Rescue Me

[mlm828]

Because of the recommendations here, I decided to check out Rescue Me when its new season began last week, and I watched it again last night. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, because I hadn't watched it before, and I'm still trying to get the characters straight, but I can say this: Oh. My. God. This is on television? Wow!

[shmeep]

Welcome aboard, mlm828! I'm curious to hear your take on the series as you are exposed to more episodes. This cracked me up:

mlm828 said:

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, because I hadn't watched it before, and I'm still trying to get the characters straight, but I can say this: Oh. My. God. This is on television? Wow!

That was my reaction when I first...scrap that. That's my reaction with every new episode I see. I can't tell if your "Wow!" is based on admiration for the show or just stunned disbelief that it made it past the censors. For me it's a little of both. When I first started to watch last season, I always felt a bit stunned by what I was seeing, but as I got to know the characters I developed a genuine love for them and came to thoroughly enjoy the relationships among them and the brilliant dialogue. Each week I'm a little nervous about who may be self destructing next (right now it seems to be poor Lou, although Tommy isn't exactly in a good place either) and I can only describe the experience as a roller coaster. The comic and the tragic are so mixed up that a single episode--like the one this week--can have me rolling on the floor laughing ("Not you. The Japanese.") and then nearly crying (that moment when Tommy realized his brother/lawyer has been sleeping with his ex-wife--the shock and betrayal boiling into a violent rage, all beautifully shown on Denis Leary's face without a word being spoken) and then clutching my husband and gasping with shock as Tommy beat the crap out of his brother, throwing him across tables and smashing his head through car windows. The preview for next week had me rolling when Tommy's explanation for the fight is that "we're Irish." I also cracked up at the shot of Tommy, obviously getting cozy with his nephew's teacher (who has been sleeping with his nephew), calling her "Mrs. Turbody." It kills me.

The "we're Irish" comment is especially funny to me because I married a very sweet Irish guy but one time a birthday dinner turned into a fight in the front yard and, as the two male members of my husband's family were duking it out, my husband just shrugged at my shocked expression. "We're Irish," he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was a whole new world to me. My Norwegian/Jewish family is anything but volatile.

[maggiethecat]

My reactions exactly, and I'm very worried about what's going to happen to poor Lou. By the way, I wondered for two seasons why they sometimes called the character "Lou" and sometimes "Kenny," until someone pointed out to me that the "Lou" comes from Lieutanant. So yeah, it can be a litle confusing.

Did you see Tommy notice the casual way Sean picked the cherry out of Maggie's drink? That'll be next week's drubbing.

And Sheila gets better with every episode.

I. Love. This. Show.

PS What do you want to bet that Uncle Teddy's food allergy defense gets him off the murder one rap? Too funny!

[shmeep]

I noticed Tommy's little eye-roll and smile when he saw Sean pick the cherry out of the drink. He knew in that moment and will probably enjoy allowing Sean to think he's got a beating coming. I'm betting Tommy will torture him for quite a while, but will have no real intention of harming him.

I was confused by the whole "Kenny" and "Lou" thing too, but I finally put it together recently. I LOVED the way Lou nonchalantly spit out his cigar when Tommy busted him at that crosswalk. But he can't afford to put another $100 in the kitty...I mean, the CAN.

Sheila has morphed into a very funny and enjoyable character. She was whiny and annoying before so I'm liking where they're taking her. How perfect was her delivery when she said, "And people call me a whore!"? Then she followed it up with, "Well, they do." That was brilliant. I also love how she knows all of Tommy's tells and can interpret them back to him with perfect accuracy.

[mlm828]

admin said:

I can't tell if your "Wow!" is based on admiration for the show or just stunned disbelief that it made it past the censors. For me it's a little of both.

It's a little of both for me, too. My reaction to the first episode was that it was quite a hoot, but things turned darker in a hurry this week. Irish or not, Tommy does seem to have an "anger management" problem.

[maggiethecat]

mlm828 said:

My reaction to the first episode was that it was quite a hoot, but things turned darker in a hurry this week. Irish or not, Tommy does seem to have an "anger management" problem.

