State of the Show: Rescue Me

I approached this super-sized fifth season (18 episodes isn't such a big deal for the networks--although soon it may be) with a mixture of apprehension and eagerness. On one hand, the fourth season ended poorly, giving me the impression the show had gone off the rails and was out of ideas. On the other hand, I thought it could turn around, and the first few seasons were so good, I desperately wanted it to be that good again.

Season 5 started out with a string of great episodes and compelling storylines, with the series maintaining its raucous humor while reintroducing some of the serious themes that had been deemphasized. In particular, "Rescue Me" got back into exploring the messy, painful world of 9/11, with a French journalist interviewing the guys in the firehouse about that horrible day (a solid device to get the characters to deliver some monologues) and Franco dishing his conspiracy theories. Michael J. Fox added a spark as Janet's new boyfriend, wheelchair-bound, pill-popping Dwight.

Unfortunately, the promise of these episodes faded rather quickly, and it was soon apparent that instead of using the extra-long season to experiment, like maybe to alter the storytelling to feature some tighter, longer-playing arcs, "Rescue Me" was gonna settle. This season wasn't bad--I think it was a step up from season 4--but it really didn't go anywhere for most of the season, revisiting already explored ground and focusing on comedy.

There were lots of good story ideas that ultimately didn't pay off. They either just faded away or were resolved abruptly. I'm talking the 9/11 stuff, Lou's wedding, Garrity's cancer, Mike's band, Tommy being a sponsor...on and on and on. The one storyline that DID survive all season is the Janet/Sheila/Tommy triangle--probably the one that most needs resolution already. It flatters no one, except Tommy in the sense that he comes off as such a magnetic sexual dynamo, and the women look worse and worse as it drags on.

So where are we after the season finale? Well, Teddy has shot Tommy and left him to bleed out--not my idea of a great cliffhanger, but I guess if someone is gonna do it, it might as well be Teddy (whose own Angel of Death storyline never really went anywhere). Denis Leary and fellow showrunner Peter Tolan hint that Tommy could even die and come back as a ghost, but I don't think so.

Janet and Sheila are still obsessed with Tommy, and it's gone to a cartoonish level, with their catfight in the finale a new low. Oh, yeah, Tommy's youngest daughter is as big an a-hole as everyone else in her family. If seeing how insufferable she was at her new fancy school wasn't enough earlier this season, she bragged in the finale about how she locked the babysitter in the basement and doped up the baby so she could take off with her dad. Tommy's personal life is getting so annoying, I yearn even more for the firehouse scenes, where the characters are a-holes, but they're entertaining a-holes.

Here's what I want to see in season 6: Tommy survives the shootings, but there are consequences, and not just for him. Teddy's character is done--write him out except for occasional jailhouse appearances (and even that's been done on this show before, after he went after the driver that killed Tommy's son). The guys in that bar who let Teddy do that should struggle with this for a while.

Resolve the Sheila/Janet thing. Pronto.

Try to make the characters viable in their own right instead of just disposable props for Tommy's storylines. Give them good arcs and follow through. Concentrate on good dialogue and situations rather than vanity showcases like the singing Garrity and Mike got to do this season.

I still enjoy "Rescue Me" and look forward to it each week, and even when it goes over the top, I find myself laughing. But I think this season wasted the great opening run it delivered early, coasted through much of the season, and ended on a sour note. A coasting "Rescue Me" is more entertaining than much of what else is on TV right now, but these guys can do a lot better.