The Last Ship 4x06, "Tempest" / The Last Ship 4x07, "Feast" - as the action heats up, the rest of the show seems to cool.

There is a type of myopia in this season of The Last Ship that hadn't become entirely clear until this point. Part of the charm of the evolution of the show was that as it continued, the world building (one of the show's key strengths) followed along. But despite the fact it is in its fourth season, the show seems to struggle with it. Not to go back to the highs of the better regarded third season, but that season featured much more detail and use of setting and world building. It feels as if the fourth season wishes to return to the setup of season one, where it was the one last American naval ship against a singular enemy, racing to save humanity.

The problem I seem to have is what little world building that has come forth in season four cannot ever infer more than what it says and has little to no face value other than in the scene it resides in. For instance, there is only ever one mention of St. Louis and the U.S. government despite the fact that the world is again on the brink of annihilation, or that any little hints towards the state the rest of the world is in are so minimal that the world building feels clumsy and undercooked.

"Tempest" faced the Nathan James off with escaping an enemy that vastly outnumbers them in the Greek navy. Part of the exciting action contained in the episode is the cut between the ship enduring the waves of the storm as the crew works to survive it, while Fletcher engineers a plan to get the seeds off the ship. There is a confusing moment as the Nathan James charges the Greek naval line and no one exchanges fire. I suppose that regardless of discipline, if anything happened everyone would retaliate, safety of the world's last hope be damned. Regardless, by the end of it, Fletcher absconded with the seeds, so it seems that Nathan James is not as safe any more.

"Feast" helps bring the disparate elements of what little world building there is in season four to help elucidate Paul Vellek's plan for a Red Rust resistant crop. I am a bit reticent about the reveal, as part of it seems to veer too far in to the edge of "supervillainy" with the plan to also introduce nostos DNA into the proceedings so he can turn even the most violent and warmongering person docile. The show had previously done a much better job of turning away from outright "supervillainy", although I guess one could argue the entire conceit and premise of the show was based off a scientist trying to make the Red Flu in the first place. It will be interesting to see how the season will try to conclude, as it seems to signal the Vellek children moving into their places in the finale. Giorgio, the black sheep seems likely to rebel, whereas the fairly competent Lucia (despite the show's writing basically whoring her out to a man at nearly every opportunity) will remain in the foreground. Not sure about the last Vellek son, who hasn't done much but smirk pleasingly because he decided to follow his father in the same career path.

• Not quite sure why Jeter wants to hide his injuries sustained in "Tempest", except to create some artificial drama and then probably later to become incapacitated when the plot requires it.
• When the show wants to do small character moments, the show does deliver. Danny and Kara's small interaction in "Feast" is as loving as it is sweet and nice to see.
• It's always a shame to see background characters that have lasted so long get finally killed off, O'Connor being the notable casualty this season. But at least he went out with a fight.
• Omar returning felt a little silly even by the standards of this show. Shot in the back and returns healthy as ever a few episodes later? And then to be blown up.

The Last Ship 4x05, "Allegiance" - For clarity and morale, a new direction feels needed at the right time

At the halfway point of the season, The Last Ship finally feels like it has its bearings again. The initial adventure that took place as Tom Chandler found his way back to the Nathan James felt like an overdue and long-winded exercise that could have sacrificed some runtime for the sake of brevity. But nevertheless, now that the crew is effectively back together, an invigorated energy that seems to have been lacking has in some ways returned.

There's a lot to process despite that most of the episode was contained in the Nathan James. The main crux is Tom Chandler wondering if he can basically re-enlist, and despite the foregone conclusion, his indecision does chafe at the crew that took slights to his disappearance, which help to add some depth to the proceedings. The other draw in the episode is the slightly late reveal that the El-Alamein's captain (so the speak) is British intelligence, and urges Fletcher to turn his back on the Americans and steal the seeds to make sure the Brits are the first to benefit from any new Red Rust-resistant crops.

