I'm totally hooked on "Rescue Me." I'm also deeply disturbed by it on a regular basis.
Maybe one has something to do with the other.
The FX series — which, let's make it clear once again, is for adults only — made headlines earlier this season when our anti-hero, Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary), forced himself on his ex-wife, Janet (Andrea Roth) and, not only did she quickly go from anger to enjoyment of the encounter, but Tommy departed with a smirk on his face.
Leary and his fellow executive producer, Peter Tolan, insisted what happened wasn't rape, but it sure looked like it.
But this sort of thing has been going on since the show debuted in 1994, when FDNY Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee) gay-bashed a guy, put him in the hospital and never suffered any real consequences for his actions.
(Sort of interesting that that didn't generate the same kind of headlines as the "rape," isn't it?)
To say that watching "Rescue Me" can be tough is an understatement. Tommy has been through the wringer. This season alone, he's been dealing with the death of his young son (killed by a drunken driver); the breakup of his marriage (again); his ex-wife, Janet's, affair with his brother, Johnny (Dean Winters); Janet's pregnancy (who's the father?); Jimmy, a member of the NYPD, being killed in the line of duty; his father's (Charles Durning) myriad problems; his crazy sister, Maggie (Tatum O'Neal), getting involved with Sean (Steve Pasquale), a member of his FDNY squad; and Tommy's own uncomfortable involvement with his cousin's widow, Sheila (Callie Thorne).
And, of course, the overarching reality behind his character is that, five years later, he's still dealing with the death of his cousin and a lot of other guys he was close to who were killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
At the same time, "Rescue Me" is hilarious. Really. Laugh-out-loud funny.
Like in the season finale (11 p.m., FX), when Tommy is trapped into having dinner with the soon-to-be-ex-nun with whom fellow firefighter Lou (John Scurti) is having an affair. Tommy's awkward small talk is priceless.
"So, uh, the Holy Ghost, he's the Holy Spirit now, right?" Tommy says of current Catholic teachings.
"The Holy Spirit," she confirms.
"That's better. Take the whole horror-movie aspect out of it," Tommy says.
A lot of shows struggle with both comedy and tragedy. "Rescue Me" can wrap them into the same moments.
It's certainly not a perfect show, but the characters are unforgettable. Over the past three seasons, it's been one of the best hours on TV. Certainly better than most of what's on the broadcast networks.
(Again, let's emphasize that this is not a show for the entire family. FX gives it a TV-MA rating — the equivalent of an R — and it deserves it.)
Tonight's third-season finale is not one of the show's stronger episodes. The intent seems more to set up the fourth season than anything else. And one of the big cliffhangers looks like something straight out of "Dallas" or "Dynasty" — literally.
Just be warned: When it comes to "Rescue Me," once you start watching, you just might end up trapped like you're in quicksand, unable to escape.
Even though it can be deeply troubling.
MAYBE THE REASON networks produce a pre-Emmys, red-carpet arrival show is so that the Emmycast itself — no matter how horrendous it might be — can only look good in comparison.
These are the worst things known to man. Well, among the worst things television inflicts on viewers.
The red-carpet shows are basically idiots asking idiotic questions and making fools of themselves in the process.
To be fair, they do accomplish something that's close to impossible. They make us feel sorry for stars.
NBC heaped shame upon itself with its hourlong show that preceded Sunday's Emmy Awards. Which really came as no surprise, given the level of "talent" the network employed on the telecast.
One painful moment came when the ever-insipid Nancy O'Dell asked Kiefer Sutherland who would win a tennis match between Kiefer and his father, Donald, and father-and-son Martin and Charlie Sheen.
I'm not even sure winning a best-actor-in-a-drama series Emmy later that evening made up for the obvious discomfort Kiefer was feeling.
And, although it hardly seems possible, Billy Bush — O'Dell's "Access Hollywood" cohort — came off as a bigger dope than he normally does. Although "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven ought to win an Emmy (in addition to the best-supporting actor-in-a-comedy one he won later that night) simply for having the guts to say what millions of viewers were thinking.
Bush questioned Piven about whether the actor had seen Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' child, which left Piven looking both surprised and annoyed.
"Get another job," he told Bush. "You have potential as a human being. This may not be for you."
Amen.
EMMY QUOTABLE 1: Host Conan O'Brien: "Alec Baldwin has a new show on NBC, James Woods has a new show on CBS and Mel Gibson has a new show on Al-Jazeera."
EMMY QUOTABLE 2: "Colbert Report" host Stephen Colbert: "I lost to Barry Manilow! Barry Manilow! I lost to the 'Copacabana.' Singing and dancing is not performing."
(Manilow won for individual performance in a variety or music program, beating nominees Colbert, David Letterman, Hugh Jackman and Craig Ferguson. Really.)
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com