The Last Ship - Discussion Thread (spoilers possible)

Something I've been wondering, Chandler and Slattery both have the same rank (they're both full Commanders). Is this common, in the US Navy? Or even any navy? Maybe this is a Trekkie's preconception here, but it does seem odd that both captain and XO hold the same rank. But then, I suppose it isn't all that different from aircraft carriers which I understand can have something like three officers ranked Captain besides the CO.

 

Rank inflation has been going on for some time so both the Captain and the XO who is in line to get a ship are often of the same rank. I too have read many Mil SF novels with the "there can only be one Captain" so Marines become Major's for the mission. But then USN Aircraft carriers started having the CO, the XO, the CAG, the Chief Engineer and maybe someone on the Admiral's staff all being Captain rank. Not to mention the lower ranked US Marine "Captains".

 

Yes, it's standard procedure for an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer to have full commanders as both CO and XO. In real life, the lead ship USS Arleigh Burke is currently commanded by Commander Camille Flaherty, with Commander Thomas Myers as her XO.

See here:

http://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/ddg51/Pages/Bio1.aspx

http://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/ddg51/Pages/Bio2.aspx

(Reality seems to have more diversity than the TV show though, seeing that the CO of the Burke is a woman and the XO is a black guy...)

 

This week's episode was pretty good. We got the plot advancing with Dr. Scott's assistant being exposed as a mole, which I'm glad has happened since last week he was acting a bit too obvious so it would have stretched things if he continued duping the crew. The episode also had a lot of great and intense moments, which even though I knew how they would likely turn out, still made for some exciting television. I got to admit, I'm digging this show more and more as each episode goes by.

The Russians were rather stereotypical and clichéd "Evil Russians." They smoke and drink on duty and the Admiral just casually murders one of his officers just because he can. Yeah, I get it, they're the bad guys, and this is how bad guys act. However, it is implied the Admiral anyway was a decent person at one time, Chandler owns a book written by him and even comments the Admiral has changed from when he wrote the book. True, it's a new world, and the Admiral is adapting to survive in it, but it would have been nice f we could see some hint as to the noble officer he supposedly was.

Also very clichéd the relationship between the SEAL and that bridge officer. It's ticking every military relationship trope. They try to keep their relationship a secret due to that sort of thing being frowned upon. But when one is assigned a dangerous mission, the other insists on going which in the end actually endangers the mission. And now they've broken up for the greater good. I guess there is some unwritten rule that says everything needs a romantic subplot these days, but it is my least favourite part of this show.

 

Well, the Chief Engineer, according to Trek norms, has to be of an identifiable ethnicity, preferably with an accent.

 

Holy shit, I've never realized that before! And the funny thing is, in the Trek series I fantasize about creating, I've entirely unintentionally made the chief engineer an ethnicity, though not with an accent.

I made him a Romulan, in case you're wondering. I assume that counts as an ethnicity if you're counting B'Ellanna.

 

So a Caucasian American isn't an identifiable ethnicity with an accent?

 

I do believe Commander Tucker was a Southern boy with a regional accent. Not the American network newscaster standard accent.

Opps are we talking about the Nathan James' engineer?

 

I think the show has been fairly engaging thus far even with the overused tropes.

However, at this rate they are going to run out of SEALs before mid season!!!

I agree that the romantic subplot hasn't really brought anything to the table story wise but . . . maybe they are setting something up in the future? The couple also seems to lack a lot of on-screen chemistry.

 

Pfft, it exists because girls can't be bothered to watch shows without some kind of romantic drama on it. Everybody knows that.

 

Except for Sam Fuller and maybe a few others all of the war movies of the 1940s and 50s had an obligatory flashback to shore leave that just cut the action for no other reason then to have a woman in the cast. By the late 1970s the soldiers would visit a prostitute to show how far we have come. Now with females integrated into the force we are back to the obligatory love scene.

Given the mission, 4 months in the arctic you would expect more of a Lieutenants Scott and James knocking boots in a closet like on Stargate Universe rather than the true love we will endanger the ship and the survival of humanity itself because of love that The Last Ship just gave us.

 

Oh, I agree, it is an engaging show and that makes the tropes tolerable. My main problem with the Evil Russians is that they feel like they've been transplanted from the Cold War into modern day. I'm half expecting a political officer to show up and get into arguments with the Admiral.

Something else I noticed, we're three episodes in and we still haven't found out what happened to the Russian guy captured in the pilot. Granted, he's probably not much use to the crew if he is alive, he's likely not talking and the Admiral probably already considers him a casualty. It would be nice if they said something about him anyway, even if it is just a throwaway line.

 

"wonder if that iceberg we left the ruskie on has melted yet?"

 

^ "The skipper of the Nathan James doesn't care about Russian people."


Good ep, but I was a bit confused as to how they got the LTs back. Did they swim all the way to shore? Were they met by other SEALS with those water-propulsion gizmos halfway? Those Russkies must have been really lax if they couldn't even launch a craft to hunt down and finish off two swimmers...

 

Yeah, I remember that. It was like the Captain said something like "Let's get our people." and then . . . . WHOOSH!!! . . . They were back. I'm sure the seal could swim for miles but that might be a bit much to hope for your random everyday sailor. And how long are they waiting around on the LTs? Can they risk a helicopter extraction? I assume they will have to stay blind (no active electronics) that close to the cruiser or risk being spotted right?

 

They hand-waved it away by saying they "sent a boat" to pick them up. One that, apparently, is super stealthy and travels at warp speeds.

 

Hey, this got me thinking, where is the Nathan James's helicopter kept? Dr. Scott has taken over the helicopter bay as her lab, and we don't see it sitting on the pad all the time. Is it always in flight (what a waste of fuel) or does the Nathan James have another helicopter bay?

 

The Nathan James has 2 helicopter bays. One to port and one to starboard.

 

Meh, minor plot hole IMO in what generally speaking is a damn good show for a summertime release.

Or would you rather be watching Under the Dome or Falling Skies?

 

Except for the scene where the Captain held the fuse in the first episode, I like that the Captain actually lets his specialists do their jobs. There were three instances in this last episode where if this were Star Trek, the captain would have jumped in and saved the day, but Chandler was seen standing back watching his crew work:
1. The seal leader was running the op. In Trek, Sisko would have done it.
2. When Dr. Whats-his-name was trying to kidnap Dr. Whats-her-name, and was in a standoff in the mess hall, the Captain let his security team take him down. In Trek Kirk would have punched him while Spock went in for the nerve pinch, and security would have shown up 6 seconds later.
3. When they were navigating through the canal, the bridge crew was working hard to keep on course while the Captain stood back and let them do their thing. In Star Trek, Picard once took the helm to get them out of a booby trap because he's the Captain.