In recent years, FX Networks has been the cable channel that could do no wrong. Starting with acclaimed crime drama series "The Shield", FX has been able to churn out an unbroken string of hit shows, one after another, including the controversial and sometimes explicit medical drama "Nip/Tuck" and this one, the well-received dramedy (combination of drama and comedy) "Rescue Me". In the television business, that´s like striking the lottery three times. In a week! Well, things this good never lasts, do they? After three recent duds ("Over There", "Thief" and "Dirt"), FX got back into the groove this year with "The Riches", the Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver-helmed drama about a family of gypsies. However, much as I love watching "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck" (both shows are favorites of mine), "Rescue Me" is probably the one series that I look forward to the most from FX each year. It is both intelligent and funny as hell, a rare combination that when coupled with great acting from the entire cast, results in one of the best TV shows this side of HBO.
"Rescue Me" is a funny and often complicated inside look into the lives of a group of firemen from New York City´s Engine Company 62. Theirs is a macho, testosterone-filled, non-PC world, filled with enough racial and sexual slurs that would make even the most hardened guys blush. No, there are no f-bombs flying every which way but watch this show and you´ll be wondering, "How did they get away with that?" Sad to say, this non-conformity is really the crucial ingredient that makes "Rescue Me" stand out from among the many shows in the crowded cable TV arena. The state of our current media environment is such that every new show on TV is conceived with multitudes of self-imposed politically-correct boundaries in mind. When a program comes along and demolishes those boundaries (without breaking any FCC rules on indecency of course), we should certainly stand up and applaud. "Rescue Me" and most of FX´s other original shows typically fall into this category.
Tommy Gavin (Dennis Leary) is the de facto ring leader of this group of infantile miscreants whose job it is to put out fires and save lives. A tall order for most anyone but surprisingly, these guys do it with professionalism (well, mostly) and bravery. On the job, these guys certainly take their duties very seriously but it is their downtime antics that create the most headaches for their superiors and their families and friends. The guys in this group include Lieutenant Kenneth "Lou" Shea (John Scurti), Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale), ladies man Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) and the youngest of the group, Mike Silletti (Mike Lombardi), also affectionately known as "probie" for his probationary status. Overseeing these misfits is old timer Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee), who more often than not, adds more fuel to the group´s frat house behavior.
The previous season saw Tommy´s marriage disintegrate when his wife Janet (Andrea Roth) found out that Tommy was having an affair with Sheila (Callie Thorne), the wife of his cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey), who died on 9/11. Not only did Tommy break his marriage vows, more alarmingly, he broke an unwritten FDNY rule of not dating or sleeping with the widows of other firemen. However, as the season went on, Tommy and Janet decide to give their marriage another try, only to be hit by the worst tragedy that any family can endure--the sudden death of a loved one. In the most heart-breaking moment of the show so far, their son, Connor (Trevor Heins) was run over by a drunk driver. That twist in the storyline came out of left field and left most fans, including me, shocked beyond belief. It is not often that a child character is killed off from a show under such tragic circumstances. In the aftermath, Janet loses it and casts the blame for Connor´s death solely on Tommy. In the final episode, the Gavin clan seeks to mete out their own form of justice and at the last minute, Tommy´s uncle Teddy (Lenny Clarke) takes the fall instead by killing the driver involved.
Season 3 opens with Tommy and Janet now separated and Teddy in jail for murder. The Gavin family dynamics take a bizarre turn when we find out that Janet is now sleeping with Tommy´s brother, Johnny (Dean Winters), a cop, and Sheila, who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Tommy, resorting to drugging him in order for them to have sex! Teddy may be in jail waiting for his trial but he is certainly not treating it like any form of hardship. In fact, Teddy is even gaining popularity on the outside among activists who see his actions as a rallying cry against drunk driving. Tommy´s unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O´Neill), who showed up late in Season 2 after finding out that their father, John Sr. (Charles Durning) might be inheriting a large sum of money, is now dating Sean. An unlikely pair to say the least, Sean tries to keep their relationship a secret from Tommy out of sheer terror of what Tommy might do if he found out!
