# The Last Ship (TNT)



## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

Has any one else been watching this? Pretty good show
It's about a naval carrier that was out at the Antartic and they find out that some super flu has decimated the entire planet's population.
There's a scientist on board who thinks she can develop a vaccine.
The Commander & XO are probably the best characters so far.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXrh88IYsfY


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Yep, I watch it. It is pretty good.


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## APBIDDLE (Oct 12, 2006)

Pretty good, but it is a destroyer, not a carrier.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I'm watching it and I like it so far. Thankfully not cheesy and poorly written so far. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## Nighthawk68 (Oct 14, 2004)

Pretty good so far, have watched all episodes!!

Rachel from Strike Back on Cinemax.


BTW, the destroyer was in the ARCTIC, not Antarctica :grin:


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

APBIDDLE said:


> Pretty good, but it is a destroyer, not a carrier.


Thanks for the correction.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

APBIDDLE said:


> Pretty good, but it is a destroyer, not a carrier.


It was also the Arctic, not Antarctic.


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## oldengineer (May 25, 2008)

RunnerFL said:


> It was also the Arctic, not Antarctic.


And it was on station there for 4 months without refueling or replenishing. Amazing. And it was able to make a full power run to Gitmo at the end of that time. :grin:


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Damn nitpickers!

:alterhase


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

oldengineer said:


> And it was on station there for 4 months without refueling or replenishing. Amazing. And it was able to make a full power run to Gitmo at the end of that time. :grin:


Well, they did siphon fuel from a cruise ship on the way.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

OK, did I miss something, because last I knew (the previous ep), they were down to one engine, and that intermittent. No separate generators! Then, at the opening of the last ep. they are running full bore to Central America. HUH? Again, I may have missed the fix of all the ship's equipment, but where was it?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> OK, did I miss something, because last I knew (the previous ep), they were down to one engine, and that intermittent. No separate generators! Then, at the opening of the last ep. they are running full bore to Central America. HUH? Again, I may have missed the fix of all the ship's equipment, but where was it?


Yes you did. At the end of the previous episode they were going to "repair" everything (hence the R&R). At the start of this episode the Captain said to the Chief Engineer "Good Job on fixing everything" (or something to that effect). Notice how she is walking well again? Clearly some time had passed between episodes even though it didn't look like that.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Heh. A major lapse between "everything needs fixing, we'll fix it all!!"—and presto, blam! Everything is at full power. Especially since they were so pressed for time. (original estimates were a week for each broken engine) And, yeah, I heard the Captain's praise on the fix... But you caught the Chief's amazing recovery; I didn't notice that! But the show is holding together pretty well- much better than that other one where the population has been decimated. (And there's a lot of smoking and white outfits....)


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## oldengineer (May 25, 2008)

The Ltjg Engineering Officer fixed everything himself while the ChEng was recovering. Another nit :grin: - the writers confused naval officers with merchant marines where the engineering officers actually work on the main plant machinery.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I just tried to read the book the show is based on. The only thing the show has in common with the book is the name. It was written by William Brinkely in 1988 and uses a completely different ship and the storyline is completely different. The author is boring, but I do remember reading it way back when. I would not recommend this book to anyone. He's far too descriptive.

Rich


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## EdJ (Jan 9, 2007)

Rich said:


> I just tried to read the book the show is based on. The only thing the show has in common with the book is the name. It was written by William Brinkely in 1988 and uses a completely different ship and the storyline is completely different. The author is boring, but I do remember reading it way back when. I would not recommend this book to anyone. He's far too descriptive.
> 
> Rich


This is not unusual..... Have you seen the movie 'World War Z'? Try reading the book. About the only things common are 'zombies', the 'Israel wall' and 'India/Pakistan battles'.... Everything else is a completly different story line.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

EdJ said:


> This is not unusual..... Have you seen the movie 'World War Z'? Try reading the book. About the only things common are 'zombies', the 'Israel wall' and 'India/Pakistan battles'.... Everything else is a completly different story line.


