US TV

In the US: Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC. Starts September 27th
In the UK: Not yet acquired

You’ll have seen the scenario before, in films like Crimson Tide: a nuclear submarine receives the order to fire its missiles at the enemy. Will the captain have the guts to nuke the target? Will he chicken out? Or has it really all been a big mistake and war hasn’t actually been declared? It’s usually that last one.

Having not read much of the publicity material around The Last Resort, I assumed that this was going to be Crimson Tride all over again. But lo and behold, here we have something new and interesting. For now.

The Last Resort, featuring the ever-interesting Andre Braugher (last seen being wasted by House, Miami Medical and Men of a Certain Age), comes from the pen of Shawn Ryan, who can usually be relied to turn in something both interesting and manly (cf The Shield, Chicago Code, Terriers). Here, the crew of a nuclear submarine are given a suspicious order to fire nuclear missiles at Pakistan. And when the captain (Braugher) questions the order, he’s first relieved of command and then shot at… by a US ship, which goes on to nuke Pakistan itself in supposed retaliation for shooting the submarine.

So, in another interesting twist, the submarine heads off for the Caribbean and declares itself an independent nation, ready to stop the war between the US and Pakistan. And if anyone comes after them… well, there’s a silo of nuclear missiles waiting for them, too.

Here’s a trailer.

Continue reading “Preview: The Last Resort (ABC) 1×1”