In another unexpected scenario, we find Mike (the probie) caught up in a homosexual relationship with his roommate. Mike is sure he is not gay (sexually confused, yes but certainly not gay!) but in some bizarre twist of logic, thinks that what they are doing is somehow OK. Huh? Yeah, Mike sure is a hard one to crack! At the urging of his roommate, Mike is also considering putting in a transfer out of the firehouse due to all the crap that he had to put up with from the rest of the guys. Lou, after being conned out of his life savings by an attractive call girl last season, is now suffering from deep depression and increasingly turning to alcohol to forget his troubles. Ashamed of what had happened to him, Lou has not told anyone about his dire financial situation. As for Chief Reilly, he is facing his own financial dilemma. Feeling the pressure to admit his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer´s disease, into a nice long tern care facility that comes with a high price tag that his firefighter´s salary can´t possibly cover, the chief tries to make up for the shortfall by taking on a second job working at a bar cleaning up tables. Guess how that job will turn out when he gets ordered around by a bunch of young people.
For all the crazy drama that goes on in this show, this third season also features a couple of celebrity guest stars. First, we have Susan Sarandon, who plays a Manhattan socialite named Alicia, who hooks up with Franco at a bar. The pair soon starts dating and Franco even feels comfortable enough with their relationship to introduce her to his young daughter, Keelah (Cailin Stollar). Alicia immediately falls for the adorable Keelah and considering Franco´s tight financial situation, she decides to take Keelah away to live with her without even consulting with Franco. At first angry and heart-broken, Franco soon comes to the realization that he can´t possibly provide for Keelah the way Alicia can. Eventually, Franco meets another girl Natalie (Sherri Saum), who looks uncannily like Keelah, which, as you might expect, would bring up further issues later on. The second celebrity guest is none other than Marisa Tomei who plays Angie, Johnny´s ex-girlfriend from way back. Since Johnny´s seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife Janet, Tommy thinks that he can exact revenge by pursuing Angie. On a tip from Sheila, Tommy manages to "bump" into Angie but she immediately sees through his ruse. However, later on, Angie changes her mind and warms up to the idea of messing with Johnny´s relationship with Janet.
"Rescue Me" is a funny and often complicated inside look into the lives of a group of firemen from New York City´s Engine Company 62. Theirs is a macho, testosterone-filled, non-PC world, filled with enough racial and sexual slurs that would make even the most hardened guys blush. No, there are no f-bombs flying every which way but watch this show and you´ll be wondering, "How did they get away with that?" Sad to say, this non-conformity is really the crucial ingredient that makes "Rescue Me" stand out from among the many shows in the crowded cable TV arena. The state of our current media environment is such that every new show on TV is conceived with multitudes of self-imposed politically-correct boundaries in mind. When a program comes along and demolishes those boundaries (without breaking any FCC rules on indecency of course), we should certainly stand up and applaud. "Rescue Me" and most of FX´s other original shows typically fall into this category.
Tommy Gavin (Dennis Leary) is the de facto ring leader of this group of infantile miscreants whose job it is to put out fires and save lives. A tall order for most anyone but surprisingly, these guys do it with professionalism (well, mostly) and bravery. On the job, these guys certainly take their duties very seriously but it is their downtime antics that create the most headaches for their superiors and their families and friends. The guys in this group include Lieutenant Kenneth "Lou" Shea (John Scurti), Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale), ladies man Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) and the youngest of the group, Mike Silletti (Mike Lombardi), also affectionately known as "probie" for his probationary status. Overseeing these misfits is old timer Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee), who more often than not, adds more fuel to the group´s frat house behavior.
