Customer Reviews

Rescue Me: Season 5, Vol. 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Rescue Me is a great show - the ensemble cast is excellent, there's a great combination of comedy and drama and although some situations dabble in the absurd, there are also serious issues that are dealt with in a mature and adult light. I have no problems with the show, it's a 5 star program.

But I do have a problem with GREED.

This season started late so they could run all 23 episodes during consecutive weeks. The last episode is airing in three days - the same day this set is being released - but has obviously been in the can along with the other 21 for several weeks if not months. SO WHY SPLIT THIS SEASON INTO TWO PARTS??

Greed.

FIFTY DOLLAR LIST PRICE for eleven episodes?? Assuming Volume 2 does the same for the final 11, that's ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a season! Now we all know there will be discounts (as I type this Amazon is selling it for $32) but that's still OVER SIXTY DOLLARS to get the fifth season.

I understand that past seasons contained 13 episodes and this one is 22. But would it really have been that much more expensive to add two discs and bump the price a little...instead of creating separate packaging - and passing THAT cost along - and gouging Us? The very people who support the show by purchasing something they already watched faithfully?

The 22 episodes were a complete season. The marketing is a complete sham.

Denis Leary's enflamed New York city firefighter Tommy Gavin is back. I find Tommy Gavin an interesting character but at times it is frustrating that nothing of Denis Leary the stand-up comic with the zingers at the ready and the educated man (MFA from Emerson college) shows through. I suppose this shows Leary's commitment to Gavin as a character.

Perhaps more than any other factor, what shows in this season is Gavin as a substance abuser, an alcoholic. He is in AA and he is out of AA. He fights with the priest constantly about their problems with alcohol. The other firemen open a bar and he gets involved with it and drinking there. His girlfriend allows him to drink but his wife does not. An unrecognizable Michael J. Fox does a brilliant job of playing Gavin's wife's new boyfriend who is wheelchair bound. He and Gavin briefly bond as maimed characters on just about every level, including substance abuse. It's hard to upstage Leary but Fox manages it. I was sad that Fox did not become a permanent character on the series but I suppose he was not interested in doing tv long term. Maybe they can bring him back next season for a few episodes as well since he was not killed off.

Gavin the firefighter is also on considerable display in this season. Perhaps his inability to conquer his inner demons is what makes him courage personified with rescuing people in burning buildings. He can even cope with burned bodies which other firemen can't face without becoming ill.

The least satisfying aspect of this series is Gavin's continuing problems with his girlfriend and his wife and the other few women who briefly alight in his life. I can't stand either the wife or the girlfriend as characters and would be happy if somehow they were eliminated from this series. I wish they would bring back Tatum O'Neal more, Gavin's sister. At least she was a female character with whom we could sustain interest.

Of the other firefighters, Sean is the most interesting one in this season because he gets cancer (probably from 9/11 exposure) but must get surgery on the sly because he wants to remain in the fire department as a fighting fireman. We also discover that Sean can SING in some very imaginative dream sequences while he is unconscious. Kenny wants to marry a prostitute and the Chief is married to a promiscuous woman he brought over from Russia. This seems very strange to me and I have no idea if this bears any relationship to what choices real firefighters would make as to women to marry. That they are able to convince themselves that they can reform these women is black comedy.

Not worth two seperate volumes much less two separate charges just cause they added a few more episodes this season, this from a person whose bought all the previous seasons cause i can't watch the show at it's regular airing...Do yourself a favor and rent or borrow season 5 from a friend......

GF and I are hooked on this show. We are about 6 episodes into this season and its the best yet. Finally some characters clearing the air and stating things we have been waiting for! Unless this season that we are viewing takes a serious nose dive, we both agree this could be the best writing the series has done yet. Leary admitted in an interview that Season 4 wasn't the best, he's making up for it IMO.

Buy used,I always wait a few weeks and buy a factory sealed copy for much less on Amazon!

That, and my local news. I gave up 18 months ago, too many commercials, not enough quality. So for THIS to be the only exception should tell you something.
Now add to that that all 4 previous season DVDs have gotten 5 star reviews for both video, and the 5.1 audio, and you can't lose !!!

Dennis and the boys are back in excellent form. Michael J. Fox is fantastic--a whole new persona for him. He does very well playing a bitter jerk. I think Leary is one of the most under
rated actors--he can make me cry and howl with laughter with how tormented he is. I have come to like Shelia a lot more than his wife who tends to get on my nerves. His uncle and cousin, the defrocked priest are also among my favorites. The scripts are sharp, almost painful.

Just watched the final episode of season 5 last night and looked here for availability of the dvd (s). I own seasons 1-4, having bought 3 seasons right here through Amazon. Total paid for 4 seasons was around $110.00, or roughly $2 per episode with 52 shows in the 1st four seasons. I see the Discounted price at $32 for 1/2 of the season and conclude quickly that the price has risen 50% (11 episodes for $32) compared to the previous years but... the shows' popularity and consistent Top Shelf writing are hard to argue with. It's still The Best Show On Television (and the only one I refuse to miss) Maybe wait till Xmas for a better packaged deal but I know the faithful will find a way to add season 5 to their library.

