S01.E01: Phase Six

[shapeshifter]

If I'm reading zap2it correctly, this episode begins 8 CDT/ 9EDT and it runs until 9:03/10:03 p.m., so man your stations! Or woman your DVRs! Or whatever.

From thetvdb.com:

Captain Tom Chandler and the crew of the USS Nathan James set out for the Arctic with two civilian virologists, Dr. Rachel Scott and Dr. Quincy Tophet, who claim to be studying birds. When they come under attack by a renegade team of Russian forces, Chandler learns these virologists are actually collecting samples of the source of a deadly virus that has wiped out over half the human population while they've been at sea. As they head home on the orders of the remaining U.S. government, Chandler and his crew realize that home is a shadow of what they left, and the safest place to develop a vaccine for this deadly disease is out at sea on their ship.

[AimingforYoko]

Well, as expected from a Michael Bay production, it was not subtle, but I was engaged. And nobody's done anything terminally stupid, yet.

[Frost]

Looking good so far.  I'm not sure how they sustain it over 10 episodes.  It's an interesting premise but I hope they don't go the way of "Last Resort" with ridiculous island skullduggery and the onboard spy.

[ottoDbusdriver]

That was typical Michael Bay -- production values were top of the line, story not so much.

 

One big change -- they moved the location from the Antarctic (in the trailer) to the Arctic.  That's a little more convenient.  Also explains why the Russians would be attacking them if they were up around the Spitsbergen Islands (which are at least within spitting distance of Russia).

 

Don't buy the radio silence nonsense so they don't know about anything going on for 4 months -- they just don't have to broadcast, but they can still receive satellite TV signals (which they showed them doing).  Also don't buy that the disorganized Russians knew that the good doctor was looking for a cure -- when they were trying to kill all of them.

 

USS Nathan James takes 3 direct hits from Russian missiles from the helicopters -- no injuries and barely any damage.

[midge]

I may give it another episode or two, otherwise, meh.    I have a feeling I'm just going to find it depressing.  With Adam Ballwin in it I was hoping there would be little humor (probably of the gallows kind) but nada.    Not sure I want to watch something that's bound to be a downer.  

[BestestAuntEver]

Looking good so far. I'm not sure how they sustain it over 10 episodes. It's an interesting premise but I hope they don't go the way of "Last Resort" with ridiculous island skullduggery and the onboard spy.

Ha, these were basically my thoughts at the end as well.

I will give it a couple of more episodes, but if it goes the way of "Last Resort" then I'm out. Pleased to see diversity also.

I'm hoping the kinks I saw will be worked out vs made bigger plot holes. Hopefully they can with 10 episodes. Some showrunners are excellent with limited shows while others don't have a clue.

Edited June 23, 2014 by BestestAuntEver

[Frost]

I know an apocalypse scenario caused by a pandemic isn't original (I think the movie Contagion is one of the better ones), but this one is kind of eerie, with the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

[Watcher0363]

I see no way they can sustain this show for sixty episodes. As far as fuel and naval supplies, I know that there were and probably still are super secret bases all over the world. But with no other support personnel not to mention a real lab, this show will be pushing credibility real soon.

[TV Anonymous]

USS Nathan James takes 3 direct hits from Russian missiles from the helicopters -- no injuries and barely any damage.

 

I do not believe that they are missile hits. I think the CIWS got to the missiles before they hit and therefore they exploded rather close to the ship but still in a safe distance.

 

And I also do hope that this show does not go The Last Resort way, particularly how discipline was just dropped after the very first firing order was given. From what is seen in the first episode, it is more like a Navy procedural, and I like it. However, what is with the Captain and his cover? He often be around, even outdoors, uncovered while everybody else in uniform is covered. That made me cringed several times when he returned salutes uncovered. A big no-no for the Navy, I believe.

 

Also, while he is the CO of the ship (the "Captain"), his rank is commander, not Captain. Is it appropriate to address him as "Captain Chandler"?

