Rescue Me (TV series)

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Rescue Me
Genre Comedy-drama
Running time approx. 43 minutes
Creator(s) Denis Leary
Peter Tolan
Starring See Characters
Country of origin USA
Original channel FX
Original run July 21, 2004–present
No. of episodes 39
IMDb profile

Rescue Me is a critically praised American television drama and dark comedy that premiered on the FX Network in 2004. It is produced by the Cloudland Company, Apostle, DreamWorks Television and Sony Pictures Television. Rescue Me focuses mainly on the professional and personal lives of New York City firefighters after the trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The show stars Denis Leary, who plays the role of New York City firefighter, Tommy Gavin, a character whose life is full of torment and chaos.

Tommy has to struggle with the loss of his cousin, and best friend, Jimmy Keefe, who died on September 11th, 2001 and frequently visits Tommy in visions. In the pilot episode, Tommy and his wife have already separated and Tommy moved across the street. He is ill-tempered, hypocritical, manipulative, and a relapsed alcoholic. Although he is painted as a horrible human being, his character is redeemed through his incredible career as a firefighter. He has also realized how much he has contributed to the breakup of his family and constantly struggles to reconcile with them. He loves his kids very much and desires to get back together with his wife; however, despite slowly making steps toward his redemption, tragedy always seems to be right around the corner.

Contents

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Rescue Me characters

Rescue Me mainly focuses on the Gavin family and the men of the firehouse, but many other characters have been introduced over the three seasons that have stayed on as main characters. The series is also notable for attracting high profile actors and actresses, such as Tatum O'Neal, Susan Sarandon, and Marisa Tomei.

[edit] Season Overviews

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Season One

Main article: List of Rescue Me episodes (season 1)

The first season of Rescue Me began on July 21, 2004.

[edit] Season Two

Main article: List of Rescue Me episodes (season 2)

The second season premiered on June 21, 2005. It begins with Tommy at a new firehouse on Staten Island. He is transferred back to his old house after a revelation about his replacement, Sully. He and his brother find out that their father had an affair and that they have two half-siblings, a boy and a girl. Tommy also finds out that Janet took his kids to Ohio. He gets them back and the two reconcile for a brief time. Toward the end of the season, Connor Gavin is killed by a drunk driver. When it is suspected the drunk driver will not face prison time he is shot and killed by Tommy's uncle, Teddy.

In other plotlines, Chief Jerry's wife is gradually deteriorating from Alzheimer’s and he is forced to place her in a long-term care facility. Laura, the only female in the unit, leaves Franco and the firehouse. Lt. Kenny "Lou" Shea is conned by a prostitute, resulting in him losing his entire life savings.

[edit] Season Three

Main article: List of Rescue Me episodes (season 3)

The third season began on May 30, 2006. Tommy and Janet have re-separated after the death of their only son while Tommy's uncle, Teddy, is in jail for murder. It was revealed that Tommy's brother is sleeping with his ex-wife, which Tommy discovers after seeing the two holding hands and rubbing feet at his fathers birthday party, Tommy gives his brother an extremely vicious beating for his betrayal.

The crew gets wary of Lou, and suspects that something is wrong. Lou yells at Tommy when he comes up to talk to him, and continues to hide the conning of season two. At the end of one episode, Mike (Probie) arrives home upset, and cuddles up to his male roommate while watching a hockey game.

Following an argument over furniture, Tommy and Janet have a very physical sex scene. The violence of the act, contrasted with his post-coital attitude and the suggestion that she may have enjoyed it led to much controversy. Many have accused the show of glorifying rape while others have praised the show for portraying Janet's enjoyment as a refreshingly realistic view of the sexual dynamics of relationships. [1]

After Tommy is seen canoodling with Johnny's ex-wife, Angie (Marisa Tomei), Sheila makes Tommy ready for sex by getting Viagra and a date rape drug from her son's room, and putting them into Tommy's drink. She then has sex with his unconscious body. Afterwards, she chalks her actions up to frustration over the death of her husband, and tries to cover her tracks and pass off Tommy's state as a result of his obsession with the bottle. For those who saw Tommy's sex with Janet as non-consensual rape, this is seen as karma, payback, or irony.

