efffigie
Shortly before this show came out, I was chained to a bench in a Chicago Police station, trying to explain to some rather unhappy cops why I'd done what I did, and found myself unable to give any other explanation than the truth: 'The guy took my time! It's not about the guy, or the stuff, or even about right or wrong: this sack of s--- took my time! He took my time! It's gone, and I can't ever get it back. And that's why'.I'm not ever going to forget the response from the cops, which was an embarrassed silence: every single one of them had thought or said the Exact. Same. Thing. about some dirtbag, or situation caused by some unknown impulse or thing, that spent their entire created existence just wasting other peoples' TIME.In this show, which honestly plays, for me, much more like a Chicago show than a New York show, I was stunned to see and hear Denis Leary give an impassioned speech, a desperate outburst of dialogue, in a nearly perfect paraphrase of my own raw explosion of hopeless loss... of my TIME. This is a terrific show. The cancellation was a crime.Edit: In the movie THE DROP, in the scene where Tom Hardy's character kills Richie, his monologue: 'You make me TIRED'. TIRED of you. TIRED. Guy made me TIRED. I told the guy that: 'You are making me tired. Stop making me tired.' You haven't been there, you just don't know. This show nails that. The time, and the tiredness. I'll let it go at that.
Swag Valance (witness-7)
When this program first came out a decade ago, it grew on me as one of the best shows on television at the time. My wife didn't understand what I saw in it, finding Dennis Leary too annoying at first (like a number of his eventual fans). It was funny, it was smart, it pushed the envelope, and it dealt with real subjects and drama on occasion in ways that were genuine and not too preachy nor over-earnest.I was irritated beyond words when ABC canceled it. A few years later I came across Rescue Me, already in its second season, on cable. And as that series progressed, it came to be one of my favorite shows for the very same reasons. And some of the very same cast. And my wife had the chance to let the program grow on her and eventually become one of her favorites.Now, a decade later, I started re-watching DVDs of The Job, and I'm struck by how much "Rescue Me" is almost a cynical response to network television for canceling "The Job". The cast and crew are heavily the same, even down to characters in one later showing up in the other. And instead of playing an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City cop who is only best at his job -- Rescue Me is a show about an addicted, womanizing, Irish New York City fireman who is only best at his job.The writing and situational comedy is as funny as anything on Rescue Me, and characters like Jan (later Laura Miles on Rescue Me) are fantastic in their roles. About the only thing missing in The Job that distinguishes it from Rescue Me is the natural camaraderie of the firehouse kitchen table scenes -- something that naturally developed after 10 years of many of the same actors, writers, and producers working together.Rescue Me succeeded on cable because it doesn't have the audience share requirements of network television to become an immediate, mass audience hit. But fans of Rescue Me who never watched The Job must see it -- do not pass go -- as the original concept and execution of the very same program.
george.schmidt
THE JOB THE COMPLETE SERIES (2001-2002)SYNOPSIS: A sitcom based in a NYC precinct focusing on the trials and tribulations of Detective Mike McNeil (Denis Leary), a pill-popping, borderline alcoholic politically incorrect cop whose personal life is in a freefall crises: he's having an affair with a young, black woman while trying to maintain his marriage and family man status. On top of the daily stress and rigors of his highly demanding job McNeil tries to do as little police work as possible in solving crimes while bantering with his ensemble squad and suspects alike. Leary who based his questionable character on technical adviser Mike Charles, a real-life detective who did likewise for Leary for his role in the big-screen remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair" co-executive produced this mold-breaking blend of "Barney Miller" meets "NYPD Blue" with longtime collaborator Peter Tolan (both now teamed successfully with the critically acclaimed F/X comedy/drama "Rescue Me") that aired for a bracketing one season on ABC also with critical acclaim but yanked far too-quickly before it could establish a firm audience. ABC should be ashamed.CRITIQUE: Denis Leary is arguably one of the best stand-up comedians of his generation a snarky blend of George Carlin and world-weary Richard Belzer with his full-throttle, take-no-prisoners chain-smoking deliveries to the comedic solar plexus and a gnashing grin to those who get in his way. In this, his first foray into 'traditional television sitcom series' Leary fitted perfectly to the short-fused yet heart of gold schmuck whose comeuppance threatened to occur with each new episode, and made a unique interpretation of the average NYC police detective who has seen it all, is fed up and will let anyone within earshot know it. When I first heard about it in the few promos ABC dished out I was excited and when I first viewed it became an avid viewer. However as networks are wont to do as of late, the series never established a firm footing in the scheduling and in the wake of 9/11 perhaps became