(S05E11) "Tom, would you be able to join us for one of our little fire thingies?" - Needles, after discovering Tommy and Janet having sex in a car in front of the 62 house
We're half-way through season five now and we've reached a point that's going to polarize a lot of fans of this show. Creatively, last night's episode of Rescue Me introduced two things that both have the potential to really turn off certain fans, depending, of course, on what they like about the show and more importantly, what they expect from Rescue Me in future episodes.
The first issue? Tommy's drinking. Last week, I made the point that we've really been rooting for something terrible, by wanting Tommy to start hitting the bottle again. However, that's always been a condition of something that many fans would like to see in the future - an actual happy, funny, and sober Tommy. We got a taste of it last season, but that was obviously far too early for Gavin to be officially done with the booze.
However, the end of last night's episode came as a bit of a shock to me. After hearing that Teddy watched all the old home movie footage of his brother and cried his eyes out (while drinking), Tommy decided that it might be cathartic for him too - a last hurrah with his dad. But only Mickey had the DVD and to get it Tommy first had to announce to AA that yes indeed, he's drinking again, he doesn't give a crap, and he loves it. That wasn't really a big deal if you consider Tommy's track record. However, what he did later that night did surprise me.
Gavin is usually prone to absorbing and respecting defining moments in his life, and when Mickey threw him into one of those moments, Tommy pissed all over it. When he got home, the DVD didn't have home movies on it, but rather, footage of Mickey Mantle's last press conference, being shown on a newscast archivally after his death. For those that don't know, Mantle was a huge drinker and eventually died from liver cancer that spread throughout his body. During that press conference (at the time, it aired only a few months before he passed) he essentially said that he wasn't and hadn't been a role model his entire life and that no one should aspire to be like him.
For Tommy, a lifelong Yankee fan and idolizer of Mantle, to look at that footage and not feel anything says a lot. He raised his glass and took a big gulp of whiskey when really, he should have been moved to pour the bottle down the sink. Again, though, at this point, we're a little early for Tommy to be done completely with the booze, but his actions here certainly don't give much hope for the future. If that won't make him think twice about drinking, then what will? Maybe Garrity won't be the only 62 Truck guy to get cancer.
Speaking of Sean, moving on to my second point - his musical number. There's two ways to look at this. Either you loved it as something funny or you hated it because it's so far from anything we've ever seen on this show that it just didn't fit in for you. Personally, I think it's great and they only get better/funnier in the coming weeks. Yes, there's more, but if I recall, this is the only one that features angelic viking nurses.
For those that are thinking that this only made the cut because there's 22 episodes and they needed some filler, think again - when I recently spoke to Denis Leary he essentially said that even if the season had been shorter, something like the musical number still may have made the cut because of the quality of actors on the show and what they bring to the table. Says a lot about the cast.
Oh, one last thing. Is that Aqua-Velva?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-17-2009 @ 2:07PM
Jimmy said...
Sean's musical scene was fantastic! One of Rescue Me's best moments ever.
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6-17-2009 @ 2:07PM
rockincat68 said...
I love how they allowed just enough of this surreal scene (more surreal than usual? lol), giving comic relief to those who may have been cringing [at the musical spot] with stupid older brother Terence interrupting his singing and his responding with a shotgun blast. I thought the entire scene was hilarious!
I, too, was disappointed (though not surprised) at Tommy's response to seeing the Mickey Mantle conference footage. While he has improved (read, "matured") in some ways over the seasons, his drinking is something, as any alcoholic will tell you, is just not that easy to overcome. I hope he does succeed, though. Contrary to what Lou thinks, Tommy's funny as all hell, even when sober.
6-17-2009 @ 2:07PM
Adam said...
I kinda wished I hadn't read the Dennis Leary interview b/c it took the WTF element of the musical number away, but it was still hilarious. Usually the dream sequences on Rescue Me are meaningful and offer character insight, but this was just hilarious. I really don't see how anyone wouldn't like that sequence, especially when his brother re-appeared.
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6-17-2009 @ 3:40PM
cdawg said...
add me to the LOVED IT category. So random; it almost reminded me of Family Guy. But having Terrance be the ass in the dream was just icing on the cake. Two snaps up with a twist!
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6-17-2009 @ 4:40PM
JennieO said...
The dream sequence was a thing of beauty. Perfectly produced, music video-quality, then the introduction of the Terrance "gay walk" and the shotgun solution leading to major guffaws, in this house anyway. Definitely one for the archives.
