Season three begins with Tommy Gavin's (Denis Leary) family falling apart. As he struggles to deal with the loss of his son Connor, the victim of hit-and-run drunk driving accident, he finds himself separated from his wife (Andrea Roth) who blames him for Connor's death. This leads into the season's main plotline of a growing love triangle between Tommy, his wife and his cop brother, Johnny (Dean Winters). Meanwhile, Tommy carries on his relationship with the neurotic Sheila (Callie Thorne) as well as entering affairs with his brother's ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) and his godson's teacher. As you would expect, none of these relationships end well, even when Tommy is presented with the opportunity to get away from it all with Sheila.
Tommy also finds himself contemplating retirement from the department when he begins to question whether constantly putting his life at risk is worth the reward.
Several side plots supplement the main plot. Tommy's uncle Teddy (Lenny Clarke) has started a prison sentence for murdering the driver and his father's (Charles Durning) health continues to fail. Franco begins to move towards becoming a lieutenant and also becomes involved in a relationship with an older woman (Susan Sarandon). The relationship goes great at first until he discovers her vindictive side. Sean begins to date Tommy's sister (Tatum O'Neal) and Mike the Probie begins to question his sexuality. The guys at the house also try to quit smoking, which becomes a running gag throughout the season.
Although all of the side plots are handled really well, some of them feel like they are there to add some padding to the season's plot. One of the bigger misfires is Mike being gay, which doesn't work as well as it could. The plot involving Franco's relationship also begins to reach as it progresses.
Overall, season three is just as edgy as past seasons. One of the more noticeable changes is that it begins to shift the story more towards Tommy's screwed-up family rather than the firehouse. The family relationships end up being even more entertaining than the firehouse ones, especially once the love triangle begins to develop.
Although the plot lines seem heavy when described, they are all handled with excellent writing and sharp wit. Nearly every conversation is full of snappy one-liners and dry humor.
The four disc season set comes packed with extras, including three behind-the-scenes features covering the firehouse and the show's star, Denis Leary. Deleted Scenes, a Gag Reel, a Location Tour and preview of Season 4 round out the extras.
Although some previous knowledge is required to jump into the third season, there are enough clues dropped throughout each episode to keep newcomers up to date with who the characters are. Fans should definitely look into the third season set, especially for the included extras. If you are a newcomer, season three is an okay starting point, though it might be a good idea to check out previous seasons first.
