especially special.
The biggest point of discussion is the continuing deterioration of Tommy's psyche. As if his personal relationship with Janet isn't bad enough, he's having trouble trusting her with the baby... with good reason, apparently, since she ends up leaving the kid with the 12-year-old while she goes out to get a refill. And with the surface emasculation issues he's got, his biggest problem is his inability to step up and be the one in control of his life that's really his major issue. His prospective girlfriend (the firefighter) pointed it out directly to him, but he was too busy being humiliated by the blow-off to notice she was right.
Don't get me wrong, getting benched at the hockey game, participating in ANOTHER size discussion (this time with the aging new chief) and trampled on by a sweetie who you've just blown it with AGAIN can really put a damper on any man-time you may have going on in your own head. But, jeez, of course it's not going to work out if you're just pointing out, "oh, now I'm ready because my wife and I are broken up again." And then you're still wishy-washy. It's this inability to take, or hold onto, control -- which is because he's overworried about a ton of unimportant stuff -- that's going to screw things up even more. Jan's going to kill herself or something. Then Sheila can move in and get the baby like she wants (nice to see her back on the insanity pills she's been ignoring recently).
The show gave a little more insight into Tommy's problems this week, too, with the shadowy figure (who'll turn out to be himself) appearing in response to Tommy's statement, "I'm back." Tommy's in love with himself more than anything.
In brief:
-- I give this show credit for tackling stuff that tends to be more controversial or taboo for a lot of other shows (comedically a lot of the time, but also in a very real view) -- be it alcoholism, depression or petty free speech issues like the pictures/religious paraphernalia in the lockers.
-- Teddy's REALLY become a useless character. What could have been a hilarious two-episode arc of him in rehab turned out to be two scenes. The whole thing was a waste of time.
-- Quote me. Maggie's going to change her mind about Shawn (who put out a really good performance this week).
--This show is always fun to watch -- it's always show beautifully gritty and cut quite intelligently. I have to stop taking notes for this column and pay more attention...
Like I said, there wasn't much going on overall. Franco's engaged; Lou, still hilarious, calls for a timeout with his post-convent girlfriend... OH! Yeah, that urn in the firehouse isn't going to continue to be a problem or anything... nah. And it's not going to weigh on Tommy at all seeing him all the time as things seem to get tougher and more bleak.
Showing posts with label rescueme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rescueme. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Jamedryl
Rescue Me SPOILERS BELOW
I'm starting to realize how naive and nerdy it is of me to consider Lost to be my favorite show. It's like when I was a kid and though Labyrinth was the best movie ever. Sure, a Bowie-scored Muppet flick is cool (despite his tight purple pants), but there needs to be a more worldly view taken when making such an assertion.
Not that Lost isn't among the best shows ever produced for television, it's just a narrowed, overly cynical view for me to take, I think. Especially considering that I purport to be somewhat of a professional, part-time TV journalist. I'll credit this week's Rescue Me with putting me in this frame of mind. This show has gotten progressively better on a weekly basis since starting in July 2004 and deserves just as high a classification.
Specifically, I want to point out the squad's incident in the burning building -- an everyday occurrence for them, I'm sure, complete with flames, rescues, a baby's delivery, losing track of a team member and getting lost in a NYC building. This is the only show that could make a comedy routine out of that.
Anyway... previously on Rescue Me THE CHIEF KILLED HIMSELF (yes, killed himself, those friends of mine who were heard spouting the query "you think he's dead?"). You would think that's all you'd really have to know coming into this week, but it turns out Jerry gets a more unceremonious sendoff. I read somewhere that the actor who plays the chief, Jack McGee, blames a falling out with Denis Leary for this. I don't necessarily buy into that, and Leary denies it. But, either way, the chief was beaten on every level and I tend to agree with Lou, who gave the guy respect for going out on his terms while the younger guys deemed him a coward.
(Which leads in to a brilliantly performed and written tirade from Tommy, who doesn't get to do the serious stuff with that sort of situation very often. "He used up all the goddamn brave he had" may be among the best lines I've ever heard spoken on television.)