I saw the movie. Thought it was predictable. I had the book, don't remember reading it. I gather it's better than the movie? Worst Brad Pitt movie I ever saw.

Rich


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## EdJ (Jan 9, 2007)

Rich said:


> I saw the movie. Thought it was predictable. I had the book, don't remember reading it. I gather it's better than the movie? Worst Brad Pitt movie I ever saw.
> 
> Rich


ln most cases the book is always better than the movie that is made from it. With books, there is so much more time to build the storyline. In this case, the book is written as a guy researching the war after it is over interviewing many people involved in it. I enjoyed it better than the movie...


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

EdJ said:


> _*ln most cases the book is always better than the movie that is made from it*_. With books, there is so much more time to build the storyline. In this case, the book is written as a guy researching the war after it is over interviewing many people involved in it. I enjoyed it better than the movie...


I'm glad you wrote that in the way you did. My two favorite awful books are _The Bridge Over the River Kwai_ and _The Planet of the Apes_. Both written by Pierre Boulle. I think they were both translated from French and are awful reads. Liked the movies, hated the books. You might ask how anyone could "hate" a book, try reading one of these awful books and you'll see what I mean.

But, I agree with you, most books are much better than the movies. I like to read the books the movies are derived from first so that I have an idea what the movie or series is about. In the case of _The Last Ship_, the show and the book have nothing to do with each other and the only similarities are the name of the show and book and the name of the ship. Which isn't an Arleigh Burke destroyer in the book.

Rich


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

I love how the US Naval ship looks as if it just left dry dock for a complete overhaul, and the similar Russky vessel looks like it's been at sea for ten years.... 

Oh, no, now I am in the Russian Captain's mess, complete with very fine china and golden rimmed goblets. Oh, and classical music in the b/g.....Two women- a woman and a girl, nicely dressed at the table with the Captain.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

OK. Tonight's episode had some pretty glaring fact issues. 1. The boats they launched from the James were RHIBs. Acronym for Ridged Hull Inflatable Boat. The hull is aluminum. The sponsons on the side are Inflatable. They could have kept forward momentum to keep the water out. I would hope an officer would know that but perhaps not. The enlisted amongst us probably know that answer. I know I do. 2. There is no way in hell they drifted 10-15 miles in a no wind current in about 15 minutes. No way. Tides aren't even that fast. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Not even Navy but I knew they should have gunned it towards the mother ship! 
To drift just ten miles in even a very strong tidal current would take at least three hours, unless in the Gulf Stream. 

And when they were finally hoisted into the chopper, not a single sign of hypothermia. Even warm ocean water will cause that given enough time. And three weapons trained on the Cap'n! while he was on his back in close quarters.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> I love how the US Naval ship looks as if it just left dry dock for a complete overhaul, and the similar Russky vessel looks like it's been at sea for ten years....
> 
> Oh, no, now I am in the Russian Captain's mess, complete with very fine china and golden rimmed goblets. Oh, and classical music in the b/g.....Two women- a woman and a girl, nicely dressed at the table with the Captain.


Our ships and the Canadian ships were the best maintained ships I've ever seen. I've never seen a Russian war ship, we didn't put up with them during the time I was aboard ship. I was really surprised when the Russian ships of the line visited Venezuela a couple years ago. I did see a lot of Russian subs, but you can't tell how well they're maintained unless you go below. That ship in the show is an Arleigh Burke destroyer, capable of doing a whole lot of damage to anything it comes up against. It is beautiful.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> OK. Tonight's episode had some pretty glaring fact issues. 1. The boats they launched from the James were RHIBs. Acronym for Ridged Hull Inflatable Boat. The hull is aluminum. The sponsons on the side are Inflatable. _*They could have kept forward momentum to keep the water out. I would hope an officer would know that but perhaps not.*_ The enlisted amongst us probably know that answer. I know I do. 2. There is no way in hell they drifted 10-15 miles in a no wind current in about 15 minutes. No way. Tides aren't even that fast.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