[TVAddict]

Eric Dane made a cocky, funny, sexy plastic surgeon.  He looks great in Navy whites too.  The premise of this show is thin, but it only has to hold out for 10 episodes.  I'm going to give it another hour to see how it goes.

[Constantinople]

So Lt Uhura's a lesbian?

I don't mind per se, but I felt as if they were trying to check as many boxes with this character as possible. Or at least I'm always suspicious of this.

I didn't understand why the Americans asked the Egyptians for permission to enter Egyptian air space. They were already buzzing around the pyramids, so I would have thought they already have been in Egyptian air space for some time.

 

Well, as expected from a Michael Bay production, it was not subtle...

Not subtle?

Just because the black clad Russians flew in black helicopters, and the white clad Americans drove white snowmobiles?

It's not as if the American helicopters were white. They were just a very light or faded color, possibly green, that only suggested white just a bit at first.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Constantinople

[thuganomics85]

Well, this certainly was a Michael Bay production.  Even the music felt like it was taken straight from Armageddon or the Transformer films.  And then there was all the explosions, evil Russians, epic shots, and, of course, military porn!  Only thing they skimped on was gratuitous eye-candy shots of their women characters.  Although, I certainly wasn't against them still finding a way to get Rhona Mirta in her tank-top for one scene.

 

Still, it was fun for the summer, although I did get some Last Resort vibes, which I hope ends soon.  Obviously, Eric Dane is Andre Braugher in this scenario, but it's a wait and see on if Adam Baldwin is going to be more of a "Disagree but Remain Loyal" Scott Speedman or a "Briefly Betray Him and Become an Enemy" Robert Patrick.

 

I do hope they expand on the underlings, and won't just be known as the black lesbian, the pretty young white couple secretly hooking-up, and the book-nerd Asian, by the end of the season.

 

I think my favorite character is the Master Chief, simply because he's played by a guy I've seen in a few commercials (I think it was Sprint or one of the phone ones), and it always fun when a commercial actor gets a sizable role on a show.

[ellystar]

It's weird, I really liked this first episode. Seemed like somewhat different take on the pandemic story. Then there was the mole at the very end. Then there were the scenes from the rest of the season, which gave way, way, way too much away and had legit revelations in it. I really didn't want to know most of that stuff, and a lot of the suspense was taken away. Seriously, way too much.

[ottoDbusdriver]

So, the CDC doctor on a super secret mission to the Arctic either doesn't have an encrypted satphone -- or -- the renegade Russians were sitting around waiting for her to make a satphone call, listen in on it, and then dispatch a squadron of 5 helos on a one-way mission to the middle of the Arctic (Svalbard Islands, Greenland -- some place with a lot of mountains) to hopefully catch her on the ice.  That seems like a heck of a stretch.

 

I doubt the Nathan James was in Russian waters (the necessity for radio silence) because they all seemed so casual about things -- no one was worried, the ship wasn't on a constant state of alert. 

 

When they launch the missile test, the screen that shows the "missile test in progress" clearly shows the layout of an Iowa-class battleship at the bottom of the display (two big turrets towards the bow, one big turret towards the stern).  Hello ?? Continuity guy ??  Is anyone paying even a little attention to what kind of ship they are on ?  As a sidenote, it has been stated in production notes that they filmed this show on a couple of active-duty Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and an Iowa-class battleship.

 

If they helicoptered the landing party to the island, how did the snowmobiles get there ?  And did they take them with them when they left ?

 

Is Canada Goose a paid sponsor ?  Because they were getting some prominent display on the shoulders and chests of the scientists on that island.

 

Timeframe -- Nathan James left port in June, so with 4 months at sea that would make it sometime in October.  Why aren't there more ice floes in the water (since air temps are -50 degrees) ?

 

If there really was a super-critical emergency global emergency, I think the they would have been notified the Nathan James early on in the crisis -- especially once the President and Vice President died (since the Speaker is 2nd in line to the President).

 

Seriously, fraternizing between two officers (Kara Foster and Danny Green).  While on duty. Before anyone was aware of world-ending pandemic.  WTF ?

