In my opinion, ABC's thriller of a series Last Resort, is one of the best new shows to premiere on network television this season. And if you long for intelligent, tense political drama on regular old network primetime, then you must start watching. Like, now.
Starring the brilliant Andre Braugher, the breathlessly paced conspiracy thriller takes place in an a near-future world; tensions are high worldwide, and the president, in the pilot, is being impeached while the U.S. is in the midst of some sort of foreign policy crisis.
When the submarine Colorado is sent orders via a rarely-used alternative channel, the captain (Braugher) insists on confirmation; this channel is for use only in the event that Washington DC has been destroyed. Before he annihilates millions of Pakistanis, Captain Chaplain wants to be certain, especially after he boots up satellite TV, and sees nothing awry with regularly scheduled programming.
The Pentagon responds by sending another submarine, the Illinois, which launches a missile at the Colorado. Chaplin, calm as he is intense, doesn't take this sitting down. With his crew wondering just what the hell is going on, Chaplain fires back, firing warning shots both at the Illinois, and ultimately the U.S.
The U.S. also nukes Pakistan, killing several million people. Who ordered it? We don't yet know that, or why (and I suspect we won't for a very long time). In the meantime, the Colorado and Chaplain are considered a dangerous national security threat.
They take refuge at a small, but strategic island, which is the home of a NATO early warning station. and are now considered rogue. By the end of the first episode, we aren't entirely sure whether Chaplin has gone crazy or is a brilliant strategist with a plan.
The crew of the Colorado are not all behind their captain, who has been formally relieved of his command by the Pentagon. His chief of the boat (COB), played by Robert Patrick (The X-Files), and close friend of Chaplin, now believes his commander is a traitor. Many of the crew are on the COB's side, at least for now. We don't quite now at this stage the Chaplain's allies are, and who among the crew believe that sabotaging Chaplain and his allies is the patriotic thing to do.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - Reena
I agree that it is a good show that is creative, intelligent and current. I think it is sad that many of these type of shows don't do as well as other mindless ones like a lot of the reality shows. I hope it is not a sign. I have written about my frustrations about the decline of creativity on tv lately and that audiences don't seem to encourage it. Then the networks just put on shows based on bottom line and not quality. Thanks for the review!
2 - barbara barnett
Your welcome, Reena. And thanks for commenting. I crave really intelligent television on the networks. It's possible to do it, but it's getting less and less frequent.