TVSquad

(S04E09) "I mean... shit. We got enough drunks in this room to start our own meetings." - Maggie

Well I hope everyone else enjoyed that as much as I did because this was by far the best episode of the season. At this point, it doesn't seem like we're going to get a huge story, other than Elvis... Wyatt... whatever his name is. Character development seems to be the name of the game and even though plenty of us have complained about the quality of this season, it's about par for the course if you think about it. Three seasons down. It'd almost be weird if we weren't getting some new perspectives.

Take the Gavin family intervention. It still bugs me that the "forgotten siblings" (Timo and Rosemary) are never mentioned at things like this, but we still got some great stuff. Maggie is sick of being addicted, Eddie is in denial about his addiction ("I nip!"), and Teddy loves being addicted. This clan covers all the bases. Mr. Gavin finally made an appearance too... and he was drinking the whole time! Maggie's suggestion to have their own A.A. meetings was perfect though. I can't wait to see one of these things go down. They'll all be drunk.

(S04E08) "Yeah... let me, um, just put the axe away." - Tommy

Well it's about time. This is the Rescue Me I remember. Granted, Tommy never got drunk, but there were moments where it sure felt like he was. From the fight with Janet, to the onslaught of all his ghosts at once, to running into that fire all by himself, Tommy seems to be back to normal. Sort of.

I suppose we should talk about the ghosts first. They've been far and few between all season, but it was all building up to this. The only missing spook? Connor. But that makes sense to me at least because Tommy never sat down with his late son and got advice from him like he did with Jimmy.

But everyone else, including Jimmy, was there. Billy (all the way from season one) along with that other unnamed firefighter who died in 9/11, Johnny, and even Jerry. Although it wasn't Jack McGee in the chair, from the backside it was clearly meant to look like him. What are the ghosts up to these days? Poker and lighting themselves on fire.

(S04E07) "Balls to the wall gentlemen." - Needles

Wow... that was some cold open, huh? Arguably the best the show has had yet. Barely any spoken words and set to some eerie song by who I think was The Twilight Singers. Babies being thrown out windows, bodies piled up on the sidewalk, and seven children who didn't make it. Even Lou said it was one of the worst infernos he'd ever seen. The entire sequence was just very powerful. I even got a little choked up. So does someone want to explain to me how an episode that started off so good ended so flat?

(S04E06) "The hunt begins." - Lou

There's been a lot of talk about how this season of Rescue Me hasn't been that good. People have been disappointed with the lack of continuous plot, the way Tommy has evolved, and lousy way they got rid of Jerry. It's not that I disagree with everyone out there, but I've still loved every episode this season. The show has reached a point where it's starting to evolve. Episodes have much more hidden meaning, there's less of a connection with on-going plots, and often times the ending of an episode doesn't exactly feel like an ending. It feels less like a show and more like a look into the actual life of Tommy Gavin. I agree that it's been tough to watch at times, but I do feel like the show is becoming richer in many other ways.

(S04E05) "Wow... looks like the bottom of my Dustbuster." - Sean

Well there you go. Leary and Tolan still have plenty hidden up their sleeves. After last week's extremely sub-par episode, we came back with this one. That was one hell of an opening, huh? From Janet forgetting the baby in the parking lot to the tractor-trailer truck bowling right into it... just another Tommy Gavin nightmare. If anything though, this is just his way of manifesting his very real concerns for the safety of this still unnamed baby. Tommy has been sober for some time and it doesn't take a genius to see that Janet is going downhill fast. Is his new option really worth pursuing though?

(S04E04) "Next time I'm on the can and I want a drink, I don't want to have to reach back and come up empty!" - Maggie

I think this may have been the first episode in the history of Rescue Me where the cold open didn't have one moment that made you laugh, smile, or chuckle. How could it? A montage bouncing back and forth from Mike's mom's funeral to Needles discovering Jerry's body! Wow. That being said, I wasn't 100% satisfied with this episode. It just felt a little stale, like nothing really moved. I suppose when a close friend kills himself, life comes to a bit of a screeching halt though.

(S04E03) "You know, with the adrenaline pumping and everything, I could've carried out Jennifer Hudson holding her Oscar... and a sandwich!" - Nona

Wow. Normally I like to get my reviews for a show up on the site as soon as I can after an episode airs. Not this one. After last night's episode of Rescue Me, I had to sit on it for the night. Sleep on it. Digest what I just saw happen. The following line is completely canned, but so what. This is powerful TV. I'll say this. I know a lot of people were disappointed with the past season of The Shield. I wasn't one of them, but if you're looking for a way for F/X to make it up to you then you owe it to yourself to be watching Rescue Me.

(S04E02) "Oh, I'm looking forward to a lot of things. A nice big breakfast, a trip up to Aqueduct, and finally being able to sleep on my stomach again!" - Uncle Teddy

Well for all of you naysayers, get over it. Sheila is alive. Although I have to admit, I'm in the "I wish she were dead" camp too. As it is, we're already getting close to no Jimmy this season and I personally think Sheila would have made a great addition to Tommy's ghost parade. Although, after the brief glimpse of Johnny under the couch covers, it looks like he might be joining the ranks. Tommy's hallucinations aside, what a great episode. There is a reason this show gets such great reviews. From "the spank bank" to Cousin Eddie and his support of Tommy's "ineffective" penis to Lou trying to promote racial harmony, you can't miss a second of this show.

(S04E01) "You've got the whole tool-box going! Booze! Penises! I mean, I can't believe that I'm finally the moral compass in this family!" -Tommy

And on the eighth day, He created drunken Irish firefighters with potentially illegitimate children and mouths like sailors. That's how the Bible reads, right? Wait... it isn't? Well it should, because right now Rescue Me is just about as close to a religious experience as you can get without stepping into a church. It's downright mesmerizing and if you ask me, it easily earns the title of "best summer show." Now that June is upon us, not much else on TV compares to Rescue Me and tonight's season four premiere was proof. I covered some of the general plot points in my early review last week, but now that we've all seen this spectacular episode, let's be honest -- there's a lot to talk about.