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PILOT REVIEW: Last Resort

LAST RESORT











 Starring: Andre Braugher, Scott Speedman, Daisy Betts, Camille De Pazzis, Dichen Lachman, Daniel Lissing, Sahr Ngaujah, Autumn Reeser, Jessy Schram, and Robert Patrick

Created by Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Ryan
Written by Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Ryan, Directed by Martin Campbell

Last Resort is a new high octane conspiracy drama from ABC. It centers on the crew of the fictional USS Colorado. When Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) is given orders through a suspicious channel to launch missiles against Pakistan, he questions the order and it relieved of his duties. Second in command Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) does the same thing and an attack is launched against the submarine. Though it is claimed to be from Pakistan, they quickly discover the order came from the US. Now that they are enemies, the crew lands on the island of Sainte Marina and takes over a NATO facility determined to prove their innocence and stay alive. Rounding out the large cast is the submarine crew including Lt. Grace Shepard (Daisy Betts), whose father is an admiral, natives of Sainte Marina, and power players in DC.

THE GOOD: Wow... what a pilot! This whole episode felt like a mini-movie filled with major thrills. It was expertly produced and acted as well. Andre Braugher killed in his lead role as the defiant yet noble Captain Chaplin. The camaraderie among the crew and particularly the relationship between Braugher and Speedman was a major highlight. So many dramas like this open with tons of conspiracies and sometimes you don't actually care what happens but here, I left the pilot episode really wanting to know what's next. It was also unique to have a setting on a submarine although now they are mostly on the island or at least it appears it will be that way in future weeks.

THE BAD: I heard a lot of questions about where the show goes from here in reviews and I have a lot of those same questions. I hope the show plays up the conspiracy aspect and doesn't turn into a culture on the island, which would be too close to Lost. Having the dynamics between DC and the rogue submarine was the strongest part at the pilot yet the very last scene had me worried that future episodes will be less like the pilot than I want them to be.

BOTTOM LINE: I don't know how the show continues from here or what episode two, three, four, etc will look like but I know that I'll definitely be coming back to see. The cast and Braugher in particular are a real strength of this show but I hope the creators and writers have a vision for this show and where they want it to be by midseason and by season's end if it lasts that long. So I loved the pilot, but I'm nervous for the future with this show. We'll see...
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