Rescue Me

A four-alarm run of fiery performances laced with hurt and hilarity. It means writing that swerves brilliantly from racy humor to lacerating pain, from steamy encounters to brutal insights. And it means spending quality time with some of the most human, street-level, flesh-and-blood characters you're likely to encounter anywhere in the television realm. [30 May 2006, p.E1]

Rescue Me isn't your run-of-the-mill TV drama. It's astonishing in its ability to mix tremendous tragedy with genuinely hilarious comedy. [30 May 2006]

Rescue Me is like a roaring five-alarm fire. The moment it seems the blaze is under control - whoosh - the place explodes. And just as quickly, it's under control.

In lesser hands, the show would be suffocating, a dramatic black hole from which no light could escape. But Denis Leary, who stars as Tommy, and co-creator Peter Tolan are brilliant at letting a little humor creep in at just the right time. [30 May 2006, p.1E]

It never shrinks from the task of surpassing its own brilliance. Even when it fails in its attempt to knock you out, Rescue Me keeps swinging, and that engenders a whole lot of admiration in a medium choking on its own safety.

Rescue Me isn't for everyone, particularly those who find Leary's fuming a little too convincing. But it's certainly a TV gem, rough but gleaming. [30 May 2006, p.E1]

It's unlikely that Rescue Me, which continues to cast a serious spell, will turn into a womany show. When "we're Irish" fails to serve as a pretext for bad or capricious behavior on this show, the second-best explanation is still "we're men."

In the vein of Bill Murray, [Leary] is now a subtler tragic-comic actor who signals both tough luck and buoyant twinkles with a smirk and a glance. [30 May 2006, p.39]

The women aren't as shrill as they've been in the past, and even Sheila (Callie Thorne), the histrionic widow of Tommy's dead cousin has become a decent comedic foil. Better yet, Susan Sarandon steps up to the plate this season as a confident, rich woman - not a girl, a woman, Tommy points out - who wants to seduce Franco (Daniel Sunjata). [30 May 2006, p.D1]

A warning: Once hooked, you'll be with the show to the end. [30 May 2006]

If, as a woman, you've ever wondered how men act when they're together, how they talk to each other, how they deal with rage and confusion and lust, there's no better guide than this show, which may just be hitting its stride in its third season. [30 May 2006, p.3]

Rescue Me has also created wonderful, layered roles for women, including Andrea Roth ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") as Tommy's estranged wife, Janet, and Tatum O'Neal as temperamental sister Maggie Gavin...Plus, such impressive actresses as Susan Sarandon and Marisa Tomei have signed on for roles as recurring characters this season. [30 May 2006, p.1]