Rescue Me

Written by Bill Sherman
Published July 23, 2004
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Leary plays this walking wound with his trademark piss-&-vinegar, but what keeps it from becoming obnoxiously strident are his character's clear love for his kids, plus the ongoing dialogs we see him having with his dead cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey). These latter moments are played with a mordant humor that'll be familiar to fans of Six Feet Under (particularly in those sequences where family members have a chat with Dead Dad Fisher). But Leary and collaborator Peter Tolan play enough rude games with this device (sticking a talking severed head in Gavin's locker, for instance) to keep it fresh - at least through the season opener.

Occasionally, you can see Leary & Tolan trying a little too hard to establish their characters: an early scene where a bunch of the boys good-naturedly pepper each other with ethnic slurs comes across a little too self-consciously writerly, for instance - it's not that we don't believe these guys would use such language, just not so patently. Too, Leary and his collaborator give Gavin two dramatic monologues describing the stresses of being a firefighter. While they both serve clear dramatic functions, it still struck me as one too many.

If Rescue Me overthinks its subject, it thankfully doesn't do so at the expense of its characters' humanity. Leary and his cast of believable mugs (also worth noting from the opener: Jack McGee's Chief Reilly, a gambling addict so far gone that he wipes off a soot-covered teevee just to see how his team is doing) carry the story through its stagy moments and make you worry about 'em when they rush into smoke-filled buildings. From interviews with Leary, it's clear that the subject has emotional resonance for him. But I still was surprised to see the wise-ass stand-up make something dramatically real from it. . .

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Bill Sherman is a mostly harmless pop culture nerd who can either be found at the Pop Culture Gadabout blog or in his capacity as Comics & Graphics Novel review editor at this here site. He once wrote a history of underground comix for a Spanish comics encyclopedia - which he can no longer read since he lost the original manscript and can't read Spanish.
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Rescue Me
Published: July 23, 2004
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Section: Video
Filed Under: Video: Television
Writer: Bill Sherman
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Comments

#1 — July 30, 2004 @ 06:03AM — Darrel

The first show was promising. But the second show was awfull. Is this going to be like the old CHIPS series, with a scateboard episode followed by a hangliding episode and then maybe dirt bike episode? Get writers with some imagination and mix it up like The Shield does.

#2 — May 30, 2006 @ 23:13PM — Sheila

Did anyone catch the name of the song they played near the end? I could only catch the cmon cmon on the credits.

But I liked the show. Thought though it was a little unrealistic how much he beat the poor little girl to a pulp trying to bring her back to life. Also, Tatum O'Neil looks great.... she really played the part of a Princess control freak. Great job on her part.

But if any one can come up with the song.. I would really appreciate it.

Sheila

#3 — June 2, 2006 @ 19:55PM — rach

I think your talking about the song by stereophonics its called devil

#4 — June 5, 2006 @ 02:16AM — Rob

Sheila, you read my mind. In my search to find out the name of that song "Bear My Devil...(something), I came across this blog. The singer had a hell of a voice IMO. Would love to hear from anyone who knows who that was!

Rob

#5 — June 5, 2006 @ 02:19AM — Rob

Guess I should have read fromthe top down ;) Thx for the lowdown rach

#6 — June 7, 2006 @ 00:29AM — Jason

does anyone know the name of the song that played on the 6th?, the show was called "DISCOVERY" and the song said something about playing with fire...anything would be helpfull, thanks

#7 — June 7, 2006 @ 20:04PM — ty

i would also like to khow what the song was at the end of the june 6 "discovery" show

#8 — June 8, 2006 @ 16:02PM — ty

song is by twilight singers and title is bonnie brae

#9 — June 8, 2006 @ 16:16PM — bart

sheila: the theme song, "c'mon c'mon, is by the von bondies

#10 — June 9, 2006 @ 23:28PM — Jason

Hey thanks for the song name, I donwloaded it..this is kindof a weird question but does anyone know what kind of leather jacket Tommy wears?

#11 — June 10, 2006 @ 19:57PM — ty

i dont know co makes it ,but the style is called a Driver or a driving jacket

#12 — June 11, 2006 @ 17:26PM — Jason

I have been looking everywhere for that jacket he wears at his dad b-day party and I cant find it...thanks for the help though...

#13 — June 30, 2006 @ 14:35PM — Brennan

closest I can find to tommy's jacket is this one:

#14 — August 30, 2006 @ 00:25AM — robert

what was the name of the song played on the commercial for the season finale?

#15 — October 2, 2006 @ 20:44PM — Matty Joe

Brennan, thanks for the link. Def gonna buy that jacket.

#16 — November 4, 2006 @ 13:19PM — Dan [URL]

actually it's a Cafe' Racer style. I am 99% sure the maker is Brooks. It is a vintage 1970's jacket. There are tons on ebay. Good luck.

#17 — July 24, 2007 @ 04:49AM — Jason

Hey, hopefully that;s the real jacket he wears because I have been looking for that ever since he started to wear it.

#18 — July 27, 2007 @ 12:36PM — Christine

What was the name of the song at the end of the episode called "Balance" where Tommy was sitting in his truck reading his "bible?" Part of the lyrics went "get on your high heel shoes."

#19 — August 6, 2007 @ 03:45AM — Jason

Alot of songs from the movie are from the group STEREOPHONICS, and the song that talks about the devil, is called DEVIl by them..

#20 — August 6, 2007 @ 03:46AM — Jason

Ooops, I meant the show

#21 — August 7, 2007 @ 01:18AM — Mike

Apparently the high heeled shoes song is called "Wedding Dress" by Abel. I have had a hard time finding anything else about it, almost like it only exists for the show.

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