Sadly, instead of focusing on Jerry, this episode is all about Tommy's emasculation. It's common fare for one of the three women in his family to walk all over him, with little in the way of argument (letting his eldest blackmail him into buying furniture, letting his younger daughter draw his attention when she know's he's annoyed about the other one, letting his ex(ish)-wife hold onto him at arms length until SHE'S ready to make time for him). Sheila, too, to just shove her way into the apartment is nothing out of the ordinary.
Then there's the firefighter who saved his life... by the time he gets to her he's a stuttering, scared mess of a man who's unable to unclench and put together a full, truthful sentence. By the time he goes chasing her (the Tommy/Janet do-over was obviously a bad idea) she'll want nothing to do with him... she'll probably be with the goofus Sheila's dating right now. The question now is why is Tommy such a wuss... and now he HAS to find out the answer, since it's starting to physically manifest.
This, again, is a theme in Leary's work. Who knows why... maybe he enjoys exploring it. It's certainly great comedic fodder. But hopefully we're getting to a place where he actually gets down to the bottom of it. (Either that or, early prediction, he'll get news that he has cancer or something and blame his lack of performance on that... and use it to make everyone else feel guilty.)
He's still a romantic, though. He can sit and pontificate about the joys of marriage to Franco and tell him to "pull the trigger" without any hesitation (that's going to be a great exchange next week when Tommy tells Franco he was out of his mind). He obviously wanted the Janet thing really bad and will either be crushed or extra crotchety when next week's edition comes around.
Side notes:
-- Lou will consistently remain my favorite character -- his delivery both comedically and dramatically are impeccable, though it's nice to have Adam Ferrara on full-time duty.
-- Jerry's death being fixed as a heart attack so his son can pick up the benefits was a nice touch, though I'm worried it may come back to haunt Tommy now that his most recent court battle is over.
-- Jamedryl = hilarious.
-- More proof of this show's brilliance:
I'm starting to realize how naive and nerdy it is of me to consider Lost to be my favorite show. It's like when I was a kid and though Labyrinth was the best movie ever. Sure, a Bowie-scored Muppet flick is cool (despite his tight purple pants), but there needs to be a more worldly view taken when making such an assertion.
Not that Lost isn't among the best shows ever produced for television, it's just a narrowed, overly cynical view for me to take, I think. Especially considering that I purport to be somewhat of a professional, part-time TV journalist. I'll credit this week's Rescue Me with putting me in this frame of mind. This show has gotten progressively better on a weekly basis since starting in July 2004 and deserves just as high a classification.
Specifically, I want to point out the squad's incident in the burning building -- an everyday occurrence for them, I'm sure, complete with flames, rescues, a baby's delivery, losing track of a team member and getting lost in a NYC building. This is the only show that could make a comedy routine out of that.
Anyway... previously on Rescue Me THE CHIEF KILLED HIMSELF (yes, killed himself, those friends of mine who were heard spouting the query "you think he's dead?"). You would think that's all you'd really have to know coming into this week, but it turns out Jerry gets a more unceremonious sendoff. I read somewhere that the actor who plays the chief, Jack McGee, blames a falling out with Denis Leary for this. I don't necessarily buy into that, and Leary denies it. But, either way, the chief was beaten on every level and I tend to agree with Lou, who gave the guy respect for going out on his terms while the younger guys deemed him a coward.
(Which leads in to a brilliantly performed and written tirade from Tommy, who doesn't get to do the serious stuff with that sort of situation very often. "He used up all the goddamn brave he had" may be among the best lines I've ever heard spoken on television.)
Sadly, instead of focusing on Jerry, this episode is all about Tommy's emasculation. It's common fare for one of the three women in his family to walk all over him, with little in the way of argument (letting his eldest blackmail him into buying furniture, letting his younger daughter draw his attention when she know's he's annoyed about the other one, letting his ex(ish)-wife hold onto him at arms length until SHE'S ready to make time for him). Sheila, too, to just shove her way into the apartment is nothing out of the ordinary.
Then there's the firefighter who saved his life... by the time he gets to her he's a stuttering, scared mess of a man who's unable to unclench and put together a full, truthful sentence. By the time he goes chasing her (the Tommy/Janet do-over was obviously a bad idea) she'll want nothing to do with him... she'll probably be with the goofus Sheila's dating right now. The question now is why is Tommy such a wuss... and now he HAS to find out the answer, since it's starting to physically manifest.
