I was reading the discussion over at TWOP and there was definitely bitching from former Navy people, both about procedures, and the discipline. i.e. no way COB would act like that, and any Lt worth his/her salt would throw someone in the brig who was acting that way. Etc etc.

Yes. Though they stated this is an Ohio class sub it is a type that does not exist. Some have been converted to SSGN class for special ops, but none of those still carry ballistic missiles (boomers). They are one or the other.

I thought about avoiding this thread altogether, but back in the day I was an officer on an Ohio class submarine. I actually wasn't even going to watch this show because I find the entire premise to be offensive. But my family thought it would be fun to watch a show about something dad did (like doctor's families watching ER I suppose) and I admit I got a little curious.

I won't get into details, but I guess now I know how my naval aviator friends felt watching Top Gun. Frivolous fun, but not really about what it says it is.

But because it was the last 'money shot' of the pilot I have to say this at least: A submerged trident missile submarine, undetected in open water is the single most powerful and dangerous weapon on earth. Only a few countries possess more military might. A surfaced ballistic missile submarine in a known location is the opposite of that.

Wow, this is a movie quality premiere, i don't exactly know what is going on but it's pretty damm cool

I don't doubt the military stuff isn't too realistic but 95% of viewers won't know that. TV shows/movies on subjects i do know well, there are always plenty of factual holes

I think in their mindset that getting to land is the dead opposite of getting somewhere safe. Under a thermal would have more appeal.

Isn't that the reason they had to surface at the NATO installation? They need it so they know when a threat is coming so they can play their Trident launching game.

until the US starts having B2s orbit the area with a satellite moved into geosynchronous orbit and when they spot the sub surfaced in the lagoon send the B2 in to nuke the island

They already know where the sub is. Didn't they inform them of their location in their statement? Planes were already incoming before they turned away. If nothing else the missile launch immediately gave away their position. The "200 mile exclusion zone" is laughable. There are weapons that can close that distance in a few minutes. And a sub cannot launch while surfaced, and another sub could at its leisure close to point blank range undetected, and so on.

I told myself I wouldn't go down this road.

It was a pretty decent pilot though I'm not really sure where they can go from here and the whole situation seems pretty unlikely, especially for the long term.

The Tomahawks would be dependent on satellites for getting to their destination, couldn't the US just shut down the satellites for an hour and bomb the place?

Anyway, it will be interesting to see where the plot goes.

And if you like Last Resort, take a look at the made-for-tv miniseries "On The Beach", from 2000 (remake of a 1950s movie):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219224/

Loved it!
Enough conspiracy stuff to keep it interesting. Production looked solid and writing was good.

That seal should have called the gang leaders bluff about Americans and their confidence!

I had no clue this show even existed. Just watched the pilot and loved it, but like others, not sure where it's going from here. In fact the whole time while watching it I was thinking "how are they going to make it into a series?". Huge fan of Andre Braugher, so I'll watch anything he's in.

If there is anyone who has my implicit trust on how is this a series, it is Shawn Ryan. While the ratings didn't support his last two shows, he has made some pretty amazing stuff in his career so far.

We loved the Chicago Code, a show that was too good and cancelled ;-) and we are definitely in for Last Resort. Just watched the pilot tonight...

This show is what it is...entertainment. For those who take it as real world and get into these discussions about how this or that is not right and whatever is ridiculous. It is like saying Jason Vorhees does not exist and there is no way he could ever kill people like he kills them. It is a fictitious show people...get over the "reality" factor of the real world and sit down to watch a show that is meant for pure entertainment....nothing else.

So....the initial episode was very entertaining. I look forward to the next episode. As you stated, there is enough going on to keep this entertaining for now. If the others on here would stop worrying about what is real and what is not...they may enjoy the show more.

I just watched this last night. Some completely laughable concepts but I'm sure I'll stick with it until it's cancelled. The idea that the captain said there'd be no damage from setting off a nuke 200 miles off DC almost had me turn off the show. Not only would the tsunamis take out a good portion of the coast but it would be reason enough for the US to hit them with treason and take them out at all costs.

Since I don't know better, I actually enjoy people with knowledge pointing out where it veers from reality. It's just like I enjoyed reading historian commentary on the HBO series Rome. It doesn't lessen my enjoyment, but it does make me a more informed viewer. Best possible worlds is to be educated and entertained and if the show can't do that by itself, people who fill in the blanks add value IMO.

I became a sub fan after watching Das Boot (long version). I've seen a few other movies, but I've also walked in the U-505 (the one at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago). Of course today's subs are like spaceships by comparison. But when I heard that creaking sound (sub past max designed depth) in Last Resort, it knotted my stomach like it always does.

Military, Navy, and especially submariners, you shouldn't expect reality, but I for one appreciate any commentary you have pointing out divergence in either military culture/procedure or sub operation.

Two things didn't work for me; just the complete utter unbelievability of the premise, and that stupid fucking LaBamba scene. The rest was okay.

So it doesn't all sound negative from a 'reality' viewpoint, I can say that the interior shots of the sub were better than I expected. The specific equipment they were using on the conn was pretty fanciful, but the look and feel of the rooms, corridors, etc were well done. This is pretty easily scouted though from any number of documentaries or even touring actual subs, since I highly doubt they got much if any cooperation from the military for a show of this nature. I don't know if they still do this, but we had tours open to the public of our boat once in a while. There was a bunch of things we would cover up and large parts of the ship that were off limits, but hey, you guys paid for it so come on in and have a look!

Bill: I've been aboard an Ohio-class sub back in the early 90's. I live in Alaska, and the USS Alaska was tied up at the Coast Guard base for a few days, so they were offering tours. It was an awesome experience for someone in Jr. High School, especially having movies like The Hunt for Red October be pretty new. I remember walking through the missile silos was almost like the scene in Red October where Jack Ryan sees all the launch tubes going off into the distance.

I've also toured the U-505 in Chicago, and was amazed at the cramped quarters those sailors had to live in. There's one of the last diesel-electric subs at the OMSI in Portland that can be toured as well. They even have school visits where you can spend the night on the sub. If I remember the tour, it was also the stunt double for the USS Dallas for the scene in Red October where it jumps out of the water.

I did get a chuckle out of them having a bunk right next to a torpedo tube, which I know was the case back in the day. Is it still this way in some cases? I kind of thought subs were big enough they didn't need to do that anymore.

One of my best friends was assigned to that boat at that time.

Not to my knowledge, though if there are a bunch of riders (contractors, non-crew military, etc) they might rig something up temporarily on the smaller (attack) boats.

I toured the U-505 as part of a school trip to the MoS&I. As interesting as it was, at the time you could have never convinced me that I would actually ride aboard a submarine let alone what I ended up doing. Of course, when the time came things were a bit different compared to the U-505 to say the least.

In regards to the accuracy, I don't think there are any jobs on TV that accurately depict how things really are. I work in TV and have never seen a show or movie that does more than 10% right in that world. It's just how it is.

Count me into the "don't know how they’ll make it into a series but I'm in for the ride!" camp.

+1... look, I can get over the premise and lack of protocol and even some of the ridiculous things like a MEGA HOT chick has some rare device on a sub... but I will NEVER accept that a crew is listening to La Bamba -- EVER. Fuck that.

That said, the show was very good. The Captain is perfectly cast and I like that you don't quite know if he's there to empower his team or a little more self-serving than he's letting on.

Caut this last night and enjoyed it enough to keep watching. I think we'll settle into island life and get some DC conspiracy as well.

Looks like the island mayor already too hostage two of the crew. Should be fun to watch the SEAL team deal with that.

I'm hooked... great premiere.