The previous season saw Tommy´s marriage disintegrate when his wife Janet (Andrea Roth) found out that Tommy was having an affair with Sheila (Callie Thorne), the wife of his cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey), who died on 9/11. Not only did Tommy break his marriage vows, more alarmingly, he broke an unwritten FDNY rule of not dating or sleeping with the widows of other firemen. However, as the season went on, Tommy and Janet decide to give their marriage another try, only to be hit by the worst tragedy that any family can endure--the sudden death of a loved one. In the most heart-breaking moment of the show so far, their son, Connor (Trevor Heins) was run over by a drunk driver. That twist in the storyline came out of left field and left most fans, including me, shocked beyond belief. It is not often that a child character is killed off from a show under such tragic circumstances. In the aftermath, Janet loses it and casts the blame for Connor´s death solely on Tommy. In the final episode, the Gavin clan seeks to mete out their own form of justice and at the last minute, Tommy´s uncle Teddy (Lenny Clarke) takes the fall instead by killing the driver involved.
Season 3 opens with Tommy and Janet now separated and Teddy in jail for murder. The Gavin family dynamics take a bizarre turn when we find out that Janet is now sleeping with Tommy´s brother, Johnny (Dean Winters), a cop, and Sheila, who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Tommy, resorting to drugging him in order for them to have sex! Teddy may be in jail waiting for his trial but he is certainly not treating it like any form of hardship. In fact, Teddy is even gaining popularity on the outside among activists who see his actions as a rallying cry against drunk driving. Tommy´s unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O´Neill), who showed up late in Season 2 after finding out that their father, John Sr. (Charles Durning) might be inheriting a large sum of money, is now dating Sean. An unlikely pair to say the least, Sean tries to keep their relationship a secret from Tommy out of sheer terror of what Tommy might do if he found out!
In another unexpected scenario, we find Mike (the probie) caught up in a homosexual relationship with his roommate. Mike is sure he is not gay (sexually confused, yes but certainly not gay!) but in some bizarre twist of logic, thinks that what they are doing is somehow OK. Huh? Yeah, Mike sure is a hard one to crack! At the urging of his roommate, Mike is also considering putting in a transfer out of the firehouse due to all the crap that he had to put up with from the rest of the guys. Lou, after being conned out of his life savings by an attractive call girl last season, is now suffering from deep depression and increasingly turning to alcohol to forget his troubles. Ashamed of what had happened to him, Lou has not told anyone about his dire financial situation. As for Chief Reilly, he is facing his own financial dilemma. Feeling the pressure to admit his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer´s disease, into a nice long tern care facility that comes with a high price tag that his firefighter´s salary can´t possibly cover, the chief tries to make up for the shortfall by taking on a second job working at a bar cleaning up tables. Guess how that job will turn out when he gets ordered around by a bunch of young people.
For all the crazy drama that goes on in this show, this third season also features a couple of celebrity guest stars. First, we have Susan Sarandon, who plays a Manhattan socialite named Alicia, who hooks up with Franco at a bar. The pair soon starts dating and Franco even feels comfortable enough with their relationship to introduce her to his young daughter, Keelah (Cailin Stollar). Alicia immediately falls for the adorable Keelah and considering Franco´s tight financial situation, she decides to take Keelah away to live with her without even consulting with Franco. At first angry and heart-broken, Franco soon comes to the realization that he can´t possibly provide for Keelah the way Alicia can. Eventually, Franco meets another girl Natalie (Sherri Saum), who looks uncannily like Keelah, which, as you might expect, would bring up further issues later on. The second celebrity guest is none other than Marisa Tomei who plays Angie, Johnny´s ex-girlfriend from way back. Since Johnny´s seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife Janet, Tommy thinks that he can exact revenge by pursuing Angie. On a tip from Sheila, Tommy manages to "bump" into Angie but she immediately sees through his ruse. However, later on, Angie changes her mind and warms up to the idea of messing with Johnny´s relationship with Janet.
