TV Recaps Reviews

FX has been home to a number of excellent series, and Rescue Me certainly qualifies as one of them. The series follows the lives of New York firemen after the aftermath of 9/11. Tommy Gavin is the cynical, alcoholic, emotionally damaged fireman who is haunted by the 9/11 death of his cousin and best friend Jimmy Keefe. Gavin’s style is abrasive and causes problems within the firehouse, but his fearlessness in firefighting is undeniable. The firemen are a true family, one minute joking and pulling pranks, the next racing into a burning building and putting their lives on the line to save a life.

Denis Leary is the co-creator, writer and star of Rescue Me, along with co-creator and fellow writer Peter Tolan. This is a fine ensemble cast that works seemlessly together and is worth watching. Rescue Me is one of the best written shows on television, the series is unflinching in the way it covers issues of alcoholism, homophobia, depression, family, death, and the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Rescue Me, Season 6, premieres tonight June 29 on FX at 10:00 p.m. Check your local TV schedule for upcoming episodes of the series.

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Adam visits one of his favorite cities, Cleveland, Ohio, to face the Melt Bar & Grilled Melt Challenge: a five pound fourteen pieces of cheese mass of grilled cheese sandwich complete with fries and cole slaw. If Adam can eat the gooey sandwich in its entirety, he wins a t-shirt and accolades from Cleveland fans. Melt encourages regulars to show their sandwich tattoos in order to receive 25% off their meals at Melt for life. Melt Bar & Grilled serves only variations on grilled cheese sandwiches and their patrons love them for it.

First Adam visits Steve’s Gyro Stand at Cleveland’s West Side Market, the market covers 40,000 square feet of food for busy shoppers. Steve’s Gyro Stand is known for their delicious beef jerky and gyro sandwiches. Steve’s is famous for their Jumbo Gyros, and locals just can’t get enough of them. Adam watches as they make Steve’s Jumbo Gyro, made with two pounds of spicy lamb and beef, tomato, onion and lettuce on toasted bread, topped with a sour cream-based Tzatziki sauce. Adam surveys the gyro sandwich and goes in for his first taste, claiming afterwards, “Good God, this is amazing!”

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HGTV specializes in home improvement shows that deal with helping homeowners learn how to buy and sell in the real estate market, and renovate their homes. One of the most popular experts in home improvement on the channel is Mike Holmes, a general contractor who steps in and fixes homeowner problems when renovations go wrong. When contractors won’t return homeowners calls, Mike Holmes brings his team of experts in to tear down the problems and fix them from the ground floor up. Holmes and his team cover problems from plumbing and electrical to carpentry and roofing. Holmes believes in doing things right the first time around and has little patience for contractors who cut corners and bilk homeowners out of their hard earned money.

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In this second of Season 3 back-to-back episodes, Adam travels to Boulder, Colorado to face West End Tavern’s West End Wing King challenge. The challenge consists of a bucket of 50 buffalo wings weighing in at 5 pounds! So far 70% of participants have failed the West End Wing King challenge. Luckily for Adam unlike most of his wing challenges that include unbearably hot sauce, this challenge is aimed at eating the most wings instead. If Adam can eat 50 buffalo wings in 30 minutes he receives a spot on the Wall of Fame, a free t-shirt and a coupon for 12 free chicken wings, no doubt to be eaten at a future date.

Adam visits Beau Jo’s where they are famous for their Mountain Pie, stuffed 14-inch pizzas with attitude that the locals go gaga over. Adam watches as the Grand Sicilian is made, a monstrous 14 lb pizza made with homemade dough and filled with cooked beef, pepperoni, sausage, cheese and marinara sauce with 7 lbs of toppings. Adam takes a bite of the impressive pizza and says “It’s all flavor, its so, so good!”.

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In the first episode of Man vs Food, Season 3, Adam travels to San Diego, California, to the Broken Yolk restaurant. Here he will face the Broken Yolk Special challenge, a 6-lb. breakfast served on a 15-inch pizza pan, featuring a twelve egg omlet covered in chili and cheese, massive home fries and two huge biscuits in one hour. If Adam wins this challenge his name is inscribed on a plaque on the wall of fame, he wins a free t-shirt and the challenge meal is free.

First Adam visit Phil’s BBQ, known for their dinosaur sized ribs slathered in their secret sauce, BBQ pork and their tri-tip sandwich. Adam tries their El Toro tri-tip sandwich, the meat covered in a dry rub and wet marinade, cooked till falling apart, then placed in a kaiser roll and covered with their special sauce. Adam takes a bite of the sandwich and exclaims to the camera “One of the best sandwiches I’ve eaten anywhere”.

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Some familiar faces from past HBO and Showtime series and an actress set to make her HBO debut are joining established and new series on TV.

Amy Ryan (The Wire) joins Season 3 of In Treatment and will co-star opposite Gabriel Byrne as Dr. Paul Weston’s therapist, replacing Dianne Weist who is leaving the series. This series marks Ryan’s return to HBO. Idris Elba (The Wire) joins The Big C as series star Laura Linney’s love interest. Movie actress Julia Stiles joins Dexter in Season 5 as a mysterious woman who forms a relationship with Dexter. Speaking of Dexter, Julie Benz (Dexter) has been tapped to star opposite Michael Chiklis in ABC’s new pilot No Ordinary Family, debuting this fall.

