"You know, there's an old saying in the FDNY. If you ain't scared, you're crazy" -- Firefighter wisdom, 'Rescue Me.'
LOS ANGELES -- The only fire Tommy Gavin doesn't have an answer for is the emotional blaze that's burning a hole in his soul.
He keeps trying to douse the flames with alcohol and caustic wisecracks.
And as played with dark comic intensity and emotional force by Denis Leary, Tommy Gavin is the tormented New York City firefighter at the fascinating heart of "Rescue Me."
The compelling firehouse tales of Gavin and his FDNY mates of 62 Truck -- beginning with an impressive series premiere at 10 tonight on FX -- are just what you'd expect from the cable network of such walk-on-the-wild-side entertainments as "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck." The debut comes while the nation's TV critics huddle with networks.
"Rescue Me" has the feel of real. It talks tough and packs a volatile working class wallop while exploring the stress-fueled world of men in a very dangerous job. Death is always hanging around. Lives are at stake. And like his fellow firefighters, Gavin uses profane humor and macho bluster to cover his feelings and hide his fears.
But lately, things are really getting out of hand.
Gavin is haunted by visions of those who have perished on the job, including his closet friend and cousin, Jimmy Keefe (James McCaffery), who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Hauling around the emotional effects of that tragedy, Gavin and many of the other firefighters are still in denial about their deep psychic wounds.
The boozing, anger and lacerating sarcasm are also wreaking havoc on Gavin's personal life. He and his wife Janet (Andrea Roth, "Lucky") have separated. He's moved into a house across the street to be close to their three kids and also to keep a jealous eye on Janet, who's dating again.
"Rescue Me" is a deeply personal project for Leary. His own cousin, Jerry Lucey, and another close childhood friend, Jerry Spencer, were two of the six firefighters who died in a 1999 warehouse fire in Worcester, Mass.
In tribute to the memory of those who died in that fire, Leary formed the Leary Firefighters Foundation to care for the families. Since then, the charitable foundation also helped get money into the hands of FDNY families after 9/11.
Leary and Peter Tolan ("The Larry Sanders Show") created and write "Rescue Me." The two previously teamed up on "The Job," a sharp, irreverent and all-too-short-lived ABC cop comedy in which Leary played a maverick New York police detective who shared a certain comic volatility with firefighter Tommy Gavin.
Like "The Job," "Rescue Me" is superbly written, very funny and has an ear for gritty city slang and hang loose, rough-edged male camaraderie. But "Rescue Me" also deftly handles the intense dramatic moments.
As Gavin's story unfolds in the terrific early episodes, Leary captures the shadings of an angry, passionate man with a troubled heart and a toxic wit. Gavin isn't the only mixed-up, shook-up firefighter in the crew. Jack McGee ("NYPD Blue"), as stocky, combustible Chief Jerry Reilly, is an especially memorable supporting player in the fine ensemble.
Flawed male humanity seems to be an FX specialty.
There's Vic Mackey, the brutal undercover cop who rules the mean streets of "The Shield." And there's Christian Troy, the troubled, sexaholic plastic surgeon who gives 'Nip/Tuck' its own vivid antihero.
Now we have "Rescue Me" and Denis Leary's haunted, frequently hilarious Tommy Gavin. The man's on fire. He just may have to figure out how to rescue himself.
Related:
- New York's Bravest Front and Center in Leary's New 'Rescue Me' on FX
- Official "Rescue Me" Home Page
- `Rescue Me' Captures The Feel Of Firefighters' Pressured Lives
- NY's Bravest Front and Center in Leary's New TV Drama
- Shocks Early and Often in "Rescue Me"
- Leary Stars in New FDNY Series
- Leary Foundation Presents Communications Vehicle to the FDNY
- Leary Firefighters Foundation
