TV Series: Rescue Me S01 - Tommy's Demons Post-911

I recently heard of the Denis Leary show Rescue Me and despite being a whopping 7 seasons behind, decided to check it out. Despite my initial skepticism that the show would be harping on the whole 9-11 thing (and, of course, it does), it is much deeper than just that. The main character played by Denis Leary himself, Tommy Gavin, is haunted by the demons of his dead cousin and other firefighters and friends that he lost in the WTC towers. He is also separated from his wife and sinking into the abyss of alcoholic self-pity. The hopelessness of the character and his inability to put it together for his family is a bit of a reminder of the Hank Moody character in Californication actually. The show’s other characters: Keith, Franco, Sean, Mike and Lou all have their issues and their dealings with the aftermath of 9-11. The episodes are about 45 minutes each. There are times when the 45 minutes seems to be a little long for the story that is being related but one gets into the characters and wants to see how things work out. I don’t want to throw out any spoilers this time, so I won’t go into details. There are some moments of both great comedy and great tragedy but overall the pranks and pathos do not ruin the storyline or cheapen the show. I like the soundtrack, particularly C’mon C’mon by the Von Bondies in the title credits. Overall, I will try to make it through the other 6 seasons that I have missed because I think there is some potential here. I wouldn’t rate this show as high as my big time favorites (Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, etc), but it is still interesting enough to follow for a while.

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