"Rescue Me" has never been the best show on television. Hell, it was never even the best show on it's own network. (That title belonged to "The Shield") However, it has always been in the top 5 since it's launch back in 2004. It's consistency and quality matched by few others. That was until season 5.1

This (half) season can be described in many ways, none of them very good... Disjointed, rushed, unfunny, forced, tired, recycled, and lame.

It's as if, after the writer's strike, Denis Leary, Peter Tolan and Evan Reilly (who's presence on the show as producer and writer mark a clear decline in the quality of the show starting in season 4) got together and had very few ideas. At the very least, only enough for 11 episodes. However, FX Network wanted 22 and the three of them tried to figure out how to "fill" 22 weeks of programming. (22 episodes were shot. The first 11 represented here) So, instead of 11 tight, dramatic episodes we've come to expect from a season of "Rescue Me" we've got this half-baked pile of pooh instead.

Some examples of what I'm talking about (SPOILERS AHEAD)

1. Franco's "lesbo" girlfriend - This was rushed into and led the way for many, many unfunny moments. First of all, Franco being attracted to this girl had no real basis and didn't fit with the character no matter how good the sex was supposed to be. This situation lead to not one, but TWO lesbian/male brawls and then the character just disappeared. Not even a phone call between her and Franco.

2. Mike's Band - Holy hell this was stupid. Did anyone think for a second it wasn't going to end exactly the way it did? They dragged this "plotline" out just long enough to do a Volkswagen product placement. (more on that later)

3. Teddy and Maggie volunteer at a VA hospital - Talk about filler. This led NOWHERE. I know they have to give characters something to do but couldn't they have given them something to do that may have had something to do with the overall plot of the show?

4. Needle's Russian Wife - This took up half an episode with "spot the panties" Oh the laughs I had.... Then, she goes down on Tommy's sponsee and disappears. Was she deported? We can only hope.

5. Lou's ex-hooker/girlfriend/new wife - Really? Really. Really? What a crock! Some of the character of Lou's best moments ever came in the fallout of being hustled by this woman. Now she's back and he forgives her... Okay. Then he agrees to marry her.... Okay? Then the NEXT WEEK, he steals all her money and kicks her out.... What? Talk about zero pay off and lots of time invested!

6. The French reporter - This was introduced so Tommy could break up with his girlfriend (Gina Gershon) and Lou could get some at Tommy's expense. At the very least, it didn't drag on longer than it had to.

7. Janet - This whole back and forth is getting old. We get it, they love/hate each other. It was interesting in season's 1 & 2 and reached it peak in season 3. Now, it's just starting to feel recycled.

8. Garrity and the self tanner - This was an entire SEGMENT of one episode. Eight minutes long. Complete filler with no pay off. The worst part of all? It wasn't even funny.

9. Damien - It's all fine and good that the character was brought in. But, couldn't they find a better actor with ANY screen presence to play the role?

10. The avocado/supermarket scene.

Unfortunately, there's even more.

As touched on earlier this was the year of product placement. Sam Adams was everywhere. Volkswagen got major play and who can forget the entire seven-minute scene at the top of one of the episodes when Garrity utters the words "Vitamin Water" about two DOZEN times.

But I digress...

In fairness, there were some really great things also. And some pretty good ones.

1. Garrity's cancer - The one subplot that felt truly fleshed out and resolved. The musical numbers were complete filler but I'll let that slide.

2. Sheila, Sheila, Sheila!!! - Callie Thorne deserves an Emmy. Or, at the very least, a nomination for her work this season. She was on fire. Many times, her scenes saved entire episodes from completely sucking. (Though, considering the nimrods at FX couldn't get a nomination for Katey Sagal for her BRILLANT turn on "Sons of Anarchy" I'm not holding my breath for Callie.)

3. "Drink" - The final episode of this season. It was tightly wound, intense and felt 100% authentic. Kudos to Leary and Tolan for their writing on this one.

4. Maura Tierney - She was great. Hopefully she'll be back next season but I fear her character is done... Just when it was just starting to pay off.

5. The scene with Shelia and Janet at the Firehouse - One of the top five scenes of the shows entire run. Great stuff.

6. Denis Leary - Still not the best actor on TV but certainly one of the most interesting to watch. His work with Callie Thorne was top notch and if she does get nominated the first person she should thank is him.

7. Michael J. Fox - Great to see him back on TV and fun to watch him play against type.

In the end, "Rescue Me" remains much watch television strictly because of it's past track record, Callie Thorne and the hope it returns to its' former glory next season. However, if season 5.2 is anything like the first half it will be the last episodes I ever watch of it.

While this is one of the best series on the morbid invention called the television. This series is starting to age a bit. I give it a couple more seasons and then maybe they need to finish it. Really great show and is better than most stuff on so called premium channels like HBO or better yet blowtime!

Season 5 of Rescue Me ranks right up there with the earlier seasons. Great comedic and dramatic writing and the actors are at their peak in this series. Tommy's past comes back to haunt him and his spiral into alcoholism is directly linked to his actions on the day of September 11 2001. The characters reflections on that day are the most mature pieces ever seen on the show and the writers obviously had a lot of interaction with real survivors to gain those insights. There is more firefighting and action in this series than others, which is great. And the comedy is sharp and insightful. All in all a terrific season.