 

Then there's the whole deal with the dog on the ice.  Helicopters attack and the snowmobiles race off for miles dodging bullets and missiles, and there is no sign of the dog anywhere during the chase, yet the dog seems to be able to keep up (in -50 degree cold) -- that's a superdog. 

 

The radar doesn't pick up on the incoming helos until they are 24 nautical miles out -- that's some pretty shitty radar they have there (then again, maybe they were behind the mountains).  With all the fancy battlespace radars on modern warships, they should have seen them at least 100 nm out.

 

Of course, the Russians all graduated from the A-Team school of marksmanship while attacking the team on the island -- fire thousands of rounds and yet still hit nothing of importance.

 

Where did the 3rd snowmobile come from with shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft defenses ?  Were they always expecting an air attack -- in the middle of nowhere ?  Seriously ?  The dual jump off the helicopter into the snow was SO fake, followed by the fakest helicopter crash seen in recent memory.  Wow that was bad -- the helicopter turned green for some reason before crumpling up and crashing.  Followed by the dog saving the good doctor.  Where did all those other Russians come from -- one helicopter exploded with no one getting off, and the other had two people jump off before being shot down and exploding ?  All while the other 3 helos attacked the ship simultaneously.

 

 

I do not believe that they are missile hits. I think the CIWS got to the missiles before they hit and therefore they exploded rather close to the ship but still in a safe distance.

 

 

There were blast marks on the superstructure of the ship, so those missiles got past the CIWS and impacted.

 

That nuke was at least a hundred miles away headed down the English Channel when it impacted (based on the trajectory, probably London), how was the flash so close to the ship ?  It appeared to be about 20 miles away.  If the radiation cloud is headed north-northeast from the nuke blast, which would push the fallout towards the North Sea -- how is the ship anywhere near getting contaminated by fallout ?  Do they have any consultants for this show that know the very basics of simple weather phenomena like the jet stream ?  Or why a US Navy surface ship would fire a nuke towards Europe (I doubt any other nation would have surface ships -- with ballistic nukes (since cruise missiles don't travel at 9700 mph) -- on the east coast of North America ?

 

The commander putting his life on the line with the last fuse -- that was so stupid.  Plus, if the ship was on mission for 4 months, how did they not stock up on spare parts ?

 

Why would a pair of night vision binoculars have longitude and latitude in the display ?  Let alone that they already established that the ocean liner was at 48N 15W, the display was all over the place -- and wrong.

 

The lab that is supposed to be in Jacksonville is 200 hundred miles inland -- that would put the lab somewhere west of Tallahassee, or maybe at Fort Benning, GA.  Why wouldn't they just sail around Florida so they would be closer to the ship and reduce the travel on land.  Or were they talking about going to the CDC in Atlanta ?  In which case, go to Savannah and follow the highway.

 

How many "un-manned food and fuel stations" are going to conveniently popup throughout the course of the show ? Because that seems to be pretty convenient -- and is it even a thing in the Navy to have those depots scattered all over the world (it's like the Ragnar outpost on BSG).

 

Of course there is a mole on the ship, who appears to speak Russian.  And Arctic Fox has a satphone too.  Here's the thing -- satphones won't work without the ground-based control network, and if everyone is likely dead and/or the electrical grid is down, so how is the satphone network still working ?

 

And the dog seems to have completely disappeared by the end of the episode.

Edited June 23, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[ZoqFotPik]

 

Also, while he is the CO of the ship (the "Captain"), his rank is commander, not Captain. Is it appropriate to address him as "Captain Chandler"?

Yes. While on board the ship, the commanding officer is addressed as Captain regardless of actual rank. I believe the COs of most if not all destroyers in the USN are Commanders. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

When the RIB was traveling to the Italian Liner, it was hundreds of yards away (you could see 2 of the 3 funnels on the liner framed in the shot between people on the RIB).  Why didn't the Nathan James pull up closer initially -- you know, like within refueling distance ?  Was that just so they could have that lovely monologue by the good doctor on the way over ?

