I am writing in response to a ...

Question: I am writing in response to a letter posted in your 6/26 column concerning Rescue Me. While I found Tommy's attack on Janet upsetting, I also feel you have to remember everything that Tommy has gone through recently: his son's death rite, his wife blaming him for it, his own brother sleeping with his wife, his father's declining health and his own attempts to stay off booze and cigarettes. While I am not saying this is an excuse, I am simply pointing out that the man has hit his breaking point and temporarily lost it. Rape is not about sex but about control. His life is absolutely out of control, and this was not something that he had planned out. It happened out of blind rage. As for the grin when he drove away, I think that was meant for his brother, which was tacky, but I think his feelings were very testosterone-driven and an in-your-face, "I did Janet while she was with you" sort of thing. Yes, Tommy is very hard to take at times, but there is a good person at the core, and watching him try to find that person again and redeem himself is worth every minute. Bravo to FX for keeping the show edgy and to Denis Leary and Peter Tolan for writing such hard-hitting and hilarious scripts!
Answer: No question this was a polarizing and troubling moment in this show's history. How often have we asked ourselves whether an FX show has gone too far: Sometimes it's Rescue Me, sometimes Nip/Tuck or The Shield, and let's not forget last summer's short-lived Starved. That's certainly the case with this particular scene, which has led to renewed charges of the show's rampant misogyny. If I thought the show's treatment of women (and gays, for that matter) was being celebrated, I might agree. While I'm not saying Tommy's crying jag (how this week's episode ended) excuses his behavior at all, there is dramatic context for his and Janet's behavior in this ugly, raw encounter. Consider the show's title: Rescue Me. It's about wretched, miserable people (who are often very funny and sympathetic) hitting bottom again and again, which is never going to be pretty to watch.