The Last Ship - Discussion Thread (spoilers possible)

[Gaith]

Starbrow, your nits are valid, and also almost entirely beside the point. Like it or not, this is a contemporary men's adventure pulp series, not much different from stories you'd find in these sorts of magazines back in the '60s:

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... Such are the terms. Watch and enjoy, don't watch or enjoy, it's entirely up to you.

 

[The Wormhole]

So the captain speaks Russian? Convenient!

He spoke Russian in the pilot episode and in the third episode we find out he has the Russian edition of the book written by the Russian Admiral.

I think the US Navy routinely post short biographies of the CO, XO and Command Master Chief on their ships websites.

Indeed, someone earlier in this thread even provided a link to the site for the actual USS Arleigh Burke, which does provide such info. So theoretically, the Admiral would just have to Google the Nathan James and get a general bio on Chandler, Slattery and CMC Jeter. Granted, in a plague-ridden world where most of the major governments have collapsed it's unlikely the Russians have a reliable internet connection on their ship.

Starbrow, your nits are valid, and also almost entirely beside the point. Like it or not, this is a contemporary men's adventure pulp series, not much different from stories you'd find in these sorts of magazines back in the '60s:

​

​

... Such are the terms. Watch and enjoy, don't watch or enjoy, it's entirely up to you.

I and some friends of mine have been comparing the show 80s action movies, but that's a good comparison too.

 

[Star Wolf]

I think the US Navy routinely post short biographies of the CO, XO and Command Master Chief on their ships websites.

Indeed, someone earlier in this thread even provided a link to the site for the actual USS Arleigh Burke, which does provide such info. So theoretically, the Admiral would just have to Google the Nathan James and get a general bio on Chandler, Slattery and CMC Jeter. Granted, in a plague-ridden world where most of the major governments have collapsed it's unlikely the Russians have a reliable internet connection on their ship.

Remember the Russians put a spy onboard before US Navy ship captains knew of the danger of the epidemic. Presumably the internet was still reliable as the mission was planned and the official bio would have been the starting point on the briefing papers needed as they planned the mission of snatching Dr. Scott.

 

[Admiral2]

Starbrow, your nits are valid, and also almost entirely beside the point. Like it or not, this is a contemporary men's adventure pulp series, not much different from stories you'd find in these sorts of magazines back in the '60s:

... Such are the terms. Watch and enjoy, don't watch or enjoy, it's entirely up to you.

Any chance you know where these stories have been reprinted? That one with the Nazi babe sub looks ridiculously entertaining.

 

[KGator]

So the captain speaks Russian? Convenient!

Wow, talk about black and white. all the Russians are super evil and all the Americans are super good. Talk about dichotomies, give you characters some character and not this bland cookie cutter nonsense.

. . . . . . .

We are the good guys, WE ARE INVINCIBLE! Except for the sailor we are going to kill off to create a somber mood!

What's the kill ratio now? Like 1000000000 to 1? The American's never miss and the Russians ALWAYS miss. Just full out attack, no one has yet to hit anyone on this show with anything more than a glancing blow and one guy who was shot but kept on fighting until they where on their way. who gets shot and doesn't immediately tell their friends and crew mates?

Some of these are valid plotholes but most are just "That behavior is ridiculous, that's not what I would do!!!" and some are "They are sooooo lucky, the odds of that happening are so slim." Which is purely subjective.

You do realize that you are looking for a high level of accuracy on a show being discussed on a "STAR TREK" message board right? Are you sure you are on the right site? You seem like you could spend the rest of your natural adult life just pointing out the errors and incongruencies in the Star Trek Episode Review sections of this board.

 

[Gaith]

Any chance you know where these stories have been reprinted? That one with the Nazi babe sub looks ridiculously entertaining.

'Fraid not, it's just random stuff I found on the Google.

 

[The Wormhole]

We need more entertainment like that these days. Some guys using a German U-Boat to pick up chicks and go on an adventure is exactly what the entertainment industry is missing.

 

[Noname Given]

We need more entertainment like that these days. Some guys using a German U-Boat to pick up chicks and go on an adventure is exactly what the entertainment industry is missing.

Been there, done that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Petticoat
(They also did a TV series based on the 1959 film in 1977.)

 

[Admiral2]

We need more entertainment like that these days. Some guys using a German U-Boat to pick up chicks and go on an adventure is exactly what the entertainment industry is missing.

Been there, done that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Petticoat
(They also did a TV series based on the 1959 film in 1977.)

I loved that movie! Especially Lt. Crandall!

But it's not quite the same. That one is an
American boat... painted pink.

Meanwhile, that was a good episode, and now we can add House, MD to the list of ripped off stuff. Crazy treatment experiment fails and the doc gets an insight and finds the cure.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well, this week we get a budget-saving character piece sandwiched in between two massive action shows (which I'm assuming next week's will be, it being the finale). It's not a bad episode, certainly held my attention and we did get some more of the crew a bit fleshed out. The problem is it's one of those episodes where as soon as you know the premise you can predict exactly how it's going to play out. So Dr. Scott is testing her vaccine and needs volunteers from the crew. Right away I knew the episode would present the situation as touch and go, with things looking real bleak and one of the volunteers would die but by the end there would be a miraculous turn around and we'd have a happy ending.

We find out Lt. Foster is pregnant, which I wasn't expecting but really the revelation was hardly a surprise since I think her and Greene are the only ones on the Nathan James who have had sex since the ship set sail.

