TV Show of the Week 27: Rescue Me

Mr E

I'm a fan of Denis Leary, I make no apology for that. I saw him live in Dublin when he came to Ireland about 10 years ago, and I have CDs and DVDs of his work as a stand-up comedian. Having said that, I was a bit late to the Rescue Me party..... I started season 1 while season 3 was on the air. I caught up pretty damn quickly.

Leary plays Tommy Gavin, an alcoholic New York fire fighter working in a post 9/11 world. In the early days, the shadow of 9/11 loomed heavily over the show - almost like an uncredited cast member. Alcohol and guilt combined to allowed Tommy see some of the people he couldn't save, including his cousin Jimmy. Later on, the shadow lifted to focus more on the characters and their lives. Tommy, separated from his wife, started to see Jimmy's widow Sheila. Apart from his wife, kids and family, a motley crew of co-workers make up most of the rest of cast members. The banter and antics of these guys will make you laugh out loud in every episode. Some of the conversations they have are surreal, yet very natural. The darkness of the setting and Tommy's life is offset by the humour in the firehouse. Its a tough juggling act, but they pull it off. One minute your shocked by something you see (and there are some very dark shocking storylines), the next, you're laughing your ass off.

5 years later (it started in 2004), we're in season 5. There was a long break after a weak-ish 4th season caused by the writers strike, but they've come back better than ever. This season sees Rescue Me back to its former cutting, ribtickling glory. There will be 22 episodes this season, and there will be one more season in 2010 and that'll be it. Hopefully they keep this standard high, and let Rescue Me go out in a blaze of glory. Sorry.

Richard Dower

Also a fan of Leary, watched a few episodes, not many but what i saw was signs of a well made show.

Basq

I was in a similar situation to Mr E in that I caught onto Rescue Me very very late.. think it was probably season 3 when I started watching but I'd typically watch chunks of 5 - 6 episodes in a single sitting.

The whole series just works so well.. the very dark drama mixed with humour shouldn't work as well as it does, the cast are all absolutely top-notch with Steven Pasquale (Garrity) getting a chance to flex his dramatic muscles this season.

The writing remains consistently fresh, and as Mr E said.. the conversations can seem all too familiar (you can imagine seeing a bunch of lads in your workplace having the exact same conversation).

And while season 4 was a definite lowpoint.. they've brought back their A-game in season 5.

I can't recommend this show enough.. this summer when there's shag all on, go out and buy the DVD's. You will not be disappointed!

PS - and just to finish off, one of my favourite scenes in 'Rescue Me'.. the effect of Sean taking what he thinks are painkillers, but are actually sleeping pills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p961z2la8dg

Elmo

Anytime I catch this it is good but never given a great time slot by any of the broadcasters, RTE gave it late nights on Sundays (as usual) and I think Channel 4 have for the UK but haven't seen it on any of the UK channels recently. I suppose thats why we have box sets and downloads.

I am guessing my Idea to prevent shows currently running (or only 5 years of the air) becoming "TV Show of the Week" is off the table?

godtabh

Rescue Me is class. Its got everything that the Job had (alot of the same people) but wasnt cancelled after 1 season.

The Job pips it for me but Rescue Me is one of the best things still on TV

chalkitdown1

Brilliant show. Had a slightly dodgy season 4 but apart from that it's all golden. Last nights episode was hilarious. Drunk Janet is awesome. And extremely hot!:D

kmick

I love this as well. Used to watch it late Sunday night on Sky 1. What time/channel is it on now.

chalkitdown1

I don't think it's on any channel over here, anymore. Sky1 dropped it after last season.

ixoy

I think I've been watching this since it started on Sky One. It's a great mix of dark humour and screwed-up characters. It's always interesting when the writer of the show (O'Leary being one of the main) has no problem making his character a bit of a git.

What works for me though is the great cast overall - they really have a great dynamic. There's some superb bantering in the breakroom in the station but also some real heartfelt moments.

Season 4 was a bit of a mess but Season 5 is as good as it ever was. Plus a kick-ass choice for theme song!

The Don

Rescue Me is one of my favourite shows. I heard about it from a friend but had to wait for RTE to start showing it before I could find out what all the fuss was about. He wasn't wrong and I've been addicted to it ever since. It one of the funniest shows on and also one of the best drama's. Like the previous posters have said the writers and cast are top notch and mix the drama with the humour brilliantly. Like basquille said you can imagine a bunch of lads having those conversations in their workplace (have had a few similar ones myself). Every now and again I go back and watch old episodes and they are still great even though I know what happens.

Its been a long wait for Season 5 but it has been worth it. Season 4 wasn't up to the standards of the other seasons but it still wiped the floor with most other programs that were on at the time.

Great to see it get TV Show of the Week.

kaimera

Started watching in when I spent time in the US a while back, became the only thing I watched during the summer. Think it was s02 I watched but at the time I didn't know what season or episode I was watching..I just loved it!

Delighted when RTE/SKY started showing it but a few factors meant I started missing out.

Amazing show. The writing at times is utterly brilliant and the way the firehouse crew bounce off each other is something that is missing in a lot of tv shows.

The fine balance between balls out laughter and serious-ness is done extremely well.

Fine tv show of the week entry indeed

Mr E

You in Lagos, kaimera? If you see Prince Mbongo III, can you tell him he still owes me $52,000,000. He told me it was all mine, but I haven't received it yet. Thanks.

kaimera

Mr E wrote: »

You in Lagos, kaimera? If you see Prince Mbongo III, can you tell him he still owes me $52,000,000. He told me it was all mine, but I haven't received it yet. Thanks.

Ya I am, I'll keep my eyes open for him tho :pac:

hot fuss

In agreement about the brilliance of Rescue Me. I've just finished the third series as I'm watching on box set so am not up to season 5 yet. I think the script writing is pure genius and some of the short, quick witted, out of the blue scenes are among the funniest things you'll ever see on tv..

The acting is fantastic, the writing is top notch and the storylines are great - what's not to love?!

JP Liz

Its a great show with a brillant theme tune.

Its good seeing Michael J Fox back on tv