History Series / Rescue911

When originally aired on CBS, episodes were typically an hour long, although segments could (and would) be trimmed to create half-hour or even quarter-hour episodes, depending on how much time the network needed to fill. A half-hour version later aired in syndication. JusticeNetwork started airing the show in late 2017.

When originally aired on CBS, episodes were typically an hour long, although segments could (and would) be trimmed to create half-hour or even quarter-hour episodes, depending on how much time the network needed to fill. A half-hour version later aired in syndication.

* SuddenDownerEnding: Somewhat in the episode “Bingo”. While the episode is no laughing matter, (It’s about [[spoiler: a mother who got shot by her husband and was left to die, and wasn’t found for two days, and she becomes quadriplegic as a result of her wounds]]), the episode still needs on a happy note, showing the victim playing with her young son and titular dog that saved her life. That is, until [[EditedForSyndication reruns aired a few months later]], with this text added at the end: [[spoiler: On March 24, 1991, Rhonda died from complications resulting from her injuries.]]

** This was notable in "Butane Huffing," where a teenager collapses and dies after huffing butane to get high, which was ostensibly produced to make the point that [[DrugsAreBad Inhalant Abuse Is Bad]]

** This was notable in "Butane Huffing," where a teenager collapses and dies after huffing butane to get high, which was ostensibly produced to make the point that [[DrugsAreBad Inhalant Abuse Is Bad]].
** Another particularly sad example comes from the episode “Bingo”. A mother gets shot by her husband, is left to die, and she isn’t found for two days. She ends up becoming a quadriplegic, and will never walk again. There is a HopeSpot at the end of the episode, where’s she shown playing with her son and the titular rescue dog that saved her life, but, just before the episode fades out, this text shows up on screen: [[spoiler: “On March 24, 1991, Rhonda McHargue died from complications resulting from her injuries.”]]

* EaglelandOsmosis: Australian viewers were reminded to call 000.

* HystericalWoman[=/=]ScreamingWoman: Justified to some extent due to the extreme emergencies in some cases, but does somewhat carry the UnfortunateImplications of the trope with how often it appears.

* RousseauWasRight[=/=]TaughtByTelevision: Many more lives were saved thanks to this show. A couple episodes ''of'' the show have actually had people mention that they had watched Rescue 911.

** Within the show itself, it's surprising how many times a random person saves a complete stranger.

The show was influential in its time, with viewers learning from the show and [[IKnowMortalKombat applying that knowledge]] to their own emergency situations. This led to two specials called "100 Lives Saved" and "200 Lives Saved," which featured people who spoke of how the things they learned from the show helped them save other people's lives.

* IKnowMortalKombat: A great many viewers learned from the show and were able to act properly in their own emergencies. This led to the "100 Lives Saved" and "200 Lives Saved" specials, which profiled some of these people.

There was also a special subseries called "200 Lives Saved" which featured people who spoke of how the things they learned from the show helped them save other people's lives.

* HystericalWoman[=/=]ScreamingWoman: Justified to some extent due to the extreme emergencies in some cases, but does somewhat carry the UnfortunateImplications of the trope with how often it appears.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: In one episode, a dog gets his head stuck in a dryer vent. The kids who are taking care of the dog are actually ''quite'' amused but call 911 regardless.