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Post by Tara on Aug 3, 2011 2:41:07 GMT 10
New discussion thread for this week's episode! Looks like it's going to be a great one....
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Post by Martine on Aug 4, 2011 16:05:59 GMT 10
For roughly the first half of tonight’s Rescue Me, I had my mouth open in horror, convinced I was watching the worst episode of the show ever made, a weird, inconsequential hour that indulged in almost all of the show’s worst tendencies and didn’t do anything to show off its best. And then right around that midway point—right around when Maura Tierney showed up, of course—the episode took a gigantic turn for the better. Outside of a few little stupid moments in the back half, it was the best episode of the season so far. So what the hell are we to make of that? What is this show really? Is it the vain, self-indulgent, smug show of the first 20 minutes? Or is it the bruised, honest show of the last 20 minutes? There was a time I would have said with certainty that the answer was the latter. But if the show has to be divided between these two selves, at least it seems to be siding with the latter.
Let’s start with the opening half, which was really, really bad. The scene with Tommy talking to the news reporter wasn’t bad at first, and the report about Jimmy was a serviceable imitation of a local newscast (even if the part where the reporter walked in front of the Sept. 11 memorial looked badly CGI-ed, even though I kind of think it wasn’t). I could mostly set aside my questions of logic and plausibility—would a newscast really do a random story about Jimmy?—with easy enough answers—they wanted to do a representative story about a fireman lost in the attacks and landed on Jimmy at random (and for convenience of story sake). So far, so good.
But then Tommy sat down to talk to the reporter herself, and the whole thing took an odd turn. At first, this wasn’t bad. Tommy’s interview excerpts were of the sorts that might pop up in a story like this, and though he seemed to be the main interview subject (even more than Sheila), that kind of made sense, since he and Jimmy were best friends. But once the news report turned to the story of Damien and then a long, unedited section of the interview with Tommy that seemed designed to address criticisms of the show (like its self-involved storytelling sensibilities and weird misogyny) as much as anything else, the questions became too much to handle. Why, exactly, would a reporter assigned to do a puff piece turn that piece into an overall criticism of the fire department? Why would she pin all of those concerns on Tommy, instead of someone in actual authority? And why would a news station agree to air so much of this piece—over five minutes—with most of it consisting of a reporter asking a man questions that no one in the audience would be terribly interested in the answers to? The show is trying to have Tommy’s failings stand in for both the FDNY’s failings (whatever they may be in the Rescue Me universe) and its own failings. And that’s ridiculous.
It gets worse, however. After the piece has aired, the guys in the firehouse start to fight—like they do—and Franco intimates to Tommy that, whoa, with what he just said, every single major news network is going to come into town and want to do a story on him, with the interview ending up all over the Internet. I can buy the clip becoming a YouTube thing, but every news network wanting to make this a story? That I find harder to buy. The whole world coming to be excited and intrigued by the antics of Tommy Gavin? That’s just the ultimate in the show’s cheap narcissism, and I hope it doesn’t happen, that Franco’s paranoia doesn’t pay off. (Though, honestly, I wouldn’t put it past the show to ever forget this happened as soon as next episode.) All of this is supposed to highlight the fact that the FIREHOUSE IS FALLING APART, a plotline that’s supposed to have been building for two seasons now, except when it hasn’t. (The guys are all buddy-buddy in one scene, then at each other’s throats in the next. It’s… odd.)
This was followed by an excruciating scene where Tommy called home and had all four women living there tell him how much they hated the reporter that made him look bad, followed by a scene where Teddy, Mike, and Black Shawn went to rent out a reception hall and found themselves discriminated against by a black woman because they were Irish. No. Really. If I hadn’t just read Adam Cadre’s excellent blog post on Ulysses S. Grant (wherein he talks about tensions between abolitionist supporters of African-Americans and the Irish in the mid-1800s), I might have found this even more ridiculous. But even with that bit of knowledge—which I highly doubt Denis Leary and Peter Tolan were intending us to think of—the scene was perhaps the nadir of the whole show, a weird, ridiculous attempt to build comedy around something that wasn’t especially funny and had an air of preening venality to it. Also mixed up in here was a scene where Sean had sex with his new girlfriend, then was horrified by a smell in her apartment after they finished. (Maybe it was the dog, Mike suggests, saying that Sean needs to relax and enjoy his relationship while it’s young. But it’s not the dog, of course.)
But then the episode started to settle in. The scene with Mike and Sean I just described was a nice restatement of their friendship (even if Mike has gone from an absolute idiot to some kind of firehouse sage, knowledgeable on all things), and it was the kind of thing a show can do this late in its run, to remind us of how much we’ve enjoyed the characters over the years. And there was also a nice scene where Franco showed that he was ready to move on, to embrace a leadership role in another house (in a way he probably would have long ago if he weren’t a character on a TV series).
