County Rescue is a faith-based series consisting of five episodes which incorporate drama, tension-filled moments, and various themes which include following your heart as to what you believe the Lord wants you to do, and following the rules, even when no one is looking. The series focuses on various characters who work in tense-filled moments as EMT’s.
Starring Julia Reilly as Dani, Riley Hough as Tim, and Tim Ross as the hard-nosed fire captain of the EMT’s, Scotty, the actors are all excellent and believable. They capture powerful nuances in the characters, such as fear when they make a mistake in their efforts to rescue people. And we see Dani’s frustration as her parents don’t agree with her career choice. Dani says she felt God had told her a few years back to be a first responder. She says she believes she was put on the Earth to do this – to be on the front lines. However, that doesn’t mean her new career will be easy. In fact, she and Tim learn that they are competing for one job, since there have been budget cuts. And then another first responder, Griffin, who is close to Captain Scotty, is added to the mix to try to land the lone position.
In the first episode, Dani kicks off her EMT career by saying to Tim, “Ready to go save some lives!” This is despite Captain Scotty telling everybody that five minutes early for the job “is late!”
On her first adventure, Dani and another EMT encounter a man in cardiac arrest. Dani does everything she can, including using a defibrillator on the man, but he doesn’t survive. Dani is forlorn, but the woman she is with tells her, “You can’t save them all.” Dani had prayed on the way to try to save the man’s life, but she won’t give up following his death. She continues to pray that she will help save lives. Dani is told God called her but not everyone will live. And that God is in control even when it doesn’t seem like it. And that God has some “amazing” things in store for her.
Dani continues to deal with some tension as her own mother says, “You haven’t gotten over your church phase yet?” But things begin to slowly improve with her relationship with her parents. There are some fun moments along the way, as she and Tim are hit with shaving cream-filled balloons by the veteran workers. It’s their way of welcoming them. And then she and Tim begin to spray one another with water as they clean up their area.
Dani was told by Captain Scotty to not hang out with her fellow workers after work. She continues to follow his rule, and she shows a lot of integrity. She does what she is supposed to, even when no one is around or looking. Tim has his own battles as Griffin calls him “Timmy” and Tim says flatly, “Tim.” Dani also learns the hardship of Tim’s background, helping to care for his mother when his dad died. In one scene Griffin refuses to give a donut to Tim, which he had bought for the group, and Griffin refers to himself as an “eagle.” Dani says, “You look like a bird!” She later apologizes to him, and Griffin begins to treat her with respect.
One episode easily slides into the next one. Dani makes a mistake and a man on a gurney falls off, but he’s all right. Dani blames herself for the man’s fall but the woman with her, Ashley, tells Scotty that despite her mistake Dani has a “great bedside manner.” To cheer her up, Griffin leaves a cupcake for her and gives her a card as a joke, saying she is part of the “Epic Fail Club,” an inside joke between them.
There is a Christian worldview within the shows, with Dani and some of the others. She prays in the name of Jesus and tells others of her call to help rescue people. She stands firm, even when some of her family members doubt her. She also helps a woman deliver a child after the woman had to pull over while on the way to the hospital. The child is silent at first, not breathing, but Dani’s prayer is answered when the baby boy begins to breathe.
THINK ABOUT IT: The episodes do a good job in showing that God does have a call on everyone’s life and that He gifts people differently. There are moments which can be used to open discussions between children and their parents, regarding what to do when there are disagreements and the importance of maintaining respect.
THE DOVE TAKE: County Rescue does a good job in showing that when the Lord calls us to something, He will be with us and help guide us.
