Rescue Me started off so strong. Then, the Chief killed himself and it became drinking Irish family soap opera. The season finale was terrible and the many twists just felt like kicking the can down the road. Where was the Tommy Gavin that started the series? I get that the Firehouse was family, but this was the kind of white trash family that took turns on each other during many an Appalachian Holiday get-together.
FX used to have incredible dramas before it became a comedy channel. That’s not to say that the dramas didn’t have comedic elements. However, these shows also never shied away from language, kids getting killed and people getting darkly serious past the point of Basic Cable TV standards. I’m just glad to have the entire show on Blu-ray for the first time. It was one of the early SONY TV on Blu-ray releases, but then it dropped off with later seasons. I hate it when studios do that.
Denis Leary continues to be a personal favorite. Hell, his Captain George Stacy was the best part of the awful Andrew Garfield Spidey duology. Yet, his acting ability is what makes this show so frustrating. He brings in Lenny Clarke and his other buddies. They kill in their limited roles, but as showrunner Leary gets to pin things back towards his interests. Whether that is bringing in Gina Gershon to sex him up, it kinda makes the main plotlines drop dead. Then, there is the whole angle is forcing his guilt upon his cousin’s kid’s destroyed body.
As a side note, I wanted to discussing the packaging. Seeing as how the Community release was packaged so terribly, I wasn’t expecting much from Rescue Me. Yet, this slipcover and case combo is sturdy as a brick house. The weird disparity between packaging choices for physical media still bothers me. I say this as I’m getting e-mail from various streaming groups trying to get into our Annual Gift Guide. I’m a man out of time, people.
Rescue Me: The Complete Series is now available from Mill Creek Entertainment
