The Last Ship (TNT) (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

This is a show about a U.S. guided missile destroyer that returned from a four-month top secret mission in the Arctic circle carried out under radio silence to learn that 80 percent of the world's population has been wiped out by a global pandemic.Unlike some very expensive shows where you wonder where the money went, this is a show where you can tell every penny made it onscreen. This was movie quality for pretty much the entire hour. The script was a little shaky, but the show was at its best when it absorbed itself with the mechanics of how a destroyer operate; I don't know how accurate it was, but the attention to the "how" lent the show a visceral quality that other shows built around a Navy vessel, like Last Resort, lacked. Taking the time to address how they get food and get fueled also allowed me to invest in the world in a way that lazier shows wouldn't have.I also have to give the show points for going full out from the get-go. Rather than spending a season on the verge of the outbreak, the show starts pretty much from the get-go with the worst case scenario. Worse than having a swarm of enemies after them, they are an oasis of order and calm in a world that has descended into chaos. Nuclear weapons are flying and they don't know the whos or the whys, just what they have to do to stay out of the fallout. There is just enough of a sliver of hope for the proceedings to have weight and meaning, since the fate of the world ultimately turns out to reside in the bowels of this ship.It reminded me the most of On the Beach, with Gregory Peck. Hopefully this show has a happier ending.

 

[joshEH]

I'm onboard (pardon pun) for the foreseeable future, if tonight's premiere was any indicator. Read the 1989 novel years ago, and they've certainly made changes better suited to the times (a viral outbreak vs. nuclear holocaust), but it looks like the nukes are still flying regardless in this version.

Hoping we find out who launched the nuclear missile at the destroyer. Also, looks like they ID the Russian traitor fairly quickly, but I'm wondering whom the virus-weaponizer turns out to be (no face shown in the preview).

 

[Dheiner]

Hoping we find out who launched the nuclear missile at the destroyer. Also, looks like they ID the Russian traitor fairly quickly, but I'm wondering whom the virus-weaponizer turns out to be (no face shown in the preview).

I thought that the missile was sent to London, not at the ship. To your second point, I suspect they are the same person.

By the way, as a former Navy Electrician, that whole "badass" scene was complete nonsense. For a couple reasons. First he'd be dead, or at least down one arm. Second, "Last fuse?????"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, screw it. The scene made for exciting TV, but, it was nonsense.

Another thing I noticed. The OOD was asked about fuel and she said something like: "We're down to 11%. That will only last for 6 more hours." WTF?? Do you not math good?

I do think the show is fun, and will keep watching.

 

[gruagach]

I saw the trailer last night and wondered if I remembered the book wrong. Since I watch on disque, I'll keep an eye ont he reviews as the series unfolds.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I thought that the missile was sent to London, not at the ship. To your second point, I suspect they are the same person.

I read it the same way. Either from a British sub as a deliberate measure to contain the outbreak in Great Britain, or by rogue elements who got a hold of a nuke and said, "what the hell."

By the way, as a former Navy Electrician, that whole "badass" scene was complete nonsense. For a couple reasons. First he'd be dead, or at least down one arm. Second, "Last fuse?????" Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, screw it. The scene made for exciting TV, but, it was nonsense.

This is probably one of those areas where my lack of knowledge allows me to just roll with the show's logic. I did figure that since they've been in the Arctic circle for four months without outside contact, that they'd be running low on a lot of supplies.

Another thing I noticed. The OOD was asked about fuel and she said something like: "We're down to 11%. That will only last for 6 more hours." WTF?? Do you not math good?

This is actually something I was curious about. I read somewhere that an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer like the one on the show has a fuel capacity in excess of 110,000 gallons of diesel for the ship itself an another 6,000 gallons of jet fuel for its helicopters. How long would that realistically last?

I saw the trailer last night and wondered if I remembered the book wrong. Since I watch on disque, I'll keep an eye ont he reviews as the series unfolds.

In the book, I believe it was a large scale nuclear conflict that left them as the last ship, so that's a major change right off the bat.

 

[Dheiner]

Oh, yeah, another thing I noticed. After 4 months of radio silence, one guy was in the crews' mess, with a shiny red apple. Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

 

[jcroy]

The first episode seemed kinda lackluster.

I'll watch the next few episodes to see what direction the shows goes in. Hopefully it will be more exciting than "Helix".

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Not having been in the Navy I noticed a lot of playing fast and loose, shooting down a helicopter with a five inch gun? The 6 hours of fuel, and a few others. Despite these it looks like a show worth watching. Will be interesting to see where they go from here.

 

[Dheiner]

Well, I've seen towed drone simulations shot out of the air with a 5-inch turret, so, I don't see much problem taking down a single chopper.

As for those missiles, in the situation shown, they would have never touched that ship. The Phalanx would have pick them out of the air, even easier than the 5-inch did the helo.

