By Tom Comi
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Tommy Gavin is one of the best firefighters in all of New York City; unfortunately, it’s the fires in his personal life that he can’t put out.
As the seventh and final season of Rescue Me begins tonight on FX (10pm ET), we once again get a look into the demons that drive Tommy to the brink of self destruction (if he’s not there already). A big part of that is his obsession with the fireman, police officers and civilians who lost their lives on 9/11; another part is the fact that he is a raging alcoholic who can’t quit to literally save his life; and yet another is the death of his son in a car accident several years ago that justifiably haunts him to this day.
The combination of those things makes Gavin a ticking time-bomb at all times. However, a big reason we oftentimes find ourselves rooting for him is because of Denis Leary’s portrayal. Leary is brilliant at showing us some redeeming sides of Tommy without pandering to the audience. He doesn’t try to excuse his behavior, but he does give us a glimpse into why he acts the way he does.
As difficult as it is for viewers to watch Tommy’s downward spiral, we get off easy compared to those around him professionally and personally. Andrea Roth and Callie Thorne (also the star of the new USA series Necessary Roughness) are wonderful as his wife Janet and on-and-off-again fling Sheila, respectively; and they get a huge hand from an underrated supporting cast that includes John Scurti, Steven Pasquale, Daniel Sunjata, Robert John Burke, Lenny Clark and Michael Lombardi.
Make no mistake about it, though, Rescue Me lives and dies by Leary’s performance. Although we will never really understand why Tommy is his own worst enemy — as well as a thorn in the side of almost everybody he comes across — we can’t help but hope he survives both physically and emotionally.
Tommy Gavin is about as flawed as any TV character in recent memory, but it’s also what makes him and the show one of the best things to watch on television.
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Credit: FX