TVSquad

(S05E22) "You won't go to AA? I'll bring AA to you." - Teddy

After 22 episodes that didn't always feel all that cohesive, this was a finale that truly tied it all together. Rescue Me has had some memorable cliffhangers in the past, but this easily trumps them all not only for dramatic effect but for the potential lasting effects as well.

We'll get to all that because there really is a lot to discuss when it comes to "Drink." From the pettiness of Janet and Sheila to Damien's place at the 62 Truck house to the Gavin drinking epidemic, it was all answered in the comically twisted and dark fashion that we've come to expect from Rescue Me. Bottoms up.

• At 7, ESPN2 has U.S. Open coverage.
• At 8, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen, followed by a new More To Love.
• ABC Family has a new 10 Things I Hate About You at 8, then a new Ruby & The Rockits.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Shaq Vs., then a new Primetime: The Outsiders.
• NBC has a new, two-hour America's Got Talent at 9.
• PBS has a new Nova scienceNOW at 9.
• Syfy has a new Warehouse 13 at 9, then a new ECW.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• BBC America has a new Dragon's Den at 9.
• At 10, FX has the season finale of Rescue Me.
• A&E has a new episode of The Cleaner at 10.
• There's a new Flipping Out on Bravo at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has the series premiere of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I find myself buying more old shows on DVD than I do new shows. I have no interest at all in buying C.S.I., Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, Brothers & Sisters, or Supernatural, and there are no classic shows being released so it looks like I'm going to save money (again) this week.

Heroes? I like the show well enough, but I just can't imagine I'm going to want to watch this season again. Maybe I'll get it at some point, just so I can make sure I have the whole series, but who knows.

The boys of 62 Truck are finally calling it quits. According to TVGuide.com, Tommy, Lou, Franco and the rest of the Rescue Me crew have fought their last fire, polished the rig one final time, and will hang up their boots for good in 2011.

Details on how it'll end, who might be back, and a preview of this Tuesday's season five finale are after the jump.

(S05E21) "That was some real father son type shit there, Tommy." - Black Shawn

The penultimate episode. Only one hour left to go in Rescue Me's massive 22 episode fifth season. There's been a lot to love, a lot to hate, orange (and teal!) penises, and plenty of drinking. Before I go on, I should point out that FX did end up sending out the final two episodes to critics (which is the only reason you're reading this right after the show has aired), and in an effort to make sure my reaction and speculation is as pure as possible, I watched and wrote up my review of "Jump" without having laid an eye on the season finale yet. So rest assured that anything that follows isn't a spoiler, and if it is? Well, good for me then.

• At 8, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen, followed by a new More to Love.
• ABC Family has a new 10 Things I Hate About You, then a new Ruby & The Rockits.
• Nickelodeon has a new Glenn Martin, DDS at 8.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8.
• ESPN2 has more coverage of The Little League World Series at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Shaq Vs, then a new Primetime: The Outsiders.
  
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 9.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• There's a new Nova scienceNOW on PBS at 9.
• Syfy has a new Warehouse 13 at 9, followed by a new ECW.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me.
• A&E has a new episode of The Cleaner at 10.
  
• Food Network has a new Chopped at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Flipping Out.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S05E20) "Call Turks and Caicos - tell people to start stabbing their eyes out." - Needles

This whole season of Rescue Me has been sort of a question mark for me. That's no secret - it's been excellent, but trying to determine what direction it's headed in has been a little tough. Obviously, the past four or five eps have really focused on Tommy's Sheila vs. Janet dilemma and I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that the final two episodes are gonna stick with that trend. How do I know? Well... I don't. Last night's episode was the last one FX sent out for early preview, so I'm basing what's after the jump on my own speculation and one potential HUGE spoiler. So there. You've been warned.

• At 8, ABC has a new Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, followed by the series premiere of Shaq Vs and a new Primetime: Outsiders.
• FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen at 8, then a new More to Love.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker starting at 8.
• Nickelodeon has a new Glenn Martin, DDS at 8.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• PBS has a new Nova scienceNOW at 9.
• TNT has a new Hawthorne at 9, then the season finale of Saving Grace.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• There's a new Miami Social on Bravo at 9, followed by the season premiere of Flipping Out.
• Also at 9: Syfy has a new Warehouse 13, then a new ECW.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
• At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me.
• Discovery has a new episode of The Colony at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S05E19) "This is all above board. It's underground of course, but it's above board." - Needles

What's that old saying? Chances are someone else has already said it better than you... or something like that? Well, this whole season of Rescue Me I've been looking for the right words to describe just how exactly I felt about it. There hasn't been a bad episode this season and I doubt any of the final three will disappoint either, but still - something has just been off.

