When this program first came out a decade ago, it grew on me as one of the best shows on television at the time. My wife didn't understand what I saw in it, finding Dennis Leary too annoying at first (like a number of his eventual fans). It was funny, it was smart, it pushed the envelope, and it dealt with real subjects and drama on occasion in ways that were genuine and not too preachy nor over-earnest.
I was irritated beyond words when ABC canceled it. A few years later I came across Rescue Me, already in its second season, on cable. And as that series progressed, it came to be one of my favorite shows for the very same reasons. And some of the very same cast. And my wife had the chance to let the program grow on her and eventually become one of her favorites.
Now, a decade later, I started re-watching DVDs of The Job, and I'm struck by how much "Rescue Me" is almost a cynical response to network television for canceling "The Job". The cast and crew are heavily the same, even down to characters in one later showing up in the other. And instead of playing an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City cop who is only best at his job -- Rescue Me is a show about an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City fireman who is only best at his job.
The writing and situational comedy is as funny as anything on Rescue Me, and characters like Jan (later Laura Miles on Rescue Me) are fantastic in their roles. About the only thing missing in The Job that distinguishes it from Rescue Me is the natural camaraderie of the firehouse kitchen table scenes -- something that naturally developed after 10 years of many of the same actors, writers, and producers working together.
Rescue Me succeeded on cable because it doesn't have the audience share requirements of network television to become an immediate, mass audience hit. But fans of Rescue Me who never watched The Job must see it -- do not pass go -- as the original concept and execution of the very same program.
I was irritated beyond words when ABC canceled it. A few years later I came across Rescue Me, already in its second season, on cable. And as that series progressed, it came to be one of my favorite shows for the very same reasons. And some of the very same cast. And my wife had the chance to let the program grow on her and eventually become one of her favorites.
Now, a decade later, I started re-watching DVDs of The Job, and I'm struck by how much "Rescue Me" is almost a cynical response to network television for canceling "The Job". The cast and crew are heavily the same, even down to characters in one later showing up in the other. And instead of playing an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City cop who is only best at his job -- Rescue Me is a show about an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City fireman who is only best at his job.
The writing and situational comedy is as funny as anything on Rescue Me, and characters like Jan (later Laura Miles on Rescue Me) are fantastic in their roles. About the only thing missing in The Job that distinguishes it from Rescue Me is the natural camaraderie of the firehouse kitchen table scenes -- something that naturally developed after 10 years of many of the same actors, writers, and producers working together.
Rescue Me succeeded on cable because it doesn't have the audience share requirements of network television to become an immediate, mass audience hit. But fans of Rescue Me who never watched The Job must see it -- do not pass go -- as the original concept and execution of the very same program.