Things only seem to get more out of control for Tommy when his estranged brother approaches him to tell Tommy that Janet is pregnant. When Tommy confronts her about the surprising news, she wants to have the pregnancy to replace their late son Connor. The confrontation elevates into a tense standoff with Tommy beaten senselessly.

Meanwhile, Mike's possible homosexuality and potential firehouse transfer is revealed in the house to the guys, who take jabs at it. A surprising Tommy comes to Mike's defense.

Franco begins seeing a woman Natalie who has a striking resemblance to his daughter. Her mentally challenged brother Rich attempts to get in their way, but after a friendly confrontation with him Franco wins his approval to continue dating Natalie.

Lou has a relationship with a soon-to-be ex-nun Teresa. He plans on going away to Florida with her to be a first mate on his cousin's boat.

Chief Jerry Riley tries to meet his wife's increasing healthcare costs by taking a second job at a bar. His boss, Birdy, strings him along, refusing to pay him, and ultimately unjustly fires him. Later, Jerry suffers a heart attack after having sex with Karlene, an illegal immigrant who cares for his wife. She refuses to call 911 but instead just leaves him there. He is discovered by Franco, Izzy (Phil Esposito) and Mike and is currently trying to get better at the hospital where his son visits him. In the season finale he tried to come back to the firehouse but was sent back to the hospital.

During a stakeout, Johnny was shot three times through the back and killed. When they caught the man who killed Johnny, it was revealed that he did it for payment as Johnny was going to testify against a powerful drug dealer. The night after his brother's death, Tommy discovers a message from Johnny revealing Johnny wanted to make up with him. He too left him a message that Johnny never heard. While they are looking at caskets Johnny's eyes flicker, a hallucination, which was the effect of the guilt that Tommy suffers from. The hallucination frightens Tommy and they decide on a closed casket funeral.

During Johnny's funeral Sean and Maggie decide to get married at the cemetery. Rosemarie Gavin is also introduced, the long lost sister of Tommy, Johnny, Maggie and Timo (the latter being a sibling currently suffering from Chuck cunningham syndrome). She is deaf and had been shunned by her parents but reconciles with her father.

Tommy decides to retire from the FDNY and move in with Sheila but later decides against it after talking with Janet about her pregnancy and upon hearing Mike isn't transferring, Lou changed his mind about the boat and Franco failed his lieutenant's exam.

Franco sets up a meeting with Keela who he finds out is going to a private school in France.

While at Sheila's new house that he had planned to live in with her, he reveals to her he is not retiring from the FDNY. So she drugs him, like before. Sheila accidentally starts a fire which quickly spreads after she fails to put it out with a fire extinguisher. She plans to leave him but as the fire gets worse she goes in to attempt to pull him out. It is unclear whether Sheila or Tommy made it out.

The third season has seen a procession of high-profile guest stars in semi-regular roles: in addition to the aforementioned Tomei, Susan Sarandon plays Franco's new girlfriend. Peter Tolan, co-creater and writer of the show, made an appearance as the replacement chief in the season 3 finale. Dean Winters had been added to the main credits as a full-time character to replace Diane Farr, who left the show to join the cast of CBS's NUMB3RS.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Music

The main title theme song for Rescue Me is "C'mon, C'mon" by The Von Bondies. This song was picked by Denis Leary's son, Jack, who helps pick some of the music used in the show. The underscore and end title theme for the show is scored by composer Christopher Tyng, who also scored Leary's previous show The Job. Rescue Me typically ends with a musical montage. The initial ad campaign made much use of the song "Under Pressure" by Queen.

[edit] Official Soundtrack

The official soundtrack was released May 8th, 2006 on Nettwerk records.

