What I’m Watching: The Last Ship

The Last Ship: Season 1, Episode 8 “Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar…” (B-)

This episode was a decent improvement over recent hours, but not by all that much. It sure didn’t take long for two high-profile prisoners on an enemy ship to regain complete control and manage to get away unscathed with two other prisoners and a full armed escort. The cat-and-mouse game between Ruskov and Tom was moderately interesting, but Ruskov really is more of a caricature than anything else. The Russian henchman who spewed out broken English on cue was an even worse offender, and it’s no surprise he was the first to die as the escape began. Rachel does deserve some credit for executing her part of the rescue plan, making out passionately with Tom in order to pass him both a blade and a note. Tex was at his unserious best, commenting as often and obnoxiously as possible at what was going on around him. Seeing Slattery in charge was worthwhile, though I’m constantly reminded of the fact that Adam Baldwin has so much more potential. Hearing him deliver with no intonation a joke about two sailors walking into a bar and both walking out was far from satisfying, especially knowing how sarcastic and funny he can be. The action on this show, while often over-the-top, is usually relatively on point, but unfortunately the dialogue just doesn’t come close. None of the conversations feel real, and they’re all hopelessly forced. I don’t watch a show like this show for its writing, but it could be so much better if all elements were just a little bit stronger.