This, again, is a theme in Leary's work. Who knows why... maybe he enjoys exploring it. It's certainly great comedic fodder. But hopefully we're getting to a place where he actually gets down to the bottom of it. (Either that or, early prediction, he'll get news that he has cancer or something and blame his lack of performance on that... and use it to make everyone else feel guilty.)
He's still a romantic, though. He can sit and pontificate about the joys of marriage to Franco and tell him to "pull the trigger" without any hesitation (that's going to be a great exchange next week when Tommy tells Franco he was out of his mind). He obviously wanted the Janet thing really bad and will either be crushed or extra crotchety when next week's edition comes around.
Side notes:
-- Lou will consistently remain my favorite character -- his delivery both comedically and dramatically are impeccable, though it's nice to have Adam Ferrara on full-time duty.
-- Jerry's death being fixed as a heart attack so his son can pick up the benefits was a nice touch, though I'm worried it may come back to haunt Tommy now that his most recent court battle is over.
-- Jamedryl = hilarious.
-- More proof of this show's brilliance:
Thursday, June 28, 2007
De Niro plays the bull...
Fine, you don't want to weigh in, then you'll just have to listen to me... or just comment later... Either way, I'm gonna blow some big plot points so if you haven't watched Wednesday's Rescue Me yet, STOP HERE.
Big week for the best show on TV through this lame-o summer. And it didn't seem that way at the beginning of what would have been a pretty standard episode if not for the chief's storyline. Even Tommy's psycho-dad bit was relatively normal for this show. (I was really prepared for a nose-ring tearing that would have sent me screaming into the early morning, rain-soaked streets.)
It was, however, interesting to see that the boyfriend is a nice guy and to have a solid example of Tommy being totally, shamelessly unreasonable and self destructive in front of his friends. But Leary does play an awesome crazy dad, doesn't he?
While trashing his relationship with his daughter, Tommy's also having trouble getting together with his rescuer (whose name i forgot to jot down and I can't find on imdb). The nice lady carried him out of the burning house, saving his life, and the show would have us believe that this has him emasculated enough to turn her down, which is a common trend in Leary's work. I tend to think Janet has more to do with it than Tommy's letting on -- and so does his general fear of finding another strong woman who won't put up with him or another crazy woman like Sheila (who he's ALSO still holding out hope for). And this new woman's honestly the best shot he probably has at being happy. But Tommy's destined to crash every single relationship he has.
As great a character as I think Franco is and as hilarious as Teddy can be, I really don't care about their respective storylines right now... anyone else? Teddy's off on a silly tangent trying to get away from his new wife and intruding on a corrections officer who talked him into the wedding... and Franco's busy blowing a good relationship for no apparent reason. Yawn.
And don't even get me started on how the probie's story went nowhere. I had high hopes for the show to honestly tackle assisted suicide instead of having it peter out. It's sad that Shawn had the most interesting developments this week -- finally standing up to Tommy, though weakly, in regards to the fight with the emo kid, and making headway toward a normal conversation with him.
Then there's the chief, and the sad conclusion. I hate saying "I saw this coming," because no one ever believes anyone who says that, but it seemed pretty obvious to me, especially after he risked his new position to quickly scuttle away Tommy's problem and made a heartfelt toast in support of his gay son who had dealt him a staggering disappointment.
I was cringing for the entire second half of the episode because I was afraid that it was coming. The chief has been the most human character on the show, and his stories over the past few years (his wife's Alzheimer's, his son, his health problems, and most recently his job loss) have been the show's real grounding in reality. The depression of all these things finally weighed down on him, and his decision to kill himself is not surprising after getting to a point where he'd lost absolutely EVERYTHING he held dear.
His wife is no longer the same person; his son's never going to change; his career as a firefighter is reduced to sitting at a desk, and he can't be with his crew, which is all he really wants. It's a sad and scared but artistically acceptable end for Jerry.
Sadly, that's not even the most disturbing thing in this week's episode. Nope. More disturbing is that I was actually AT the man-date restaurant with a group of guys on Saturday night... good salmon.