StillI like the show, but, when they start to make this be about the shipboard romance, they may lose me.

 

[Dheiner]

I do like the show, but, one more thing struck me.

"Radio Silence" does not mean "No Listening". The RMs and ETs on board would have been listening to all kinds of civilian traffic. The ship would have been up to date, and there would have probably been a mutiny. But, ya know, other than that.........

 

[Johnny Angell]

I do like the show, but, one more thing struck me.

"Radio Silence" does not mean "No Listening". The RMs and ETs on board would have been listening to all kinds of civilian traffic. The ship would have been up to date, and there would have probably been a mutiny. But, ya know, other than that.........

I got on line to make this very comment. To me, it's the biggest hole in the plot so far. I also have to wonder why the captain had to hold the fuse in? Was that really necessary?

It seems to me they contrived more drama than necessary. An attack on the personnel on the ground and on the ship itself wasn't enough? The whole world going to hell in a hand-basket isn't enough?

And I was disappointed to see they're going "there's a spy on board" route. Seems like there's always a spy.

On the plus side, the doctor taking blood from two doomed victims was realistic and sobering. When all hell breaks loose, this happens. It seems to be well-cast and it moves along briskly. I'll continue watching.

Is this a limited series? Will it be over in 10-12 episodes? i don't think I want to watch them search for the cure for 5 years.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Is this a limited series? Will it be over in 10-12 episodes? i don't think I want to watch them search for the cure for 5 years.

If they're smart, each season will have its own arc. This is what I'd like to see: The first season should be about finding the cure and vaccinating the crew. The middle seasons should be about manufacturing and distributing the cure. The final run of the show should be about trying to rebuild civilization from the tiny percentage of humanity that's left.

 

[DaveF]

I saw ads for this and was curious, but I don't have time for another summer show. But given the positive comments here, I'll follow this thread and see how the show goes. If it's good, I'll pick it up in reruns later.

 

[joshEH]

Is this a limited series? Will it be over in 10-12 episodes? i don't think I want to watch them search for the cure for 5 years.

As Adam mentions, it's highly unlikely that the series would spend more than a season or two on finding a cure. Indeed, another similarly-themed series would have also followed this course -- the Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade, cancelled prematurely by TNT before even a single episode aired back in 1999.

Series creator J. Michael Straczynski has since indicated that a cure for the Drakh plague would've been discovered in the second season, and a new thread centering around combating a Drakh/Shadowtech infiltration of EarthGov would have begun, taking place over the remaining 2-3 seasons. (The plague story was never sustainable over five years, anyway. From the future-flashforwards on B5, we all knew the plague was cured.)

Adam's layout for a potential long-term Last Ship series structure sounds about right, considering.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Got around to viewing the first episode earlier today. I would agree with Adam that the money is on the screen. The initial episode has the sort of visual flair that I associate with Michael Bay, which is probably one of the better aspects of the show. I always enjoy survival stories so I'll stick around. I have to tell myself to not think too much about some things such as 'radio silence does not mean do not monitor'.

Can't say that I cared for the reveal at the end of the episode. There's always a mole. *sigh*

Whenever I see one of these types of shows I recall an observation by someone (a comic?) about the popularity of apocalyptic entertainment. He posited that folks watch these shows because they fantasize about how they would behave in these scenarios when the reality is that the odds are extremely high that you would not be one of the survivors.

- Walter.

 

[Greg.K]

I do like the show, but, one more thing struck me.

"Radio Silence" does not mean "No Listening". The RMs and ETs on board would have been listening to all kinds of civilian traffic. The ship would have been up to date, and there would have probably been a mutiny. But, ya know, other than that.........

This bugged me as well.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

"Radio Silence" does not mean "No Listening". The RMs and ETs on board would have been listening to all kinds of civilian traffic. The ship would have been up to date

Hmm.. Good point!

I was annoyed by the mole bit as well.. Tired, tired plot device..

But I enjoy appocolyptica, and the acting and production value is pretty good, so I'll keep watching and hope it doesn't devolve into another 'Last Resort' or 'Helix'.

 

[Hanson]

I thought the pilot was pretty good. I liked Last Resort quite a bit, so I think I can roll with this one. The two distracting elements are Rhona Mitra (implausibly good looking) and the captain looks like he's Kurt Russell's younger brother and I get thrown out of the scene every time his face hits a certain angle and he's a dead ringer for Russell.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Good 2nd episode! Nice tension builder..

I could have done without the US/Arab rabble-rousing, but oh well..

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I could have done without the US/Arab rabble-rousing, but oh well..

I felt the same way, and was very happy when the Al Qaeda detainees ultimately didn't give a crap any more about their cause, they just wanted to protect their food supply. That rang true to me, because I'd think a global pandemic that wipes out most of the world's population would have a way of clarifying what your priorities are.