 

Fancy camera work in action or production laziness -- in the scene where Green and Foster are not so subtly holding hands along the ship's railing, the writing on Foster's cap is backwards.   Did no one in post-production notice that little glaring error ?  Because it seems like sloppy work. Like they flipped the camera frame left to right, and expected no one to notice.  

 

ETA: Did the Captain forget that they just had a funeral for Benz when he made his big speech at the end of the episode, as it's no longer 216 Navy personnel onboard -- it's 215.  At least they didn't call this show 'The 216'.

 

If the lab is in the hangar bay, where did the helicopter go ?  As it isn't on the landing pad in all the shots at the end of the episode.

 

ETA2:  At the end of the episode, the commander decides to bail on Mayport and orders "left full rudder, all engines ahead flank".  Why does he do this ? Is it key to the story ?  Nope, because Michael Bay thinks it looks really cool (I have to admit it kind of does).

Edited June 23, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Lonesome Rhodes]

So much stupidity.  

 

How did C-I-C know that the captain had been briefed by the scientist?  Worse, if she knew this ship was pretty much the last hope, why hadn't she contacted her earlier and told the captain to give the scientists whatever the hell they asked for and more????  If the ship were truly radio-silent, how on earth did the transmissions escape notice by her own electronics?   Of course the bad guys had the worst aim in history and the good guys get a kill with their first shot.  It's tens of degrees below zero and there was no discernible frost on railings or any weapon platforms.  GQ is a clangin' and nobody has gloves on and all have no issues attaching their weaponry and grasping their weaponry.  Not one frostbite report.  Just what was the captain gonna do for poor Frankie?  (Dude seemed to have excellent mission clarity and then goes all soft).  Captain has to physically go down to com room to receive messages????  What was the point of the family video?  WTF was up with the exec?  "Who are you, God?"  memo to exec - YES.  Just where is home to any of them?  How dense does that tool have to be?  Oh.  It's TV.  We need tension in the command structure.  They are desperate to make any com contact with anyone and the Russian spy is able to transmit and won't be noticed.

 

When will the radiation poisoning among the crew commence?

[as1990]

I loved it. Sure it was absolutely ridiculous but it wasn't annoyingly stupid (not yet anyways). Probably it helps that I know nothing of the military or the CDC.

 

I especially liked the stuff on the Italian liner. It was suspenseful - I kept expecting infected people to jump on them at every corner.

 

Not bad for a summer show.

[HalcyonDays]

I liked it actually. For a summer show it was decent and held my attention. Yes, some glaring flaws but what can you do. I'm not looking for perfection - just something that I can enjoy watching, and apocalypse type shows are good (if done well).

 

Is it wrong that when the Russians were attacking the scientists, that I was yelling for them to "Save the Dog!"

The last fuse part - I agree. On that ENTIRE ship, they only have ONE fuse. That is just so wrong. There is no way. Ships like that should have tons of spare parts. I did like the refueling from the Italian ship - to me realistic.

 

Speaking of the Italian ship - I swear those scenes were filmed on the Queen Mary. The interior shots for sure. Been there, it's a hotel/restaurants/museum now docked in Long Beach, CA.

 

And yes, lots of Canada Goose - because the coats are amazing. Even saw a Canadian flag in the background! Woohoo. Some of the production costs I think come from the British Columbia film board. They probably filmed some of it in Vancouver.

 

Overall, not bad and something to watch in the summer.

[shapeshifter]

Did the Captain forget that they just had a funeral for Benz when he made his big speech at the end of the episode, as it's no longer 216 Navy personnel onboard -- it's 215.  At least they didn't call this show 'The 216'.

Maybe it's a clue! The female half of the in-lust couple is pregnant!

Actually, I was mulling over what the anthropological implications would be if they wound up being the last living humans with a high male to female ratio when I fell asleep and must've missed the dog scene.

I'm willing to watch another episode, but I'm not going to rewatch this one to see what I missed.