Most of the officers I knew wouldn't have known that. Most of the officers I knew had little to no idea what to do in most situations. Hell, most of them would puke right into the wind! I don't know how many times I saw that happen. My favorite story (and this isn't made up or embellished) is about the JG we had in our director who got sick pretty quickly and told me to hand him the can in front of me. I knew what would happen if he puked into it and tried to tell him where to hang over the side director so we didn't all get puked on, but he insisted on that can, which we used as an ashtray. It was about a quarter full of butts and ashes when he barfed into it. He ended up with vomit all over his face and uniform. Ashes and butts stuck to his face and body.

I got called to the bridge after we secured from GQ and the Captain asked me why the JG was given a butt kit to puke into. I told him the truth and he had to hide his face from the bridge crew. He was still laughing when I left the bridge. Him I trusted, the rest of the officers might as well have not been aboard for all the good they did.

Rich


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Hells-bells, anyone with a passing glance at the laws of physics would have known that. But, what, this is TV and there've been only a handful of movies dealing with nautical matters that are accurate.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Hells-bells, anyone with a passing glance at the laws of physics would have known that. But, what, this is TV and there've been only a handful of movies dealing with nautical matters that are accurate.


Like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Rich said:


> Most of the officers I knew wouldn't have known that. Most of the officers I knew had little to no idea what to do in most situations. Hell, most of them would puke right into the wind! I don't know how many times I saw that happen. My favorite story (and this isn't made up or embellished) is about the JG we had in our director who got sick pretty quickly and told me to hand him the can in front of me. I knew what would happen if he puked into it and tried to tell him where to hang over the side director so we didn't all get puked on, but he insisted on that can, which we used as an ashtray. It was about a quarter full of butts and ashes when he barfed into it. He ended up with vomit all over his face and uniform. Ashes and butts stuck to his face and body.
> 
> I got called to the bridge after we secured from GQ and the Captain asked me why the JG was given a butt kit to puke into. I told him the truth and he had to hide his face from the bridge crew. He was still laughing when I left the bridge. Him I trusted, the rest of the officers might as well have not been aboard for all the good they did.
> 
> Rich


I can see that happening. I'm enlisted and have been lucky enough to see some JOs in action. Face palming just isn't enough.

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Yeah, that's the ticket! Me and my wife, Morgan Fairchild, produced that movie!.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> I can see that happening. I'm enlisted and have been lucky enough to see some JOs in action. Face palming just isn't enough.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


We really could have treated our officers better. But, like animals sensing weakness, we attacked. Some of the things we did were really outrageous, but we always got away with them. Even the Captain was aware of some of the things we did and he seemed to get a kick out of them. Every new JO that came aboard rotated into CIC for a period of time, usually at the beginning of his time aboard. The guys in CIC mounted an inclinometer at eye level where the new officers were seated. For those that don't know what an inclinometer is, it's just a pendulum that swings back and forth as the ship rolls. And they're sickening to watch if you don't have your sea legs under you. Most of the officers got seasick pretty quickly. Humor aboard ship is really something everybody should get a chance to experience.

Rich


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Now days much of that would be called hazing.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

trh said:


> Now days much of that would be called hazing.


Nowadays (I guess that's the word you meant), everything is far too regulated. And as long as the Captain was aware of the things that were going on, who would they appeal to?

I had an ensign walk into Plot one day and ask me what kind of meter I was using. Told him it was a megger and he wanted to see it work. So I gave him a probe for each hand and told him to hold on and started cranking. He left, still not knowing what a megger was for, but he sure knew what 500 volts felt like! Good times! :rolling:

Rich


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

We used to hook those up to door handles and had people lay to that compartment. Oh the joy we had with a megger. Nowadays if people feel they are being hazed etc. They can jump the chain of command if they feel that said chain condones the hazing. Sad but true. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> We used to hook those up to door handles and had people lay to that compartment. Oh the joy we had with a megger. Nowadays if people feel they are being hazed etc. _*They can jump the chain of command if they feel that said chain condones the hazing.*_ Sad but true.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


Great minds think alike! We used the meggers on doors in the same way.