It makes for an interesting choice for Vellek to remain a background force, so seemingly influential and powerful - and his supposed expertise being much needed - that he can sway an entire nation away from whatever allegiances they hold. Part of the charm of The Last Ship is that it doesn't forget the seemingly larger picture or global scale it finds itself in. With the UK still reeling from their own internal struggles (referred to and glimpsed at back in season two), it shaped their nation in ways the USA of this show in vastly different ways. It will interesting moving forward to see how the UK acts as a secretive antagonist against the Nathan James and what demands it will place on Fletcher. It's an age old and well worn plot to demand someone's loyalty between their home and newfound friends, but it'll be interesting to see how it unfolds nonetheless.

And lastly, it doesn't seem like 'nostos' will be done with just yet. The show seems to give the impression it will somehow return in some form or other, with Doc Rios trying to research the origins of the plant while it seems like even a single dose has hooked Slattery in some respects. The final scene seems to imply the habit is not kicked, and the allure of it might be too strong.

But regardless of where some of these threads might end up, for now it seems like the show has at least set a course that looks like the right direction.

• Burke is still reeling from the effects of the attack in Rota, as he becomes more paranoid and unhinged. He is finding it problematic that the enemy is not so clear cut, so it will be interesting if and when his path coincides with Fletcher's.
• Not sure how I feel about Kandie's speech about Chandler, the Nathan James, and destiny. It seemed a little too on the nose in regards to the whole exercise of the show than anything else.

The Last Ship 4x03 “Bread and Circuses” and 4x04 “Nostos” don't feel like we're being taken anywhere as far as I can see.

The Sardinian adventures of the Nathan James leads them right to their expected goal, but in doing so, some new truths are revealed. It’s a bit odd for the show to move to a 10-episode season after the previous two had been 13, so it means there might be some fat cut at the expense of the moving target that is the main plot. At which point it seems like any world building will be lost at this expense.

Since the season is near the halfway point, it will be interesting to see where the future will lead. Obviously the first order of business will be for our heroes to put the seeds to use, but just how Peter Weller’s Paul Vellek will do so – with his newly revealed, and favoured son – will look to be ominous indeed.

Part of the charm and suspension of disbelief involved in The Last Ship is to simply toss their command structure off the ship and into harm’s way at any possible opportunity. I remember hearing a lot of comparisons to Star Trek’s away teams (though I must admit I have very little Star Trek experience). It’s obviously a creative need to place the main cast in some form of participation that isn’t just shouting orders in a bridge or CIC set, but again, the post-apocalyptic setting works well to warrant the need, and the show is generally better as a result.

The show makes me wonder how much more world building is possible at the moment however, when so much is still left in the air as the crew leaves Sardinia. Every faction introduced is still in play, but really only the Greeks are given any depth at the moment now that they have been firmly placed in the spot where they stand to be any true threat to the Nathan James.

Bread and Circuses felt like a fairly myopic episode however, lacking much focus on anything specific to cling onto. By the episode’s end it was clear it was waiting for its conclusion in the next episode while many of the roadblocks put up lacked any interest or immediate stakes. It was incredibly disjointed to see Chandler reason to his newly reunited team that he should remain a double agent, only for literal moments later to have to ghost out Giorgio's group to avoid being lynched by the mob.

Nostos proved to be an interested but also long-winded conclusion for the Sardinia adventure, trading time between the crew searching for Slattery, and his attempts to evade capture, followed up by some drug-induced hallucinations. It’s at this point it’s a little jarring to see though, some of the imagery was interesting (Miller and Burk shooting in the campground hallucination, Slattery’s son walking past the breached door – with a bad guy taking a headshot to boot) but it just really raised the hilarious notion that Slattery’s background was a known but non-specific fact through the show’s run. It was interesting to see specifically why ‘nostos’ itself seemed to be such a powerful magic pill to those starving at the hands of the Red Rust, but I hope it will be interesting to see if they continue the thread by having Slattery face any lingering effects from it.

 

It will be interesting to see where the show moves on from here. The Mediterranean will likely be the setting this season will find itself in, but now that everyone is reunited, the burden of world building now lies with Weller's Vellek and his family to do the heavy lifting.