At the end of the episode, the commander decides to bail on Mayport and orders "left full rudder, all engines ahead flank".  Why does he do this ? Is it key to the story ?  Nope, because Michael Bay thinks it looks really cool (I have to admit it kind of does).

I was awake for this part, and, yes, it did look cool, but I also thought it was a great way to tell the audience without words that plans have changed, that humans are going to have to go in a new direction in order to survive. Likely the military protocol will get revamped too.

Very disappointed that Adam Baldwin was no fun. Maybe next episode??

[Frost]

 

Is it wrong that when the Russians were attacking the scientists, that I was yelling for them to "Save the Dog!"

I hope it's not wrong, because I did it too!  I can even fan wave off the idea that the dog is either bionic and outraced the snowmobiles or has incredibly sticky paws and managed to hang on as the snowmobiles flew over various bumps in the snow, as long as the dog doesn't die.  I've never forgiven Will Smith for

his carelessness that led to his dog being infected and dying in

I Am Legend.  I can hold a grudge for a long time,

 

I thought that the scientists digging in the 'permafrost' with a trowel and magically finding the microbes they needed was about the most ridiculous thing in the episode.  Wouldn't they need to drill out cores?  Of course, that would mean more people in on the needlessly secret mission.  Honestly, does the US Navy think so little of its crews that they wouldn't trust them to complete their mission when the very fact that the pandemic was spreading so incredibly fast meant that success was critical?  I can see the crewmembers being devastated by their personal losses back home but discipline seemed to break down awfully quickly.  The XO's son may have died but his wife and daughters are still alive, doesn't he see the need to create the vaccine ASAP?

 

Anyway, mindless summer entertainment so I'm trying not to let the cliches and somewhat wooden acting from Eric Dane distract me from the fun.  Of course, now I feel like a jerk for calling a world wide pandemic 'fun'.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Frost

[Shermie]

I agree with most; there was a lot of mindless stupidity. I don't know anything about the navy or nukes or guns, so the nitpicks there went over my head. However, the ridiculously bad aim of the Russian killers was impossible to overlook. I don't expect 100% killshot, but 0%? Really? Ugh.

 

And this mission is to save the world so they have two whole scientists looking after it? On a navy ship where even the commanding officer doesn't know how important the mission is? 

 

And why do the Russians want to kill them anyway? Don't they want to save themselves from the plague?

 

And why were there no survivors on the cruise ship? The pandemic had an 80% fatality rate, which is high, but like most plagues, there are always some who survive (stronger). Statistically, there should have been a few uninfected survivors on the cruise ship.

 

I hate that these post-apocalyptic shows always have to be so gunsy-bombsy, but I have accepted that that is the American view of survival. To be honest, I would have preferred the show focus on or at least show what's going on in the rest of the world, but I realize that defeats the concept of the show. We'll see if I stick around - it's only 10 episodes, right?

[ottoDbusdriver]

And why were there no survivors on the cruise ship? The pandemic had an 80% fatality rate, which is high, but like most plagues, there are always some who survive (stronger). Statistically, there should have been a few uninfected survivors on the cruise ship.

 

Maybe the plague survivors on the cruise ship picked up Norwalk and that finished them off. </snark>

[walnutqueen]

As long as the pandemic only infects humans, I'm OK with it.  (Don't hurt the dog, don't hurt the dog!).  :-)

 

I've been burned by countless summer shows, so I have very low expectations, which have been  met.  So I guess that means I'm in ...

[derriere]

I quite enjoyed it despite some of the dodgy effects. It would be really original and refreshing to have a military themed show in which the CIA aren't the villains.

...or are they?! Dun-dun-duuuhn!

[bmoore4026]

Count me in on the boat (no pun intended) for hoping the dog didn't die.

 

Go ahead!  Nuke London and Paris, just don't hurt the puppy!

 

And what Eric Dane lacks in acting skill, he makes up for by being incredibly handsome.  I'll watch the show just for him alone.