That's a damn shame (what I highlighted), we had a happy crew and nobody complained. But that was a long time ago and I know things have changed.

I was sleeping on the main deck one night, snuggled up against a spud locker and a JG and an Ensign (a guy who was a royal PITA) woke me up without knowing I was there. The JG was telling the Ensign to take it easy on the crew and the Ensign was giving him a hard time about it. The JG asked him how well he could swim and asked if he thought he could swim to shore from where we were. Obviously, nobody could swim from the Mid-Atlantic to shore and the Ensign asked him why he brought that up. The JG gently laid his hand on the Ensign's back and lightly shoved him toward the safety lines. The JG told him if the crew were to get really upset with him...well it's a pretty long swim. True story, no embellishments. It never happened on our ship, but we knew that it happened on other ships. Or suspected it, I should say. No way to prove it.

Rich


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Sounds like the JG was a good guy and knew how things were. Seems so rare nowadays. They're more concerned with their OERs than anything else. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> Sounds like the JG was a good guy and knew how things were. Seems so rare nowadays. They're more concerned with their OERs than anything else.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


He was one of the better officers on the ship. I kinda doubt that it was his idea, tho. That Ensign was straight out of ROTC and thought all enlisted men were a step higher than dirt. Took him a couple months to get settled down before he was OK. For kicks we saluted him every time we saw him on deck. That's enough to drive an officer crazy on a destroyer. Nobody told us to stop, he settled down and we decided he had had enough. (For those who didn't serve in the Navy, we only had to salute an officer once a day and we usually didn't bother doing that.)

Rich


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Lol. It's the little things that can drive em nuts. That's good he settled down. I think the best officers hands down are warrants. Every one I've met has been awesome especially the engineering ones. You could chisel the salt off those guys. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

Ok guys -

Having BEEN that relatively new JO (I had the CIC division on our frigate) - I knew better than to go hyper military with them. I asked my senior enlisteds their opinions how things should be handled when there were problems (not many). I believed in treating them like men (there weren't any women permannetly assigned to destroyers /frigates in the '80s). .

Also - warrant officers in the US Navy have had a successful career as enlisted first - no wonder they did so well. But on small boys - you often see some of the "division officers" being a CPO. As I recall - we didn't have any LDO's or warrants in our wardroom, but the EMO was an ETCS, the MCPO ran the admin department (with the XO his dept Head), the 1st LT was a BMCS, and I'm sure I'm missing some others. We couldn't run the ship without them.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> Lol. It's the little things that can drive em nuts. That's good he settled down. I think the best officers hands down are warrants. Every one I've met has been awesome especially the engineering ones. You could chisel the salt off those guys.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


We didn't have any Warrant Officers on our ship. We didn't even see the chiefs very much. The best officers I saw were the ones from Annapolis, they were always friendly and knowledgeable, but they never lasted long. They got scooped up by other bigger ships. We usually had to deal with ROTC guys.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

scooper said:


> Ok guys -
> 
> Having BEEN that relatively new JO (I had the CIC division on our frigate) - I knew better than to go hyper military with them. I asked my senior enlisteds their opinions how things should be handled when there were problems (not many). I believed in treating them like men (there weren't any women permannetly assigned to destroyers /frigates in the '80s). .
> 
> Also - warrant officers in the US Navy have had a successful career as enlisted first - no wonder they did so well. But on small boys - you often see some of the "division officers" being a CPO. As I recall - we didn't have any LDO's or warrants in our wardroom, but the EMO was an ETCS, the MCPO ran the admin department (with the XO his dept Head), the 1st LT was a BMCS, and I'm sure I'm missing some others. We couldn't run the ship without them.


