WARNING: The following story contains information regarding the Season 5 finale of Rescue Me.
Rescue Me wrapped up its superb fifth season by leaving one major character in dire need of rescue.
Of course, the "will they live or die?" cliff-hanger is a go-to for many showrunners when it comes to season finales, but few threaten to kill off ...
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The men of Rescue Me's 62 Truck will answer their last alarm ever in 2011, the year that marks the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that inspired the show, the show's co-creator and executive producer exclusively tells TVGuide.com.
"Within the next couple of weeks, we're going to begin shooting the last 19 episodes, which will be the final two seasons of the show," Peter Tolan said.
Rescue Me's focus has always been on New York City firefighters and the post-9/11 trauma they face. That focus was renewed this season, as one fireman ...
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Don't worry, we cringed too when Steven Pasquale burst into song in the latest episode of Rescue Me.
But once the shock wore off — and we realized that Pasquale could still make Sean Garrity hilariously stupid while singing — it became apparent that creators Denis Leary and Peter Tolan had put some thought into the song-and-dance routines. (That's right, routines; there are more to come.)
"Those would be my fault," Tolan told TVGuide.com. "We were sort of looking for a way to showcase Steve's singing, and this seemed like the most natural way — these fantasies while he was being prepped for surgery or after. The good thing is they're all on story. The first one is more naturalistic — there's sort of an MTV feel to the second half of it, but it feels a little more grounded. Then they just spin out of control."
Pasquale has a history with ...
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There's something different about Rescue Me this season that we can't quite put a finger on.
Maybe it's the complete creative rejuvenation of the show after a long, 18-month hiatus. Maybe it's the addition of the shockingly grotesque, wheelchair-bound Dwight, played brilliantly against type by guest star Michael J. Fox. Maybe it's that the show returned its focus to 9/11 and its lasting effects on the firefighters. Or maybe it's just because Season 4's look at a sober Tommy Gavin was a bit of a stinker.
If you ask Rescue Me's creators, they'll agree with most of all of that.
"We work in a vacuum," star and co-creator Denis Leary says. "It's impossible to tell what the audience or critics will think. Last season, we investigated places that we had to go, specifically with Tommy being sober. But it's not until it's out there that you get the reaction where people go, 'Y'know, it's really dark.'"
But dark isn't the word co-creator, writer and director Peter Tolan would use to describe Season 4. His word? Letdown. "The fourth season had its pleasures, but it was certainly not up to snuff, in my opinion, with what we had done in the previous years," he says. "We just sort of lost focus, the stories weren't as solid, and the storytelling, I thought, was a little weak. And many people noticed it. Because of that, I said to the guys that when we come back, we have to come back firing on all cylinders — we have to come back at 150 miles per hour and not stop."
And that's what they've done. This season ...
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Did you hear the one about the compulsive-gambling TV writer who ventures to Vegas (of all temptations!) to rescue the hooker with a heart of gold? Sneaking into theaters this weekend, Finding Amanda stars Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick, as said sad screenwriter, with American Dreams girl Brittany Snow playing his casino-walking niece. Rescue Me cocreator Peter Tolan, who wrote and directed the indie comedy, shares the origin of this unorthodox tale. Plus: How he himself won big with a Belmont Stakes gamble!
TVGuide.com: So you've got the prostitute, the trip to Las Vegas, the struggling TV writer... How did those ideas come together? Where's the germ of truth here?Peter Tolan: I'm luckily not a struggling TV writer, but my wife had gotten a call from a family friend whose child was in trouble in Vega
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