The Last Ship Series Review

The Last Ship (2014-2018)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2014)
Season 2 - 13 episodes (2015)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (2016)
Season 4 - 10 episodes (2017)
Season 5 - 10 episodes (2018)

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Created by: Steven Kane, Hank Steinberg
Based on: The Last Ship by William Brinkley
Starring: Eric Dane, Adam Baldwin, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Marissa Neitling, Jocko Sims, Kevin Michael Martin, Christina Elmore
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
The crew of a naval destroyer is forced to confront the reality of a new existence when a pandemic kills off most of Earth's population.

Verdict
The first season is an interesting idea with an uneven execution. It feels overly scripted as moments that should be exhilarating are boring. Sub-plots feel like a routine instead of development. The first season's concept carries it far as the story is lacking. Events unfold exactly as you expect and characters react like this is a stage play. This ship and crew are somehow at the center of every major event, and each season gets successively worse. This feels like network television as it's never as interesting as it should be. The fourth season is just nonsense, invoking cliches and ridiculous story points. The main and sub-plots are completely uninteresting. This show starts at mediocre and kept coasting downhill.
Skip it.

Review
This originally aired on TNT. The fifth and final season isn't currently available for streaming, but it jumps ahead three years where world governments have been restored. A revolutionary unites all of South America to attack North America. Most of the reviews I read stated that the final season is quite bad though it does conclude the story. I don't want to imagine a season worse than the fourth.

Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) thinks he and his ship, the Nathan James, are on a top secret weapons mission. Unbeknownst to Chandler, it turns out they're shuttling scientist Dr. Rachel Scott (Rhona Mitra) to discover a cure for the pandemic under the guise of studying birds.

Eric Dane plays Captain Tom Chandler

When the ship resumes communications they discover eighty percent of the world has been ravaged by pandemic. The President is gone. Their families are gone. They didn't know about the pandemic as it started right after they went radio silent. This feels like network television with sweeping dramatic scenes where the crew argues and Chandler proclaims, "I am the captain!" If these circumstances weren't enough, Scott's assistant may be a spy.

The show uses action to fill in for the lack of story. There's lots of forced drama, and something is always going wrong. Every circumstance is dire, amplifying the drama at every chance. Most of the season is Chandler trying to protect Scott and give her time to develop a cure. It's an interesting concept that feels eerily prescient with the Corona virus pandemic that would follow years later. The concept carries this with the story relying on ridiculous situations and forced drama. The first seasons manages to be just interesting enough, but barely.

With season two the crew are on the mainland, contending with the sick, desperate, and those that seek power. It's up to the Nathan James crew to overthrow the corrupt government. This pulls on typical strings. Will the crew stay with their families or finish the mission? One subplot in season two is a group of immune that want to take over and rid the world of those susceptible to the disease. That's despite the cure being developed. Season one was the ship trying to get back to land, season two was fighting the immune who want a new world order. The problem with this show is that it's a standard network series, and because of that I want more. The way this season ends, I wondered if the creators thought they wouldn't get renewed. It does a nice job of concluding the plot, until they leave an opening.

USS Nathan James

Seasons three glosses over the big event at the end of season two and focuses on rebuilding domestically while also creating relationships globally. It's a logical progression for the show. The big drama this season is the new U.S. President trying to present a united front despite American captives in Asia. Of course the Nathan James crew are involved. The problem with this show is that it's so shallow. It's more action over substance. This gets into origins of certain outbreaks before later having a government coup just to inject some drama. Conspiracies run rampant as would be dictators threaten the free world. The Nathan James is at the center of it, because of course they are.

With season four the virus has jumped to plants and has blighted crops around the world. I question if the virus would jump like that, but it's another pandemic. Chandler is working on a fishing boat after retiring in season three. It's such a cliche. Of course his little village gets bullied by a warlord, so you know what's going to happen. Meanwhile the most important ship in the world is chasing magic seeds. That's the big plot this season. These are the only seeds in the world immune to the blight. Chandler ends up as a cage fighter after getting a job with the warlord. Of all the people in the world, he ends up fighting his former XO Slattery (Adam Baldwin). With the numerous far fetched plots this season, that one is really wacky. This show has always been outlandish, but this season doesn't even try to stay grounded. It's ridiculous.

I'm glad I don't have access to the fifth season. I might be tempted to watch it for "closure" that I doubt would be sufficient. That and the fifth season is supposed to be worse than the fourth. This season devolves into something silly. If you haven't sworn off the show by the third season, the fourth will make sure you do.