Rescue Me

After watching the premiere of Season 4, I am simply amazed by Denis Leary's talent. His acting/writing deserves some serious props. And while the show has great critical acclaim, it still hasn't gotten enough attention. I'm just hoping the Emmys bestows its awards on worthy candidates this year, like Leary and *cough* LOST *cough*. Last year was pretty disappointing. Except for Conan's incredible hosting. And Steve Carell winning. You know what, they should just let me pick the winners.

I digress. Rescue Me. Having seen all of the first 2 seasons but only a few episodes of the 3rd, I was slightly confused about what was happening. After the first scene, though...didn't really care. ("Don't think I didn't notice the pot. I can smell it. Pot and sex! I can smell both!!") Denis Leary is one of the guys who I think sets the standard for television today. The Season 1 premiere and finale are 2 of the best hours of television I've ever watched in my whole life. And this episode convinced me that Season 4 is going to continue to maintain the excellent quality of the show. Btw, totally love the new castmembers- Jennifer Esposito, who plays a volunteer firefighter who saved Tommy's life in the Season 3 finale, and Tatum O'Neal, who plays Tommy's sister and is now the wife of Garrity. Much better than that other girl from Season 2 (haha, the "twunt").

Shout-out to the other tv writers who are so amazing that they've made me into the television addict that I am:

1) Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse- I am aware that they are technically 2 people. But they're a team. A brilliant and glorious team without whose dedication, LOST would not be the same.
2) Ronald D. Moore- People don't believe me when I tell them that Battlestar Galactica is one of the best shows ever. It's cool, not nerdy, I promise!
3) Ricky Gervais- I am convinced that this man could take over the world with his wit if he wanted to. Creator of The Office. Enough said.
4) David Chase- He took a failed plan at a television version of The Godfather, combined it with his complex relationship with his mother, and created Tony Soprano.

Shout-outs, with a disclaimer-
As Stephen Colbert would say, these people are "on notice." This means that they are in time-out because they need to think about what they've done! But I can't forget all the magical things they've created in the past, even though they've betrayed me...
1) J.J. Abrams- He used to be my hero. Then he abandoned Alias. He didn't even come back to write or direct the series finale. So it wasn't the same Alias that it used to be. I will never completely forgive him for that. "Oh, look at me. I'm J.J. Tom Cruise wants me to direct Mission Impossible: III. Bye Sydney Bristow. Who cares that my vision for resolving the story of Rambaldi and all the awesome twists of Alias will never be carried out. Who cares that my name is on LOST as the creator when I don't do anything. Blah blah blah." I bet he says that to himself all the time.
2) Shonda Rhimes- She killed Denny. She made me love him, and then she took him away. But I stayed with her. Because she gave me Denny in the first place. And because I am loyal to my shows almost to a fault. Then the Season 3 finale shattered that loyalty, leaving me with the message that everything needed to go wrong for all of the characters to prove the point that there are no happy endings. Thanks for the depression and the disappointment. I'm gonna give her a chance to redeem herself next fall, just to see where she's taking the show. If I don't like it, Grey's Anatomy will be dead to me.


Opening scene of Rescue Me Season 4