The Last Ship: The Complete Fourth Season - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

The Last Ship: The Complete Fourth Season

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Last year I was surprised to hear that The Last Ship had been scheduled to receive another 2 seasons and that TNT had ordered 20 episodes (trimming it back down to 10 episodes per season, back from the 13 that season 2 and 3 had been pumped up to) and with that came with the realization that there was most likely an end in sight for the action/adventure show. However, The Last Ship has been doing really good in the ratings (still pulling in just over 2 million viewers) and there are HINTS that it MIGHT continue on if season 5 continues this trend. Personally I’m hoping for season 5 to be the final season, as too many shows start to dwindle once the 4th or 5 season finishes due to a lack of innovative story lines. Hey, even I thought that there was nowhere to go with season 4 after the end of season 3. The virus had an antidote, most of humanity had immunity, and a new government order had been setup. What more was there to do?

Well, like with all viruses, a mutation occurs, and once again the “Nathan James” is called into action. This time the virus is attacking the world’s food supply and the tenuous hold that international governments had on their people is in danger of going down the tubes once more. However, there is still hope, as one form of seed genealogy has shown an immunity to the new mutation and the “Nathan James” is sent out once more to track down the last remaining samples of the seeds. The only thing is, Commander Chandler is nowhere to be found, living out in the middle of isolation. His crew now has to track him down, get him aboard the “Nathan James”, and find these seeds before humanity’s food sources are completely wiped out.

While season 4 is a bit of the same as season one, the politics and the world in general have taken a distinct change, and the show represents those changes quite well. Tom Chandler and his crew are no longer the bright eyed and optimistic military crew that they once more. Now they are battle hardened in a world that is not anything like the ordered world of military war that they had fought in before. Now they’re seasoned guerrilla warriors who have had to make due in a world that is hovering on the edge of apocalypse. Now they’re dealing with a pandemic that is not just viral in nature. Humanity is not so worried about humanity being wiped out by the plague anymore, but rather the terrifying sensation of seeing your food sources dry up and famine take over. A situation that too many third world countries in our own timer period have to deal with on a daily basis.

However, the fun comes from the familiarity. We’ve got Tom Chandler out in the wilds, and it’s a few clicks until he actually shows up in the show and rejoins the “Nathan James” on their mission. But we still have plenty of action, lots of military action scenes, and a little bit of a twist to the story. The season plays out with a little bit of mystery in the air, as the race for the seeds is partly an arms (seed) race and partly a conspiracy. Or at least a hinted at conspiracy, as we’re never very sure whether everyone in the world wants the seeds to grow, or whether there is someone behind the scenes pulling at the puppet strings as they race for them. A mystery that grows even more intense as the season continues on.

As always, the characters really make or break the show. Eric Dane and Adam Baldwin really shine as Tom Chandler and his CO, Mike Slattery. Baldwin has been a fan favorite in most shows that he’s a part of after his breakout role in Firefly. His sense of brusque charm makes him likable and tough all at the same time, while Eric Dane exudes that sense of confidence and power that makes him the defacto leader of the “Nathan James”. 90% of the characters return for the fourth season, minus the few majors that have died along the way (Rhona Mitra in particular was a huge loss for the show), but everyone is firing on all four cylinders and the show really benefits from their exuberance.




Rating:

Rated TV-14




Video:

Season 4 of The Last Ship is the first season I’ve reviewed as a DVD, and I’m still quite pleased with how the show looks. Season 2 and 3 (unlike season One) was given 13 episodes and 3 discs, but season 4 has been trimmed back down to 10 episodes again (and so has the upcoming season 5 if all reports are to be believed), but STILL given a nice 3 discs to be spread out upon. Fine detailing is still excellent, with the brightly lit deck of the “Nathan James” looking bright and shiny, with all sorts of visual nuances to enjoy. The darker interior shots show some mild banding and digital noise, but overall clarity is spot on. Colors lean towards the natural side, with a mild blue push, and black levels remain consistent and pleasing (besides the banding and digital noise). It’s an overall great looking DVD encode, and very consistent with how the show has looked so far.






Audio:

The Last Ship has always had a stellar 5.1 mix on Blu-ray, and the 5.1 Dolby Digital mix on the DVD set of season 4 continues to impress (although it definitely feels a bit more constrained without the lossless mix). This is an action show, first and foremost, so expect lots of explosions, gunfire, fisticuffs and all the trappings that go along with the genre. There are times when the show goes front heavy with dialog being the center focus, but the series REALLY gets hot and heavy with drones, the “Nathan James” front cannons going off, and the intensely powerful score amping up the low end. The weight of the LFE is tight and powerful, but not AS powerful as I’ve experienced with the Blu-ray sets, so I have to drop it half a notch to a 4/5 instead of my usual 4.5/5.
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Extras:

• Inside The Last Ship
• The Last Ship's Odyssey

Final Score: ​

Despite being an action show that should have petered out last year, The Last Ship remains a highly entertaining guilty pleasure that keeps on giving. The plot is wearing a TAD thin compared to the intensity of the first 2 seasons, but they change things up enough for the 4th season that it’s still a blast (albeit missing a few characters who have died off and where a huge boon to the show). Kane and Steinberg do a good jump of making a bit dumb action movie fit into the constrained stylings of a TV show. Season 5 is just around the corner, and from what I hear, will be the final season of the show. Personally, I hope for a good send off and that that the creators don’t try to get greedy by pushing it into a 6th season and losing the quality that we have left. Recommended as a fun watch


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Eric Dane, Adam Baldwin, Charles Parnell
Created by: Steven Kane, Hank Steinberg
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, French
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: TV-14
Runtime: 440 Minutes
DVD Release Date: June 5th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I have to start with season1 .

 

[Michael Scott]

*tsk *tsk, time to catch up!

 

[tripplej]

Yeah, will definitely check it out.