Grid Effect

You know what’s really great about Rescue Me? It’s the short episode titles. Other series’ like Friday Night Lights or The Wire tend to elongate their headings. Sure, the episodes themselves might be more insightful or have better narrative structure. But I can’t always fit the full title in the allotted space in the websites title bar, sometimes its extended and the first letters of the title post are taken out of the shot. So, Rescue Me, I’ve been hard on you this season (though not as hard as most), but there is a feather in your cap. Keep up the good work.

This episode opened with Tommy dreaming about everyone on his crew (Sean, black Sean, Probie, Franco & Kenny) dying in a fire. Only, we weren’t supposed to know its a dream until he wakes up. It was like the biggest non-surprise in television history. And its shit like this (that is becoming redundant) that is making it difficult to take the series seriously. I mean, the scene itself was well-executed, and it illustrated what I imagine is a fireman’s worst on-the-job fears, but I guess I just didn’t see the relevance of having it in there. Other than to maybe demonstrate that despite how self-destructive Tommy Gavin is, he still has something to lose? Your guess is as good as mine.

The highlight of the episode belonged to Charles Durning, who by all accounts has been woefully underused this season. Tommy had developed a resurgence of faith ever since his rescue of the window worker the week before and he used a prayer to overcome his resurgent fear of heights. Tommy’s dad (played by Durning), explained to him his disbelief in God, and how his own mortality haunts him everyday. This after Tommy’s entire family mocked him for praying for any guidance at one of their makeshift AA meetings. Looking into Durnings old, probably failing eyes as he regaled these legitimately morbid thoughts was chilling, to say the least. And he really managed to knock Tommy out of his born-again-ness.

Other than that, we had another dialogue deprived scene between Tommy and Gina Gershon, whose name we found out this week was Valerie, or Val, which makes Tommy think of Val Kilmer in Tombstone. Tommy getting his daughter the car he promised her last week to keep him in the family loop, she needs a philips head to start it but the issue never broached. At least not with her. What’s worse, he traded the car in an even swap for the escalade. Which, I guess he can afford it, since he still has all that good baby selling money. Speaking of which, apparently he still plans on Janet getting tired of watching the kid with her new job and boyfriend, so Sheila is anticipating getting Dylan/Elvis back sooner than later. Also, Tommy is fucking obsessed with Eric Clapton.

In the rest of the firehouse, Kenny is losing his mind over some chocolate pizza made by his cousins girlfriend that he is contemplating having revenge sex with. Franco is unimpressed with Natalie’s new boyfriend and insulted that she is dating some he deems unworthy so soon after they broke off their engagement. And Garrity is still pretending to be a drunk to finagle his way into the Gavin AA meetings.

Again, I may have been overly harsh in the opening paragraph, but the episode just seemed so aimless. We really do not feel like we’ve had a good episode since “Seven”, but we’re watching tonight, and it’s still open season as to whether we cut this or Entourage from weekly episode recaps.

Any preference?