And, again, the scene with Kelly was just terrific. She needed Tommy to bring her by some stuff, and she was making some brownies. (Throughout, I thought they were going to be revealed as pot brownies, thanks to her medical marijuana, but it seems that, no, they really were just brownies being baked as a gift.) What I loved about this scene was how it was, once again, about grief, this time for everything Kelly had lost from her disease. She threw shit around the kitchen. She lamented how she wasn’t sexy anymore (I beg to differ). She kissed Tommy and begged him to go home to his wife and kiss her like he’d just kissed Kelly. Granted, these are the broad outlines of a scene that might have irritated me with other characters, but I like the way that the show is using Kelly as a catalyst, as someone that can spur Tommy to change. This was another long scene, but once again, it was worth building an episode around.
Which leads us to the episode’s ending. Sure, there was another lame scene with Sean trying to deal with his girlfriend’s stinky apartment, and that ending where Tommy and Franco growled at each other was pretty lame. But the firefighting sequence was one of the best—and one of the most tense—in the show’s history. Part of that was the fact that, well, this show is almost over, so if Franco was going to die, it would be happening now. Part of it was just that the show came up with a cool scenario for a narrow escape. And part of it was the construction of the whole thing, nicely setting up just how everything was going to fall apart and then letting it do so. Plus, the episode let all of the little beats of the rescue play out. It was a reminder that when this show is at its best, firefighting is always somewhere near its heart. That hasn’t been true for so long that it’s bracing to see it happen again. And even with an awful first half, that firefighting action was enough to nearly redeem everything.www.avclub.com/articles/brownies,59849/
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Post by juniormauraTfan on Aug 4, 2011 16:24:22 GMT 10
I set my alarm for 5am because i wanted to watch it right away, but it wasn't online yet, so I went back to bed and set my alarm for 7:45 again ;D
I never watch the whole epis, only those parts with tommy and his wife, sheila and the kids, and maura's parts, because i'm not at all interested in the firehouse things. as for maura's part in this epi...i read many many tweets before, positive tweets..but im not sure if those tweeps knew maura before or if they were as surprised and shocked as i was about that tiny little person being so upset and loud and all. because right after i saw it i didnt know what to tweet so i let it be. anyways. her acting is emmy-worthy, not only in this epi but on the whole. one tweet said that scene in the epi where she throws things around would be her emmy clip next year. and i still think: would she want an emmy for having had cancer? because that's what it would be right? i know, anyone can play a cancer patient, but she has these special circumstances. i'm not sure at all. of course, i'd love if she got an emmy, finally. but for this? of course its great acting and she absolutely rocks the show and i guess many people started watching RM because of her and she deserves and emmy. i just dont know if she would like to be awarded for that.
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Post by larue on Aug 4, 2011 20:25:16 GMT 10
and i still think: would she want an emmy for having had cancer?
I think I would have to agree on the above...if only because I read about her reaction to the Boston reporter's comment that her recent cancer bout brought more 'poignancy' to a role. Sorry to say though, its true. I have known that she was a fabulous actress for a very, VERY long while. Could she have pulled off the same kind of performance in this episode without her personal drama? Without a doubt. Was it more heart rending knowing that she had shared her experience with the writers/producers before these episodes were even written? Definitley. Hopefully she is not going to be 'MauraTierneythatonewhohadbreastcancer' in the eyes of the 'world' too much longer. She is too damned good for that.
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Post by stephen on Aug 4, 2011 22:14:31 GMT 10
I agree with what you guys are saying. Maura has kept saying in interviews that she still hasn't figured out quite how to apply her experience with cancer to some sort of public role, so a nomination here (while deserved) would probably give her some pause.
So, amazing job again by Maura. I don't even know what to say about her big scene in this episode, except that from now on when I want to convert somebody to a Maura fan, I will be showing them this!
EDIT - Was posting the video of her scenes I made, but I forgot to put in the one where she tells Tommy she's all clear. Damn! Will re-upload.
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Post by Tara on Aug 4, 2011 22:37:13 GMT 10
We know she should already have at least three Emmys on her shelf at home, so it is slightly annoying that some of these critics want to praise her *now* because of the cancer storyline. And she probably couldn't care less about winning one. But I'd still like her to win just because it would make me happy, LOL.
Her scenes last night were great and they seemed to wrap things up between Kelly and Tommy. I wonder if there's a chance she might pop up again in the finale? If not, at least we got a happy ending for her.
