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The Last Ship (TNT- Spoilers)

Don't panic

Don't panic

macrumors 603
Jan 30, 2004
5,541
697
having a drink at Milliways
Plutonius said:
I agree but the way they are handling the virus is pretty weak. They could take a page from "The Walking Dead" and put in more terror and suspense.
Click to expand...

agree, although they way it is set up, the virus itself doesn't confer aggressive behavior, so the terror/suspense part of the infected would be only because their are angry/pissed at people who are still healthy.
i think them being desperate/resigned would be a reasonable portrait in the aftermath of the epidemic (before there were riots, IIRC), when all hope has pretty much vanished.

one aspect that they have not addressed very much is why there would be still so many survivors who are sick. the course of the disease is depicted as being very quick, with nobody surviving once infected. so where did the people in the jungle come from? where they just recently reached by the disease? rest of the el toro storyline seems to point for the two camps to be there for quite some time.
but again i fall back into over-analyzing the science parts, which actually make very little sense in general.

i just watch it more as a character driven show, and i find it interesting and enjoyable. i haven't come to a part where i go "oh, c'mon now!"


tidbit of info that i found funny in view of the discussion about warships early in the thread:
the "kirov" used in the show, was in fact the "Iowa"! :)
 
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Plutonius

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,046
8,416
New Hampshire, USA
Don't panic said:
agree, although they way it is set up, the virus itself doesn't confer aggressive behavior, so the terror/suspense part of the infected would be only because their are angry/pissed at people who are still healthy.
i think them being desperate/resigned would be a reasonable portrait in the aftermath of the epidemic (before there were riots, IIRC), when all hope has pretty much vanished.

one aspect that they have not addressed very much is why there would be still so many survivors who are sick. the course of the disease is depicted as being very quick, with nobody surviving once infected. so where did the people in the jungle come from? where they just recently reached by the disease? rest of the el toro storyline seems to point for the two camps to be there for quite some time.
but again i fall back into over-analyzing the science parts, which actually make very little sense in general.

i just watch it more as a character driven show, and i find it interesting and enjoyable. i haven't come to a part where i go "oh, c'mon now!"


tidbit of info that i found funny in view of the discussion about warships early in the thread:
the "kirov" used in the show, was in fact the "Iowa"! :)
Click to expand...

Actually, I was referring more to the healthy people. If it was me, I would be totally paranoid and concerned that the others around me might have the infection. I think they should be stressing the terror that the healthy people have of catching the plague.
 
Don't panic

Don't panic

macrumors 603
Jan 30, 2004
5,541
697
having a drink at Milliways
Plutonius said:
Actually, I was referring more to the healthy people. If it was me, I would be totally paranoid and concerned that the others around me might have the infection. I think they should be stressing the terror that the healthy people have of catching the plague.
Click to expand...

i see.
yep that i can see.
for example, it surprised me the 'el toro' people just let the navy guys in without any sort of quarantine, especially after they and been among the infected on the other side of the river.

i think the next episode might deal with this issue, from the preview.
 
Huntn

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
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The Misty Mountains
I'm a couple weeks behind. I watched The El Toro episode. This does not feel very realistic, kinda like an 80s TV action show. The acting is mediocre. They are walking through the jungle without masks. How do they know when they are walking into a hot zone? Losing interest.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
Huntn said:
I'm a couple weeks behind. I watched The El Toro episode. This does not feel very realistic, kinda like an 80s TV action show. The acting is mediocre. They are walking through the jungle without masks. How do they know when they are walking into a hot zone? Losing interest.
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Agreed. It didn't have the excitement that the previous week had. I haven't watched this weeks episode yet.
 
Don't panic

Don't panic

macrumors 603
Jan 30, 2004
5,541
697
having a drink at Milliways
i read somewhere they already decide there will be a season 2.

i hope they already have a well-defined story arc, and a clear idea on the timeline.

the ideal would be this being designed as a two-years series from the get go, when the end of season two is also the end of the series, so they can do some good tv without dragging it forever or fill with fluff.
 
mscriv

mscriv

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2008
4,923
602
Dallas, Texas
I agree, this week's episode was better and it moved the the storyline along a good bit further than the other episodes have seemed to do.
 
ucfgrad93

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,543
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Colorado
mscriv said:
I agree, this week's episode was better and it moved the the storyline along a good bit further than the other episodes have seemed to do.
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But I wonder if it moved it too far along. I'm beginning to wonder how they are going to keep it going.
The Russians look like they are finished since their scientist got out of the quarantine and the explosions on the ship. Not to mention it looks like the vaccine is working.
 
mscriv

mscriv

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2008
4,923
602
Dallas, Texas
ucfgrad93 said:
But I wonder if it moved it too far along. I'm beginning to wonder how they are going to keep it going.
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Yeah, I had that thought too UCF. The preview for next week would lead one to believe that the possible breakthrough may not be as far along as we think. So, I know there are still some plot twists ahead of us. But, overall, I think you are right and like Don't Panic said earlier this show needs to have a brief run of 1-3 seasons to keep it plausible.
 
