'Rescue Me': This is the end . . . for now

Another season finale, another death in the Gavin family.

At least that's what I'm guessing happened. For all we know Tommy's dad just fell asleep at the minor league baseball game. Enduring the show's fourth season could do that to anybody.

It's disappointing to think of losing Charles Durning as a recurring part of the "Rescue Me" world. He was always good for an amusing line or two (especially when the writers extracted him from the painful Korean wife story line). In a brief moment of nostalgia at the game he even made Tommy smile — what a jarring but welcome moment that was for the perpetual cynic.

But given the state of the show, it doesn't matter much. After the abuse "Rescue Me" has inflicted on the fans all season long, it would be difficult for a single hour to make much difference.

I went over all of that last week, and with the finale behind us, it's time to move on. All we can do now is see how Denis Leary and Peter Tolan react to the widespread frustration with this season.

They're in a tough situation. Serial drama is easy enough to criticize but remarkably difficult to execute well. These guys have done it in the past, but can they do it again?

And an even more important question, will you be there to watch it?

-- Geoff Berkshire

(Photo courtesy FX)