 

• Funny to see Tom Chandler invading everyone’s life again, but by the end it seems to send a different message; his crew have in many ways, moved on without him. Which in odd contrast, we see the ground team seem to fawn over him, with Sasha almost occasionally forgetting about Fletcher at moments.
• Equally funny to see that Giorgio and Lucia are essentially the black sheep of the family since their father has a son that actually wants to follow in his footsteps.
• Part of me thinks the genetic sample 'problem' is fairly easy to solve – maybe two episodes tops – that I wonder what obstacles the show will have to throw at the Nathan James to keep them from getting their homework done.
• In that same vein, I wonder what is the goal of keeping Omar alive will be, if anything more than a last ditch effort to recapture the seeds, given the 10-episode run.
• And Tom has abandoned his children again, but now that everyone knows who he is, it might be the last play Giorgio has.

The Last Ship 4x01 “In Media Res” and 4x02 “The Pillars of Hercules” start us off in a new direction

"When is it gonna stop Danny? We're the good guys, right?"

There’s always a particular charm in watching the good guys of any worthwhile drama constantly finding themselves on the back foot. If anything, it is the modus operandi of The Last Ship, as its namesake implies. I have always found it interesting how the show has constantly found ways to take what is ostensibly a recruitment tool for the U.S. Navy and wrap that around in a drama where forces find themselves in a fight for sheer survival. In some way, this show has always carried around its post-apocalyptic setting as strongly as the Michael Bay-funded naval action drama. 

It’s something of a hidden gem to see a television drama that has this superficial brouhaha but still manages to anchor itself in actual, interesting drama. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of times where characters share quiet moments or make idle chatter that gives additional depth and attachment to those on the journey, but the main drive is usually what mission these soldiers and sailors find themselves on. 

“In Media Res” is an interesting choice of a title to begin what feels like a brand new course for the show. It’s starting to become something of a habit for the show, taking a cue from the previous season by leaving the audience with a semblance of a victory for the crew of the Nathan James, but thrusting us and them into a brave new, once-again post-apocalyptic world where one solution leads to another problem. The problem this time is that about a year and a half later, the deadly Red Flu that tried to wipe out humanity was stopped when everyone was immunized, but the virus has simply jumped and started devastating the world’s food supply instead. It’s made quiet clear at the very start of the new season: there’s only one cure to this, but the good guys don’t have it, but they’re trying to work on getting it back.

Meanwhile, the great hero of The Last Ship has exiled himself away to Greece after the events at the end of the previous season. There’s a particular strength to this show when it uses other perspectives to do world building, and though I do hope for Tom Chandler to find his way back to the bridge of his ship, it is always interesting to see how the world has changed. In Greece, seedy men control the food supplies in the region and what basically amounts to a warlord holds the people of the Aegean in his thrall by lavishing them with food for loyalty, meanwhile levying hefty taxes on those that actually do the work of harvesting what food they can get. There's also some interested detail where a concoction can stave off the hunger, but it's basically an addictive drug for the masses.

An interesting use of in media res in the actual episode titled, “In Media Res”, occurs in the third act, just after Tom and Alex abscond with the food Giorgio and his men had taken from them, along with the attack on Naval Station Rota. We see Tom and his friends celebrating, happy to have flipped the bird on their oppressors for a night, enjoying their spoils for the night; meanwhile the crew of the Nathan James has to fend of a deadly attack on the naval base. The act breaks and then, immediately after, we’re hit with the aftermath. The crew of the Nathan James learns the true nature of the attack and has to deal with the hurt and damage inflicted on them; meanwhile Tom realizes the consequences of his actions. Especially in the latter, there is no need for a long-winded scene with our villains capturing Alex and leaving him for dead on the boat for Tom to find; we simply find ourselves in the moment with Tom, knowing his actions have cost someone their life. It was an interesting choice but I felt as if the execution was lacking somewhat.