Big week for the best show on TV through this lame-o summer. And it didn't seem that way at the beginning of what would have been a pretty standard episode if not for the chief's storyline. Even Tommy's psycho-dad bit was relatively normal for this show. (I was really prepared for a nose-ring tearing that would have sent me screaming into the early morning, rain-soaked streets.)
It was, however, interesting to see that the boyfriend is a nice guy and to have a solid example of Tommy being totally, shamelessly unreasonable and self destructive in front of his friends. But Leary does play an awesome crazy dad, doesn't he?
While trashing his relationship with his daughter, Tommy's also having trouble getting together with his rescuer (whose name i forgot to jot down and I can't find on imdb). The nice lady carried him out of the burning house, saving his life, and the show would have us believe that this has him emasculated enough to turn her down, which is a common trend in Leary's work. I tend to think Janet has more to do with it than Tommy's letting on -- and so does his general fear of finding another strong woman who won't put up with him or another crazy woman like Sheila (who he's ALSO still holding out hope for). And this new woman's honestly the best shot he probably has at being happy. But Tommy's destined to crash every single relationship he has.
As great a character as I think Franco is and as hilarious as Teddy can be, I really don't care about their respective storylines right now... anyone else? Teddy's off on a silly tangent trying to get away from his new wife and intruding on a corrections officer who talked him into the wedding... and Franco's busy blowing a good relationship for no apparent reason. Yawn.
And don't even get me started on how the probie's story went nowhere. I had high hopes for the show to honestly tackle assisted suicide instead of having it peter out. It's sad that Shawn had the most interesting developments this week -- finally standing up to Tommy, though weakly, in regards to the fight with the emo kid, and making headway toward a normal conversation with him.
Then there's the chief, and the sad conclusion. I hate saying "I saw this coming," because no one ever believes anyone who says that, but it seemed pretty obvious to me, especially after he risked his new position to quickly scuttle away Tommy's problem and made a heartfelt toast in support of his gay son who had dealt him a staggering disappointment.
I was cringing for the entire second half of the episode because I was afraid that it was coming. The chief has been the most human character on the show, and his stories over the past few years (his wife's Alzheimer's, his son, his health problems, and most recently his job loss) have been the show's real grounding in reality. The depression of all these things finally weighed down on him, and his decision to kill himself is not surprising after getting to a point where he'd lost absolutely EVERYTHING he held dear.
His wife is no longer the same person; his son's never going to change; his career as a firefighter is reduced to sitting at a desk, and he can't be with his crew, which is all he really wants. It's a sad and scared but artistically acceptable end for Jerry.
Sadly, that's not even the most disturbing thing in this week's episode. Nope. More disturbing is that I was actually AT the man-date restaurant with a group of guys on Saturday night... good salmon.
House on fire
I'm too sleepy to get my head fully around last night's Rescue Me right now. But I'll use this post and hopefully get some discussion started on this blog (I know you're reading, so put in a cent or two on...
...the chief
...Tommy's sad reluctance to be with his rescuer
...Tommy warming up to Shawn
...Tommy's relationship with Colleen
...the show's dialogue
Anyone?
Full post this afternoon.
...the chief
...Tommy's sad reluctance to be with his rescuer
...Tommy warming up to Shawn
...Tommy's relationship with Colleen
...the show's dialogue
Anyone?
Full post this afternoon.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
In the bank
Here's where I have to offer the big SPOILER WARNING... and I'm too tired to even come up with a clever way to introduce it. So tired that I keep zoning out while staring at a movie on TV. And the commercials during that movie... which makes it not even a movie at all. Anyway, my despise for movies on television is a blog for another day. I think I've gone on long enough that I can now start to talk about Rescue Me without someone complaining I've ruined it for them.
Sheila has always irked me. Since the beginning of the show, she's been annoying and whiny and had that awful snotty air to her (proven again with the perfume spritzing because Tommy "smelled like baby"). It's because of that I think I need to finally acknowledge Callie Thorne's phenomenal performance throughout this show's life. Before I've always just shrugged her off for annoying me, but in this week's opening scene, I finally realized what a great job she's been doing.
