By Matthew Wood

Poor, poor Tommy Gavin. The guy gets roofied, inadvertently commits insurance fraud and now, all of a sudden, he’s found some morals?

As the fourth season of RESCUE ME begins, Gavin is playing Mr. Mom to his newest son (which may or may not actually be his), lecturing his oldest daughter about the perils of drinking (talk about the pot calling the kettle black) and trying to be an all-around upstanding citizen.

What’s up with that? No blacking out? Hell, not even any drinking? No cavorting around like a wild man? No raping your ex-wife? It reminds me of the scene in THE DOORS, when Paul Rothchild (played by Michael Wincott, who, by the way, is a dead ringer for Denis Leary) says, “I see Jim, I hear Jim. But, you know what? I miss him.”

That’s how I feel about Gavin. I miss the old wild and crazy guy. But I guess he has to grow up sometime. And he does have bigger things to worry about — namely going to jail and losing his job after last season’s beach house fire that nearly killed him, which he still can’t remember.

And you know crazy Sheila isn’t helping any, since there’s about $2 million on the line from the insurance policy that Tommy allegedly signed a few weeks back, but can’t quite remember.

Ah, the double-edged sword that is alcoholism. On the plus side, you get to be the life of the party and pass out wherever you want. But on the minus side, you conveniently black out when signing insurance claims and having near-death experiences. Oh, and the headaches in the morning are bad news.

So, here you are, taking care of a baby that may or may not be yours, while living platonically with your hot ex-wife and teenaged daughter who’s sleeping with a 26-year-old lead singer in a band. Just the average, all-American family.

At the moral center is our boy Tommy. Who knew? I mean, everybody’s sinning these days —  from Lou getting it on in a church with a former nun to Sean taking an interest in his wife’s porn hobby.

It sets up to be a bumpy ride this season. Assuming Tommy doesn’t get thrown in jail (which is a sure thing, according to the boys downtown); he’s got a family to protect, some cats to save from the trees (or, in this episode, a burning warehouse) and a black guy to find to play on the house basketball team.

Add to that the rumors that a major character is supposed to die early on in the season, and let’s just say things could get interesting