The Last Ship - Phase Six - Review: "The Good and the Bad"

I am not one of those people who refuses to watch a series because a certain director or producer is behind it. And I am not one of those people who hates Michael Bay. The Hollywood director/producer is known for high-budget action films with a lot of special effects – and he’s criticized for his surface-level plots and lack of character development. But I must admit, I enjoyed his “Transformers” movies. And I liked “Armageddon.” If the plot makes sense, action films are fun. And what’s wrong with that? Nothing, in my book. Not all films or TV series have to fit the same mold. People can enjoy critical, analytical dramatic pieces and still have fun watching good, old-fashioned “blow ‘em up” action. We are diverse in our tastes as an audience and that means there is room for many different types of dishes at the table.

Having said all that, my main critiques of the pilot episode of “The Last Ship” were indeed the lack of character development and the fact they simply tried to do too much. I liked the action, but they needed to offset it with slower character moments.

Part of the reason I anticipated the series so much was because it looked exciting. The action, the drama, the tension drew me in. But it ended up being a downfall as well. The action was at a high through almost the entire episode, a 10 on a scale of one to 10. In reality, a series needs to have ups and downs in order to make those highs more emphatic and believable. But “The Last Ship” sped from one action scene to another throughout the entire episode, and it was too much. It gave the pacing and tone a frenzied feel, leaving no balance and no down time to explore the characters.

In essence, the human element was overlooked. There was no real reason to care or connect to the characters. They lacked vulnerability and emotion, even though they were in a tough situation where they could have shown fear. On a real ship, it would be nice to have a lack of fear, but in a TV series you need this emotion to make you care about what is happening. Even the sailors’ fears for their families didn’t play into the episode much. With the exception of the touching video the captain saw of his family, these types of emotions weren’t really explored. And when they were, they felt superficial. For example, when Slattery says he got a hold of his family and learned his son had died, the scene felt hollow. I saw no emotion in a father’s eyes. I felt like the writers were telling me what to feel instead of showing me and making me feel it. And that happened numerous times throughout the episode. I needed to see the reasons that drove these characters. Without it, they fell flat.

The captain was developed the most, but I found a lot of his scenes corny. Unfortunately Eric Dane didn’t infuse as much life into the character as I would have liked, which surprised me because I enjoyed his performance so much in “Grey’s Anatomy.” But here the majority of his scenes were bland and lacked feeling. I could see that the captain was decisive, heroic and cared about his crew but unfortunately most of the time his authoritative demeanor came across as boring. While he did display concern and a little humor, it was mostly overshadowed by his emotionless commanding presence. I felt he was a great leader, but I wondered if he was a little too perfect to make an interesting lead. I definitely think we need to see some vulnerability in him. He needs to be authoritative, but he also needs to have some kind of humanity to him.

The characters of Slattery and Dr. Scott were also not developed well. Slattery was a nice second-in-command who sometimes challenged his captain but he wasn’t given much to do. Scott was a dedicated professional who wants to see the virus eradicated and won’t give up. Though you could feel her passion, the character itself was kind of one-dimensional. She had no flaws. And the scene that should have been Rhona Mitra’s most powerful didn’t deliver the necessary punch.

The scene I’m talking about is the one where she tells the captain the truth about the virus and what she has been doing on the ship. Mitra told us in an interview it was one of the most important scenes of the series and I can see why. This was the scene that conveyed how dire the world’s situation had become. And the fact that she knew about it and the captain didn’t created some interesting tension between them. But the scene missed the mark for me because of all the angry undertones. Chandler was understandably irritated and resentful over being misled. But in reacting to that attitude, Scott’s words came off as spiteful and rude instead of what would have been more effective: simply pleading with him to understand the importance of why she did what she did. Because both of the characters seemed more mad than distraught about the situation, the scene lost some of its effectiveness because it buried some of that desperate sense of urgency about the virus and the importance of Scott’s job.

The character I actually liked best was Lt. Danny Green, the blonde who is secretly dating one of the female sailors. He showed the most vulnerability. You saw different aspects of his temperament and what he was going through. While others are simply plowing ahead to accomplish what has to be done, you see him struggling with what he has lost after his friend dies. I saw him as the type of man who moves forward confidently with nothing to lose. But when he actually does lose something, he is shaken and struggles to come to terms with what happened. (I also liked having some potential for romance on the ship.)

