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FX's "Rescue Me" Returns -- Finally, and Brilliantly
April 7, 2009  | By David Bianculli
 
rescue-me-09-A07-.jpgThe FX drama series Rescue Me, starring Denis Leary as a haunted New York firefighter, has been gone from TV so long, it makes The Sopranos look like a poster boy for prime-time promptness. FX even presented five-minute "mini-sodes" of Rescue Mein the interim, just to remind viewers of what they were missing. Well, miss no longer. After a hiatus of hour-long episodes that stretches back to 2007, Rescue Meis back, starting tonight at 10 ET. Back, and brilliant.

Denis Leary, who stars as Tommy Gavin, and co-producer Peter Tolan have created a series that started off impressively in 2004, and truly has gotten better and more intense every year. The characters, by now, are fully rounded, even if most of them are, in their own ways, fully certifiable. And watching them, whether they're joking about genitalia or talking seriously about Ground Zero, is just wonderful.

rescue-me-09-A07-fox-leary.jpg

This season begins with lots going on, but there's one element that soars above all others. Michael J. Fox guest stars as Dwight, the new boyfriend of Tommy's ex-wife, Janet -- and the scenes between the two of them are as full of sparks as the firefighting scenes. They're amazing together, expressing an instant mutual dislike. And as good as it is to have Rescue Me back, it's even better to have Fox around again.

Then there's the subplot about an author visiting the firehouse to research a book on 9/11 -- an excuse for many of the characters, including Tommy, to either verbalize or avoid their individual angst. At times, Rescue Me is one of the most dramatic shows on television. At other times, it's one of the funniest, and often makes me laugh out loud. Really laugh. And, really, out loud.

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And then, finally, there are the women -- Andrea Roth as Janet, Callie Thorne and Gina Gershon as two of the women in Tommy's life, and plenty more. Put it this way: On this show, the fires aren't the hottest things around.

 

What a show. What a treat. And what a wait -- but it's over, finally. Dive in.

 

2 Comments

 

Dan said:

I couldn't agree with you more about RESCUE ME. My wife was yelling at me for laughing so loud at the TV set. Having just finished a career myself in public safety I can tell you that these scenes and interactions are as real as it gets for a television series. Network television, are you watching? Let's thank our lucky stars for FX, and the other cable TV channels for saving us from the pablum offered on the networks, and continuing to show us how "must see" TV is done.

Comment posted on April 7, 2009 11:39 PM


meg4fancast said:

Good news! Fans of the show will be excited to hear that Denis Leary and Peter Tolan will be participating in a live chat on Fancast.com on June 3rd at 3pm Est. Here is a link to chat- http://www.fancast.com/blogs/live-chat/live-chat-with-rescue-me-co-creators-and-executive-producers-denis-leary-and-peter-tolan/

Comment posted on June 3, 2009 3:38 AM
 
 
 
 
 
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