In recent years, FX Networks has been the cable channel that could do no wrong. Starting with acclaimed crime drama series "The Shield", FX has been able to churn out an unbroken string of hit shows, one after another, including the controversial and sometimes explicit medical drama "Nip/Tuck" and this one, the well-received dramedy (combination of drama and comedy) "Rescue Me". In the television business, that´s like striking the lottery three times. In a week! Well, things this good never lasts, do they? After three recent duds ("Over There", "Thief" and "Dirt"), FX got back into the groove this year with "The Riches", the Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver-helmed drama about a family of gypsies. However, much as I love watching "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck" (both shows are favorites of mine), "Rescue Me" is probably the one series that I look forward to the most from FX each year. It is both intelligent and funny as hell, a rare combination that when coupled with great acting from the entire cast, results in one of the best TV shows this side of HBO.
"Rescue Me" is a funny and often complicated inside look into the lives of a group of firemen from New York City´s Engine Company 62. Theirs is a macho, testosterone-filled, non-PC world, filled with enough racial and sexual slurs that would make even the most hardened guys blush. No, there are no f-bombs flying every which way but watch this show and you´ll be wondering, "How did they get away with that?" Sad to say, this non-conformity is really the crucial ingredient that makes "Rescue Me" stand out from among the many shows in the crowded cable TV arena. The state of our current media environment is such that every new show on TV is conceived with multitudes of self-imposed politically-correct boundaries in mind. When a program comes along and demolishes those boundaries (without breaking any FCC rules on indecency of course), we should certainly stand up and applaud. "Rescue Me" and most of FX´s other original shows typically fall into this category.
Tommy Gavin (Dennis Leary) is the de facto ring leader of this group of infantile miscreants whose job it is to put out fires and save lives. A tall order for most anyone but surprisingly, these guys do it with professionalism (well, mostly) and bravery. On the job, these guys certainly take their duties very seriously but it is their downtime antics that create the most headaches for their superiors and their families and friends. The guys in this group include Lieutenant Kenneth "Lou" Shea (John Scurti), Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale), ladies man Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) and the youngest of the group, Mike Silletti (Mike Lombardi), also affectionately known as "probie" for his probationary status. Overseeing these misfits is old timer Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee), who more often than not, adds more fuel to the group´s frat house behavior.
The previous season saw Tommy´s marriage disintegrate when his wife Janet (Andrea Roth) found out that Tommy was having an affair with Sheila (Callie Thorne), the wife of his cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey), who died on 9/11. Not only did Tommy break his marriage vows, more alarmingly, he broke an unwritten FDNY rule of not dating or sleeping with the widows of other firemen. However, as the season went on, Tommy and Janet decide to give their marriage another try, only to be hit by the worst tragedy that any family can endure--the sudden death of a loved one. In the most heart-breaking moment of the show so far, their son, Connor (Trevor Heins) was run over by a drunk driver. That twist in the storyline came out of left field and left most fans, including me, shocked beyond belief. It is not often that a child character is killed off from a show under such tragic circumstances. In the aftermath, Janet loses it and casts the blame for Connor´s death solely on Tommy. In the final episode, the Gavin clan seeks to mete out their own form of justice and at the last minute, Tommy´s uncle Teddy (Lenny Clarke) takes the fall instead by killing the driver involved.
Season 3 opens with Tommy and Janet now separated and Teddy in jail for murder. The Gavin family dynamics take a bizarre turn when we find out that Janet is now sleeping with Tommy´s brother, Johnny (Dean Winters), a cop, and Sheila, who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Tommy, resorting to drugging him in order for them to have sex! Teddy may be in jail waiting for his trial but he is certainly not treating it like any form of hardship. In fact, Teddy is even gaining popularity on the outside among activists who see his actions as a rallying cry against drunk driving. Tommy´s unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O´Neill), who showed up late in Season 2 after finding out that their father, John Sr. (Charles Durning) might be inheriting a large sum of money, is now dating Sean. An unlikely pair to say the least, Sean tries to keep their relationship a secret from Tommy out of sheer terror of what Tommy might do if he found out!
