Tommy did not “rape” his wife. It started out that way but she was an active participant after a few minutes and it always pisses me off when people call this a rape scene. Janet was 100% calculated in that scene and in just about everything she does on the show. Also, the chief’s suicide I predicted from about the first 10 minutes of the show. Once it showed him eating his dinner alone, you could tell for sure it was goodnight. I understand it perfectly. He has absolutely nothing left to live for. His son, while he loves him, is living a life he doesnt approve of in a different city. His wife is gone, despite her body being alive. And now finally, the very most important thing in his life, his job and his men, are taken from him. Yes its a rather extreme solution to the problem that you or I probally wouldnt resort to but you could totally see it coming.

I will say that season 4 so far has been a little slow but on the whole this is the best show on TV. It is meant as a Drama/Comedy rather than a straight Drama and it seems you have wholly or partially forgotten that when judging the show. The sexual situations etc. are designed purely for comedy, as are most of the show’s misogynistic leanings. Its the show I most look forward to every year and I cant wait to watch it every week. I credit you with turning me onto “The Shield” but surely you agree that show has had its weak moments too. So c’mon c’mon and get with it Jammer!

The fact that this is how Tommy and Janet then start up a new affair is, in my opinion, beyond ridiculous. If it’s about these two being sick individuals, I could maybe understand it, but I don’t see the pathology here.

As for Reilly’s suicide, I can’t defend that either. After all he had been through, he showed nothing but strength and determination. For him to take a bullet rather than a downtown paper-pusher job is, in my opinion, a stretch. Even Jack McGee has come out and said as much.

The bottom line is the writing on this show is inconsistent. The show does shocking things, but refuses to confront those shocking things honestly once they happen. The exception would be the death of Tommy’s son, which had an actual aftermath — but even that, with Uncle Teddy’s resulting prison stint played solely for laughs, seems like a bit of a cop-out.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the funny aspects of “Rescue Me”; it’s why I keep watching. But the dramatic aspects are undermined by the show’s unwillingness to follow through on them.

I was sad to see Reilly go as well and honestly I dont like when I can predict things like that so easily. It seemed a little needless but still, no show is perfect and I’m sure we’ll see some fallout from it. Whether that fallout has merit or not is how we should judge the suicide itself and the decision to write/produce it.

The Probie/Garrity stuff is still pretty decent, but with the Chief gone, I just don’t know who will be able to pull off the more dramatic moments, other than Lou.

Jammer says the chief’s suicide came out of nowhere and Stewert I think is saying the beginning of the episode forshadowed it. So taking both those statements into account I’m getting the impression that there was little to no build up in previous episodes, which I for one think would be necessary to be sold on a suicide.

While I haven’t seen the show, this is what I’m getting from both of your reactions.

Oh, and while fallout very important, you need to have a solid premise too. BSG’s “Scar” comes to mind. Amazing characterization and fallout, but it too kind of came out of nowhere.

As for Nicole’s point about all women falling for Tommy, I agree. It’s silly. Why is Jennifer Esposito, as a firefighter who saved Tommy, trying to dysfunctionally date him? It’s just goofy.

Give me more stories about Lou and the whole gang in the firehouse. Although I have to admit that I think Probie and Garrity are too stupid to live. Which is kind of funny, I guess.

You believe the show is far cry from the best, and in fact struggling to even be good. I happen to agree. Third Watch…I mean, Rescue Me has never piqued my interest…not even a little bit.

Battlestar and The Wire, two of my all-time favorite series, have also been given the title “Best Show on TV(TM)” by many critics, but that doesn’t make them so; not to everyone; not by a long shot. I just happen to believe they both deserve that title.

There’s no wrong or right, there’s just preference, and Rescue Me is obviously not abysmal enough to simply be cast off and rejected; it just doesn’t do it for me.

I will also agree with those of you who think the Tommy’s ladies stuff is a bit ridiculous. It is ridiculous. I could really do without this latest girl too. I like the Tommy/Janet and the Tommy/Shiela stuff because it makes sense. These other girls make no sense. So point taken.

As for this rape business, I will not budge. Janet’s whole reaction to the entire thing serves only to marginalize actual rape. If Janet were actually raped she would have either a) fought back / screamed, b) called the cops after, c) showed signs of trauma / pstd and the list goes on and on. But nope Janets life just goes on like normal. Now is this my defect for seeing it this way? Are the writers of the show just fucked up perverts? Or was it done intentionally to show that JANET IS INSANE? I’ll take the latter. Im certainly not defending or condoning something like that happening in real life, and having had people close to me in real life suffer this type of crime (more than once), people who spout this “she asked for it” nonsense really do piss me off. So when I go and defend this scene it is not without actually thinking about it and considering it in depth.

Anyways great show that Rescue Me

Rapes of the type that has been described in this article certainly happen in real life. And women don’t always react in the (logical) ways that you list. Again, I haven’t seen the scene in question, but it seems as though Janet’s reaction might well happen in real life. That wouldn’t mean that what took place between her and Tommy was not rape. It was still rape.

I have a good friend who suffered through this crime, and for a long time she didn’t show any signs of trauma or anything - she just suppressed all her feelings about that night and went on as usual, even continuing to see the perpetrator of that crime. It wasn’t until she finally broke up with him that she really let herself feel what happened on that night.

Again, I don’t know how this correlates to the situation on the show. But this woman certainly went right on with her life as if nothing had happened after she was raped.

It actually kind of disturbs me, writing this, because I feel like I’m defending the show. I’m not doing that - it sounds as if it portrayed rape in a very irresponsible way. I just want to say that it’s possible to react to the crime in a large variety of different ways.

You guys said youve had friends who were raped, and like I said so have I. More than one. And yes I was the shoulder to cry on. So it sickens me more than most. If it were up to me, rapists would get a bullet in the head. But we are sitting here debating about the merits of one scene in a show with 50+ episodes. Get over it!