Grid Effect

And we finally got a sentimental, or at least quasi-sentimental Rescue Me minisode last night. As the firehouse used its final moments to banter about surefire hall of famers and the likelihood they did steroids, before unwittingly taking a call that sent them to the world trade center on 9/11. The use of Jimmy wasn’t recognizable at first, because after seeing three of these things I’ve grown accustom to just half watching them for five minutes then flipping to an Office rerun on TBS or something. But when the crew and Tommy began throwing the name Jimmy around, about thirty seconds into his appearance it finally dawned on me what was taking place.

After then it seemed likely they were planning on using this as a depiction of that unfortunate Tuesday morning, but it was still effective. Everyone, particularly Tommy, seemed relatively happy compared to what the majority of the characters are going through now. The entire scene reminded me of the Madame de Stael quote: “In life, one has the choice between boredom and suffering.” In hindsight, those characters probably look back fondly on this brand of minutia.

As for the scene itself, it was fitting to have Garritty be the naive fan boy who wants to believe in the sanctity and innocence of professional athletes. It would have fit better if anyone other than Tommy hinted at Roger Clemens, because lets face it, whether you still like this series or have been turned off by it for some reason, Leary seems to have at least a subconscious fixation with feeding his ego through his writing. Although he’s playing a character, he’s identifiable enough on his own celebrity that when he throws out insanely accurate theories that won’t be revealed for seven years, it is pretty distracting.

Still, outside of the second mini-episode these have felt like a successful venture, even though they’re still a bitch to remember. With six left we’re still undecided if these are worth the time and effort, and that’s with us enjoying them.

Some other news and notes:

Speaking of Rescue Me, Michael J. Fox’s character will not only be Janet’s ex-boyfriend, but also wheelchair bound. We’re almost certain this will not deter Tommy from picking a fight with him.

Has an actress’ physical attractiveness ever been so starkly depreciated by one of her characters personalities? We don’t have the statistics to back this up, but we’re going to say no.

Hey, and speaking of series’ who owe their very existence to David Chase and The Sopranos, someone with the name CCH Pounder claims The Shield finale will be of the anti-Sopranos variety. I would usually interpret this to mean it will be boring, predictable and formulaic, but hey, what do I know? A series finale we’re still debating almost a year later obviously sucked nuts, right? Seriously, I’m glad these people can come out and besmirch something so unique and subtle. It’s a good indicator that I never should bother with The Shield.

Amy Poehler, still happy to ride either her husband’s or Tina Fey’s coattails, whichever is most convenient, will star in the Office spin-off. We have no personal issues with Amy Poehler, unless thinking her you would deem thinking her unfunny personal. Still, we wish her all the best as she will work with some great writers at NBC, I’m sure. But right now, she’s pretty much the female Jimmy Fallon for us.

And finally, Matt Groening has come forward to publicly say what all of us already knew: The Simpsons will be around for as long as FOX will allow it to be. While we appreciate the loyalty from both sides, it’s probably time to move onto something else. Speaking for this website, the next new Simpsons episode we watch will be their series finale.