(S04E11) "I've got eight Frescas in me Lou. I'm on a massive NutraSweet high. Don't get me started." - Tommy
Did I miss where the title of this episode was referenced? I've racked my brain, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how the word "cycle" played into this episode. Doesn't matter. I've finally figured out what this whole season has been about. Maybe I'm slow (because it's been hinted at right along) but this time around it was thrown right in our face. Tommy's search for faith. The mysterious black figures. The prayer books. The only thing missing is Tommy's personal Jesus from season two. I know I've said before that maybe Tommy has a death wish. Maybe he doesn't, but he's definitely trying to defy something. The funny thing is that I don't think he knows what it is.
Just look at this episode. At his AA meetings, he's still questioning the existence of a higher power. Then by the end of the hour, he's driving the rig like a mad man and still running into fires with nothing more than a jacket on. He's pushing the limits. I get the feeling he'd be satisfied if he got injured. It's be a reassurance of some sort to him.
The unfortunate thing is that while I'm finally understanding and enjoying Tommy's season long plight, everything else is falling flat for me. It's just not going anywhere. Lou and Latrina came out of nowhere and frankly, I don't want to see where it goes. I liked Theresa and the "too much sex" storyline. That could have played out much longer. The same goes for Lou and Natalie. Although I have hope that that plot will be restored satisfactorily.
Then there's Mike. He's dead in the water too. He was only in this episode for one scene and let's be honest. Is the show really lacking or any different without him? Not really. Aside from Lou, I get the feeling most characters on this show could go (for whatever reason) and assuming a replacement was moved into position, not a lot would change. From Jerry to Feinberg. From Mike to Black Sean. Think about it. Faces change, not much else does though.
Moving on, we've got Sheila and Wyatt/Elvis. Or should I say Elvyatt? Wylvis? Whatever... do you care? This poor kid is going to be so screwed up and it has less to do with the fact that no one in his family wants him and more to do with the terrible writing. This is another instance where he could be forgotten and no one would really say anything. They do it with Tommy's siblings... although Rosemary was finally mentioned in this episode. She's alive! Still no Timo mention though.
Then there's Tommy's woman. Bring back Nona! As if his life wasn't dysfunctional enough, Tommy's now seeing Valerie (who gives new meaning to "quickie") and Beth (the bi-polar ice-pick chick). Everything here is so backwards, that it doesn't feel right. And please... no one say "that's the point."
Did anything put a smile on my face? Well... yeah:
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Sean "pretending" to be an alcoholic is a riot. He really loves Maggie and I truly believe he'll do anything to relate to her... but this is funny stuff.
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I love how Tommy essentially adopted that dog... I mean, "wolf." Even better? It sleeps on the couch and Tommy passes out on the doggie bed.
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I think I have to agree with Valerie and Janet. Kevin Costner played a way better Wyatt Earp then Kurt Russell.
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And don't forget Tommy's dream that started off the episode. Obviously, the dream didn't make me smile. How it ended did though. You have to ask yourself, in term's of Tommy's situation, is it worse that he dreamt his whole crew died or that Needles asked him if he wanted a drink? Even in his subconscious, he's caving.
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Ellie had David Lee Roth and Judge Reinhold on her list of people she had hurt as a result of her drinking?
It's not that I didn't like this episode. I feel like I say that every week, but it's true. I've just slowly built up a dislike for the way this season has gone. It just doesn't feel as cohesive as seasons past. Maybe I'm flip-flopping on things I've said in past posts, but this episode really put it all in perspective for me. Maybe the point of the episode title was that shows themselves go through "cycles."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-30-2007 @ 7:58AM
Smiley said...
Could we get someone smart to review these episodes?
How could anybody miss the faith thing? The reading of bible passages. The saying of prayers. The visiting of churches. None of that tipped you off?
How about the hole in Tommy's hand or the ghosts telling him to put the baby in the river?
Got nothing from that? Here's a hint: Jesus and Moses.
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8-30-2007 @ 10:10AM
Bash said...
Smiley the problem would be that "Rescue Me" isn't taking _anything_ serious. Making bible references would result in insulting the bible if you ask me. The scripts they write seem as if they are making them up along the way - phoning them in. They are still very funny but if you accuse Lindelof and Cuse for making stuff up along the way for Lost you have to really hammer it into Dennis Leary's forehead. They are bulshitting their audience every week and honestly, I myself like it :-)
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8-30-2007 @ 10:10AM
Borat said...
Man I do hope this is the last season for Rescue Me. They can't possibly do anything more at this point.