Rescue Me Original Television Soundtrack Album Artwork
Enlarge
Rescue Me Original Television Soundtrack Album Artwork
  • Track Listing
  1. C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies - 2:14
  2. Devil - Stereophonics - 4:41
  3. I'll Be Your Man - The Black Keys - 2:21
  4. Bonnie Brae - The Twilight Singers - 4:50
  5. All the Wild Horses - Ray LaMontagne - 3:17
  6. Shine a Light - Wolf Parade - 3:44
  7. Karaoke Soul - Tom McRae - 3:53
  8. Love is Blindness - The Devlins - 3:15
  9. Fell on Bad Days - Rubyhorse - 3:58
  10. Wipe That Smile Off Your Face - Our Lady Peace - 4:24
  11. Open Heart Surgery - The Brian Jonestown Massacre - 4:14
  12. Oh Yeah - The Subways - 2:58
  13. Pussywillow - Greg Dulli - 3:40
  14. Just a Dream - Griffin House - 6:29

[edit] Songs By Episode

[edit] Season 1

[edit] Season 2

[edit] Season 3


[edit] International

  • In Flanders (Belgium), the public broadcaster Canvas airs the first season.
  • In Wallonia (Belgium), BeTv aired the first two seasons.
  • In Canada, the show runs on Showcase Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
  • In Australia it began on September 26, 2005, on Fox8, it is currently airing on the W. Channel.
  • In New Zealand it started screening from November 9, 2005 on TVNZ's TV ONE free-to-air network.
  • In Israel, Xtra HOT aired the first 2 seasons in 2006.
  • In Portugal, SIC is currently airing the first season.
  • In Spain it airs on Fox.
  • It will air in Sweden on TV6 from August 2006.
  • In some regions in South East Asia, the show airs on AXN every Tuesday at 11 p.m. +8 GMT.
  • The show began showing in the United Kingdom with a run on Sky One on January 13, 2005.
  • In Finland, Nelonen has aired the first season of Rescue Me and will begin airing the second season from December 11, 2006.
  • In Turkey, Show Plus will screen the series from September 2006.
  • In Brazil it airs on FX.
  • In the United Kingdom, Season 1 began on 13th Jan 2005, Season 2 aired 26th February 2006 and Season 3 is due to air on 28th November 2006.
  • In Saudi Arabia and Arab World: Showtime Arabia Tv Land and Tv Land +2 (Subtitled).
  • The show airs in Croatia on RTL Televizija.
  • In Romania, AXN started airing the first season in November 2006.

[edit] Rescue Me DVD releases

[edit] Complete seasons

DVD Name
Region 1
Region 2
Region 4
Cover
The Complete First Season
The Complete Second Season

[edit] Trivia

  • Many actors in the show were on The Job, Denis Leary's previous television comedy series about the New York Police Department. There are stylistic and humor similarities between the two series.
  • The jacket Denis Leary wears in the pilot episode belonged to legendary firefighter Captain Patrick "Paddy" Brown, who died in the World Trade Center attacks.
  • In episode 1-10, Denis Leary is seen wearing a shirt bearing Ace Bailey's name, number and picture. Ace Bailey was the lead Scout for the LA Kings (also a former Boston Bruin) and was killed on September the 11th when Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center.
  • Several hockey players have appeared on the show in various roles. The most notable are former Boston Bruins forwards and Hall of Famers Cam Neely, for whom Leary has raised money via Comics Come Home, and Phil Esposito. Former Bruins player Lyndon (LB) Byers also appears.
  • In the pilot episode of the show, Leary is seen wearing a Leary Firefighters Foundation 9-11 memorial t-shirt.
  • In Episode 2-11, "Bitch", Tommy's hockey helmet is seen with the "W 6" logo on the front. This stands for "Worcester Six", and is a logo created to represent and remember 6 firefighters lost on December 3, 1999, in a warehouse fire in Denis Leary's hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts. Among the dead were Leary's cousin, Jerry Lucey, and childhood friend, Lt. Thomas Spencer.
  • Tommy's family name, Gavin, is a reference to his friend and fellow Boston comedian "Father" Don Gavin.
  • New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had a cameo in episode 3-12, "Hell" as a mourner at a funeral.
  • The replacement Chief in episode 3-13 is played by Co-Writer Peter Tolan.

[edit] External links

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