Article originally published as THE LAST SHIP Review on Seat42F.
TNT’s new summer ‘blockbuster’-style series is THE LAST SHIP, which premiered last night. In the pilot, “Phase Six,” the USS Nathan James,
an advanced naval destroyer, is sent up to the Artic on a very
secretive four-month mission. Unfortunately, at the conclusion of their
tenure, they find a world racked with plague, most of the population
dead or dying. Untouched thus far, and with a scientist on board who
might be able to make a cure, the captain decides to remain isolated
while they try to save the world.
The beginning of THE LAST SHIP is
extremely obtuse. It’s a full third of the way through the initial hour
before anything that is going on is revealed. This is frustrating to the
captain, Tom Chandler (Eric Dane, Grey’s Anatomy, Marley & Me), but
it’s equally frustrating to the viewer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad
“Phase Six” doesn’t follow a cookie cutter set up with predictable
turns, but it’s also annoying when it seems like the earlier scenes
don’t mean a lot, not even really introducing the characters much, just
giving us unimportant elements that don’t fit together yet.
Once the action starts, though, THE LAST
SHIP gets pretty good. The situation is certainly compelling, a bastion
of hope in a dying world, a team of noble heroes doing their best
against impossible odds. The ship itself is well-designed and visually
impressive, and the action scenes are exciting, even if the Nathan James
doesn’t seem to show damage afterwards. It’s absolutely a popcorn
series, but it succeeds in telling a large-scale structure with high
stakes.
The cast is well-stocked. Dane is
terrific as the reluctant commander, angry at the position he’s placed
in, but accepting of his fate and determined to do his duty. Adam
Baldwin (Chuck, Firefly) makes a solid XO, Mike Slattery, whom will be
at odds with Chandler, even as the two men understand one another. Rhona
Mitra (Boston Legal, Strike Back) plays tough scientist Rachel Scott,
who is protective of her work, and much more concerned about the greater
good than any individual or crew of individuals. This central trio is
one that could find their dynamics shifting, and will be a good group of
headliners.
They are joined by a capable, if lesser
known, batch of supporting players including Travis Van Winkle (Hart of
Dixie), Marissa Neitling (Leverage), Charles Parnell (All My Children),
Christina Elmore, and Jocko Sims (Crash). These people basically provide
fodder to kill off and soapy stuff to keep the drama going in between
battles at sea and helicopter chases. They do that in a serviceable
fashion, though none stand out as being vital to the project at this
juncture.
THE LAST SHIP, like the types of films
it emulates, is drama-light. It’s good at getting the adrenaline
coursing and making the audience feel tense, but won’t be something that
can really be emotionally invested in, nor will the characters be the
stuff that Emmys are won on. While most post-apocalyptic TV fare go the
deeper route, there’s nothing wrong with being more flashy every once in
awhile, and THE LAST SHIP seems to fit into what many people crave in
the summer months, and so should fill a gap that not much else on
television is currently filling.
For this reason, despite its weaknesses,
I like THE LAST SHIP. It’s got the bones of a superior project, but is
different enough from its peers to drown in comparisons. It definitely
has a budget worthy of what it is trying to achieve, by TV standards,
and while a few plot holes and far-too-easy coincidences pop out, it
isn’t riddled with them so much that it becomes distracting, and some
are necessary just to get the series going in the way it’s built, not
likely to repeat later. I found it mostly an enjoyable, entertaining
experience, once it got going.
THE LAST SHIP airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
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