I have no idea what the chiefs did on our ship. We rarely saw them. They didn't head up any divisions, never saw one at an inspection, never saw one stand a watch. I know they had a pretty good poker game in the chief's quarters and they also had their own mini-galley in the chief's quarters. We used to sneak in and make egg sandwiches at night. One night one of the chief's walked thru while we were cooking, we thought we were doomed. All he said was, "Make me a couple, will you?" I liked that.

The time frame I'm talking about was the early 60s and I know things have changed. We had a lot of WWII and Korean War vets on board and they pretty much ran things. They had the experience that just couldn't be found in the officers we got right out of college.

I watched one of those ROTC officers get nailed by our Captain. We knew the XO and the Captain weren't happy with this guy and one day, entering Norfolk, I was on the fo'c'sle (that's the front of the ship) and on the phones when I heard the Captain had told that officer to take her in. That was a real WTF moment for me. I knew he had no chance of getting the ship anywhere near the pier. As we approached the piers, I watched the ship across from where we were supposed to dock and saw her Captain standing on the port side of the bridge watching us approach. By this time, I was getting a running commentary over my phones about what was going on on the bridge. Wasn't pretty. We ended up crashing slowly into the ship across from us. Didn't do much damage to either ship, but it sure angered the other ship's Captain. While all this was going on, I was still standing on the fo'c'sle and I have to admit it was a pretty scary thing to watch. Finally, someone yelled over the phones, "Run Rich" and I ran behind the forward gun mount. Wasn't really much of a crash.

Next thing we knew, that officer was wearing a white hat. Right after he got broken down to the enlisted ranks, he disappeared. Got transferred to another ship to serve out his "enlistment". I think that was for 6 years. Not sure.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

We watched the latest episode last night. The Captain of a ship of the line going on a mission in a Zodiac? That would never happen. Not his job. 

Rich


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I'm having trouble with this show. The cast is good as are most production values. But the various episode story arcs seem forced and they really do need an advisor from the Navy or even the Russian Navy. I'm afraid they spent all the money on McSteamy.

The IMDb page on the show has an oddity in that it does not provide the name of a "Creator" which makes me think that Executive Producers Michael Bay ("Black Sails"), Andrew Form (also "Black Sails"), and Bradley Fuller (also "Black Sails") were sitting around on a yacht having drinks and, like many committee creations, created a one-humped camel while trying to create a race horse. And then the corporate folks at Comcast/NBCU-owned USA added a hump because their camels have two humps.

It seems to me there was enough story potential with the virus Armageddon without the Russians and now the story is going to become some test of wills between McSteamy-in-a-cage and Putin's brother who not only keeps his shirt on, but seems to always be in a dress uniform. Instead of building something strong with Dr. Rachel Scott and her work, using some crew members with technical skills.

Oh well, it's Summer fare.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

And not the fairest of Summer fare....  But Ima watchin'.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

phrelin said:


> I'm having trouble with this show. The cast is good as are most production values. But the various episode story arcs seem forced and they really do need an advisor from the Navy or even the Russian Navy. I'm afraid they spent all the money on McSteamy.


They did have a US Navy advisor.



> "We have a vested interest in not having the Navy look bad," said U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Quin, a decorated officer and a former destroyer commander who served as technical advisor for the production. "This is great because we get to show sailors in an awesome light."


I suspect that on a number of issues, the advisor's recommendations were ignored.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Rich said:


> We watched the latest episode last night. The Captain of a ship of the line going on a mission in a Zodiac? That would never happen. Not his job.
> 
> Rich


What that the first episode you watched? In this *fictional *TV series, he has left the ship on a number of occasions -- leading missions into the base at GTMO and searching for monkeys in the jungles. And I don't remember if he was part of the boarding party on the cruise ship they boarded in the first or second episode.

What surprised me about this episode was (1) he didn't recognize it wasn't his ship's helo (the sound each type of helo makes is very distinctive), (2) he didn't recognize that the horse collar lowered to him wasn't US made or that (3) the ship's rescue swimmer didn't enter the water to assist with their recovery and (4) the Russian's couldn't pickup the SPY1 radar, but the radar was on long enough to detract, track and kill the russian's drone.