“The Pillars of Hercules” is a much more straightforward affair to follow up the premiere. Quite simply, the Nathan James is caught en route to their intended destination, knocked out and ambushed and having to fend for themselves as best they can in the Strait of Gibraltar. It’s an issue common enough through the run of the series but, like many of these episodes, the Nathan James story usually allows the characters to shine in their own ways in what is a generally standard affair as they do what they can to pluck themselves out of a bad situation. It does a good job of showing the resourcefulness of the crew that the show has accumulated over time and even for their recent additions, giving them some much needed fleshing out. Meylan, who I thought seemed reticent and generally a quiet figure in the previous season, now has much more to add to the proceedings and fits in well. Diaz – who has been in the background most of the time after his introduction – now has moved up in the crew and also has a budding romance with Nolan, opening up her and the helo operator Sunshine (of which I hope to see more of both of them).

On the other hand, despite some of my reservations about Tom Chandler’s exile adventures in Greece, he is making some headway by taking a trip with Giorgio’s gang to what seems to be some kind of fancy Mediterranean fighting ring, led by some mysterious individuals that have a hand in the Greek navy as well. I would not be surprised if this leads into the Nathan James’ search for the ancient seeds they need, but it will be interesting to see how this conspiracy pans out, especially given the enemy seems to be fairly competent and well equipped to keep the U.S.’s sole naval destroyer on their toes.

 

• Again, because of the time jump, interesting to see Burk and Miller sport beards. (Danny too.) Alas, it seems they will be at odds for a while.
• And interesting to see a Kenyan soldier and British intelligence agent come aboard the crew of the Nathan James. Always delighted to see a more multicultural crew fighting together.
• A shame that the older of the Burk brothers had to take such a severe injury in the attack, but it means that Kara is coming back on the ship. Always felt that she belonged more on the ship than off; though I did enjoy her time spent in the US administration last season regardless. She always seemed to be a much more interesting character to follow anyway.
• Not sure how I feel about the whole Tom Chandler playing dumb here. Sure, he “fights smart” as I am told but nothing in that fight choreography really told me anything besides who hit harder.

Revenge? There's an app for that! (A review of Watch_Dogs)

This review of Ubisoft's Watch_Dogs was originally written and posted on NeoGAF on the 20th of September, 2015. (Original thread URL)




STORY SPOILERS AHEAD!

I'm not sure if I could say I really enjoyed the 50 or so hours I spent playing Watch_Dogs. But I'll try to describe the feeling of playing it through: Watch_Dogs is a video game that does an adequate job of being a video game. But that's all it excels at. The problem is that it never feels like the best version of what an open world game about a playable character that has nearly complete access to a city-wide surveillance apparatus is. In fact, I might go as far as to say the game is very incongruous with itself, and at the worst, it actively works against itself.

From Year Five back to Year One – In anticipation of Arrow Season 5

There’s a lot to unpack in a show that has gone on for nearly a hundred episodes, especially when that show is Arrow. If you follow the show off the air with even half intensity, there are particular themes and motifs that the audience will constantly harp on. In some ways, Arrow is a show that pioneered and succeed in its particular subgenre but now seems to have become a shadow of its former self. In other respects, Arrow, and other shows that it shares a universe with (chiefly among those, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, along with Gotham in a different but similar orbit) are still part of a similar TV tradition that still continues today in the network TV space.

The First Of Many - The Big Five, Part 1

The First Of Many is going to be an ongoing series of posts - the quick and dirty kind - where I offer up my (usually somewhat measured) opinions of the new shows premiering  this season. There was a lot in the first set of premieres for the major US networks in the early part of September. Luckily it dies down a bit until October. I'm always excited by pilot season for many reasons. Without further ado:

• Son of Zorn – This was an early premiere for the show, which might work against it if the half-cartoon/half-live action aspect doesn’t, especially since it will be about two weeks before it debuts in its regular timeslot. The Lord/Miller backing might help it if it develops the same way The Last Man on Earth did and step into more of a character show. Personally, seeing Cheryl Hines on TV again is great and I feel like she fits into her role the strongest of the cast.