In another unexpected scenario, we find Mike (the probie) caught up in a homosexual relationship with his roommate. Mike is sure he is not gay (sexually confused, yes but certainly not gay!) but in some bizarre twist of logic, thinks that what they are doing is somehow OK. Huh? Yeah, Mike sure is a hard one to crack! At the urging of his roommate, Mike is also considering putting in a transfer out of the firehouse due to all the crap that he had to put up with from the rest of the guys. Lou, after being conned out of his life savings by an attractive call girl last season, is now suffering from deep depression and increasingly turning to alcohol to forget his troubles. Ashamed of what had happened to him, Lou has not told anyone about his dire financial situation. As for Chief Reilly, he is facing his own financial dilemma. Feeling the pressure to admit his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer´s disease, into a nice long tern care facility that comes with a high price tag that his firefighter´s salary can´t possibly cover, the chief tries to make up for the shortfall by taking on a second job working at a bar cleaning up tables. Guess how that job will turn out when he gets ordered around by a bunch of young people.
For all the crazy drama that goes on in this show, this third season also features a couple of celebrity guest stars. First, we have Susan Sarandon, who plays a Manhattan socialite named Alicia, who hooks up with Franco at a bar. The pair soon starts dating and Franco even feels comfortable enough with their relationship to introduce her to his young daughter, Keelah (Cailin Stollar). Alicia immediately falls for the adorable Keelah and considering Franco´s tight financial situation, she decides to take Keelah away to live with her without even consulting with Franco. At first angry and heart-broken, Franco soon comes to the realization that he can´t possibly provide for Keelah the way Alicia can. Eventually, Franco meets another girl Natalie (Sherri Saum), who looks uncannily like Keelah, which, as you might expect, would bring up further issues later on. The second celebrity guest is none other than Marisa Tomei who plays Angie, Johnny´s ex-girlfriend from way back. Since Johnny´s seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife Janet, Tommy thinks that he can exact revenge by pursuing Angie. On a tip from Sheila, Tommy manages to "bump" into Angie but she immediately sees through his ruse. However, later on, Angie changes her mind and warms up to the idea of messing with Johnny´s relationship with Janet.
"Rescue Me" is a funny and often complicated inside look into the lives of a group of firemen from New York City´s Engine Company 62. Theirs is a macho, testosterone-filled, non-PC world, filled with enough racial and sexual slurs that would make even the most hardened guys blush. No, there are no f-bombs flying every which way but watch this show and you´ll be wondering, "How did they get away with that?" Sad to say, this non-conformity is really the crucial ingredient that makes "Rescue Me" stand out from among the many shows in the crowded cable TV arena. The state of our current media environment is such that every new show on TV is conceived with multitudes of self-imposed politically-correct boundaries in mind. When a program comes along and demolishes those boundaries (without breaking any FCC rules on indecency of course), we should certainly stand up and applaud. "Rescue Me" and most of FX´s other original shows typically fall into this category.
Tommy Gavin (Dennis Leary) is the de facto ring leader of this group of infantile miscreants whose job it is to put out fires and save lives. A tall order for most anyone but surprisingly, these guys do it with professionalism (well, mostly) and bravery. On the job, these guys certainly take their duties very seriously but it is their downtime antics that create the most headaches for their superiors and their families and friends. The guys in this group include Lieutenant Kenneth "Lou" Shea (John Scurti), Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale), ladies man Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) and the youngest of the group, Mike Silletti (Mike Lombardi), also affectionately known as "probie" for his probationary status. Overseeing these misfits is old timer Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee), who more often than not, adds more fuel to the group´s frat house behavior.
