Rescue Me
(Sony Pictures)

The Job: The Complete Series
(Shout Factory)

Most actors make a living pretending they’re somebody else, but Denis Leary has made a career of being himself, or at least the persona created years ago in his stand-up routine – a acerbic, fast-talking, cigarette-smoking, insensitive bastard, whose personal life is always in crisis and who places his needs ahead of family, friends and co-workers. While these characteristics are far from admirable in a lead character, Leary makes them compelling, due in no small part to smart writing and clever plotlines.

The Job only ran for 1 1/2 seasons on ABC before being yanked, for reasons we may never know, but there’s a good chance the network was frightened by the tone of the show, which was dark. Shot on location in New York, the show was gritty, edgy and hilarious, as it turned a jaundiced eye on serious issues, both criminal and personal. Leary played Mike McNeil – a veteran cop who drinks heavily, pops painkillers, cheats on his wife with his long-time mistress and has a crush on one of his co-workers (Diane Farr). He’s abusive, angry and self-righteous, but also in denial, even as his life is spiraling downward. The rest of his fellow detectives had plenty of problems of their own and it’s a shame they weren’t afforded the depth afforded by additional episodes and a longer running time.
On Rescue Me, Leary plays Tommy Gavin - a firefighter suffering from post-traumatic stress following the events of September 11. Again, he smokes and drinks heavily and has visions of dead people he was unable to save (one of whom includes his cousin), making for some dangerous situations on the job. He and his fellow firemen are still attempting to take advantage of the hero status bestowed on them following the collapse of the Twin Towers, but it’s starting to wear thin, especially with members of the police department who are upset that their efforts were not so highly regarded. Gavin’s co-workers are dealing with issues too: his chief is arrested for beating a gay firefighter in a bar; a ladies man discovers he fathered a child with an ex-girlfriend and becomes an unwilling parent when she ODs; one man writes poetry to get in touch with his grief and all of them discriminate against the woman (Diane Farr again) who joins the group when one of them is killed in a fire. After Tommy violates the unwritten fireman’s code by sleeping with his cousin’s widow, he’s ostracized by everyone and his spiral goes much deeper.

Rescue Me is often an uncomfortable show to watch, especially since Leary’s character is such a bastard, but he’s a compelling and complex bastard that makes for great entertainment. Leary and co-creator/producer/writer Peter Tolan (also from The Job) tell unflinching tales about the inner workings of the FDNY, including the kind of politically-incorrect behavior that has made headlines in the New York papers. This time however, they’re on FX, the cable channel known for breaking boundaries with such shows as The Shield and Nip/Tuck and uninhibited by censorship or the pressures of network programming. This is a show that takes a lot of risks and dares the audience to commiserate, much the same way The Sopranos does and in the end, rewards its viewers with outstanding writing and performances. - David Bassin