For those just tuning in for FX's "soap for men" (my description, not their's), Rescue Me centers on Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary), a firefighter with Truck Company 62, one of several New York City fire departments hit hard by the September 11th attacks. After the second season, the aftermath of the attacks slowly faded into the background, bringing up numerous other problems for the boys including paternity tests, confused sexual orientation and strained family relations. In other words, anything you could find on a daytime soap, but with a focus on firefighters and a dash of dark humor.
Season Five reintroduces 9/11 as a major plot element, though in a slightly different fashion by introducing 9/11 conspiracy theories and doubts into the firehouse. It's an interesting direction, but I never felt like it went anywhere other than giving Tommy another excuse to continue down his self-destructive path. Tommy's ways have always been a theme of the show, but there's only so much someone can reasonably take. I love when shows constantly kick characters down; watching the character continuously overcome obstacles is a great payoff. There are attempts to have Tommy grow and overcome, but most of the growth moments are a little too much and out of place. For example, Tommy spending time with kids in a cancer ward is great, but the way its handled is a little melodramatic (not to mention improbable - but this is TV, so I can overlook that). At least the cliffhanger ending points towards some sort of resolution for Tommy.
The rest of the crew carries on with their usual lives, most of which ends up working. The best thing to come out of Tommy's falling off the wagon is seeing the crew essentially turn their backs on him (along with his ghosts). Even if Tommy doesn't want to change, I like that everyone around him is - sort of. They're still the same group of guys. Lou (Kenny Shea) gets into a bit of woman trouble, another firefighter frets over telling Tommy he slept with a member of his family, a new firefighter joins the firehouse (though she is a female, so its something different) ...it's the same old routine. There are a few surprises here and there, but it's starting to feel like the writers aren't sure where to send the characters next.
The show's comedic elements are still around, mostly in the dialogue between firefighters in the station. There are some funny lines, but again its apparent the show is losing some of its edge. Wit is replaced with, well not-wit and some of the remarks just seem a little too mean spirited. I know a lot of people are going to go nuts over some of the one-liners and insults (and really, I've heard worse at work), but some of it felt thrown in for shock value, not because it needed to be there.
Season Five - Volume Two features the same basic extras as Volume One. "Setting the Backfires of Season 5" is another behind-the-scenes feature and "Rescue Me Dysfunctional Family Dinner" is a cast roundtable focusing on the show, characters and whatever they want to talk about. These are rounded out by a handful of deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Rescue Me: Season Five is a downer of a season. Many of the plotlines are retreads and there aren't many surprises, but there are still a few reasons to watch if you happened to enjoy the first part of Season Five.