But this is fiction.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Just like every show out there, the leads have to be in the front of the line. Real life is much more boring.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

trh said:


> They did have a US Navy advisor.
> 
> I suspect that on a number of issues, the advisor's recommendations were ignored.


"We get to show sailors in _an awesome light_." Really? A former destroyer commander? I guess I'm just too old. Or he's gone Hollywood.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

trh said:


> What that the first episode you watched? In this *fictional *TV series, he has left the ship on a number of occasions -- leading missions into the base at GTMO and searching for monkeys in the jungles. And I don't remember if he was part of the boarding party on the cruise ship they boarded in the first or second episode.
> 
> What surprised me about this episode was (1) he didn't recognize it wasn't his ship's helo (the sound each type of helo makes is very distinctive), (2) he didn't recognize that the horse collar lowered to him wasn't US made or that (3) the ship's rescue swimmer didn't enter the water to assist with their recovery and (4) the Russian's couldn't pickup the SPY1 radar, but the radar was on long enough to detract, track and kill the russian's drone.
> 
> But this is fiction.


I've watched every episode. I just decided to comment on the latest mission the Captain went on. Is it really *fictional* ? Gee, if you hadn't told me I would have never guessed. (Again sarcasm, but I just couldn't resist it.)


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> Just like every show out there, the leads have to be in the front of the line. Real life is much more boring.


Trust me, in real life the Captain would not leave the ship, that's his main responsibility. As far as boring goes, I've been kinda bored since I got out of the Navy way back when. The Navy was anything but boring.

Rich


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Rich said:


> Trust me, in real life the Captain would not leave the ship, that's his main responsibility. As far as boring goes, I've been kinda bored since I got out of the Navy way back when. The Navy was anything but boring.
> 
> Rich


Not saying the Navy was boring ... Saying watching what really goes on in the Navy as a TV Show would probably be boring. The job I do is quite exiting (to me) and I enjoy it immensely. That being said, I don't think it would make for a good/exciting TV Show.


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## John Strk (Oct 16, 2009)

Love this show so far, but the biggest issue I am having is that are there really no submarines left out there in the oceans? Wouldn't there be some contact from a US sub by now? What did they all get recalled after the virus outbreak and come back to port so the sailors could get infected and die? I'm calling major BS on that.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

John Strk said:


> Love this show so far, but the biggest issue I am having is that are there really no submarines left out there in the oceans? Wouldn't there be some contact from a US sub by now? What did they all get recalled after the virus outbreak and come back to port so the sailors could get infected and die? I'm calling major BS on that.


You are quite right. Nuke subs would be the place to be..... For a while. Help the writers out: Maybe, in an ep yet to be seen, they all torpedoed one another. Or when they went for food ashore, each and every one got infected, came back, and the whole sub was wiped.... Well, it could happen.....


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> Not saying the Navy was boring ... Saying watching what really goes on in the Navy as a TV Show would probably be boring. The job I do is quite exiting (to me) and I enjoy it immensely. That being said, I don't think it would make for a good/exciting TV Show.


I understood what you meant. You'd really have to experience it to understand. That said, all I ever do is pick apart shows or movies about the Navy.

Rich


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Rich said:


> Trust me, in real life the Captain would not leave the ship, that's his main responsibility.
> 
> Rich


supposed to be his responsibility. Attached picture is from this week's Navy Times when I was waiting in the check out line yesterday. So not all CO's understand their duties.


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## EdJ (Jan 9, 2007)

John Strk said:


> Love this show so far, but the biggest issue I am having is that are there really no submarines left out there in the oceans? Wouldn't there be some contact from a US sub by now? What did they all get recalled after the virus outbreak and come back to port so the sailors could get infected and die? I'm calling major BS on that.


