The theme of Rescue Me is reinforced in Season 5. On the surface, you look at the title 'Rescue Me' and you think it's all about firefighters. It is, but it isn't. Dig a little deeper and it's more about the inner demons and turmoil that each character, especially Tommy, carries with them. It's about guilt and looking for a way out that will in fact rescue them. In Season 4, it was all about Tommy cleaning up his act and going straight and narrow. In Season 5 it's all about him falling off the wagon and losing more of himself. It's funny to want a character to do just that and I actually wanted it to happen sooner. Why? Well, when he is drinking, that's when Tommy starts to see those that have fallen, which means the show is able to bring back the actors that portray them, which I of course want to see.

When Tommy was dry last season, his ghost sightings all but disappeared. Now that he is on a bender, we get to see Charles Durning, Dean Winters and James McCaffrey, not to mention the others that have moved on. Ironically though, the one character that has yet to surface is Jerry (Jack McGee). Not sure why he hasn't popped up given the fact that he was a very popular character on the show. Anyway, the cliffhanger is definitely a keeper and one that I didn't see coming, which is fitting because Tommy definitely had it coming. So Uncle Teddy, feeling the weight of guilt that his drinking and Tommy's too, contributed to the death of Ellie (Patti D'Arbanville), decides to put 2 bullets in him and watch him bleed out. Of course you're gonna want to tune for Season 6 to see how it plays out. I'm there.

I liked Season 5 for sure, but I do think they 'Jumped the shark' with this one for sure. Having a couple of episodes (Scenes) devoted to Musical numbers when Sean was in the hospital on meds, as funny as they were, was way out of character for the series. The whole 'Kid steals the fire truck' was another moment that pushed the show further into a comedy than a serious drama. As before, guest-stars make up this season with Michael J. Fox, Paige Turco and Maura Tierney, all great in this one, especially Fox. One downside this season was the role reduction for both Tatum O'Neal and Lenny Clarke. Still worth a Rent for sure.