Word has leaked that in an episode for the upcoming season of the FX firefighter drama Rescue Me, the womanizing fireman Franco—one of the show's main characters—espouses theories that 9/11 was an inside job, carried out as part of a neoconservative plot to change the definition of "preemptive attack" and control the world's oil. The Times says that it marks "the first fictional presentation of 9/11 conspiracy theories by a mainstream media company." Star of the show Denis Leary says that the scene is not far off from scenes in actual fire houses "where some of the younger members don’t even have to completely buy into the theory of 9/11 being an inside job, but want to discuss it." more ›

Last October, a fire was started outside the Engine 34/Ladder 21 firehouse on West 38th Street. The fire was put out, but upon investigation, it turned out the ones who set it were firefighters from different firehouses! A surveillance cameras actually captured Michael Izzo and Richard Capece purchasing the gasoline at a gas station and later splashing the stationhouse's garage door and igniting it, setting off what was described as a fireball. more ›

More Rescue Me for Next Season more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
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A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

In October 1977, Howard Cosell leaned into his announcer's microphone and intoned to the worldwide audience watching the World Series, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." He was reporting yet another burning building marring the NYC skyline from his vantage point at Yankee Stadium. His line would eventually become the partial title of a superb book written by Jonathan Mahler: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City. more ›

THEATER: HERE Artistic Director Kristin Marting concludes the OBIE-winning art center’s season by directing performer/dancer Alexandra Beller in us, “a highly athletic, sensual and dynamic blend of movement with song, text and a layered soundscape. Beller created this deeply personal commentary on the state of the union from the perspective of a woman who is at a crisis point in a love relationship.” As we haven’t seen it, we’ll defer to The New Yorker on this one: “The former Bill T. Jones standout dresses herself in the American flag, uses it as a jump rope, breast-feeds it. A sound score assaults her with conservative rhetoric, circa 2004, and she enlists the audience in pointing out contradictions in Leviticus.” Just another reason why we love New York. ENDS SUNDAY! – John Del Signore more ›

When we last left our anti-hero Tommy Gavin he was drugged and out cold burning in a house on Long Island thanks to Sheila, the wife of his dead cousin who was quite angry after Tommy decided not to retire. In tonight's return, Tommy is accused of arson and insurance fraud, may or may not be the father of the baby of his estranged wife who he is living with and has to face the fact that his teenage daughter is doing drugs, drinking, having sex with an musician and doing it all with the knowledge of her mother. In short, all of that means Rescue Me is back and has hit the ground running and that is all before the opening credits. more ›

John Scurti is an actor originally from Long Island and a graduate of Fordham University. He currently he plays Lt. Kenny “Lou” Shea on FX's Rescue Me. We recently talked with him about the show, filming in the city and of course if he really does yoga. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute. more ›

Gothamist is a big fan of the FX show, Rescue Me - it's incredibly funny, realistic, and riveting but also difficult to watch. And last week's episode was no different, as Denis Leary's character may or may not have raped his estranged wife in the final scenes. The ambiguous scene, where firefighter Tommy Gavin overpowers his wife into having sex (she protests some, but seems to have enjoyed it by the end; he leaves with a smirk), has prompted a lot of debate in the news. And executive producer Peter Tolan even went to the Television Without Pity messageboards to explain and defend the scene. We were distressed by the scene, but it seemed to work with Tommy's overall moral depravity and lack of control when it comes to his personal life (another recent example - Tommy beating his brother to a pulp over said estranged wife in front of his children). And while some critics say the show is merciless towards women, it's actually merciless towards everyone. more ›

- And if you were wondering why Bubba Sparxx, Rick Ross, and Dem Franchise Boyz were at the Time Warner Center today, it's because they got Gold/Platinum certification for their (duh!) - photographs from MGChan on Flickr more ›

as Law & Order SVU used to be on then (and we remember the good ol' Fridays when The X-Files was on at 9PM and then Homicide was on at 10PM). And maybe Govich's ADA character, Jessica "From the wrong side of the tracks" [the elevated train tracks?] Rossi, won't be that lucky - the lady ADA's have a mysterious way of leaving every so often. more ›

We may have to contemplate many of a cliffhanger this summer, but we are grateful for the return of the NYC fire department black comedy (or is that drama with mordant wit) Rescue Me. Last season, we followed the escapades of firefighter/ alcoholic/ pill-addict/ cheating husband Tommy Gavin to the point of being emotionally wrecked by the season finale where his son was killed by a drunk driver and a violent revenge is planned. Also, when firefighter Lou gets totally taken by the scam artist - we could see it coming, but we still felt awful. And Gothamist will need Rescue Me because the new slate of summer TV programming looks like total crap. more ›

