Still Waiting to be Rescued by Tommy Gavin

Season six of Rescue Me, the dark FDNY saga, begins tomorrow night (June 29th) on fX at 10PM. The new season picks up after last year's cliff hanger close, with Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) about to join the ghosts that have plagued his life since this series began. He's been shot in his local saloon and now the white light approaches.

Here on the Flaming Nose, we've had many discussions about who rules the roost among TV's bad boys. Contenders have included Dr. House on Fox, Dexter the serial killer on Showtime and Walter White, the meth dealing Science teacher from Albuquerque (AMC). I have always hypothesized that Tommy Gavin is the most compelling sociopath in the group, mostly because his type is so common. It's unlikely that we'll ever run across a Dexter or Walter
White in real life. That kind of true duplicity (friendly family man by day, killer by night) is mercifully rare outside of television. Tommy G., on the other hand, is an archetype that walks among us. He cheats (on everyone...his family, his friends, his co-workers), he drinks to excess,
he has extreme difficulty forming any kind of emotional attachment to fellow human beings. From time to time his job calls him to run into flaming buildings to save complete strangers. He's heroic, yet anhedonic. He cares enough to risk his life for strangers, yet is incapable of showing the slightest warmth to family and lovers. He would probably be completely unpalatable, were it not for his pitch black and pitch perfect, charming NY Irish wit. While we ponder Tommy's emotional pathology, we are also laughing our asses off over his latest banter with the boys in the firehouse.

Looking forward to how Mr. Gavin will resolve his continued substance abuse this season, and we are especially eager to welcome back the excellent ensemble cast. John Scurti (Lou Shea) has long been our favorite, and he'll face his own life defining battles in the sixth season of Rescue Me.