[Bort]

Helix majorly lowered my expectations so I was happy with this. I find it somewhere on the spectrum between Helix and Last Resort.

[sunfleck]

 

I was mulling over what the anthropological implications would be if they wound up being the last living humans with a high male to female ratio

I thought the same thing. It appears they will have to repopulate the planet with only two females, and one of them appears to be a lesbian.

[Bort]

I thought the same thing. It appears they will have to repopulate the planet with only two females, and one of them appears to be a lesbian.

But wait, I saw at least one more female working on the bridge! And there's also Rhona Mitra. We have four!

[Watcher0363]

I thought the same thing. It appears they will have to repopulate the planet with only two females, and one of them appears to be a lesbian.

She would have to take more than one for the team.

[Chaos Theory]

Well, as expected from a Michael Bay production, it was not subtle, but I was engaged.

 

 

Subtle is not always a good thing plus this is summer so good old fashion hardcore action might be fun.    

 

Go ahead!  Nuke London and Paris, just don't hurt the puppy!

 

Ain't that always the way though?  Press that little red button and nuke the world.  Ok I can forgive you for that.  Kick a dog and you are mustache twisting evil.

 

The pandemic had an 80% fatality rate, which is high, but like most plagues, there are always some who survive (stronger). Statistically, there should have been a few uninfected survivors on the cruise ship.

 

 

Too much Soylent green?  Can't be good for you.    And all good tv plagues have at least an 80% fatality rate otherwise why care?  

[Rhetorica]

I read the book years ago. The action lived up to my imagination so I'm in for at least a few episodes. Nothing surprising so far. We have the usual suspects, Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, McCoy... even a Red Shirt. I know little of Naval technology so I'm looking forward to reading your comments. 

[Mars477]

I feel like, if you've cast Rhona Mitra in your military/action show where her character isn't a total badass, then you've kind of wasted her. I kept on expecting her to open up a can of surprise whoopass on those Russians. Like in Strike Back, where she was introduced as a Britsh Foreign Service staffer and I was like "yeah, pull the other one". True enough, by the end of the hour she's revealed to be an undercover SIS operative.

It's a damn shame, really.

And there's precedent for somebody holding the dual hats of "Microbiologist" and "Total Badass": Lt. Col Jon Smith of USAMRIID in "Robert Ludlum's" Covert One series.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Mars477

[Bort]

Yeah, I was kind of waiting for Rhona to break out the rocket launcher.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Not a great show, at least not yet, but in fairness, a couple of points raised above were addressed.

 

On why there weren't more resources for this project. The Dr. explained that hers was a longshot theory that not a lot of people supported. She barely got approval for the resources she did get. We can assume there were a lot of other efforts attacking the problem for other angles, and those all failed. 

 

On the probability of the Russians finding them from the sat phone. That was the Captain's theory, but then we see that there is in fact a Russian spy with communications abilities on the lab staff.

 

Other points.

 

I'm not a biologist, but I never understood the "primordial strain" stuff. It makes for exciting travel to exotic locales (the real point?) but my understanding is that vaccines (e.g. for flu) are based on the strains actually circulating.

 

Lots of "Go Navy!" I have the sense that the Bay's relationship with DoD PR folks is still solid. 

 

 

[hannah8976]

I feel like this should could be all "left full rudder!" "hard to port!" because they are trying to outrun Russians, pandemics, and radiation and I would probably still watch it just for the ship candy.  Ask me again in 3 episodes when I can no longer pretend you can make a vaccine in a makeshift field lab.  

[shapeshifter]

Helix majorly lowered my expectations so I was happy with this. I find it somewhere on the spectrum between Helix and Last Resort.

Or like Helix and Last Resort had a baby. I actually watched all of Helix. It was MST3000-type fun. But I only watched one episode of Last Resort. I'll give this one another chance because pilots are like that first pancake that you feed to the dog because the pan wasn't hot enough.

[Jack Kerouac]

I'm not a biologist, but I never understood the "primordial strain" stuff. It makes for exciting travel to exotic locales (the real point?) but my understanding is that vaccines (e.g. for flu) are based on the strains actually circulating.