It all comes down to the screwed up relationship between her and Tommy. She's in love with him. Completely. In love enough that she spent the bulk of last season drugging him so she could have sex with him, that she guilted him into (almost) having a baby and (almost) retiring, and that the drugging went on so long that it almost got both of them killed. He's still there, though, acting strong but in the passenger's seat whenever they're together. They both play their roles well in these instances.
A bigger testament (more to the writing here) is that she's still able to keep him coming back AND keep him in the dark about what really happened that night (that'll be a great exposition when it comes out). It makes her an amazing, though granted unlikely, villain at the same time she's that whiny chihuahua of a character. They cultivated her well.
She's not the only one who's that strong, either. It's uncanny how great the entire cast is -- Lou's character is really well written, but it's his unbeatable comic delivery that does the job; Shawn is the classic bully target and takes a mental and verbal beating better than most characters. Even the fringe characters are stellar -- this week alone Teddy's wife, Mike's mother; Tommy's date-to-be/savior; Adam Ferrara as Chief Nelson. All of them. You can't dispute how well this show's been cast and put together.
Another one of the show's big successes, aside from the ability I mentioned last week to hit a range of emotions in the span of 10 minutes, is it's ability to treat a throw away verbal jab at someone with the same weight and reverence as a paranoid delusion of a dead relative. Johnny showing up under the covers got even me, and I'm just watching this on TV. Cut to commercial. 13 minutes earlier, quip-quip-quip-tension-quip cut to commercial. Both deadpan. Both serious.
Then there's the pure awkwardness on display on this show is another big plus. Where The Office has bury-your-head-awkward moments, this show tackles moments that feel more real. No one digs themselves as big a hole as Michael does on The Office, but Tommy's deposition (in which he's forced to admit to some ... physical shortcomings) is a real life embarrassment. And don't get me started on Shawn's faux pas by mentioning Tommy's wife in the discussion they were having.
Sheila has always irked me. Since the beginning of the show, she's been annoying and whiny and had that awful snotty air to her (proven again with the perfume spritzing because Tommy "smelled like baby"). It's because of that I think I need to finally acknowledge Callie Thorne's phenomenal performance throughout this show's life. Before I've always just shrugged her off for annoying me, but in this week's opening scene, I finally realized what a great job she's been doing.
It all comes down to the screwed up relationship between her and Tommy. She's in love with him. Completely. In love enough that she spent the bulk of last season drugging him so she could have sex with him, that she guilted him into (almost) having a baby and (almost) retiring, and that the drugging went on so long that it almost got both of them killed. He's still there, though, acting strong but in the passenger's seat whenever they're together. They both play their roles well in these instances.
A bigger testament (more to the writing here) is that she's still able to keep him coming back AND keep him in the dark about what really happened that night (that'll be a great exposition when it comes out). It makes her an amazing, though granted unlikely, villain at the same time she's that whiny chihuahua of a character. They cultivated her well.
She's not the only one who's that strong, either. It's uncanny how great the entire cast is -- Lou's character is really well written, but it's his unbeatable comic delivery that does the job; Shawn is the classic bully target and takes a mental and verbal beating better than most characters. Even the fringe characters are stellar -- this week alone Teddy's wife, Mike's mother; Tommy's date-to-be/savior; Adam Ferrara as Chief Nelson. All of them. You can't dispute how well this show's been cast and put together.
Another one of the show's big successes, aside from the ability I mentioned last week to hit a range of emotions in the span of 10 minutes, is it's ability to treat a throw away verbal jab at someone with the same weight and reverence as a paranoid delusion of a dead relative. Johnny showing up under the covers got even me, and I'm just watching this on TV. Cut to commercial. 13 minutes earlier, quip-quip-quip-tension-quip cut to commercial. Both deadpan. Both serious.
