Rescue Me Review

 I will go on record as a Denis Leary fan.  I loved his last TV series, the too short lived The Job, which appeared for one measly season on ABC in 2001-2002.  That show, about a burned out NYC cop, was a comedy that just didn't suit everyone's tastes.  Leary's is an acerbic wit and doesn't appeal to all, even though his observations are usually spot on.  In fact, he can be so acid-tongued, folks are often surprised to learn he is a family man.  So,  after strong initial ratings, The Job fell into ratings hell and ABC quickly abandoned it.  Luckily for us, a couple years later the folks at FX picked up a new series created by Leary and Peter Tolan, Rescue Me.

Rescue Me is the story of a New York City firehouse, the characters who inhabit it and their families in the aftermath of 9/11.  The central focus of the series is our own Tommy Gavin (Leary).  He sees dead people. Or, he used to, until they abandoned him.  And that's the least of his problems.  Tommy's cousin, Jimmy Keefe, died at ground zero in the aftermath of those attacks and Gavin wrestles constantly with that demon.  If only he chose healthy emotional outlets for his venting, well, we would have a boring show.  Instead, he might be the most screwed up human being alive.  But his ex-wife, Janet (Andrea Roth) is a close second.  Not to mention Jimmy's widow, Shelia(Callie Thorn), who throws herself at Tommy after the tragedy, Micheal Gavin (Charles Durnning), retired firefighter, Tommy's father,  and complete whack-job.  Then there's Kenny "Lou" Shea (the excellent John Scurti), Tommy's boss/friend who had the misfortune of being divorced  and later being swindled out his life's savings by a prostitute while he was on the rebound.

It's bad enough Tommy is a raging alcoholic suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome as the result of 9/11, but, as season one opens, he's newly divorced from Janet and living apart from her and their kids.  Sure, Gavin has all those problems PLUS he's a more than a little narcissistic, cynical, manipulative and over-sexed, but he hardly shoulders 100% of the blame for the break-up.  Janet is a piece of work herself, and events over the first four seasons prove it.   With the kids to keep them in contact with each other, their relationship, even after the divorce, is toxic on a Chernobyl level, yet they can't stay away from each other, even after she romances his police officer brother practically right in front of him.  To say Tommy and Janet put the "Diss" in dysfucntional is to be kind.  But, they need each other.

In spite of his shortcomings, though, Tommy is a decent guy and legitimate "look-up to this guy" hero.  He is the unspoken leader of this rag-tag group of men, mostly because he's always there for them and his willingness to stick his neck out for them and the public he serves is unparallelled.   He has their unmitigated respect, almost to the point of hero worship for a couple of the newer guys.  That is, when they aren't punching each other, and sometimes him, in the face or screwing each other over.

Rescue Me is full of colorful, interesting characters who sometimes act just like you'd expect them to, sometimes not.  You know, real human beings. Maggie(Tatum O'Neal) is Tommy's sister with an addictive personality, Mikey is Gavin's cousin, AA sponsor and former priest.   The cast of firefighters has changed over the years, but the constants have been Lou, Sean-think young, good-hearted but dumb like a rock; Mike-one of the newest and neediest firefighters; Franco-womanizing single father conspiracy theroist, and Sean Johnston-newest addition to the fire house and dubbed "Black Sean" buy the guys because, well, he's black and they already have a Sean in the house.   More than a few other characters have come and gone over the first four seasons, sometimes under good circumstances, sometimes bad.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Exceptional writing by Leary and Tolan blasting us with raw emotion one moment, caustic humor another and real human interaction all the time allows Rescue Me to raise the bar for series television.  This is high quality stuff right up there with the greats like The Sopranos, Deadwood, and 24.   Mr Leary has turned his knowledge and affection for firefighters into something I've heard actual firefighters describe as realistic (for a TV show) and entertaining.  That's a tough combination to pull off.  And putting this series on FX at 10pm was necessary because, well, it's a fire house and they, like cops, talk frankly and about things you aren't going to hear in the church office or the grocery store.

As season five begins (including a guest arc by Michael J Fox in an ironic role), the citizens of Rescue Me are people who have been through all kinds of tragedy and many of them still run into burning buildings frequently.  Those buildings they generally can run out from when their job is done.  The burning buildings that are their souls, not so easy to get away from.  Or, as the tagline says, "They save us. But who saves them?".  Its that masterful mix of tragedy and comic relief, not to mention characters I've come to care deeply about, that brings me back week after week.  GRADE: A+