Everyone remembers where they were on Sept. 11. I'm sure many people can remember it more vividly than they can recall what they did when they woke up yesterday.
A lot has happened in America since then and for the most part Americans have stepped out of the shadows of the terror and moved along amicably. "Rescue Me" has been a show that, for the past seven years, shows the lives of the people who cannot move along silently into the night.
It is the show that reminds all Americans that the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder can affect non-military folks, too. It is a show about hardship, loss, depression, repression and brotherhood in times of need.
The final season of "Rescue Me" begins tonight, and continues until the anniversary of the day by which the show was tragically inspired.
Tommy (Denis Leary) is an alcoholic veteran firefighter who was at ground zero the day of the attack. Shortly after he begins experiencing flashbacks and nightmares of the horror that was experienced which greatly affects his work.
The series revolves around Tommy trying to subdue his demons (which usually takes the form of his cousin Jimmy, who died in the attack) while at the same time maintain a cool demeanor so as not to sway the loyalty of the firefighters who look up to him. Meanwhile he is trying to juggle a relationship with his ex-wife, children and his mourning girlfriend, the wife of his dead cousin.
"Rescue Me" has received some negative criticism from fans over the past few seasons for veering away from the original intent of the show. The show had started to shy away from the after-affects of Sept. 11 to focus mainly on the romantic aspects of Tommy's life.
With the nine-episode season kicking off tonight, the producers plan to take the story back to its roots. Tommy will continue dealing with relationship aspects, but at the same time there will be an emphasis on his growing hatred toward how certain members of society have turned Sept. 11 into a profit-making business.
My guess is he will no doubt make peace with his demons, but will leave the series just as complicated a character as he was in the beginning.
When the final episode fades to black, and the credits roll, and we stare blankly at our television screens, we can look back on a series that taught us a little bit more about the more personal side of an incredible loss.
Fans of the show will no longer have Tommy as a reminder that the "Never Forget" slogan is something that for a few Americans is a way of life and not just a motto for a dark time in this country's history.
The curtain will lower, the cast will take its bows and life will move on. Just with a little bit more wisdom and compassion that we had 10 years ago.
Ever since the day he was the proud owner of a letterbox copy of "Pulp Fiction" on VHS, Casey Buchanan has always been a cinema nut. He has no hang-ups about what type of movie he can watch. The terrible, as well as the acclaimed, are all in the ballpark.
A movie collection spanning over 15 years of digging in Goodwill bargain bins and garage sale shoe boxes to acquire such gems as "The Rock and Roll Wrestling Woman Versus the Aztec Mummy Monster" and "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed up Zombies," Casey does not discriminate when it comes to anything that can be recorded on film.
When Casey is not hunkered down on the couch for the usual "Zombie Nightmare Triple Feature" the former Army infantryman is on Water Street, either working the door protecting you from dirt balls, or sucking back High Life and cheap whiskey singing all the words to every Dropkick Murphy's song.
It's never a dull moment when you have the "Death Proof" logo tattooed on your leg.
