# Sell me on: "Rescue Me" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257 "2005-06-21T22:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/1 "2005-06-21T22:33:51Z")
_Rescue Me_ starts up again tonight. I’ve never seen an episode of this, mainly because I find the guy who plays the lead to be as irriatating as fingernails on a blackboard. But… I really liked _Nip/Tuck_, the other summer replacement for _The Shield_, so maybe I should be a bit more open minded. Anyone want to weigh in either for or against _Rescue Me_? It sure does get rave reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/2 "2005-06-21T22:43:29Z")
[I like it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=267664&highlight=rescue). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/3 "2005-06-21T23:01:52Z")
Great show. It conflicted with my other TV shows last season so I missed a few eps, but I’ll always watch it when I catch the frequent repeats. Leary can be grating to some people, personally I like him, but the stories and ensemble are pretty solid. Its nice to get some quality drama that isn’t about cops, trials, or forensics for a change. It’s not quite as compelling as Nip/Tuck, but I dare say it’s deeper with more character development. Give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![chefjef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@chefjef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefjef)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/4 "2005-06-21T23:04:36Z")
I’ve watched it a few times on tivo but never gotten too into it. I like Dennis Leary though. Prob should give it another chance. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/5 "2005-06-21T23:07:16Z")
I haven’t seen very many episodes (I don;t watch much TV) but I intend to watch more of this one. [Here](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/20/DDGVIDA4AU1.DTL)’s yesterday’s revire of the show from the SF Chronicle. ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/6 "2005-06-21T23:17:37Z")
One thing I’ve always liked about the show is that you can tell Leary really, really cares about this show and the subjects - I can’t explain it better than that - it’s just a (and God help me, I hate this word) “vibe” I get from the show. I watched the show about real Boston firemen on (Discovery? TLC?) Sunday night, and surprisingly (or not) Rescue Me seems to have hit the nail on the head when it comes to Firehouse life. When you look at Leary’s background you can see why. From [us.imdb.com’s info](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001459/bio) about him: > [@](#): > > Founded the Leary Firefighters’ Foundation charity in response to the Dec. 3, 1999 warehouse fire that killed six firefighters in his hometown of Worcester, MA. His cousin Jeremiah Lucey was among the six heroic firefighters killed. Leary also established a second division of LFFF, the Leary Firefighters’ Foundation Fund for New York’s Finest in response to the FDNY’s losses in the Sept. 11th attacks. So this is a project that is very close to his heart. I’m so glad you reminded me it was on! I didn’t even realize it was Tuesday - gotta go set the TiVo 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/7 "2005-06-22T04:20:38Z")
My first viewing experience tonight. Pretty good. It won’t crack my current faves list of Lost, Shield or 24, but probably in the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/8 "2005-06-22T16:25:41Z")
I lost interest after the first 4 or 5 episodes when it seemed all firefighters talk about are homosexuality and women’s vaginas. ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/9 "2005-06-22T18:03:47Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > I lost interest after the first 4 or 5 episodes when it seemed all firefighters talk about are homosexuality and women’s vaginas. Not sure if you’re male or female, but have you ever been around/seen a group of guys where there are no women around (or at least no women they considered to be women and not “one of the guys”)? The most common topics of discussion for such a group are (in no particular order) booze women sex sports Yes, we’re pigs… :smack: 😃 And yes, I’m stereotyping :eek: , but there is a kernel of truth behind the tongue-in-cheek… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/10 "2005-06-22T18:11:55Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > I lost interest after the first 4 or 5 episodes when it seemed all firefighters talk about are homosexuality and women’s vaginas. Then you must have missed the woman firefighter who was introduced in episode 9. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/11 "2005-06-23T15:26:53Z")
I liked it. I liked it a lot. Very good portrayal of someone hitting rock bottom. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Dean Winters (Ryan O’Reily from Oz) playing the brother. Leary, whom I usually find irritating, wasn’t bothersome at all-- in fact, I liked his acting. Thanks for the encouragement. This is a real good replacement for _The Shield_. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/12 "2005-06-23T16:20:25Z")
I’m a dude and essentially 5 hours of nothing but dudes talking about vaginas and gay sex… isn’t what I call compelling television. I don’t knock the show. I just won’t go out of my way to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/13 "2005-06-23T16:52:41Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > I’m a dude and essentially 5 hours of nothing but dudes talking about vaginas and gay sex… isn’t what I call compelling television. I don’t knock the show. I just won’t go out of my way to see it. Yeah, cause there’s nothing in there about alcoholism, drugs, 9/11, life and death, gambling, divorce, and the love of one’s children… Gimme a fuckin’ break. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/14 "2005-06-23T18:18:16Z")
…And all I am saying, Johnny Crude n’ Curse, is that in the episodes I’ve seen the dialogue and interaction all centered around the fire fighters sex lives or their preoccupation with the gays. I understand that that was a story-arc for the older fireman and his gay son but once that seemed wrapped up and it didn’t stop… I saw nothing in that show to hold my interest. Yah for wanking on 9/11, and other issues but I just don’t see it as appointment television. If I want hard issues I’ll watch a show like the Shield. If I want gay-centric I’d watch Queer as Folk. If I want straight sexcapades I’d watch Nip/Tuck… All far superior shows in my opinion… (actually never watched Queer as Folk, but I needed to cite it for my point) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/15 "2005-06-23T18:55:45Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > …And all I am saying, Johnny Crude n’ Curse, is that in the episodes I’ve seen the dialogue and interaction all centered around the fire fighters sex lives or their preoccupation with the gays. Once again, you stopped watching before Diane Farr joined the cast in Episode 9. She plays Laura and being the only woman in the house, the guys see her as an outsider. The sex talk all but ceased lest she hit them with a sexual harrasment suit. Episode 10 centered around the guys trying to get Laura out of their house, through whatever means necessary–including trying to stink her out of her bathroom. She got her revenge on the culprit by gluing him to the toilet seat. Episode 11 centered around Tommy’s gambling, along with Uncle Tommy and an ex-jockey moving in and causing trouble. Episode 12 centered around a group of Tommy’s firefighting friends visiting from up north (Boston?). The group spend half the time drinking and the other half building a 9/11 memorial in the house–a memorial which caught fire and caused extensive damage. In Episode 13, the guys finally realized that Tommy had been seeing the widow of a fallen firefighter, which is against their code. Tommy’s visions took a turn for the worst when he spent an hour talking to a dead girl and his inattention caused fellow firefighter Franco to be severely injured. The only “gay” reference so far this season was when Laura found that one of the guys had used her disposable camera to take a picture of his dick. She put the picture on a gay dating site, along with the dick’s phone numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/16 "2005-06-23T20:06:43Z")
…Wow… sorry I missed all that. Sounds… great. That’s another thing I thought was off about the show- Tommy is dating a widow of another fire fighter… This was a problem? Weren’t there a rash of NY firefighters LEAVING their own wives for the widows of thier dead friends in the months and years after 9/11. (my only cite for that is a piece in The Stranger’s Last Days weekly column.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/17 "2005-06-23T22:57:59Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > That’s another thing I thought was off about the show- Tommy is dating a widow of another fire fighter… This was a problem? Weren’t there a rash of NY firefighters LEAVING their own wives for the widows of thier dead friends in the months and years after 9/11. In this case, the deceased was from the same firehouse and, to make matters worse, they hooked up at a firefighter’s funeral. Her late husband’s funeral, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rescue-me/309257/18 "2005-06-23T23:03:06Z")
Correction: they hooked up at a function for firefighters’ widows. Not quite as bad.