The scene where his friend shoots himself was the most dramatic scene of the episode. After he falls down the stairs, loses his helmet and realizes he has been infected by a corpse’s blood, the young man is frantic. Green wants to take him back on the ship and quarantine him. But the man knows they can’t risk it – their mission comes first. So he gets out his gun, saying he is not interested in dying like the other victims. And you know exactly what he’s going to do. The captain, who has arrived on the scene with Scott, begins yelling at him, ordering him to put the gun down. But he shoots himself, anyway. This was an intense scene as the crew painfully experiences their first casualty of the virus. It was also a moment that made you care about the mission.

Another scene I liked was the disagreement between the captain and Slattery about whether they should go home or not. The friction between them was a nice touch. It showed the importance of the decision that affected so many people. You could understand the argument from both sides. You could see where Slattery was coming from, wanting everyone to get home to their families. But you could also see how the captain felt he was protecting everyone on board. The drama between the two in the scene unfolded nicely. And the dialogue was realistic as Slattery yelled that the captain didn’t get to play God. But it was still the captain’s ship and he was in charge. As Adam Baldwin told us, he enjoyed playing a character who can disagree with someone but still respect his decisions.

As for the final scene, the surprise at the end of the episode was a great twist. Scott’s partner, Quincy, was loyal throughout the entire show so you had no reason to suspect him of anything. But suddenly he is on the phone speaking Russian, saying the ship is not stopping in America and he doesn’t know what to do. It seems Quincy is a traitor, a Russian plant. It made me recall the line on some of the show’s promotional material: “The virus isn’t the only enemy.” I loved the twist. It made me excited to see what happens next week.

Overall, I didn’t have a problem with the plot. It left a lot of room with which to maneuver in the future. And the pilot showcased a lot of resources: helicopters, snowmobiles and the amazing Navy destroyer. The scene where the Russians attacked Dr. Scott while she was out in the snow was exciting. The explosions were great and the special effects fun to watch. The scene was a showcase of all the imposing military equipment the Navy – and this series – gets to use. And the ship itself was one of my favorite “characters,” if you will. Not only did I love seeing that commanding vessel in the water, I loved the shots of the crew gathering in formation on the back or front of the ship. Sometimes the shot started on the individuals and then panned out wide, showing their small size in the midst of the large ocean. Other times the view went the other way, starting with the expansive ocean and then focusing on the individuals on the ship. In many ways, that perspective mimicked their job: they might seem small and insignificant to the world, but their mission held global consequences that made each of them important.

In general, I thought the acting and writing left a lot to be desired. Many scenes came across as cheesy. But these are normally good actors so I think the show still has potential. If they can temper the exciting action with more character development, it could be a fun show yet. After all, the show feels “big.” Visually, the quality of filming mimics a movie. The action and excitement could mirror a summer blockbuster if they can just improve the rest of the formula.

Other thoughts:

- I had to laugh when one of the girls actually said “Boom” as they finished their missile testing in the Arctic. TNT is really driving home their new tagline at all costs.

- Where did all the Navy officers come from when the Russians attacked Dr. Scott? There were only two watching her originally and suddenly they were everywhere.

- It was weird to me that the President of the United States was trusting Capt. Chandler with everything when he had literally just learned about the mission minutes ago. I also couldn’t figure out why the captain hadn’t been trusted with the real operation. It seems it would have been more effective – and safer – if he had known the truth from the beginning.

- I expect to see more in the future about how the virus got started and grew so quickly. Dr. Scott told the captain the virus gained an extra gene, which could only have happened with human intervention. But she didn’t know if it was purposely weaponized. Leaving that question open-ended gives the series a chance to address it later.

- It was interesting to see the funeral scene intermingled with shots of the work going on in the lab. Although it detracted from the emotion of the funeral, it counterbalanced the loss of life with the search for hope and healing.

- The captain’s speech to his crew at the end was both nice and cheesy, melodramatic and patriotic. After the speech, I enjoyed seeing those on deck silently staring at him. At first you didn’t know how they were going to take it. But it was a nice moment when they chose to show their respect.

Cheesy lines:

-“What did he say?” “The cure! He wants the cure.”
-“What’s in that case might be the only hope that we have.”
-“We have no allies, we have no enemies, just a world of sick, desperate people.”
-“God help us.”
-“Bad ass, captain. Bad ass.”
-“Now our duty is to the entire world. On board this ship is the hope – for our futures, for our families, and for all humanity.”


What did you think of "The Last Ship?" Are you looking forward to more? Tell us your favorite part of the pilot episode or your critiques in the comments below.

About the Author - Tonya Papanikolas

Tonya Papanikolas is a freelance journalist who loves covering entertainment and television. She spent more than 10 years as a broadcast news anchor and reporter. Now she does everything from hosting to writing. She especially loves writing TV articles and reviews for SpoilerTV.