''Rescue Me'': Love it or hate it?
There's less doom and gloom in season 3 of Rescue Me, and Dalton Ross says FX's firefighter drama is better off for it. But where there's smoke, there's ire, as the obscene amount of sexy shenanigans taking place has Nicholas Fonseca seeing red.
LOVE IT
What made Rescue Me such a rush when it debuted in 2004 was its perfect
balance of intense emotional drama and ridiculous comedy. And then came
the bummer known as season 2. Whether it was Tommy's (Denis Leary) son
dying, Franco's daughter almost dying, or the chief's
Alzheimer's-afflicted wife slashing her wrists, the whole affair turned
into one big depress-orama. Thankfully, the cloud has lifted. With Lou
learning yoga, Sean being mistaken for a zombie, and Uncle Teddy loving
life behind bars, the show has learned to have fun again. That's not to
say it can't still get down and dirty (witness Tommy's survivor guilt
and the chief's financial woes), but these story lines now mix in a few
laughs along the way. True, I'm still not sure where the hell Susan
Sarandon went, and the Probie-gone-gay arc felt awfully forced, but
these are minor complaints. And while it was certainly disturbing seeing
Tommy rape his ex-wife (and her enjoy it), this is Rescue Me — it's
supposed to be disturbing. Just not all the time. — Dalton Ross
LOATHE IT
This season, Rescue Me's eternally horny Tommy Gavin has fended off the
advances of his cousin's widow, screwed around with his teenage nephew's
teacher/lover, ignited a liaison with his ex-sister-in-law,
and — depending on how you interpreted the most controversial scene of the
FX drama's third year — raped his ex-wife. And we haven't even gotten to
the ditzy blabbermouth he took home for sex and promptly silenced by
duct-taping her yapper. The speed at which Rescue Me has gone from
searing post-9/11 psychodrama to inane freak show has given me whiplash;
indeed, what should be the season's most affecting story lines (Lou's
battle with the bottle, Teddy's stint in the slammer, the Probie's
experimentation) have devolved into bawdy sideshows. And what of Tommy?
Sure, he's charismatic, but how much more abuse are the women in his
life willing to take? To be fair, Rescue Me remains one of TV's most
intriguing dramas. But let me offer one piece of advice: Pull up your
pants, guys, and get back to the real work at hand.