Then there's the pure awkwardness on display on this show is another big plus. Where The Office has bury-your-head-awkward moments, this show tackles moments that feel more real. No one digs themselves as big a hole as Michael does on The Office, but Tommy's deposition (in which he's forced to admit to some ... physical shortcomings) is a real life embarrassment. And don't get me started on Shawn's faux pas by mentioning Tommy's wife in the discussion they were having.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Quick reviews
Rescue Me: I can't even express how gleeful this show makes me. I was nice to the show in my post yesterday, but the premiere episode hit me a lot harder than I even expected. I don't even want to discuss the plot so as not to give it away and waste another one of my clever spoiler warnings. But there are no other hourlong dramas that consistently cause me to pause the TiVo so I can stop laughing -- then five minutes later have me gasping or tearing up or agape at the brilliant story they're telling me.
The only thing that really annoyed me was the first five minutes the TiVo recorded were red carpet interviews with the cast at the premiere. There's no need for that. I'll watch it on the DVD or the TV Guide channel if I even wanted to watch it at all.
Last Comic Standing: I'm really mad at NBC for what they did to this show in seasons three and four. It was an abomination. Seriously. Season three destroyed the show and sent (the genius of the show) creator Jay Mohr away. Season four was just filled with pretty lame comics and the voting system stunk (not that any voting system that would allow Dat Phan to win a comedy contest is stellar by any means).
BUT! After the first episode of this season, I'm happy with the show again. The audition process is always entertaining, so I'm not overly excited. And I'm not really happy with the addition of Bill Bellamy as host and former contestant Ant as a talent scout (I'm cool with Alonzo and Kathleen, but I think you need to be funny to judge comics).
Anyway, I like stand up and I like the base premise of this show. Even Ant's tolerable when he's not doing the stereotypical flamboyant thing for his act. This is a good show if you do, too. Just pray that the funny people get through, because after season four, I was worried that maybe the show had found every funny person and thrown them asunder. OK, I've used the word asunder. I should move on.
Lil' Bush: Here's my problem: The jokes are all played out already. There are some cute moments and some funny gags, but what Bush joke hasn't been told already. That's My Bush was fresh and funny. This is old and a South Park ripoff.
The only thing that really annoyed me was the first five minutes the TiVo recorded were red carpet interviews with the cast at the premiere. There's no need for that. I'll watch it on the DVD or the TV Guide channel if I even wanted to watch it at all.
Last Comic Standing: I'm really mad at NBC for what they did to this show in seasons three and four. It was an abomination. Seriously. Season three destroyed the show and sent (the genius of the show) creator Jay Mohr away. Season four was just filled with pretty lame comics and the voting system stunk (not that any voting system that would allow Dat Phan to win a comedy contest is stellar by any means).
BUT! After the first episode of this season, I'm happy with the show again. The audition process is always entertaining, so I'm not overly excited. And I'm not really happy with the addition of Bill Bellamy as host and former contestant Ant as a talent scout (I'm cool with Alonzo and Kathleen, but I think you need to be funny to judge comics).
Anyway, I like stand up and I like the base premise of this show. Even Ant's tolerable when he's not doing the stereotypical flamboyant thing for his act. This is a good show if you do, too. Just pray that the funny people get through, because after season four, I was worried that maybe the show had found every funny person and thrown them asunder. OK, I've used the word asunder. I should move on.
Lil' Bush: Here's my problem: The jokes are all played out already. There are some cute moments and some funny gags, but what Bush joke hasn't been told already. That's My Bush was fresh and funny. This is old and a South Park ripoff.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Your summer savior
I may do it every five posts, but I don't like to impose genius status upon people in entertainment. I try not to do so lightly. Argue that point as much as you'd like.
Either way, I have no problem placing Denis Leary among the best creative minds working in television today. Forget his stand-up act (which you've all heard -- and consequently forget the comparisons to Bill Hicks). Forget his amazing film performances (Suicide Kings and Wag the Dog are both pretty awesome). You only need to pay attention to his and Peter Tolan's last two television ventures -- The Job and Rescue Me -- to see what I'm talking about.
The Job fell to ABC's silly demands for actual viewership. But Rescue Me, like many other sweet shows, found a comfortable home on FX. Without that home, it wouldn't have the edge (or bite or whatever you want to call that trait) that compounds the brilliant writing and seriously strong ensemble performance and makes it as good as it is. And by good as it is I mean among the top three shows on television right now and without a doubt the best show on cable.