Tonight is a BIG night, TV-wise, so much so that we can't stand to DVR anything - we need to see it actual time. (Well, we are DVRing it so we can watch it over and over again, but you get the idea and urgency.) There's the Gilmore Girls finale, the Veronica Mars finale, and then a Kathy Griffin special on Bravo! (Okay, the Kathy Griffin special will probably repeat 10 times before the weekend, but we'll probably watch all 10 times because a Dakota Fanning-has-a-drug-problem joke is classic.) The Gilmore Girls finale will also feature Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, and Joe Pernice - thanks to music-lovin' creator Amy Sherman-Palladino (we will miss you next season) - which makes it aces in our book, but overall, it's been a very uneven season for the double G. But we're most excited for Veronica Mars to be on Tuesday at 9PM after all this time - too bad the season must end. And we think she might be visiting NYU in order to get that other witness to confirm Steve Guttenberg's Woody Goodman's bad man tendencies. Of course, many of you will probably be watching American Idol and House - it's okay to disagree, but for all of you who have been missing out of Veronica Mars because of House or Lost, we strongly advise you to pick up DVDs of Season 1 and 2 (when it's out). more ›

Yesterday, the Daily News reported that the Fire Department was starting a new advertising campaign to attract female and minority recruits. The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating the FDNY's diversity, and at a City Council meeting, the FDNY said its 8.6% of its 11,491 members are minorities and 0.2% are women. Yeah, that's not very diverse. The NY Times reports the ads will shower a softer side of the FDNY: "firefighter in civilian dress spending time with her daughter in a park, lieutenants at a backyard barbecue and firefighters playing basketball in a gym." And the Times also has a graphic showing that many of the minorities and women who apply to the FDNY drop out even before taking the exam. Maybe it's because the FX show Rescue Me (supposedly to be the most realistic depiction of a firefighter's life but with lots of dramatic license) is too realistic about the hazing? more ›

- Rescue Me will begin its third season on May 30 - and they were just filming in Harlem! more ›

Lanaird Granger is suing the fire department and city, claiming he's been harrassed and discriminated against by his fellow firefighters during his service as a firefighter. Granger, who is black, says that he found a noose in his gear last year, and his lawsuit also notes that he was told to "step and fetch it." Granger says that when he complained, he was transferred, versus the whole firehouse being disbanded. He is also worried that other firefighters' attitudes towards him might put him at risk while responding to calls. more ›

While it's all about the season premieres this month, there's one season finale tonight that we're excited about. Gothamist has really gotten into watching Rescue Me, catching up on this season by watching the first season DVD, and we've been loving it. Rescue Me is profane, racist, questionable, hilarious, sweet and tragic, with characters that seem like real people and less like stereotypes networks revert to because that'll make advertisers happy (probably why it's on FX). And it's shot in New York; Gothamist remembers reading how Denis Leary paid a Mr. Softee truck driver to stop playing the song...only to have more Mr. Softee trucks come to the location, looking for some easy money. The second season finale is at 10PM on FX and looks to be distressing and disturbing; we originally thought it'd be dark to counterbalance watching The Gilmore Girls, but New York magazine's John Leonard says that season premiere (tonight at 8PM on the WB) is "angry and sad." more ›

Pop culture is really paying attention to those of larger dimensions and girth lately. We have had reality TV's take on this with The Biggest Loser, and a Gothamist fave Rescue Me has had a featured storyline between a fireman dating a largish gal, to the disdain and ribbing by his crew. Now off- Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, we have that same actress (Ashlie Atkinson) in a similar role as one of the stars of the riveting new play Fat Pig by Neil LaBute (The Shape of Things, bash, The Mercy Seat). more ›

On Sept. 10 and 11, readings of Sarah Tuft?s play were held at the Public Theater as benefit events for the Leary Firefighters Foundation. more ›

Leary is also premiering his new TV show about life in the FDNY, Rescue Me, which tomorrow night on FX. Naturally, there's been a lot of NYC press coverage of it, with a fat feature in the Daily News and Leary told the NY Times in an interview:

There's a backlash in New York right now with firefighters getting arrested for drunk driving and testing positive for drugs. The spotlight was shone on these guys and we thought they were so heroic. But they're just human beings and the tendency for them is to self-medicate rather than go see a psychiatrist so that they can keep going into these buildings and saving people. This is something we're going to deal with in the course of the show.