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8-30-2007 @ 10:10AM
Joey Geraci said...
It definitely seems like they are just skating along, with no real climax in sight. And the writing for the secondary characters, at least when they are not around Tommy, definitely lacks compared to the words they put in Tommy's mouth. But even though almost nothing makes sense in the larger context of the series, and I can't tell where the hell they are headed, most of the scenes are still very well-written (considered in isolation), and damn funny.
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8-30-2007 @ 12:30PM
Chip said...
s/Lou and Natalie/Franco and Natalie/
Baby in the river... You mean Moses as the baby? That's a stretch.
I did have to add Open Range to my Blockbuster queue...
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8-30-2007 @ 3:00PM
Mimi said...
Actually, I would venture to say that this episode's title of "Cycle" comes into play from Feinburg's daughter and her bi-polar. When bi-polar patients go from mania into depression, it's called 'cycling' or to go through a 'cycle'. Just a thought....
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8-30-2007 @ 4:22PM
publius said...
i've been busting on rescue me all season because, well...it's been mostly a piece of shit.
however i actually liked this episode more than any other from this season. the main reason is scene where franco, tommy, black sean and garrity were sitting around in the fire house shooting the shit about who they'd hit, hockey, etc. it was one of the first times this season where it actually felt like there was a real sense of comraderie at the firehouse. the dialogue didn't feel forced and the scene was actually believable.
i thought the scene with tommy and his father was well done, and i even liked the fact that they tried to make tommy's "relationship" with the chief's daughter a bit more complex.
aside from those things the episode was a bit uneven, but i didn't think there were any screamingly terrible bits (at least in the context of this season, when terrible bits have been thick on the ground). yes, the whole thing with wyatt/elvis is still ridiculous and contrived. yes, the aa meetings don't really work (though this one was better than the others so far). and they need to get rid of valerie. those scenes are duds (except for the fact that gina gershon is smokin').
but all in all....if the rest of the episodes from this season had been on this level, i wouldn't have to waste time each week bashing leary and the nose dive in quality of this season of rescue me.
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8-31-2007 @ 10:16AM
Jabes54 said...
Borat, I'm with you -- I don't hope this is the last season, but I sure think it has to be.
I'm the one who suggested this series had jumped the shark in the 2nd or 3rd episode of this season (Tommy's loss of "manhood" which had been like a whole independent character in previous seasons).
Look at how many of our comments say (and have said all season) that the writing is weak (or it sucks altogether), there's nowhere else for the show to go, storylines are pointless, some characters are pointless, scenes are completely random and not in a good way, etc.
I used to watch every re-broadcast to make sure I had caught everything from each episode -- all the sub-text and sub-plots and terrific detail and edge-of-your-seat excitement. Now I can watch an episode once and know I've seen all I want to see.
I'll be really bummed to see this series end, but I think it has run its course.
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9-04-2007 @ 9:54AM
lynne said...
As I said before I gave up on this series until Solo aired. Now I am enjoying it again. This episode had some great scenes but as a whole the episode did not flow, it was more of a set up to the end.
My favorite moments were Sean - he just cracks me up. Franco and Richard, Tommy and his father, and when Tommy was looking smoking hot .
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9-04-2007 @ 2:54PM
Mike Hayes said...
Hey! Check out my video on YouTube of Mike Lombardi from "Rescue Me" playing tennis against the Bryan brothers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNF4Su-UAU0
Also - enjoy photos from the event here:
http://tinyurl.com/yuoxad
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9-08-2007 @ 9:50PM
Christopher said...
Since the first episode of the new season was terrific, I saw it as an indicator of great things ahead. But the show became progressively mundane, with dull (and perhaps nonexistent) storylines . I finally stopped watching altogether about three weeks ago, after realizing I no longer cared about a single character in the show. What went wrong? First, they killed off Jack McGee's character- which was a big mistake. McGee gave the show a sense of authenticity that it hasn't regained. To later learn that McGee was once an actual firefighter is not surprising. Next, they refused to name the baby, let alone baptize him. Come on, what Catholic family would EVER let this happen? Finally, they saturated each episode with Dennis Leary's improvisational spewing of nonsensical dialogue, while elbowing the talented supporting cast out of frame. Come on, Leary! You're too talented to be this egocentric! I grew to respect this show for its 'warts and all' depictions of NYC firefighters, but the realism of "Rescue Me" has dissipated into a Learyfest pile of satire and male soap opera.
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9-13-2007 @ 3:25PM
Adam said...
What?!?! of course Kurt Russell is the better Wyatt Earp. "Skin that smokewagon!"
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