I’m undoubtedly approaching broken-record status, but Rescue Me weaves disparate topics into its episodes better than any other series on television. Whether it’s the absurdity of painting a bar completely black or the shock of one man praying to God for another man to die, the writers fearlessly combine the ridiculous and the sublime on a weekly basis. It doesn’t come off as a pointed effort to be clever either. It’s just that each character’s individual arc leads them to very different places within the spectrum of the show.
Last night’s episode is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.
Three particular scenarios stood out. Each involved three separate pairs of characters and each dealt with unrelated subject matter.
Abstinence – Tommy had a very Tommy-like reaction to learning that Colleen is not having sex with Bart. He lost his shit. The prospect of Colleen rediscovering her virginity and holding out until marriage had Tommy seeing visions of her mother knocked-up at age 20. Even more uncomfortable than the dream in which he was delivering Colleen’s and Bart’s babies, was his conversation with her about abstaining from intercourse. His solution: “Do the Clinton thing.” I give him credit for thinking outside the box, literally. Tommy once again looks like he’ll miss out on that Father of the Year award.
9/11 conspiracies – Franco and Mike got into a tussle over this controversial talking point. Franco believes the government brought down the towers. Mike is enraged by such talk and wants Franco to stop spouting his bullshit theories inside the firehouse. Franco basically calls him a blind puppet. I’m of the belief that our government doesn’t possess the intelligence and organization to pull off a 9/11 plot, but that’s just me. The satisfying result of Franco and Mike’s disagreement was that they resolved the issue by rationally speaking to one another. Mike revealed his reason for joining the FDNY was 9/11. Mike is a dope, but it’s nice to see him utilized for more than just punchlines.
Female orgasms – Garrity often finds himself in outlandish predicaments, but this one could very well beat them all. On Franco’s recommendation, Garrity makes an appointment with a chiropractor to treat his ailing back. He meets the fifty-something female practitioner, who warns him her methods are unorthodox. Sean’s response is classic Sean: “I’m not Jewish. Is that okay?” Anyway, the old bag climbs on his back and grinds away to the point of full gratification. A vengeful Garrity returns to the firehouse and dupes Franco into paying the good doctor a visit. Of course, when Franco arrives he is greeted by the old bag’s smokin’ hot daughter, who gives him the same treatment. Franco scores again. Forget those fatties on NBC; Sean Garrity is the biggest loser.
It was far from a perfect episode, what with Lou’s pathetic pursuit of Genevieve and Sheila’s silly escapades with her psycho-dramaturge sullying portions of the sixty minutes. It hardly matters, though. There’s always something to talk about after watching Rescue Me.
Clacked by Scott Tunstall 
on Apr 22, 2009 @ 13:07 EST5EDT
