“No, You Hake a Tike!” and Other Nuggets of Wisdom

I became a Dennis Leary fan in junior high immediately after listening to the No Cure for Cancer cassette for the first time (yes, I realize that I wrote cassette and that it dates me by doing so).  But truthfully, there are only a few times that I can remember laughing that hard that didn’t require some type of tickle-torture. It would be my enjoyment of Leary’s comedy that would lead me to pursue his other projects…films such as The Ref, and Judgement Night, TV appearances, and more.

So…it probably goes without saying that when Rescue Me premiered on the FX television network back in July of 2004 that I was interested before it even began.  Plus, with the popularity of shows like Law & Order, CSI, and others paired with my enjoyment of films like Backdraft I was intrigued by the possibilities of a firefighter television drama.  (And personally having a father and grandfather who spent time fighting fires as well as my prior interest in pursuing a degree in fire sciences didn’t hurt its chances either….) But in my opinion, the creators of the show made a very wise move, they realized that in a world where 9/11 was still trying to scab over, the wisest thing to give television audiences was good old fashion comedy (with an occasional pyrotechnic or dramatic twist).

Any (good) cast, regardless if it is for a film, a Broadway play, television show, or even a short story functions very much like a human body.  There is usually a head (or star) which in this case would obviously be Leary.  Then there are arms which primarily exist just to interact with other things and/or serve as comic relief (Mike Silletti played by Michael Lombardi & Sean Garrity played by Steven Pasquale).  Just like any good body, a valuable cast also has legs which take us to the different paths in life that we could encounter (Janet Gavin played by Andrea Roth & Sheila Keefe played by Callie Thorne).  But anyone with even a moderate understanding of anatomy knows it is the spine that makes the majority of actions possible.  The spine holds the body upright, is directly connected to the brain, and is what allows other parts of the body to function as they should.

“You coming Tommy, it’s a fire and we’re all invited?!”

The spine of Rescue Me, and the primary reason why I have continued to watch the show over these last seven years, is the character Lieutenant Kenny Shea, a.k.a. “Lou,” played by the immensely talented and hilarious John Scurti.

The more I see of the show, and the closer I look, the more I am convinced that Lou is the perfect character.  Lou has many different dynamic levels to his personality and the show’s writers have used them with the perfect sense of balance. Just as you would need your spine to walk up a flight of stairs, or throw a baseball, the many sides of Lou’s persona have facilitated the forward motion of Rescue Me’s storylines over the last seven years. Whether it is a need for sensitivity, wisdom, sarcasm, vengeance, defeat, or just plain old friendship…Lou is the person you want answering the call…and Rescue Me’s team of writers have made that abundantly clear.

“You know I can’t believe this kid.  He gets asked to do 3-ways.  He’s got a mother-daughter-combo-plate going.  You know, I never thought I’d say this, but when I die, I’d like to come back as your penis.”

Make no mistake, the majority of Lou’s actions are driven by his many impulses. Lou not only loves his pursuit of cupcakes, cigars, and copulation he makes the world around him aware that those are the things he lives for. Lou says what he wants (and often what we all wish we could) say; he does what he wants to do. It seems that in this fictional world of the firehouse for 62 truck, Lou is able to live in a world that appears to have significantly fewer social boundaries compared to the everyday world that many of us call home. But the important thing is that when Lou sees something he wants, he goes after it.

After taking a bite of a piece of chocolate pizza, “I have just seen the face of God.“

There have also been many moments over the last seven years that Lou has also been a beacon of wisdom for the characters of Rescue Me. Like the show, the wisdom Lou has provided has ranged in its level of seriousness from ways to successfully pull of various schemes, to counseling fellow firefighters about rashes, to issues with alcoholism, divorce, gender roles and more. But in other moments, when the writing staff takes those few lines to comment on life and it’s many gifts or issues it is often Lou whom gets the privilege of delivering such monologues, like the following clip for example:

All comedy aside, Lou‘s character has also been used to discuss some serious issues. After the Vietnam war ended, it began to be acknowledged more and more often that the horrific events that our soldiers witnessed through war left scars on them that would take years to heal long after the bullets stopped flying. After 343 brave New York City Firefighters gave their lives at Ground Zero that September morning, it became more common than ever to view our emergency personnel as heroes. But if you asked people on the street if they associated the word fragile with their heroes you can guess what the answer would be. But again, the writers again used Lou to comment on society. The Lou we’re introduced to in season one of Rescue Me is one that secretly writes poetry that he hides from his fellow crew members. Why does he write it? Lou uses metaphors and similes in order to help his character cope with some of the horrific images he witnessed in downtown New York that day. From someone who was living in Ohio, far from those events that shocked the world that day, this was the first time that I was aware of anyone discussing, post 9/11, that many of these firefighters that were heroes that day, may also need a little saving from what they have witnessed.

Speaking about acupuncture:  “Yeah I almost had that procedure done.  They wanted to put needles in my eyeballs.  But instead of acupuncture, they called it marriage.”

Why am I giving Lou (and in a way John Scurti) so much love? Well, now that this week’s episode has aired there are only two episodes left of this fantastic series. Was it raunchy at times? Yeah. Did it push the envelope, even for a cable series? Definitely. But it has been worth every episode. If you haven’t watched this show over the last seven years, all the prior seasons are already available on DVD. The final season is released on Blu Ray and DVD on September 13, 2011. The point is that I entered the fictional NYFD company of 62 truck as a Leary fan…but I’m leaving a Scurti fan, and I think you will too.

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