Well, leave it to the show's co-creator, Peter Tolan, to put it in simple English at the TCA: when dealing with a shorter season (as in 13 vs. 22 episodes), you can focus on the quality of each episode (rather than being forced to move on to the next immediately). That's what I meant to say.

• At 8, ABC has a new Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, followed by two new episodes of Better Off Ted (season finale) and a new Primetime: The Outsiders.
• FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen at 8, then a new More To Love.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• TNT has a new Hawthorne at 9, followed by a new Saving Grace.
• Lifetime has the movie Winter of Frozen Dreams at 9.
• Bravo has a new NYC Prep at 9, then a new Miami Social.
• BBC America has a new Dragon's Den at 9.
• Also at 9: Syfy has a new Warehouse 13, followed by a new ECW.
• At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me.
• Food Network has a new Chopped at 10.
• There's a new episode of The Cleaner on A&E at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Bite Me with Dr. Mike at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

FX held panels for Archer and Sons of Anarchy on Friday morning, but by then press tour fatigue had set in, and the energy in the room was low for both. It was especially low for Archer, a Adult Swim-esque spy cartoon by the creator of Sealab 2021 that most of the critics hadn't yet seen. The panel seemed to be more content with answering with wise-ass remarks that made themselves laugh but the just served to make us tired masses annoyed.

Things perked up, though, when the network presented five of its show-runners to talk about what it's like to develop edgy dramas for basic cable. But since the theme of the week has invariably been "Leno at 10," the questions often came back to the fact that NBC with one fell swoop wiped out five hours of scripted drama per week. And the show-runners took every opportunity to bash the Peacock for it.

And it got ugly: "I feel they should take the American flag down in front of the building and just put up a white one," said Rescue Me's Peter Tolan, "because they've clearly given up."

(S05E18) "Dude, I swear to God, you'd be a goddamn millionaire if you just cut that thing off and sold it to science." - Franco

This was easily the most polarizing episode thus far in Rescue Me's fifth season. There was a lot to love and, in my opinion, a lot to hate. It was extremely uneven, featuring a pointless dream sequence and played out gags. However, it ended with what will ultimately, I believe, go down as the best scene of the season and easily one of the best in the series to date, which can only mean one thing - Callie Thorne has done it again.

• At 8, ABC has the season finale of The Superstars.
• FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen at 8, then a new More To Love.
• ABC has a new 10 Things I Hate About You at 8, followed by a new Ruby & The Rockits.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• TNT has a new Hawthorne at 9, then a new Saving Grace.
• SyFy has a new Warehouse 13 at 9, followed by a new ECW.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Family Secrets.
• There's a new Rescue Me on FX at 10.
• Bravo has a new NYC Prep at 9, followed by a new Miami Social.
• History Channel has a new That's Impossible at 10.
• A&E has a new episode of The Cleaner at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Bite Me with Dr. Mike at 10.
• Also at 10: Discovery has a new episode of The Colony.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S05E17) "Aww man... some people just make shitty alcoholics." - Cousin Eddie

At the end of last week's episode, I have to be honest -- I was dumbfounded. To abandon something that Rescue Me has so steadfastly built up as a pillar of what makes this show tic - namely, the collective on again/off again sobriety of the Gavin clan - seemed ridiculous to me. One Tommy Gavin speech and poof - everyone's boozin'.

But with the "let's go find an AA meeting" option suddenly off the table, I tell ya what - it's a lot more fun. I've said it before, but as viewers, it says a lot about us when we find the addictions, weaknesses, and vices of others as sources of enjoyment, but why the hell not? That seemed to be the theme of this week's episode anyway as we witnessed Tommy get his balls, figuratively speaking, wedged right into a Janet/Sheila vice-grip.

• At 8, ABC has a new episode of The Superstars, then a new Better Off Ted.
• FOX has the two-hour season premiere of Hell's Kitchen at 8.
• ABC Family has a new 10 Things I Hate About You at 8, followed by the series premiere of Ruby & The Rockits.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• PBS has a new Nova scienceNOW at 9.
• Syfy has a new Warehouse 13 at 9, then a new ECW.
• There's a new Deadliest Catch on Discovery at 9, followed by the series premiere of The Colony.
• Bravo has a new NYC Prep at 9, then a new Miami Social.
• Also at 9: TNT has a new Hawthorne, then a new Saving Grace.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Family Secrets.
• FX has a new Rescue Me at 10.
• A&E has a new episode of The Cleaner at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.