The Big C Season 2 premieres August 16 on Showtime. Dexter Season 5 premieres September 26 on Showtime. In Treatment Season 3 premieres this fall on HBO and No Ordinary Family will premiere this fall on ABC. Check your local TV schedule for upcoming episodes of the series.

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The season finale of Breaking Bad begins with a flashback showing Walt and Skyler as a young couple buying their first house with Walt wanting to purchase a fancier home on their limited budget. Flash forward to Walt sitting in his Aztek out in the middle of nowhere waiting for someone to meet him. Walt spies an SUV with lights on. A phone call instructs him to get out of the car and walk towards the SUV. Walt takes a deep breath and walks to the SUV. Midway there Gus’ hired gun Mike meets him and pats him down. Gus Fring and Victor step out of the car and approach Walt. Gus chides Walt about his drug dealer employees deaths, saying “Some worthless junkie, for him, you intervene and put us all at risk.” Gus asks Walt where Jesse Pinkman is and Walt tells him he doesn’t know but Jesse is on the run. Walt proposes to Gus that he has two choices: kill him here and now, then hunt down Jesse and kill him, or let Jesse go and let Walt continue to cook for Gus, suggesting that he prefers option two. Gus stares at Walt thinking, then he come to an agreement with Walt to continue cooking in the lab on the condition that Gus chooses his lab assistant, to which Walt agrees. Walt walks back to the car and drives off.

Walt arrives at work the next day and finds that Victor has changed the locks to the lab. Victor lets Walt in and Walt sees that Gale is once again his lab assistant. Gale tells Walt he will be the perfect lab assistant and do whatever he says. Walt soon realizes that Gale is Gus’ inside man, the key to learning Walt’s method of cooking meth.

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The Television Critics Association Awards nominations for this year are led by freshman ABC comedy Modern Family, with five nominations. Modern Family actors Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet received nominations for their individual performances. The popular first year FOX show Glee followed closely behind with four nominations, including best new series, best comedy, program of the year and individual performance by Glee’s Jane Lynch. AMC also garnered four nominations for its drama Breaking Bad, with best drama and program of the year nominations along with well-deserved performance nods for stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.

Community was not nominated and should have been, a great comedy show with terrific ensemble performances, especially by Joel McHale and Danny Pudi. Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris has been incredible this season as the DEA agent fighting his own demons, it is a top notch performance that deserves an award. I was pleased to see nominations for Nick Offerman, who is hilarious in every episode of Parks and Recreation, and Katey Sagal for her stunning work in Sons of Anarchy.

The Television Critics Association Awards celebrates the picks of the nation’s top television critics. The awards will be given out on July 31.

List of Television Critics Association Award Nominees for 2010:

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The show opens with Wendy turning tricks near the spot Combo was killed. Wendy does blow jobs for cash near the “Crystal Palace” motel, exchanging the cash and and burgers for a cheaper deal on meth from the drug dealers, the same ones who arranged to have Combo killed by Andrea’s little brother Tomas. Jesse sits in his car nearby, watching the drug dealers operate.

Walt rides with Walt Jr. as he practices in Walt’s Aztek for his upcoming driving test. Walt Jr. asks Walt if he can use the Aztek to take his test and Walt agrees. When Walt Jr. gets out of the car at home, Skyler comes out to talk with Walt regarding the conversation they had about the car wash. Walt is still against Skyler getting involved as the trusted bookkeeper of the car wash. Skyler tells Walt the fact that she is a bookkeeper is a believable story to launder money through buying the car wash business. Walt agrees only if he gets to “pretend” they have reconciled and has dinner at home five nights a week. Skyler and Walt barter for the number of nights Walt can be with the family and finally reach an agreement.

Jesse asks Walt to meet him after work for a beer. When Walt turns Jesse down, Jesse insists, indicating their conversation is being recorded in the lab. Walt meets Jesse for a beer and after a long silence asks Jesse what he wants from him. Jesse pulls out a pack of blue meth and asks Walt if it is their meth. Walt panics that Jesse stupidly pulls out the meth and covers up the bag quickly. Walt checks the bag and tells Jesse yes it is their meth. Jesse tells Walt about the drug dealers and how they used his girlfriend’s little brother to kill Combo. Jesse thinks using little kids to kill is wrong and he wants revenge for Combo’s death. Jesse asks Walt to help him get poison in order to kill the two drug dealers but Walt advises Jesse against it. Walt knows the dealers are selling drugs from Gus’ pipeline and it would be dangerous for Jesse to take revenge on them. Jesse gets up from the table and vows he will take his own revenge without Walt’s help.

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Diane Keaton has signed on to a new HBO half-hour comedy that is reportedly based on the life of gossip columnist Nikki Finke, founder and editor-in-chief of Deadline.com. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series is being developed by “Kinsey” and “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon and Cynthia Mort. Oscar winner Diane Keaton (“Annie Hall”) stars as Tilda , a powerful, infamous Hollywood blogger. Also starring in the new series is Oscar nominee Ellen Page (“Juno”), playing her conflicted assistant Caroyln, and Jason Patric, cast as Andrew Brown, the corporate suit in charge of RMG whose corrupt methods Tilda is trying to expose. Keaton’s serious film acting chops should lend strength to the driven personality of Carolyn, while Page’s conflicted assistant character gives her a chance to showcase her excellence at line delivery. Filming of the HBO series beings in June.

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