And thankfully, considering the heaping piles of stale or rotting muck that are filling out primetime lineups right now, it's back tonight. I'm assuming if you don't watch, you have no idea what's going on, so before I tell you that you need to be watching it, I'll get you caught up. (Also, seeing as it's been about 10 months since the big fire, you may need the memory jog even if you do watch.)
So where is everyone? Well, the massive split that had threatened the crew is essentially over -- Franco failed his lieutenant's exam on purpose; Lou's afraid of boats, so the at-sea retirement ain't gonna happen; Mike's transfer decision was never really a decision; Sean's now a Gavin (by marriage) and looks up to Tommy so much that he'll never leave; the chief may be gone, demented after his heart attack, but there's a new one in town. As for Tommy, he was left with Sheila in their burning beach house after she drugged him (AGAIN) and had a breakdown, setting the house on fire.
It seems the new season will open with Tommy defending himself against accusations he started the fire (it doesn't seem they've given away whether Sheila's still alive, but I'd assume not). His ex-wife is pregnant with the baby that could either be Tommy's or his dead-cop brother Johnny. She's not giving it up, either, still reeling from the loss of the family's middle child at the bumper of a drunk driver.
Then there's Tommy's Uncle Teddy, who's still in jail after killing said drunk driver -- and more miserable there than he could have possibly imagined -- and Tommy's dad, who's now apartment buddies with Lou's uncle.
You don't need me to tell you to watch if you already have, because you're either hooked or have been scared off by the show's sometimes-edgy content (though, I completely disagree with calling it edgy; it's realistic, is what it is). If you haven't watched it... well, just watch the show. It's dark and depressing and funny and powerful all at the same time and deserves your precious summer hours. Trust me on that one.
Either way, I have no problem placing Denis Leary among the best creative minds working in television today. Forget his stand-up act (which you've all heard -- and consequently forget the comparisons to Bill Hicks). Forget his amazing film performances (Suicide Kings and Wag the Dog are both pretty awesome). You only need to pay attention to his and Peter Tolan's last two television ventures -- The Job and Rescue Me -- to see what I'm talking about.
The Job fell to ABC's silly demands for actual viewership. But Rescue Me, like many other sweet shows, found a comfortable home on FX. Without that home, it wouldn't have the edge (or bite or whatever you want to call that trait) that compounds the brilliant writing and seriously strong ensemble performance and makes it as good as it is. And by good as it is I mean among the top three shows on television right now and without a doubt the best show on cable.
And thankfully, considering the heaping piles of stale or rotting muck that are filling out primetime lineups right now, it's back tonight. I'm assuming if you don't watch, you have no idea what's going on, so before I tell you that you need to be watching it, I'll get you caught up. (Also, seeing as it's been about 10 months since the big fire, you may need the memory jog even if you do watch.)
So where is everyone? Well, the massive split that had threatened the crew is essentially over -- Franco failed his lieutenant's exam on purpose; Lou's afraid of boats, so the at-sea retirement ain't gonna happen; Mike's transfer decision was never really a decision; Sean's now a Gavin (by marriage) and looks up to Tommy so much that he'll never leave; the chief may be gone, demented after his heart attack, but there's a new one in town. As for Tommy, he was left with Sheila in their burning beach house after she drugged him (AGAIN) and had a breakdown, setting the house on fire.
It seems the new season will open with Tommy defending himself against accusations he started the fire (it doesn't seem they've given away whether Sheila's still alive, but I'd assume not). His ex-wife is pregnant with the baby that could either be Tommy's or his dead-cop brother Johnny. She's not giving it up, either, still reeling from the loss of the family's middle child at the bumper of a drunk driver.
Then there's Tommy's Uncle Teddy, who's still in jail after killing said drunk driver -- and more miserable there than he could have possibly imagined -- and Tommy's dad, who's now apartment buddies with Lou's uncle.
You don't need me to tell you to watch if you already have, because you're either hooked or have been scared off by the show's sometimes-edgy content (though, I completely disagree with calling it edgy; it's realistic, is what it is). If you haven't watched it... well, just watch the show. It's dark and depressing and funny and powerful all at the same time and deserves your precious summer hours. Trust me on that one.
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