At the last minute last week, I shifted gears from doing a writeup for season 5 of Rescue Me in favor of reviewing In Treatment for the print TIME. Then other things came up, so I never got through my full batch of screeners of the Denis Leary show, which returns tonight on FX. But a quick recommendation: even if you got tired of it somewhere last season—which I did—give it another chance. From what I’ve seen so far, the series has gotten back to the dark humor and hairpin dramatic turns that animated its earlier seasons. Michael J. Fox has a great supporting role as Janet’s wheelchair-bound love interest, whose disability only inflames Tommy’s jealousy for his relationship with the ex-wife he can’t quite let go of. And it still has the best credits sequence outside HBO.
As a side note, are any female Tuned Inlanders fans of RM? I’ve always thought of it as one of the most male shows on TV, but I’m also surprised how many women I know that love it, and possibly for that precise reason. A female pal from college recently told me that she thought it was TV’s best show about masculinity, and I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered for my taste in liking the show, or embarrassed on behalf of my gender. But after half a minute into one of the firehouse scenes, I find it hard to argue against her.
