Rescue Me…Please!

by Jennifer Squires Biller

OK, it’s not often I need help deciphering television plots. (Unless I’m watching any random episode of make-my-head-explode-it's-so-complicated Lost.) I mean, I am Tube Talk Girl, after all, with years of experience with the basic TV-drama formula. But this week’s episode of Rescue Me left me staring blankly at the TV, saying “What-the-????.” I’m referring to the Tommy/Janet scene at the end of the show. If any of my fellow TV addicts — or Denis Leary if you’re reading this — can offer an explanation as to what happened there, I’d be grateful.

Please explain this to me: Why did Tommy call the bar and ask if his brother was there and if the bartender had his gun? Was he hoping to set up his brother to find him in a compromising position with Janet? Did Tommy go there with the intentions to get horizontal with his ex, or did it just happen? Was it rape? (As brutal as it started, I didn’t hear her say “no,” and after it was over, she seemed more concerned with the fate of the chaise lounge than what had just happened.) Who was the woman Tommy was talking to at the beginning of the scene, when she told him his brother was at the bar? Was that Janet? What was up with Tommy’s grin at the end? Was he hoping a Gavin heir would soon be on the way, or was he just happy to have one-upped his brother? Were Tommy and his brother working together on some sort of scheme against Janet, and Tommy double crossed him? Help me, Tubers. Please. My head hurts.

For those of you who have never seen Rescue Me, I feel compelled to tell you that you’re missing one of television’s best-hidden secrets. Yes, it’s a summer show, which is usually code for crap-fest, but Rescue Me is a gem. It’s dark at times, but the comic elements are brilliant, laugh-out-loud funny and offer a nice balance to the drama. Leary is so charismatic as the dysfunctional Tommy Gavin, you won’t be able to look away. Rescue Me is the high-quality type of show that we normally see on the fall schedule. Thankfully, we get to watch it during summer, when good television is practically nonexistent.

If you aren’t watching Rescue Me, I have five words for you: DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW. Go get the DVDs to catch up on what you’ve missed. (Please note, Rescue Me is for mature audiences only and contains mature language and situations i.e. don’t watch it with your kids or your grandma.)

Here’s what Tube Talk Girl has said previously about Rescue Me:

Rescue Me is an education in machismo, with a scandal at
every corner. Denis Leary brilliantly plays main character Tommy Gavin as brash and sassy. His temper is short. His insults long. And he has the petulance of a preschooler, which makes for some entertaining situations. The deeply flawed Gavin does have a few redeeming qualities: his candor and his courage.

To read Tube Talk Girl’s original review of Rescue Me, click here: http://tubetalk.blogspot.com/2006/02/rescue-me-and-dancing-with-stars.html

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