That was the same 'plot hole' that I thought of when I was reading the book. The only other human contact was one Russian sub that they join forces with. The 'disaster' in the book was a nuclear war instead of a virus. I enjoyed the book, but it was a bit confusing until it was 20% read. The author (William Brinkley) kind of starts out in the middle of the story and then goes back to the beginning. The end was kind of a 'cliff hanger' as they go off in search of any human life and/or habitable land mass. The author hinted of a follow-up book, but unfortunately he died before it was written/completed.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

Hubby and I are really enjoying this, although we ***** and moan about the unrealistic stuff. But the drama and plot leave us tense and watching, so... worth while summer fare.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

*SPOILERS*

Man, that Russky Cap'n (Commodore? Admiral?) is a real basta**!




Spoiler



But now, may he be at rest.





Spoiler



The end game that he put forward at one point made no sense: That he'd blow the American ship to smithereens if he didn't get the girl and vaccine, which really would have ended his chances for survival (if you buy that the vaccine already developed by her is the only savior.)


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Supramom2000 said:


> Hubby and I are really enjoying this, although we ***** and moan about the unrealistic stuff. But the drama and plot leave us tense and watching, so... worth while summer fare.


I'd watch it just for the shots of the destroyer. But, it is a decent show for the summer, you're right.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> *SPOILERS*
> 
> Man, that Russky Cap'n (Commodore? Admiral?) is a real basta**!
> 
> ...


Makes me wonder if the Commodore rank even exists in the Russian Navy. We had it, I don't know if we still do, but it was just for an officer who was in command of a group of ships, for instance a squadron of destroyers. It was a temporary rank, kinda like a Brevet Major. I think that's how it worked. No extra pay, just the temporary rank.

Rich


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Commodore has changed many times in the US Navy. Three times in the early 80 ' s alone. Currently, Commodore is a title, not a rank. For senior Navy Captains in charge of multiple operational commands (e.g. squadrons). It used to be the rank for an O-7, but an O-7 is now "Rear Admiral (lower half). Much like CDR Chandler (rank) is also Captain Chandler (title).


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

I thought "Captain" in the Navy was an 0-6? An actual rank. Equivalent of a full bird.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

There is a rank of Captain AND the title Captain. On some (smaller) ships, the CO is a LCDR (04), but still can be addressed as Captain. 

And in the early 80's, there was a rank of O-7/Commodore (the British still have it). But now Commodore in the US is only a title.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Supramom2000 said:


> I thought "Captain" in the Navy was an 0-6? An actual rank. Equivalent of a full bird.


Yup, same as a Bird Colonel. But any ship can have any rank as its Captain. Destroyers are usually full commanders. DEs (destroyer escorts) if they still have them, used either senior lieutenants or lieutenant commanders. A mine sweeper might have a lieutenant JG (junior grade) as the Captain. And, no matter the actual rank, the commander of a ship is called Captain.

Rich


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Interesting discussion. So "Captain of the Ship" is a job title which can be filled by different ranks depending on the ship.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

trh said:


> Commodore has changed many times in the US Navy. Three times in the early 80 ' s alone. Currently, Commodore is a title, not a rank. For senior Navy Captains in charge of multiple operational commands (e.g. squadrons). It used to be the rank for an O-7, but an O-7 is now "Rear Admiral (lower half). Much like CDR Chandler (rank) is also Captain Chandler (title).





Rich said:


> Yup, same as a Bird Colonel. But any ship can have any rank as its Captain. Destroyers are usually full commanders. DEs (destroyer escorts) if they still have them, used either senior lieutenants or lieutenant commanders. A mine sweeper might have a lieutenant JG (junior grade) as the Captain. And, no matter the actual rank, the commander of a ship is called Captain.
> 
> Rich


Yes, I knew that. I was actually responding to trh's post above - but I realize now he was not discluding Captain as a rank, he was just referencing this particular captain's scenario.


