Spoilers for the latest episode of "Rescue Me" coming up just as soon as I cancel my trip to Cleveland..."You never told us what to do after." -TommyOne of the more frustrating parts of the two seasons of "Rescue Me" before this resurgent one was the sense that the show was making choices less for dramatic reasons than to feed Denis Leary's ego: more women throwing themselves at Tommy, more scenes of Tommy single-handedly saving the day, Leary solo in most of the advertising, etc., etc.
So an episode like "Iceman" -- which included that long (I clocked it at 15 minutes, which is an eternity in modern TV drama time) sequence of Tommy at the bar, arguing ghosts and getting into a shoot-out with what turned out to be the adult ghost of his dead son; and which climaxed with Tommy literally running through a wall of fire to save Damien -- should have made me worried that the series is starting to backslide into its bad habits.
But it didn't worry me.
I didn't love the bar sequence, even with the returns of Dean Winters and Charles Durning, but that's because I've never really been a big fan of Tommy's alcoholic nightmares, and those have been a part of the show since the pilot. And the scene in the aftermath, with Lou suggesting that a drunk Tommy is a more interesting Tommy, was terrific, and continued to prove that making those two roommates was a great idea (as well as an excuse for Leary to share a lot of scenes with his strongest co-star).
And the episode's second half made good use of the supporting cast, primarily, but not entirely, in comic relief. Mike's reaction to the Cleveland Steamer definition may be the funniest line of the season so far, but that scene also continued to show him not being a complete imbecile. (It also showcased Mike Lombardi's singing voice.) Franco's boxing subplot was amusing enough (albeit not as amusing as Franco explaining that, of the two times he had gonorrhea, once was as a carrier), and all in all the show feels like more of an ensemble this year, even in an episode where the first half was 90% Tommy.
What did everybody else think?
I'm 20 minutes in and am really struggling not to hit the fast forward on Tommy's hallucination. This stuff might have worked in the first two seasons when Tommy was still somewhat sympathetic, but he's long past the point where I care about getting into his psyche.
ReplyDeleteFrom Jan:
ReplyDelete"One of the more frustrating parts of the two seasons of "Rescue Me" before this resurgent one was the sense that the show was making choices less for dramatic reasons than to feed Denis Leary's ego: more women throwing themselves at Tommy, more scenes of Tommy single-handedly saving the day, Leary solo in most of the advertising, etc., etc."
I absolutely agree--especially about the women throwing themselves at Tommy and the advertising part: just look at the DVD art going from Season 1 as it progresses--the rest of the guys have less and less place on it (despite the fact that viewers voted for a more inclusive cover on one of the sets) until the most recent one where they're nowhere to be found. I hope the first half of last night's show was just a slight backslide and that they'll be back on track next week or the week after. So far this season has been way better than last, and I think the ghosts are more effective when they don't talk so much--as in the first season.
The shootout scene was pretty intense to me, and overall I liked the opening scene. I thought it was pretty powerful, and made me understand Tommy (thought of as a hero in the rest of his work life, but when it counted in 9/11, he didn't feel that heroic without his cousin) a little better. He can't get past that day because he feels responsible for not being by Jimmy's side. I kind of got it. And I got how these macho jobs (military, firefighters, cops) have such an incredible effect on the people in them, and yet--we can't live without those jobs. So how do you mitigate the after effects? It brought up really interesting questions which I felt the show has gotten away from asking.
ReplyDeleteLove Lou, will always love Lou, and love that he really preferred drunk Tommy because that was the more fun Tommy. At least he's honest!
Damien is a punk. Hopefully this scares the crap out of him (if he doesn't scar himself up or die). Although I wish they played up the angle that he's so risky because he's comparing himself to his father...which would be completely understandable. But I don't think they don't connect Damien to Jimmy as much as they could, which loses some of the power of the story.
I wasn't a fan of the hallucination scene either and was worried that was going to be the focus of the entire episode.
ReplyDeleteI wish Mike hadn't allowed Damien to go into the building, but it was very much in character for him to be talked into doing something stupid like that. Up until that moment I very much enjoyed the reveal that Mike had actual talent! Not only was his singing a revelation, he managed to compose some surprisingly good lyrics. And, later, as he explained the fire to Damien we witnessed how knowledgeable and good he is at his job.
@Asta--yeah, I'm really pleased with how they've turned Mike into a more 3-dimensional character instead of just an idiot. And it was in character that he'd be easily duped into letting Damien come into that building (which you know was a terrible idea from the get-go). The writers have made real growth for him and Sean, and it's great to see.
ReplyDelete"I thought it was pretty powerful, and made me understand Tommy (thought of as a hero in the rest of his work life, but when it counted in 9/11, he didn't feel that heroic without his cousin) a little better."
ReplyDeleteI agree the message was good, but the execution sucked. When Tommy was revealing his feelings about 9/11 to Genevieve it felt poignant and very real. But watching Tommy interact with a bunch of ghosts just felt forced and like a cheap expository device.
Hadn't heard the phrase "Jewish Lightening" in quite a while. Great episode.
ReplyDeleteThat whole bar scene (including the teaser with the gathering of the guys) was like some theater workshop.
ReplyDeleteThe whole bar conversation felt like a high school one act play. It even had dramatic music and spotlights! Horrible, terrible, sloppy, bad. As Tivo says, ba-boop ba-boop ba-boop.
ReplyDeleteAlan, I was surprised that you of all people hated the bar scene. My impression of the bar scene was it was written for the express purpose of Emmy-Bait. I thought Denis Leary was going to use that 5-10 minute monologue railing at his father for not teaching him what comes "after" as his Emmy tape. I guess I was wrong. If you didn't like it Alan then Leary can't submit it.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, it was too blatant in its Emmy-baiting -- and, as others have said, too self-consciously theatrical.
ReplyDeleteLeary already has a much better Emmy submission episode from this season, "Perspective"
BTW: they totally slipped in an F-bomb during the scene with Sheila's son and the proby. Listen carefully as the kid says, "Just play the fuckin song."
ReplyDelete...Mike's reaction to the Cleveland Steamer definition may be the funniest line of the season so far, but that scene also continued to show him not being a complete imbecile...
ReplyDeleteHeh, yeah. What were his exact words? "Wow. Good thing we're not going to Cleveland."
Way too many dead people hallucinations on too many shows this season. What next, another brain tumor? Do themes run in seasons like this?
i like the ghosts. that is part of his character but as the show goes on it is a matter of restraint and subtlety being needed not laying it on too thick
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