 

You need both. Basically (VERY basically), you take the new version of the virus and compare it to the old one. That way, you can see what genes have changed and which ones have stayed the same and may be 'core' genes. You create your vaccine accordingly.

[Hanahope]

Not bad.  I too miss Adam Baldwin's snark.  I also wanted to drink everytime Rhona yelled out "my samples!!!"

 

Agreed that it didn't make sense that 'radio silence' meant they couldn't listen in as well, or that the Russians would fire on the scientists if they wanted the cure.

 

Thought Dane was pretty good in his role and the military personnel seemed a bit more realistic. 

 

Of course, someone has to be running and falling in the cruise ship for his helmet to fall off.  Did they think they'd be left behind or something?  Why run and take such a risk?  I totally expected them to find some civilian who wasn't infected (especially a child or young woman), if nothing else then for the drama. 

[Irishmaple]

The cruise ship really bothered me because I've convinced myself my immune system, hardened by years of working with young, hygiene-challenged children, will see me through any viral, bacterial and contaminant-to-be-named-later pandemic.  100% fatality rate, even within the confines of a cruise liner, was troubling.  My fanwank: it was a plague ship.  Italy, being a pragmatic nation, put their infected on a liner and sent them off in the hopes of curtailing the crisis in their country.  Plague apocalypse scenarios freak me out because they seem more likely than vampires, aliens or zombies so I need the delusion of my own indestructibility in order to watch this show!

 

I sat through the entire season of Last Resort too and, after a truly excellent pilot, that went downhill quickly and was a huge disappointment to me.  Helix, which I also watched, was what it was and didn't disappoint so much as thoroughly bemuse me.  I have no idea which way this one's going but I'll stick around to find out.

[iMonrey]

 

How did C-I-C know that the captain had been briefed by the scientist?

 

This was the most glaring error I saw. Nobody on board, except the two researchers, even knew what this mission was about, and Capt. Chandler basically had to force Dr. Scott to tell him what was going on. The next instant, the XO walks in and says the President is on video conference and the President just flat out asks Chandler if Scott has the cure, as if he's known all along what they were doing out there for four months. If the government went to such elaborate lengths to hide the real mission of this ship, even from the captain and his crew, the President had no reason to assume anyone had found out. This seemed like some weird brain fart on the part of the writer, after "revealing" the truth to one character, assuming all the other characters have found out as well. Either that or there was something edited out.

 

Overall I thought it was just OK and I agree it's like a cross between Last Resort and Helix. Which doesn't bode well. Not that both of those shows didn't have solid premises, but they both went downhill very quickly and I can see that potential here too.

 

There's also the possibility that if ratings are good, TNT is going to want a second season, which means they're going to have to switch gears at some point and go off the source material to drag this story out indefinitely. That's always a danger when you try to base a TV series on a book (see Under the Dome for one of the worst examples).

[renard]

I think my favorite character is the Master Chief, simply because he's played by a guy I've seen in a few commercials (I think it was Sprint or one of the phone ones), and it always fun when a commercial actor gets a sizable role on a show.

 

He was Derrick#2 from All My Children before the commercials.

 

ETA: I knew I forgot something: "That was June and they're the Cubs." HILARIOUS!!!

Edited June 29, 2014 by renard

[Lnmop]

Timeframe -- Nathan James left port in June, so with 4 months at sea that would make it sometime in October. Why aren't there more ice floes in the water (since air temps are -50 degrees) ?

Global warming?

[Shannon L.]

Well, this wasn't as gripping as I'd hoped, but I'm willing to watch a few more episodes.  Too many times over the years, I've given up on shows after two episodes thinking they'd never last only to have them go on for years.  I have a feeling this won't be one, though, but who knows. 

 

In regards to Adam Baldwin's character, by the end of the show, my first though was "How long before he turns on the captain and starts a mutiny?"

[Tippi Blevins]

Everyone's running around the Italian ship grabbing food and I'm yelling, "Grab tampons and TP!"