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

I agree that it is interesting to hear some of the 'inner workings' of the Navy. The closest I ever got was a friend I met while he was in college on the Navy's dime, we joked about how the Navy was not going to let him get away as while he had the summer off after graduation he still had his swearing in and received his commission with 48 hours of the ceremonies


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

phrelin said:


> Interesting discussion. So "Captain of the Ship" is a job title which can be filled by different ranks depending on the ship.


Yes, and they all have the same authority, no matter the rank. We had a commodore aboard our ship for quite a while and he was a full captain. Our Captain was a full commander. I stood next to them one day on the bridge while the Commodore tried to order the Captain to drag one of our anchors across a Russian sub that we had been chasing. The Captain outright refused the order. Nothing the Commodore could do, the ultimate power on a ship remains the Captain's, but he was really incensed. Finally the Captain, a man of great patience, told the Commodore to put it in writing and he would "take it into consideration". No way was the Commodore about to do that, so the sub was spared.

I would have had no compunctions about blowing a Russian sub away with our ship's guns, but to do something as horrible as dragging an anchor across a sub was something I'm glad we were spared. After that spat, the Commodore moved his flag to another destroyer in our squadron. Soon after that, he was gone. First and last commodore we ever had in our squadron.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

longrider said:


> I agree that it is interesting to hear some of the 'inner workings' of the Navy. The closest I ever got was a friend I met while he was in college on the Navy's dime, we joked about how the Navy was not going to let him get away as while he had the summer off after graduation he still had his swearing in and received his commission with 48 hours of the ceremonies


One of the things I quickly learned was which branch of the Armed Forces was the most disciplined. I would have guessed the Marines, but I was disabused of that notion rather quickly. Yup, it's the Navy and the larger the ship the worse the discipline. I suppose I'll have to defend that statement. I'm quite ready.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Supramom2000 said:


> Yes, I knew that. I was actually responding to trh's post above - but I realize now he was not _*discluding*_ Captain as a rank, he was just referencing this particular captain's scenario.


Well, you got me with that word, Mom. I do believe that's the first time I've ever seen or heard that word used and you used it correctly. Always a good day when I learn a little something.

Rich


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Excellent! Something to dain here!







(think about the opposite of disdain.....) 

Jes' funnin'


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Rich said:


> Yup, same as a Bird Colonel. But any ship can have any rank as its Captain. Destroyers are usually full commanders. DEs (destroyer escorts) if they still have them, used either senior lieutenants or lieutenant commanders. A mine sweeper might have a lieutenant JG (junior grade) as the Captain. And, no matter the actual rank, the commander of a ship is called Captain.
> 
> Rich


No more DEs (operational -- maybe some museum ships?). They were reclassified in the 70's to FFs.


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## oldschoolecw (Jan 25, 2007)

Wow, what a great season finale, did anyone else think of Soylent Green at the end of the last part of the finale?


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Yeah was scary spooky. They went the nazi route. Makes it seem like this series will get better and better in the long run. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Red Orc (Oct 11, 2011)

I was very disappointed that they went with cliff hanger for the season finalr. 
I've always thought cliff hangers were very childish.
If you have a good show the viewers will be back.
You don't have to resort to idiocy like cliff hangers
Aside from that great finale. Tense and spooky and a real nail biter.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I actually don't consider it so much as a cliff hanger as I do a real end to the first chapter and a tease for the next. I expect the next season to be very different than the first in tone and direction of what they are dealing with. They basically closed the entire we have to find a cure story arch. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

oldschoolecw said:


> Wow, what a great season finale, did anyone else think of Soylent Green at the end of the last part of the finale?


Yeah, I thought that and got the shivers.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Red Orc said:


> I was very disappointed that they went with cliff hanger for the season finalr.
> I've always thought cliff hangers were very childish.
> If you have a good show the viewers will be back.
> You don't have to resort to idiocy like cliff hangers
> Aside from that great finale. Tense and spooky and a real nail biter.


A cliffhanger isn't just used to keep viewers. It's also used in contract negotiations for the actors. "Well, you're in a position where we can easily say your character died", and so on.


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