Official Synopsis:
Tommy Gavin and company face new challenges and old demons as they roll back into action for a fourth season of Denis Leary and Peter Tolan's series. As the season begins, Tommy is in the fight of his life, defending himself against arson and insurance fraud. He struggles to raise his new baby while facing paternity questions and fighting to keep his family together. Franco seems ready to settle into a steady relationship, but is shaken when he loses custody of his daughter. Alcoholism has taken a toll on Sean and Maggie's marriage, while Lou's newfound love threatens to put him in the hospital. And Chief Reilly fights back from a stroke only to find himself facing a decision that could change the fate of Truck Company 62 forever.

Disc One:
- Babyface
- Tuesday
- Commitment
- Pussified

Disc Two:
- Black
- Balance
- Seven

Disc Three:
- Solo
- Animal
- High

Disc Four:
- Cycle
- Keefe
- Yaz

  
Our Take:
For some reason, whenever I watch Rescue Me on television, it never seems nearly as good as when I watch it on DVD. I don’t know why that is; I’m not sure if it has to do with commercials (although I fast forward through them) or the fact that I tend to do marathons on DVD rather than watch it from week to week, but whatever the reason, I love this show on DVD.

I make that distinction because I want to make sure you understand that I highly recommend the show, but mostly on disc. To be honest, I’ve never watched an entire season of Rescue Me as it’s been broadcast, but when it comes out on disc, I can’t put it away. So if you decide to check out Rescue Me after reading this review, I highly recommend doing it on DVD rather than on TV.

Few shows can blend comedy and drama as well as Rescue Me, and while the fourth season isn’t the show’s strongest in my opinion, it still manages to find its center extremely well. Rescue Me knows exactly what kind of show it is: unsentimental yet heartfelt, sarcastic yet moving, and heavy but fun.

As with the previous seasons, Rescue Me: The Complete Fourth Season comes with a nice array of extra features spread across the four DVDs.

Ø       Walking Through Fire: The Stories of Rescue Me Season 4 (30 minutes) – A look at the season’s major storylines.

Ø       Firehouse: Real Stories from America’s Bravest (35 minutes) – Pretty much just what it sounds like.

Ø       Welcome to the Set (13 minutes) – A promo-style making-of.

Ø       This Is Not a Drill: Breaking Down Episode 407 (12 minutes) – Focuses on the huge fire scene in one episode and how the production crew pulled it off.

Ø       Captains (8 minutes)  – Meet two of the show’s main directors.

Ø       Tools of the Trade (6 minutes) – A look at firefighting equipment.

Ø       Burning Embers: Gavin’s Girls (10 minutes) – Focuses on the various girls in Tommy’s life.

Ø       Deleted Scenes (30 minutes) – 22 deleted scenes.

Ø       Gag Reel (4 minutes)

Ø       Minisode - Married... with Children: "If Al Had a Hammer"

Ø       Minisode - Starsky & Hutch: "Death Notice"

Rescue Me: The Complete Fourth Season takes an already dark show and makes it a little bit darker, and like I said, it’s the weakest season so far. However, that being said, it’s still a captivating show that I love to watch on DVD.

Overall Picture:
Show: B+
DVD: A

- Mike Spring

Editor