The Last Ship: Season 2 [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Season Two begins with a remedy for the Pink Virus and the aim to save lots of the human race. Navy Captain Tom Chandler and his crew return to the States uncertain of what they may discover. Because the crew seeks to search out survivors and their households, they encounter a brand new, rising enemy who’s vying for management and should hinder the mass manufacturing of the remedy.

Boy, a global pandemic sure brings out the worst in people. Season 2 of “The Last Ship” starts out running top speed picking up right where Season 1 left off and doesn’t let up for a minute. My review of the inaugural outing of this series described my feelings that the show lagged when the story shifted from ship to shore and in retrospect that may have been unfair. There’s a large amount of land based action in this season as well but the story doesn’t seem to suffer and the suspense doesn’t lag.

This time out we find Captain Chandler (the steely-eyed Eric Dane, a long way from his Dr. “McSteamy” days on “Gray’s Anatomy) and crew discover that the presumptive government is actually doing nothing to develop a cure and have built an elite society at the expense of other survivors. They deliberately infect those found unworthy and repurpose their bodies in a way that’s not as grim as “soylent green” but not much better either. Foiling the elite’s leader Amy Granderson (the always dependable Alfre Woodard) and rounding up the crew the Nathan James makes way for their homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. Having a cure developed by Dr. Scott (Rhona Mitra, more on her later) Chandler rallies some remaining air assets to distribute it to labs around the country to start mass production and distribution. Also, efforts are made to find surviving family members of the crew with mixed results. It’s discovered that there’s a much larger population of genetically immune survivors who are being recruited for a cult-like post apocalyptic society who consider themselves “chosen” and have no interest to develop and distribute the cure. We also find out about a rogue Royal Navy nuclear sub who’s leader is the one building “the Immunes” new social order. Naturally he finds the Nathan James and its mission to save the world a threat leading to some high-seas excitement. Adding to that the “Immune” leader has found the actual successor to the office of POTUS (#22 HUD Secretary, oddly the same job Kiefer Sutherland’s character had in new ABC series “Designated Survivor) and has brainwashed him into fronting their cause in America. Played by Mark Moses who typically is known for roles as weasely husbands (Homeland and Desperate Housewives) or creepy execs (Mad Men) President Michener is a man with some dark secrets haunting him and will take some persuading to realize he’s being manipulated.

The skipper continues to put himself in harm’s way a lot but that’s nothing new and occurs in real life. Maybe not now as much but looking back at WWII you had guys like USMC legend “Chesty” Puller whose command post was usually behind enemy lines as an example. In the bonus features the show runners provide some back story on Chandler that he’s supposedly a former Navy SEAL by way of explaining some of his daring do. Not sure of the legitimacy of that career path from SEAL to surface warfare command but I notice he never wears the trident pin which seems odd. If I was ever awesome enough to qualify as a SEAL I’d have that thing surgically implanted on my chest. Regardless, the show continues to have some cliché moments and can be overly sentimental at times but not enough to ruin it for me; it can’t be non-stop action all the time so these moments let you catch your breath.

We are introduced to two newbs who are drafted into the crew this go round, both special operators who were in an international training program in Norfolk when the balloon went up. One is Australian SCPO Wolf Taylor (Bren Foster who’s an accomplished MMA fighter and Tae Kwan Do world champ) and female Israeli commando Lt Ravit Bivas (Inbar Lavi); both are professional butt kickers and augment the shore recon Vulture Team nicely. There’s a fight sequence on a hospital ship where Wolf disarms three bad guys that’s right out an early Bourne movie- you’ll have to watch in slow motion to catch all the moves.

Dr. Scott finds a way to make the cure she’s developed contagious and easily passed through contact or breathing on someone just like a common cold. How she accomplishes this however pushes the ethical envelope to extremes and seems out of character for her. The show’s last episode closing scene would seem to spell the end for her and will no doubt trouble many fans. Not sure if Ms. Mitra wanted off the show as some internet rumors intimate or it was just the direction the writers chose to pursue but a controversial move.

Bonus features include a part called “Exclusive Look” with a section titled “Enlisted Men” but it’s about 2 of the officers and Wolf (an NCO). It would have been nice to feature some of the cast portraying the petty officer’s and seamen. Charles Parnell does an excellent job as the ship’s senior enlisted member CMC Jeter and would have been worth profiling. Otherwise there are some engaging behind the scenes looks at the season and interviews with cast and production staff that are worth watching.

The show’s airing a third season and has been renewed for 10-episode 4th and 5th seasons so clearly it has a following. There are some haters to be found in on-line reviews and chat pages about “The Last Ship”. These folks are mostly Navy veterans who have nit-picking issues about technicalities or science types wanting to debate biochemistry errors most viewers wouldn’t notice anyway. Military dramas always draw these critics, every fighter pilot I ever met hated “Top Gun” and JAG’s despised “A Few Good Men” but most people found these films highly entertaining and “The Last Ship” is no exception. Michael Bay knows how to do action pictures and this series demonstrates his skills at their best. Sign me up for more!

– Colonel D

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, Travis Van Winkle, Charles Parnell
Producers: Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Hank Steinberg, Steven Kane
Format: NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR-Not Rated
Studio: WarnerBrothers
DVD Release Date: May 3, 2016
Run Time: 440 minutes
ASIN: B019WMU0J2