skittish that the sitcom didn't appease the American zeitgeist at the time it surely could've used a balm. But that was never "THE JOB"'s intention; it was a comedy pure and simple. And a pretty hilarious one at that.Shot on location in NYC (and its surrounding areas including the set of the squad in an abandoned school in Jersey City, NJ) with a single-camera, no laugh track and 'racially balanced' production the perfectly assembled cast included veteran actor Bill Nunn (perhaps best known as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's incendiary "Do The Right Thing") as McNeil's long-suffering, yet devoted (perhaps too devoted) married man Terence "Pip" Philllips, the moral center of the partnership (and the show too boot) who was very in touch with his feminine/sensitive side (asking his partner if 'these pants make my ass look fat' to the point of getting out of their undercover sedan and giving McNeil a good view); fellow stand-up comic Lenny Clarke (and current "RESCUE ME" co-star) as Frank Harrigan, a fat old school detective buddy and food addict currently living in a spare room of the precinct due to his wife throwing him out of their home; young comedian Adam Ferrara as Frank's partner , Tommy Manetti, the gadfly of the group and sex pervert trying to make a name for himself as a detective; the Hispanic team of Ruben Sommariba (John Ortiz) and Al Rodriguez (Julian Acosta) a Mutt and Jeff duo nicknamed "rice and beans" ; the latter practically a mute to fine comic consequences (often used as a device for the inner office gossiping ("well I heard from Al
"); and tomboyish, one-of-the guys, ballsy hottie Diane Farr (late of MTV's "LoveLines" and current co-star of "RESCUE ME" as well), the voice of reason and the sole female dick who matched her male charges with verbal wit and demeanor, and single mother on the prowl. Rounding out the fine ensemble were vet character actor Keith David as the gruff, no-nonsense and often riled black Lt. Williams (and replaced fellow vet actor Richard Gant after the pilot); Wendy Makkena (the "Sister Act" films) as McNeil's unsuspecting wife Karen and Karyn Parsons as his lively lover, Toni; Janet Hubert-Whitten as Pip's ball-busting wife, Adina, who clearly hates McNeil and feels he is a bad influence for her cuckolded husband; and occasionally Rory Culkin as McNeil's son, Davey. Leary and Tolan (an accomplished comedy scribe who penned "Analyze This" and "That" as well as stints on "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Murphy Brown") scribed 90 percent of the well-written, joke-laden scripts with deft comic aplomb by not only showcasing Leary's trademark cynicism but also allowed to bounce off the excellent comedic ensemble allowing each one to shine in any given show (as any smart sitcom does). Among the guest stars included the lovely, shapely Elizabeth Hurley and Gina Gershon (past co-stars and close buddies off-screen with Leary) in aptly titled showcases "Elizabeth" and "Gina" , respectively, touching on bodyguards and stalkers/crazed fans; veteran character actor Zeljko Ivanek ("Homicide: Life On the Streets" and "Oz"); Ellen Pompeo (currently of ABC's out-of-nowhere smash hit "Grey's Anatomy"); Scott Wolf; Eli Wallach; and Donald Trump. FINAL THOUGHTS : While there is comfort in the fact that since ABC stupidly cancelled this above-average cult classic-in-the-making and Leary & Tolan re-teamed successfully to create "RESCUE ME", it still boggles the mind of the ineptitude of traditional network fare bowing to idiocies aplenty. Truly deserved another life perhaps an unexpurgated turn on say, HBO?
John T. Ryan
This short lived half hour lasted for parts of two seasons. It has been called a Sitcom, but was it really? It had no added sound laugh track. It was not filmed in front of a live audience in order to get their reaction. All incidents portrayed, although some what exaggerated, could occur in one of our big cities.The attitudes and interaction of characters were the greatest source of both the laughs and the heart of the stories. The characters ranged from being manic (Leary's character) to very lazy, as portrayed by the old,kinda paunchy detective. Whereas Leary was high strung and even overloaded in his life, the other guy would avoid work at all costs.In our favourite episode, the older detective and his partner are wrapped up in trying to dump off a corpse that they think was dragged into their precinct by an equally lazy but highly conniving detective named Fennessey from an adjacent precinct.Leary's Detective was burning the candle at both ends.He was high strung, edgy. It didn't take much to get his 'Irish' up.(loose his temper) He was married with family, but also had a girlfriend on the side. He exercised to keep in shape, yet was a chain smoker. It looked as though he was headed for a heart attack. It was only a matter of time.But,alas! The network intervened and we can only wonder what was in store for this Detective Squad. "THE JOB" got the ax and has not been seen in re-runs or video since. It's too bad. A lot of cops* said the series was closer to real life than one would have thought.* The author (now retired) is a 34 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.He served his time in some of the most impoverished,crime ridden neighborhoods in the country, as well as in the Central Business District (The Loop). During his career he was assigned to Patrol Division, Traffic Division, Youth Division and The Missing Persons Bureau of The Detective Division.