Rescue Me

In an age when TV is quickly going the way of all idiots, a show like this is a gift...I watched three episodes and can't wait to see more! more! more!

Outstanding. [21 July 2004, p.E01]

Rescue Me burns with authenticity, rising from the newly cluttered landscape of summer TV programming to become the No. 1 must-see. [21 July 2004, p.F01]

Brilliant. [21 July 2004, p.4E]

Daring and raw, FX's Rescue Me takes astonishing risks.

It's as funny in some places as it is raw and touching in others. Make an effort to watch this premiere, and add it to your short list of must-see TV. [21 July 2004, p.80]

A flat-out terrific new series on FX that blends the harsh reality of what firefighters face on the job with the sometimes equally harsh reality they deal with when they go home...In short, you want to care about these characters and their lives, and there's nothing more you can ask from a show. [21 July 2004, p.1E]

Thanks largely to the presence of blowhard-par-excellence Denis Leary, who could be neither self-pitying nor unambiguously heroic if his life or his pack of cigarettes depended on it, it's one of the best series of the year.

The sweep of Rescue Me is far-reaching, and it's fearless in trying to break new ground in an old genre.

With Rescue Me, [Leary] redeems himself by doing what we always suspected he could do: really act.

Rescue Me has the feel of real. It talks tough and packs a volatile working class wallop while exploring the stress-fueled world of men in a very dangerous job. [21 July 2004, p.1D]

Rescue Me is a daring, unflinching show—a worthy companion to FX’s dark-hearted police drama “The Shield”—and it is unafraid to expose the not always pretty particulars of firehouse culture and the more fallible side of those we count on to save us.

It is not just one of the most moving but also one of the funniest shows you will see this year: a sort of post-9/11 M*A*S*H.

There is no question Rescue Me walks a very thin artistic line. The miracle, in television terms, is how brilliantly it works. While heart-wrenching at times, it is also a very funny series. [21 July 2004, p.6E]

The language and sentiments are often unfiltered and raw, maybe more than you want at times, but Leary is a master at playing guys on the edge and this is an extraordinary showcase, by turns moving, funny and stunning. [21 July 2004, p.61]

Outstanding. [21 July 2004, p.E6]

Occasionally, Rescue Me hammers the viewer with facile speechifying meant to establish the series' point of view. It more than makes up for these lapses with vivid characters, a slick visual style and pop tunes that cut against the grain of what's happening on screen. [21 July 2004, p.13E]

For Leary fans, it's a treat to have him back on the air in a smartly drawn, non-PC drama with a heavy comedic element.

When this show clicks in its first three episodes, it's because it violates a bigger rule, the one that says every New York firefighter, after the department's World Trade Center sacrifice, sports a halo and maybe a cape, and if he can carry a tune, he gets to sing at baseball games. [21 July 2004, p.C1]

Though Tommy's conversations with Jimmy seem like a glib gimmick, Rescue Me redeems itself with rough firehouse humor and a realistic depiction of the emergencies faced by the crew.

Most of Rescue Me rings true. One would hope, though, that after an interval of nearly three years, real New York firefighters focus a little less on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, than is depicted here. [21 July 2004, p.F-6]

The alchemy is imperfect. Rescue Me is worthy and at times engrossing, but not addictive. Viewers can appreciate the effort -- this is an atonal love song to New York firefighters -- without feeling any need to see the next episode. By the end of the first we know where this is all headed, so pleasure really depends on how much we enjoy the ride.

Clearly, he cares about firefighters and knows them, knows the cadence of their speech, what matters to them. But Rescue Me feels like a misguided gesture of goodwill -- one that serves Leary's vanity in addition to his heart.