• The Good Place – Not by any stretch imaginative as I can also imagine everyone having an interesting notion of the afterlife, but regardless it is populated in a very vivid and colourful way. The notions of perfection that “the good place” offers/embodies coming to clash with Eleanor’s arrival and mistaken identity provides for interesting comedy but also of pathos and nuance. I am interested to see where the series continues, as it becomes clear in the opening episodes that not everything is as happy-go-lucky as the setting appears to be.

• Kevin Can Wait – It’s a Kevin James vehicle and although I’ve never been a fan of his output, there’s no real denying he has an audience that is willing to see him play approximately the same role as he did before. There is a good energy to the premiere that will probably continue through.

• Bull – There was a larger rant but I find it incredibly baffling this show was made at all or even allowed to air. A show about a trial consultant doesn’t seem much like a show with a protagonist you could get behind, but the show doesn’t do much to engender any sympathy for the protagonists either. The show, then again, doesn’t do much to put their central law case-of-the-week in any real logical terms or providing any real stakes to anchor either the audience or the characters to.

• This is Us – This is one of those pilots that makes me stand up and want to applaud. It is one of those rare pilots I would put into the same as something like Red Band Society’s that pulled on a lot of heartstrings but were completely earned by the end of its runtime. Coming out of it though, I’m hoping the show evokes a feeling of something like Parenthood as it moves forward.

• Lethal Weapon – Having never watched the movies, I have no reference point for this adaptation to the small screen. But knowing the genre – the buddy cop dramedy – it is easy to place it and know what beats it will try to hit. The genre did not do as well last season (entries like Rush Hour which I liked to some degree) so here’s hoping there’s more success this time around. I very much enjoyed all that the pilot had to offer, but I’m also wary about how regular production will maybe affect the ambitions of the show.

• Speechless – This is a single-camera comedy that I now recall (when upfronts were shown) that the trailer had a lot of heart, and that opinion still stands. It’s hard to say even after watching the premiere exactly how the show will proceed. I assume it will just do the same thing a typical comedy of it’s ilk will do, and try to do the best to squeeze out interesting performances for it’s cast.

• Designated Survivor – An interesting premise surrounded by a strong cast is the first thing that comes to mind when this show is mentioned. There was a very strong energy in the premiere, and I’m hoping it can continue riding that energy moving away from the pilot. The political thriller angle is always interesting even when it is sandwiched inbetween some good drama (which for starters allows Sutherland more range than his previous role as Jack Bauer) and intrigue. The only thing that I fear is any subplots following the children in the show, as I cannot seem to see where they want to proceed with that.

• Notorious – There is a lot of frantic energy contained in the pilot as it tries to chew through all the plot it has to offer. Frankly, I was surprised where I was in the hour when I stopped myself to wonder how much I just took in. The pilot mostly builds on a lot of intrigue and character dynamics that just need build on more nuance and specificity further down the line, beyond the tease of a central character drama bomb at the end. Not sure if the show needed to establish a proper C-plot in the pilot, however, as it felt almost completely unneeded.

• Pitch – Even as someone who doesn’t follow baseball, I thought this was a strong outing for a show that wants to talk about bigger things than simply baseball. I have no real idea how the show wants to proceed in telling its stories but I am open to it. I am a bit wary about the characters though, as they seemed to not offer much beyond the main character having any nuance, instead leaving the rest of the cast to mostly act as well-worn and well-travelled stereotypes with not much else to offer.

• MacGyver – Although it started off really flashy, I’m not entirely sure what the show has to really offer. I had never watched any of the old MacGyver, so any opinions are completely fresh on the matter. I did not find the premise too interesting having seen similar takes on the matter (Burn Notice comes to mind) and any teases towards its future don’t really offer much to really be interesting. This was a pseudo-origin story and the news about the pilot’s storied problems and having to be reshot will have me give it another chance.

• The Exorcist – I am not a horror fan so I will leave it to someone else to laugh at my weak will when it comes to these things. But it did set up an interesting, foreboding mood to the whole series. The preview for the season provides an interesting setup since the show has to move beyond the mostly single setting that the movie was isolated to. Definitely interested to see how the show progresses.