Netflix Instant Queue Diaries: Season One of ‘Rescue Me’

New York City Firefighter Tommy Gavin is a scumbag, whose drinking problem has not only ruined his own life, but that of his family as well. Add in post-traumatic stress from September 11, and you have easily one of the most insane characters to ever grace cable television.

Oh and by the way, he sees the ghosts of every victim that’s died in his arms and his former best friend as well.

It makes sense that someone like Denis Leary would play the main character of this show, as his antics as a stand-up comedian and character actor over the years have garnered him a cult following. However, you’d have to originally be crazy to think upon watching that Leary would be able to pull off a serious role the way he does here. After the first episode though, he proves in spades just how talented he is and from then on there, you are hooked.

Following around a group of sex-crazed, obnoxious, yet loyal to each other and hard-working firefighters is a blast and when you get out of the firehouse, things get even better. Take Gavin’s family life for instance. Grieving the death of his best friend and former firefighter cousin Jimmy [played by James McCaffrey, who gamers will recognize as the voice of Max Payne in the iconic video game series], Gavin not only is separated from his wife, but is battling depression and alcoholism, which leads him to sleeping with Jimmy’s wife, Sheila [Callie Thorne “The Wire”], who he later gets pregnant. Considering the fact that the show is flooded with so many great characters, all with realistic, yet detailed and intriguing back stories, you’ll find yourself smiling with delight as each character finds a way to make themselves worth watching.

Make no mistake, this show is one of the best cast shows on Cable television and the first season is living proof. Had Leary been the sole star here, the show would still be excellent, but throw in the old school fire chief Jerry Reilly [Jack McGee], plus size model Uncle Teddy [Lenny Clarke] and the boys at the firehouse like Kenny Shea [John Scurti], Mike Lombardi [Mike Silletti], Sean Garrity [Steven Pasquale] and Franco Rivera [Daniel Sunjata] and plenty of fighting, sex and disturbing situations, this show is the epitome of what a fantastic drama should be.

Now available on the Netflix Instant Queue, there’s no reason not to check it out. Unlike other great shows in the same vein, such as “The Wire,” which start off a bit slow before picking up speed, “Rescue Me” starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up. It’s smart, savvy and equally as sullen and sharp. Gavin hates himself for being a screw up, but can’t stop his ways because he simply loves being the bad ass. After watching, you’ll desperately want him to put the pieces back together and reclaim his victimized family, but only after he causes a bit more trouble.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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