Oh, anger management is the least of Tommy's problems! You might want to hit your video store for the DVD of Season Two, in which the hallucinations resulting from Tommy's going on the wagon took the form of Jesus -- in loin cloth and cross of thorns -- appearing in his apartment. "I could use a sandwich here," says Jesus . . . and it was so well done that of course you laughed. Then there was Sheila's reaction to Tommy's Viagra overdose, Franco's Vicodin problem, Uncle Teddy's stint as a male model, and the full backstory on Lou/Kenny and Candi. More than that I will not say, other than that this show, once experienced, can very quickly become an addiction. ;D

[doobrah]

I finally managed to stay awake to see this week's episode.

WOW.

It's a damn crime that Denis Leary does not get an Emmy nomination... either for acting or writing.

His slow burn at the end when he realizes his bro is shagging his wife. You're just sitting there waiting and waiting for him to explode.

Highly satisfying TV. I gotta watch it again Sunday.

MLM: you've gotta check out Season 1 & 2 on DVD.

[shmeep]

Aha! I called it. Did I not call it?

admin said:

I noticed Tommy's little eye-roll and smile when he saw Sean pick the cherry out of the drink. He knew in that moment and will probably enjoy allowing Sean to think he's got a beating coming. I'm betting Tommy will torture him for quite a while, but will have no real intention of harming him.

I saw this growing in last night's episode and it was a wonderful and gratifying moment when Tommy and Franco tormented Sean together and then, after Sean left, Franco told Tommy that it was even more fun than he had thought it would be.

Another good one. Is it sick and wrong that I'm starting to find myself strangely attracted to Denis Leary? He's just so...cool! Interesting moments? Uncle Teddy looooves prison and refuses to allow the Mothers Against Drunk Driving to try and get him out. Probie is apparently gay (but who didn't see that one coming?). Jeannie's brother Bud is a dick. Lou is in worse shape than we thought. And Johnny was actually pretty cool when it came to talking over the fight with Tommy's daughter. I wasn't expecting him to be that way. I really liked when Tommy tried to talk to Lou about how concerned he is about him, calling him a brother, only to have Lou call him a hypocrite. "I've seen how you treat your brothers," he yelled. Great, on the heels of last week's ass kicking.

[maggiethecat]

I bow to no one in my admiration of and fondness for Rescue Me, but after last night's episode I'm really starting to wonder where they're going this season.

I mean dark and grimy is one thing -- I like dark and grimy -- but that scene where Tommy raped his ex-wife really left me squirming, as did his smarmy little self-satisfied smile as he drove away, by which I suppose we are meant to infer that Janet will be pregnant by the end of the season. Between that and all the scenes at the sperm bank? It's a wonder he has the time to fight fires or pull kids out of overturned buses.

Add to that Kenny eying the third rail, and then getting spit on . . . and I just don't know. I think a lot of this is only bearable if you've watched the first two seasons and know that it will get funny again, but it really seems as though they're heading into very dark waters, which is saying something after the way they ended Season Two. Thanks heavens for Evil Mags, Tommy's sister, and how funny is it that Tommy was worried about her dating Sean because he's being protective of the kid? NOt where we thought that one was heading!

Maybe I just want Tommy to pick things up again with Sheila so we can have some sex scenes that are funny. She really is one of the best things about the show.

Next week with Marisa Tomei and Mrs. Turbody getting pinched for raping her students should put us back on track.

[doobrah]

I'm with you Mags -- last night's episode just seemed to be about pushing the envelope, not advancing the story. And this season, I'm getting more and more fed up with the lack of story.

Used to be Tommy had his protective side where he'd keep an eye on the kids & soon-to-be ex-wife from his place across the street, and watch out for Sheila because her husband/his cousin perished in 9/11.

Now it's just the road to debauchery, what with Lieu's hooker and the rape scene. Whatever happened to Tommy's conscience, portrayed effectively by Jesus?

Maybe this is what FX wants from its shows. The last season of "Nip/Tuck" turned me off in much the same way. Just too over the top because they can get away with it.

[maggiethecat]

doobrah said:

Just too over the top because they can get away with it.

Bingo!

