Just so...so bad

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Absolutely brilliant

Blistering performances.

Let's talk about loss, life, love and regrets. This is a summary I do believe, that applies to this show. I loved every single minute of it, even with the 9\11 in the back, but with a lot of life's issues involving the great show's plot. Great cast, great actors, big chemistry among crew. You can laugh, learn about rescuing, thing about life and the things we should care the most...i am a big fan and hope you'll become one as well. But my opinion doesn't count much, less if you don't watch the entire show, so, get it started and finish this gem. After it, please review and give the same 10 points as i just did. Now i will write the same, i always write, about why is important to give your vote, because in this case this will make the difference between a good show and a great show with more and more positive reviews(from people that actually watch the show, not just ears about it)Every time I do the shows review is because I do believe some shows are more than just good or great, they are imperative to watch, because we cannot pass through life without paying attention to some things that are really worth to be noticed, a lot of rubbish is dumped on TV, but a lot of art is also available, you just have to make a choice, and i really want you to chose this

There's no two ways about this: 'Rescue Me' is a soap opera. Yes, it has significantly better actors in it than 99% of other soaps, and yes, its production values are a lot higher, too. Still, in its essence 'Rescue Me' is not much more than one of those shows that are the very lowest form of television series. It's a masculine version of the soap opera that also features reoccurring parts of terribly unfunny and predictable sitcom. I could write a dozen paragraphs about how the main protagonist's completely unlikable character doesn't work in the same way the disgusting protagonist of 'Enlightened' worked, as 'Rescue Me's Tommy Gavin was just a terrible human being without providing any insights into… well… anything, or at least anything other than a overdrawn unrealistic fictional character. Or I could go on about the way the show is shot, and how bad camera work and awful musical montages drag the show further down. But in the end it doesn't come to any of this, when discussing why 'Rescue Me' is ultimately not a show worth watching.The story and the writing are what make 'Rescue Me' – plainly put – a bad show. In typical soap opera fashion conflicts get stacked upon each other in a laughably unrealistic fashion, one after the other. Suspension of disbelief is fine and all – I don't expect every show to be 'The Wire' in regards to realism – but 'Rescue Me' is so far out there it takes away from every other merit the show might have had otherwise.And there are some upsides to the show. The acting is generally very good, and I mainly attribute the performances of the main stars to not realizing how much of a soap opera the show really was within the 1st season. Maybe it wasn't back then – maybe it was indeed a decent show in the beginning that served as a kind of milieu story of the special breed of people that are fire-fighters – but I'm not going to re-watch it to find that out.Generally, I felt like the show got continually worse the more it wore on. When I was at season 4, I thought it really couldn't get much worse, but I was proved wrong three more times with each new season. It got unbearably bad at times, and – even at risk of repeating myself – I feel the need to again point out that it's unfair to potential new viewers as well as to other dramatic shows to classify 'Rescue Me' as a drama. It's not. It's a soap opera, quite clearly.

I recently discovered rescue me because of James McCaffrey being in it (Max Payne, baby!) and never have I enjoyed a TV series so much. This is so addicting that I devoured each season in about 2 days because it always pulls you in and of course, at the end, leaves you wanting MORE and to know what happens after the cliff hangers that inevitably fall at the end of each episode. I would get done with each series and think to myself, "oh my dear lord did I seriously just watch 5 freaking hours of TV?" What I loved so much about this show is the constant wondering if something was really happening or if it is imagined. Many times you would see Tommy destroying a room in anger or doing something terrible or drinking when he had committed to sobriety only to find out that he was just dreaming or having a flash of the way things could have been. That is reality for many people, and I for one am someone who often lives much too deeply in the past and forever feel guilt or sadness for things I will never be able to change, and I think that is why I connected so much to this show. Grief and sadness and resentment and anger are true in life even without such tragedies as 09/11 and some deal with it and some just can't or don't. The interesting thing to think about is, wouldn't it be AWESOME to be able to communicate with those people that you have left behind? To be able to have conversations with your dead cousin who was your best friend? Tommy gets to have savored every moment with them alive and now he gets to savor even more moments with them after they are gone. Sober or not, that is a truly magnificent thing that I think he often takes for granted.This show can be so freakin' hilarious and then be so incredibly sad or shocking at the same time and again this is why you just can't stop watching. Each season is good and the story lines are always interesting. There is never a dull moment. The actors all melt into their roles beautifully and it is so entertaining to watch the actors in the extras to see how far they have wavered from their true selves in the characters they play.AWESOME job. I was so sad to see this end but it will truly stay with me forever.

Okay, I've read many of the other reviews, mostly from 5-6 years ago, but I'm only seeing "Rescue Me" for the very first time (2012) thru Netflix. I LOVE, LOVE it. I watch episode after episode and am amazed at the truthfulness, the camaraderie between firefighters, the mistakes they make, the grittiness mixed with tenderness . . just too wonderful to shut out, after I've gone to bed. I feel so close to these guys. Having always liked Denis Leary's stand-up, I am now equally impressed at his writing skills, along with Mr. Tolan. I don't know how many episodes I'll be allowed to watch thru Netflix's Instant Streaming, but I know one thing, I'll be bummed-to-the-core when it does end. Why can't other TV shows get smart and take clues from this excellent drama? My next venture, "The Job" . . let's see if he continues to amaze me.