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Post by stephen on Aug 5, 2011 0:06:05 GMT 10
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Post by abby_road on Aug 5, 2011 0:19:54 GMT 10
Download link for the whole episode if anyone is interested: hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=4CMVJRMQ
hxxp --> http
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Post by larue on Aug 5, 2011 4:12:08 GMT 10
A delightfully happy ending. I was SO wanting Tommy and Kelly to end up together bu it was so....so....so....fitting that she would tell him to go home to his wife. PERFECT. Loved when she told him she didn't want to be...him. Loved when she referenced George Clooney. Loved Tommy's face from the moment of the melt down to the walking out the door.
Actually...the story line with Kelly and the one with Franco saved the entire episode. The wedding and the farting stuff was just plain stupid.
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Post by paigeelysec on Aug 5, 2011 6:36:56 GMT 10
I am blown away by her performance. I just finished watching the episode, and I mean, damn. I know what you all are saying about her being nominated for an Emmy because she had cancer, but I feel like she will be nominated because she is putting herself on the line and stepping outside the box. She is brave, she has balls, she is unafraid. I love that about her, and always have. I want her to be nominated, more than anything, because she just freaking deserves it at this point.
I am glad that she and Tommy shared that kiss. I loved what she said: "Go home and kiss your wife like you kissed me." Kelly is so brutally honest, so we know that that is what she was really thinking, and she doesn't put herself first. She cares about her friendship with Tommy, and wants him to find peace in his own life. I really admire that. Kelly is not selfish.
Her dish-throwing-glass-smashing scene really caught my attention. I always want to do those things when I am mad, and I am sure Maura really took pleasure in that scene from her own frustrations. It must have felt very very good to be able to do that and just react however she wanted. I loved it and really felt her rage there.
Btw, did anyone notice that she was wearing the really cool peace-sign silver bracelet that she wore last season? I always love to see Maura's jewelry when she acts. I feel like she has input on that kind of stuff.
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Post by sallins on Aug 5, 2011 8:08:32 GMT 10
We know she should already have at least three Emmys on her shelf at home, so it is slightly annoying that some of these critics want to praise her *now* because of the cancer storyline. And she probably couldn't care less about winning one. But I'd still like her to win just because it would make me happy, LOL. I agree that it would almost feel like a pity emmy nomination and win because of her personal struggles, but it does not make her any less deserving of the award. And there would be some Jacka$$es who would say it is all because she had cancer and blah, blah blah. She is still the same person with the same amount of talent that she had 10, 15 years ago, it's just now OUR perception of viewers has changed because we watch her and the cancer thing is in the back of our minds. As for the number of Emmys she should have now, I'd go with four, one for NewsRadio (S4) and 3 for ER (S7,13,14).
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Post by Tara on Aug 5, 2011 22:35:28 GMT 10
As for the number of Emmys she should have now, I'd go with four, one for NewsRadio (S4) and 3 for ER (S7,13,14). LOL, those were the exact seasons I was thinking of too. And somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the Guest Actor/Actress Emmys are even given out at the main ceremony, are they? Seems like I remember them being handed out a few days or a week before and then the winners were presenters on the main show.
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Post by sallins on Aug 6, 2011 7:11:20 GMT 10
Tara, the guest star Emmys are given out at the Shemmies (trademark Kathy Griffin ) Which is usually a week before the main ceremony. Then the winners for comedy and drama guest stars will present at the main show.
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Post by aappccaa on Aug 6, 2011 13:57:05 GMT 10
well said SALLINS. She should have got 4 by now. Giving one to her now would be horrible, IMO. People mention only ER but Newsradio that's for sure too! I don't know if the disease was different would be OK to be nominated but there's a certain amount of "taboo" or fright about Cancer that I think it doesn't fit. So glad Denis and his gang let her vent by telling us all she experienced and the anger she felt. Specially her who has said before that she used to worry too much about anything. I guess Michael J. Fox got one for his role in the show, which I find discomforting. Does one need to be sick or go through hell to be noticed? It would suck!
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Post by sallins on Aug 7, 2011 3:29:39 GMT 10
Leary did say when MJ Fox filmed his role that Fox will win an Emmy for it. So, it must have been an amazing performance, I have yet to see it, so I can't make a judgement on it.
I still think people would be going just as crazy over the performance if Kelly was played by a cancer free Maura, say they wrote it in and Maura shaved her head for the role like Sophia Vassavillia did for "My Sister's Keeper". The only way it would not seem like a pity Emmy win is if the voters put a note like "sorry for ignoring you on newsRadio & ER."
I watched that meltdown scene again and I am just blown away by it, it was really something special. It will be one of the best performances on TV this season. Your move everyone else.
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