 

Also, every time someone says "Doctor Scott!" I think of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Edited June 30, 2014 by Tippi Blevins

[catray]

I'm in for at least a few episodes-- if I sat through Helix, I can definitely sit through this. Eric Dane is easy on the eyes and no one seems terminally stupid (yet). We'll how the next few episodes go, but so far it seems mostly enjoyable without causing me to want to bang my head into the wall.

[BusyOctober]

Adding to the list of incredulous and/or sloppy mistakes:

* Male science guy's evil intentions telegraphed in his first close up "See, I'm smiling! I'm smiling like a snake closing in on a nest of baby birds, but you can totally trust me!"

* The pretty lady scientist is out in the 10's below-zero freezing arctic air, squatting on permafrost with her parka hood barely on her her head and no face protection. But the Navy guys on snowmobiles had better weather protection

* Of course the first casualty is an African American male

* Setting aside the probability of two scientists being able to create a vaccine on an under-supplied ship, and one of the scientists is apparently Boris Badanov, how much vaccine can be produced in those conditions?

* The Captain's family video broke the last tenuous thread of credibility

 

But, with all its egregious goofs, The Last Ship is still more snarkily "believable" than Under the Dome.

[RandomNavyGuy]

As an active duty Navy guy on an Arleigh Burke class destroyer I noted a couple things and have some answers to questions above.

 

First,

 

 

I do not believe that they are missile hits. I think the CIWS got to the missiles before they hit and therefore they exploded rather close to the ship but still in a safe distance.

 

Except the first salvo came towards the front of the ship and newer DDGs are lacking a forward CIWS mount.

 

Next,

 

 

However, what is with the Captain and his cover? He often be around, even outdoors, uncovered while everybody else in uniform is covered. That made me cringed several times when he returned salutes uncovered. A big no-no for the Navy, I believe.

 

Covers are optional for all hands while underway. Additionally, we generally do not salute underway except for special circumstances i.e. award ceremonies and formal events. As for the captain saluting without his cover... the CO does what he wants, I've seen it done before.

 

 

Seriously, fraternizing between two officers (Kara Foster and Danny Green).  While on duty. Before anyone was aware of world-ending pandemic.  WTF ?

This happens. Honestly, a lot more often then you'd think. Some ships ban relationships period others just say keep it off the ship and on your own time but this definitely doesn't stop everyone.

 

The radar doesn't pick up on the incoming helos until they are 24 nautical miles out -- that's some pretty shitty radar they have there (then again, maybe they were behind the mountains).  With all the fancy battlespace radars on modern warships, they should have seen them at least 100 nm out.

The problem is curvature of the earth and how far above the deck their flying at. They quite literally can fly below the view able plane. On how far we would see them, I can't say but still at 24 nm and traveling at 150 it would be nearly 10 minutes before they got to the ship which is forever in a combat situation.

 

 

If the ship were truly radio-silent, how on earth did the transmissions escape notice by her own electronics?

 

They wouldn't. Enough said.

On that ENTIRE ship, they only have ONE fuse.

There's a laundry list wrong with this scene but if things where to blow like that, they were probably down to the last one after the dozens they already replaced from the cascade faults. I do have to say though, electrical safety gloves?

 

The biggest flaw that nobody has really mentioned yet though is how the hell they stayed out for four months without an unrep(underway replenishment) for fuel and food. The ships sustainability without outside support is nowhere near that long. At the very least the unrep ship would've given them the scoop on what was happening.

 

Anyway, upsides, it does have some cool Navy footage that's exciting to watch. I'll give the show a few episodes and see how it goes.

[ramble]

@RandomNavyGuy thanks for filling in some facts! I don't really expect this show to be accurate, but it's interesting to hear what's on point & what's not.

[Raja]

I put the food question up on another board. it was suggested that Nathan James had loaded out like a submarine would. But nobody could fan wave the fuel issues. Especially in she was maneuvering for the cover story weapons testing.