The previous season saw Tommy´s marriage disintegrate when his wife Janet (Andrea Roth) found out that Tommy was having an affair with Sheila (Callie Thorne), the wife of his cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey), who died on 9/11. Not only did Tommy break his marriage vows, more alarmingly, he broke an unwritten FDNY rule of not dating or sleeping with the widows of other firemen. However, as the season went on, Tommy and Janet decide to give their marriage another try, only to be hit by the worst tragedy that any family can endure--the sudden death of a loved one. In the most heart-breaking moment of the show so far, their son, Connor (Trevor Heins) was run over by a drunk driver. That twist in the storyline came out of left field and left most fans, including me, shocked beyond belief. It is not often that a child character is killed off from a show under such tragic circumstances. In the aftermath, Janet loses it and casts the blame for Connor´s death solely on Tommy. In the final episode, the Gavin clan seeks to mete out their own form of justice and at the last minute, Tommy´s uncle Teddy (Lenny Clarke) takes the fall instead by killing the driver involved.
Season 3 opens with Tommy and Janet now separated and Teddy in jail for murder. The Gavin family dynamics take a bizarre turn when we find out that Janet is now sleeping with Tommy´s brother, Johnny (Dean Winters), a cop, and Sheila, who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Tommy, resorting to drugging him in order for them to have sex! Teddy may be in jail waiting for his trial but he is certainly not treating it like any form of hardship. In fact, Teddy is even gaining popularity on the outside among activists who see his actions as a rallying cry against drunk driving. Tommy´s unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O´Neill), who showed up late in Season 2 after finding out that their father, John Sr. (Charles Durning) might be inheriting a large sum of money, is now dating Sean. An unlikely pair to say the least, Sean tries to keep their relationship a secret from Tommy out of sheer terror of what Tommy might do if he found out!
In another unexpected scenario, we find Mike (the probie) caught up in a homosexual relationship with his roommate. Mike is sure he is not gay (sexually confused, yes but certainly not gay!) but in some bizarre twist of logic, thinks that what they are doing is somehow OK. Huh? Yeah, Mike sure is a hard one to crack! At the urging of his roommate, Mike is also considering putting in a transfer out of the firehouse due to all the crap that he had to put up with from the rest of the guys. Lou, after being conned out of his life savings by an attractive call girl last season, is now suffering from deep depression and increasingly turning to alcohol to forget his troubles. Ashamed of what had happened to him, Lou has not told anyone about his dire financial situation. As for Chief Reilly, he is facing his own financial dilemma. Feeling the pressure to admit his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer´s disease, into a nice long tern care facility that comes with a high price tag that his firefighter´s salary can´t possibly cover, the chief tries to make up for the shortfall by taking on a second job working at a bar cleaning up tables. Guess how that job will turn out when he gets ordered around by a bunch of young people.
For all the crazy drama that goes on in this show, this third season also features a couple of celebrity guest stars. First, we have Susan Sarandon, who plays a Manhattan socialite named Alicia, who hooks up with Franco at a bar. The pair soon starts dating and Franco even feels comfortable enough with their relationship to introduce her to his young daughter, Keelah (Cailin Stollar). Alicia immediately falls for the adorable Keelah and considering Franco´s tight financial situation, she decides to take Keelah away to live with her without even consulting with Franco. At first angry and heart-broken, Franco soon comes to the realization that he can´t possibly provide for Keelah the way Alicia can. Eventually, Franco meets another girl Natalie (Sherri Saum), who looks uncannily like Keelah, which, as you might expect, would bring up further issues later on. The second celebrity guest is none other than Marisa Tomei who plays Angie, Johnny´s ex-girlfriend from way back. Since Johnny´s seeing his soon-to-be ex-wife Janet, Tommy thinks that he can exact revenge by pursuing Angie. On a tip from Sheila, Tommy manages to "bump" into Angie but she immediately sees through his ruse. However, later on, Angie changes her mind and warms up to the idea of messing with Johnny´s relationship with Janet.
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