I'm beginning to wonder if this is going to turn out to be the kind of show that was better when it was under the radar. Oh, there was buzz early on but mostly insider stuff; the show was appreciated by those in the industry and the critics, not the general public. When Rescue Me started three years ago, I didn't know anyone who ever watched F/X, me included.

Now the show is "hot," as witness Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon, both Oscar-winners. High profile guest stars usually spell a kind of creative death knell, since it means the show is chasing ratings and not the original vision. That said, could be Susan Sarandon signed on because it's a good part and the show shoots in New York City, where she lives. Same with Marisa Tomei, probably. But still . . . .

We shall see, but I really do hate a lot of what they're doing this season. Story, people, it should be about story, not trashing characters and seeing how much humping you can work into one episode. In the first two seasons, even when they were handling the most disturbing material imaginable, there was a kind of skewed, tongue-in-cheek goofiness that made it all work and kept you from feeling depressed at the end of the hour.

Not that I'm going to stop watching.

[shmeep]

From what I'm reading over at TWoP, many loyal viewers were turned off by last night's closing scene. I had read a spoiler about it yesterday at TVGuide.com in which the woman who plays Janet said this:

TVGuide.com: I can't let you go without trying to eke out one final Rescue Me spoiler. Surprise me.
Roth: Well, when Tommy comes over and we have sex, it starts off very violent, and you're not really certain exactly what the hell happened. I read in an article that Denis said that scene actually shows how complicated and strong the sexual pull is between these two people and why they are together and find it so hard to be apart. I haven't seen it, but a bunch of producers have said it's their favorite scene.

Um...I saw it as an obvious rape. Even my husband said, "Oh my God! He's raping her! He's a bad guy..." during that scene. I guess we're supposed to be lulled into complacency once it's clear she enjoyed it. It stopped bothering me so much then and I started to think that maybe in that context, it wasn't such a horrible act. But...then I thought about how she couldn't have escaped had she wanted to and that threw me into confusion all over again.

Still liking the show. I'm glad Kenny came clean with someone about what he's been going through and that the Mrs. Turbody storyline is about to be wrapped up (or taken to new heights). Looks like she gave Tommy the clap, which means he'll end up giving it to his brother through Janet. How will he get around Sheila finding out where it came from and what his arrangement was with Mrs. Turbody? It occurred to me that SHE--Mrs. Turbody--could also end up with a male Gavin heir as well. I'm glad that those two story lines are going to better places. I still have high hopes for this. Even last night's episode, dark as it became, had a lot of content that was enjoyable in its way and I love how unpredictable everything is in that world.

Question...does anyone else think Susan Serandon's character is going to do something bad to Franco? The expression that crossed her face when he told her he stole his daughter out of foster care and never told anyone made me wonder if Keela is the real target here. Her character couldn't have children and now her young fling has an adorable daughter she's growing attached to and who legally shouldn't be with her father (and the mother is conveniently dead). I think she'll try to take Keela away and raise her. Just a prediction.

[anna]

maggiethecat said:

Now the show is "hot," as witness Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon, both Oscar-winners. High profile guest stars usually spell a kind of creative death knell, since it means the show is chasing ratings and not the original vision.

Yep. Where there's stunt casting, there usually is a shark swimming not too far behind. On Mad About You, when Jaime's mother suddenly morphed into Carol Burnett, I knew it was over.

[maggiethecat]

admin said:

Question...does anyone else think Susan Serandon's character is going to do something bad to Franco? The expression that crossed her face when he told her he stole his daughter out of foster care and never told anyone made me wonder if Keela is the real target here. Her character couldn't have children and now her young fling has an adorable daughter she's growing attached to and who legally shouldn't be with her father (and the mother is conveniently dead). I think she'll try to take Keela away and raise her. Just a prediction.

Oh . . . my . . . God. You are brilliant. And she's got the money, which equals the legal clout, to do it. Did you catch her expression when Franco said Keela called every woman he dated Mommy, not just her? A little chilling.

I think you called this one.

AND if it turns out there are little Gavin heirs all over the place by the end of the season, that would be awfully funny. ;D

[doobrah]

Yeah, next week's TV Guide says that Franco finds out why Susan Sarandon's character is interested in him. How much you wanna bet it involves Keela?