Back to the article, though. I thought Tommy's reaction to the Mickey Mantle video was absolutely in keeping with who Tommy is. He's living in denial right now, so even while he had a *gulp* moment after watching the news segment, in his mind he's no way like Mickey, and therefore too an actual gulp.
I can't imagine fans of the show seeing this as a polarizing moment. It fits right in.
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6-17-2009 @ 4:48PM
MIke said...
"For Tommy, a lifelong Yankee fan..." Last season, the final few moments Tommy had with his father took place at a baseball game both singing the Carl Yazstremski song. It has to kill Denis to play a New York sports fan, however, Mantle's talent supercedes the NY/Sox rivalry. Great Ep.
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6-18-2009 @ 3:46PM
Jack said...
In an earlier season, when Tommy's Dad was married to the rich Asian lady, Tommy mentioned how pissed he was about the Red Sox coming back from 3-0 in 2004. So Tommy Gavin is a Yankee fan, Denis Leary is anything but.
6-18-2009 @ 7:56AM
ac said...
The musical number worked because of Terrance ruining the singing followed by Sean pulling a shotgun out of thin air. It was like a Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny moment.
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6-18-2009 @ 9:49AM
Rico said...
I think the Mickey scene works, and it works big. The stage was set already - Tommy's performance at the AA meeting was just the prelude. His knee-jerk reflex to sabotage his own life just to spite others and their stupid opinions is one of the driving forces of the show, episode to episode.
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6-22-2009 @ 10:57AM
123 said...
Okay, folks know that Garrity aka Steve Pasquale is a well-respected Broadway actor and singer who gave up a chance for a Tony-winning (and self-originated) role in Light in the Piazza to take the role in Rescue Me? He was also in B'way shows Wild Party, A Man of No Importance and LaBute plays Fat Pig and reasons to be pretty, and that Emerson College graduate and certain theater aficionado Denis Leary likely put together the scene as an homage?
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6-22-2009 @ 5:21PM
Lobes said...
Jonathan, I appreciate that you've seen episodes that we haven't and that's your job, but I personally would prefer no hints of what's to come in future episodes. I don't read spoiler sites and in my opinion, you're walking a thin line with some of your comments. Otherwise, please keep up the great commentaries!
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6-23-2009 @ 5:12PM
Steffo said...
What song is it during the Mickey scene?
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6-25-2009 @ 10:26AM
J.T. said...
I think some of you are missing the point about the Micky Mantle scene. Tommy saluted Mantle with his drink because at heart Tommy feels that he, like Mantle, should not be looked up to as a role model. In the same way that Mantle knew he was an incredible baseball player but felt like he was a failure at everything else ,Tommy knows he's a great fire fighter but feels like he's a lousy human being for not saving his cousin Jimmy, not watching out for his son, being a crappy father to his daughters and not being able to keep his marriage to Janet together.
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6-29-2009 @ 10:14AM
bevo said...
Thank you, J.T., for pointing out what I thought was so painfully obvious. Based on the comments on this blog, it was not that obvious.
He saves lives, and runs into buildings when everyone else is running out. Yet, the guys in house think he is great. Sheila thinks he great. Damion thinks he is great. Everyone thinks he is great. Yet Tommy believes that putting out fires represents the only thing he does well.
The Tommy character has said as much. Many professional athletes (here comes the full circle) acknowledge that only when they play the game do they really feel comfortable with who they are and what they are supposed to do. Outside the field, the rink, the court, the ring, etc., they are lost. Tommy, it seems, is no different.
6-25-2009 @ 2:55PM
b said...
Does anyone know the singer and song name of the ending music for Season 5 Episode 11 "Mickey"?
Thanks!!!
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6-29-2009 @ 2:01PM
Pmac said...
No I dont know what song that was - but it was a great song - If anyone can tell us who the artist was for the song during the Micky Mantle scene I would greatly appreciate it.
6-29-2009 @ 9:44PM
shedsy said...
Yes, I'd really like to know the name of that song in the Mickey scene. Please, somebody out there! thanks in advance.
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7-18-2009 @ 1:14PM
b said...
Enablers -"Captured Blues"
Site with all the songs:
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/rescueme/band.php
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7-20-2009 @ 10:21PM
shedsy said...
More songs. . . seems the ending of every episode has great music. Last week it was a different version of "New York New York" which I liked immensely, and again last night the show ended with great music.
Who is the cancer kid? I thought that was so moving! After the exciting ride he says, "Thanks. Now I can die." Powerful stuff. What a great little actor; I'd almost believe he was really a child cancer victim.