The story with Chandler's family back in the US was kind of interesting, and part of me kind of wishes they had developed that over the course of the season, kind of like what they did with Helo stuck on Caprica back in BSG's first season.

So the Russians are defeated and now the plague is cured. Sure they still have to distribute the cure, but I'm kind of wondering what direction they'll be taking the show in in it's second season.

 

[sojourner]

Let's do the Trek count:

1. Technobabble with relatible to audience example (trojan horse).
2. Chief Engineer relaxing by reading reports/manuals
3. Captain personally administering cure.
4. redshirt death


Anyone got anymore?

 

[Vendikarr]

So the big ending will be the Captain returning to Norfolk, and trying to retrieve his family. Finding resistance among the locals, and dealing with a crew who wants to take off and find their own families.

The question will be, does he get there in time to save his wife and father, or will they die and leave him to take care of his kids on his own aboard the Nathen James? For a sense of tragedy, i think the wife is a goner. He will either take the kids with him, or his father will survive and he will leave them so he can secure the world.

 

[Admiral2]

Let's do the Trek count:

1. Technobabble with relatible to audience example (trojan horse).
2. Chief Engineer relaxing by reading reports/manuals
3. Captain personally administering cure.
4. redshirt death


Anyone got anymore?

Nope. I think you pretty much got it covered.

For a sense of tragedy, i think the wife is a goner. He will either take the kids with him, or his father will survive and he will leave them so he can secure the world.

I won't bet against this.

The story with Chandler's family back in the US was kind of interesting, and part of me kind of wishes they had developed that over the course of the season, kind of like what they did with Helo stuck on Caprica back in BSG's first season.

The difference is that Helo was a member of Galactica's crew, so telling his story was part of telling the whole crew's story. In this case, the story of The Captain's Family only equates to a side story. Following the crew is more important.

 

[Scout101]

I get that we had to care about the people in the test, and adding the Master Chief represents leadership and whatnot, but other than us knowing the face, why was the Chief Engineer in the test? On the list of people they can't afford to lose if it goes badly, she's right up there, so dumb call. Little too heavy on officers in the test when the ship should be 90% enlisted crew anyway, so pick more volunteers from there...

 

[The Wormhole]

The story with Chandler's family back in the US was kind of interesting, and part of me kind of wishes they had developed that over the course of the season, kind of like what they did with Helo stuck on Caprica back in BSG's first season.

The difference is that Helo was a member of Galactica's crew, so telling his story was part of telling the whole crew's story. In this case, the story of The Captain's Family only equates to a side story. Following the crew is more important.

Oh, I know, that's why I said "part of me kind of wishes." It would have made an interesting side story, seeing life in the US developing over the course of the season, but I realize the focus is on the Nathan James and its crew and such a subplot would have eaten valuable storytelling time from the focus of the series. And if given the choice, I would have kept things exactly as they are.

I get that we had to care about the people in the test, and adding the Master Chief represents leadership and whatnot, but other than us knowing the face, why was the Chief Engineer in the test? On the list of people they can't afford to lose if it goes badly, she's right up there, so dumb call. Little too heavy on officers in the test when the ship should be 90% enlisted crew anyway, so pick more volunteers from there...

Well, as I recall, there was also a certain criteria the ones being tested had to meet to qualify for the tests, so likely the Chief Engineer was the only volunteer who met the criteria Dr. Scott was looking for. In fact, the Chief Engineer was the oldest female being tested, and I think she's the oldest female we've seen on the crew of the Nathan James. Master Chief was chosen because of his age and gender, maybe she was as well?

 

[sojourner]

The Doc secretly hates ginger hair. She's trying to kill them off but being subtle about it.

 

[TheFlutteringHorde]

I get that we had to care about the people in the test, and adding the Master Chief represents leadership and whatnot, but other than us knowing the face, why was the Chief Engineer in the test? On the list of people they can't afford to lose if it goes badly, she's right up there, so dumb call. Little too heavy on officers in the test when the ship should be 90% enlisted crew anyway, so pick more volunteers from there...

I think she was more there, along with the other recurring kid to add a greater sense of danger. We could all probably guess that Tex, Foster, and the Chief were going to make it in one fashion or another, but the recurring/secondary character's are a bit more of a toss up. Still wasn't shocked that the only one that ended up dying was the one who appeared in what? One other episode? And gave a nice long tragic back story infodump in this episode.

So yeah nothing really unexpected, but it wasn't half bad.

 

[The Wormhole]

I was kind of expecting the Master Chief to be the one that got killed mainly because that conversation between him, Chandler and Slattery after the funeral kind of felt like one of those spotlight moments you get in an episode where a prominent character gets killed. But, clearly I was wrong.

 

[TheFlutteringHorde]

I was kind of expecting the Master Chief to be the one that got killed mainly because that conversation between him, Chandler and Slattery after the funeral kind of felt like one of those spotlight moments you get in an episode where a prominent character gets killed. But, clearly I was wrong.

I didn't really think any of the main's were going to die, but In the situation presented by the episode I'd probably pick him as most likely to. Charles Parnell is awesome though so I'm really glad they didn't throw in a curve ball like that

 

[Aragorn]

If you really want to keep score, the characters in the main cast credits are:

Commander Tom Chandler
Dr. Rachel Scott
XO Mike Slattery
CMC Hugh Jeter
Quincy Tophet
Danny Green
Kara Foster
Alisha Granderson

Although if you go by the TNT website, Dane, Mitra and Baldwin are the only cast members.