Huntn

Huntn

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I think the Russian Admiral is/was the most entertaining character on the show. To bad they could not work together for the greater good. I did not quite buy the rescue, but it was one of the best episodes to date. :)
 
Don't panic

Don't panic

macrumors 603
Jan 30, 2004
5,541
697
having a drink at Milliways
i liked most of the season finale, but the 'olympia' thing was a bit much.
also it seems like the second season is going to be a completely different show, more like 'revolution' than this first year, as the disease angle is kinda finished, now it si more a standard post-apocalyctic kind of show.
hopefully they can swerve it in a different direction, because the set up looked a bit trite to me (good american heroes hang on and eventually prevail)
but the entire navy aspect (it is like a massive recruitment video, but still cool) and the science aspects 9with all its limits) seem to become secondary now.
 
ucfgrad93

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
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Colorado
I enjoyed the finale, although it was easy to predict that the captain's wife would die. That clears the path for him and Rachel.
 
stonyc

stonyc

macrumors 65816
Feb 15, 2005
1,259
1
Michigan
As someone who worked in cancer labs for several years, and now does next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics... I have to force myself not to yell at the screen every time they mention anything related to genetics. I enjoy some of the plot elements of the show, but man, the science is so bad that it's hard to maintain my suspension of disbelief, or whatever.

This is the same for me watching CSI... such poor pipetting technique, spinning up clearly unbalanced centrifuges. Which brings me back to the centrifuges on The Last Ship... that episode where they collect some more research supplies and they're clutching that centrifuge as if it were the last Twinkie on Earth... a research-grade centrifuge is not on the same level of importance in a genetics lab as say, a next-generation sequencing machine or even a PCR machine. Never mind the fact that -none- of their initial research would have been possible without a centrifuge in the first place.

Sometimes, as a scientist watching shows that try to incorporate science into their plot... it's like watching Mad Libs. Let's throw in 'PCR' and 'Mass Spec' and 'Cytometer' and no one will know the difference!

Ugh... Hollywood Science is so bad, I wish they would just stop trying because it gives such a flawed perspective of actual scientists and researchers. Mass Spec experiments take days, if not weeks to complete. Heck, a single PCR run might take several hours. But hey, let me just do some 'bioinformatics' on that viral sample so I can find the 'human gene' that's causing all this ruckus! Never mind the fact that a simple BLAST would have found that out. Or you know, just running any sort of basic QC metrics on your sequences.

I have to imagine my annoyance with the science on this show, and other shows that try to incorporate it in to their plots, is probably similar to what military or law enforcement personnel feel when they watch some of the action sequences. Why would a Captain of the ship ever leave for an expedition into a viral-infested jungle? Yes, I understand that Hollywood has to take certain liberties for the sake of the story... but can't you be creative, Hollywood? Why not keep the Captain on the ship where he belongs, and have a more protracted back-and-forth chess match type encounter with the Russian Commodore? That would be far more interesting, and closer to reality to boot.

/END RANT

All in all, it's a mostly entertaining show... just some of the creative liberties taken that depart from reality can get jarring.
 
Huntn

Huntn

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May 5, 2008
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The Misty Mountains
stonyc said:
As someone who worked in cancer labs for several years, and now does next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics... I have to force myself not to yell at the screen every time they mention anything related to genetics. I enjoy some of the plot elements of the show, but man, the science is so bad that it's hard to maintain my suspension of disbelief, or whatever.

This is the same for me watching CSI... such poor pipetting technique, spinning up clearly unbalanced centrifuges. Which brings me back to the centrifuges on The Last Ship... that episode where they collect some more research supplies and they're clutching that centrifuge as if it were the last Twinkie on Earth... a research-grade centrifuge is not on the same level of importance in a genetics lab as say, a next-generation sequencing machine or even a PCR machine. Never mind the fact that -none- of their initial research would have been possible without a centrifuge in the first place.

Sometimes, as a scientist watching shows that try to incorporate science into their plot... it's like watching Mad Libs. Let's throw in 'PCR' and 'Mass Spec' and 'Cytometer' and no one will know the difference!

Ugh... Hollywood Science is so bad, I wish they would just stop trying because it gives such a flawed perspective of actual scientists and researchers. Mass Spec experiments take days, if not weeks to complete. Heck, a single PCR run might take several hours. But hey, let me just do some 'bioinformatics' on that viral sample so I can find the 'human gene' that's causing all this ruckus! Never mind the fact that a simple BLAST would have found that out. Or you know, just running any sort of basic QC metrics on your sequences.

I have to imagine my annoyance with the science on this show, and other shows that try to incorporate it in to their plots, is probably similar to what military or law enforcement personnel feel when they watch some of the action sequences. Why would a Captain of the ship ever leave for an expedition into a viral-infested jungle? Yes, I understand that Hollywood has to take certain liberties for the sake of the story... but can't you be creative, Hollywood? Why not keep the Captain on the ship where he belongs, and have a more protracted back-and-forth chess match type encounter with the Russian Commodore? That would be far more interesting, and closer to reality to boot.

/END RANT

All in all, it's a mostly entertaining show... just some of the creative liberties taken that depart from reality can get jarring.
Click to expand...

Makes you wonder if they have a scientific advisor, but then just run with whatever premise they want to make it fit within a workable plot. Thanks for the perspective. :)

albertfallickwa said:
This show doesn't seem to be as effective as The Strain.
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No, it's not. In the spectrum of TV thrillers it is subpar. The script and acting are second rate. Dr. Scott annoys me, but I've never cared for female English accents. :p Her monotone delivery of lines is mostly one dimensional, always serious. She is an ice woman, who ever so often thaws a little. The Captain, XO, Lt Green, and Master Chief Jeter are not much better. When a group of actors all approach their lines in the same monotone manner and lack of emotion (cardboard people) some of this has to be the script and directors fault. Tex is the one guy who breaks out from the pack. And I was sad to see the Russian go. :)
 
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