The Last Ship

[Thagarr]

Ahoy mates! I have been a long time lurker around these forums, but this is my first post here. By long time, I mean since just after Subsim went online. It was in fact these forums that steered me to Sea Dogs back more than a decade ago, but that is a whole different story.

Anyway, all that is beside the point, the reason I am posting this is I ran across a bit of news that I thought you all might be interested in. I did a quick search on both the forums and the front page but I didn't see this listed anywhere. The book The Last Ship by William Brinkley, has been picked up to be produced as a TV series that will air on TNT. The series will be produced by Michael Bay and his company Platinum Dunes. I found this while looking up some information for another TV series called Black Sails that will air on Starz in 2014.

Here’s the logline for The Last Ship from TNT:

In The Last Ship, a global catastrophe nearly obliterates the earth’s population, forcing the crew of a naval destroyer to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors.

The series is based on the 1989 book of the same name by William Brinkley.

“The book The Last Ship is a gripping page-turner that has all the makings of a terrific television drama, including a great premise, memorable characters, intense situations and heart-racing action,” said Michael Wright, president and head of programming for TNT, said in a statement. “We believe this show will take viewers on a thrilling ride and fits perfectly with TNT’s expanding line-up of original dramas.”

Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, who co-founded Platinum Dunes with Bay, will also executive produce, along with Steven Kane (The Closer) and Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace).

You can read the full article from back in July HERE!

[CCIP]

I haven't read the book, but the premise (and summary of the story on Wikipedia) sure seem cool. My only reservation is Michael Bay's involvement in this...

[Thagarr]

I have never read the book myself either, but it does sound like quite an interesting premise. I am always looking for a good book though, so I may give this one a read.

I agree that Michael Bay's involvement is a bit disconcerting, he is not exactly known for historical accuracy or realistic plots.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Not sure if this is a necro or not, but I'd like to post my thoughts on this.

Honestly, this hit me out of the blue. I thought the book was forgotten by the major networks, and thus, was not expecting it to get adapted, although I've wanted it to be for a while now. I was literally jumping up and down in front of my computer, screaming "Yes! Yes!" when I read the news.

Speaking of which...

I've read the book, and it is one of my favorites. It's a bit outdated with its entire Cold War premise, gender relations, etc., but I loved the book nonetheless. The entire idea of a USN DDG surviving the apocalypse is something that appealed to me when I first read the book years ago, and is still something that captures my imagination today. The idea of a lone group out in the unknown is something that I think many can appreciate.

There have been attempts to adapt the novel in the past; most notably, Steven Soderbergh tried to make it into a film back in the 1990s, but for some unknown reason it was cancelled, unfortunately.

My only concerns are the fact that it's going to be shown on the TNT network and Michael Bay's involvement. Personally, this book would be perfect as an HBO mini-series or full-length film. I just don't see it working out as a recurring season television show, but I hope I'm wrong.

Michael Bay's inolvement? We all know how Pearl Harbor turned out.

But, it looks like Bay will only be involved as a producer and not with direction or writing, so I guess there'll be something salvageable from this, no pun intended.

Just by reading the press release, it looks like there'll be some changes the original source material. The original book was about a USN DDG that survives a nuclear war between the USSR and NATO. Obviously, since that's not all that relevant to our world of the 2010s, they might change it to some natural disaster or leave the entire cause of the apocalypse completely ambiguous, like The Road did. I'm just hoping that they don't change it to Sci-Fi, as although I love aliens, this isn't the place for it.

I wonder if the U.S. Navy or DoD will be officially involved in production. I hoping not, as it'll probably turn into some long recruiting commercial, like Transformers or that disappointment of a Battleship.

My biggest worry right now are the production values, such as the sets. I'm wondering how they'd get access to a DDG without USN/DoD support. Not that they could anyway, there are some parts of the book that put the USN in a less-than-stellar light, without giving away too many spoilers. I'm guessing maybe they could go the Crimson Tide route and build an entire set inside a studio, but without the proper budget, that may be limited. Most television series don't have the biggest of budgets, as evidenced by this recent season of The Walking Dead, which took place entirely on a bloody farm, for crying out loud.

Unfortunately, the author of the book, who was a USN officer back in WW2, died back in 1993, so he probably won't be having a say in the production. Not that he probably could anyway even if he was alive, usually the authors have little to do with screen adaptations from what I've heard.

Anyway, that's my say on the matter. I can't wait until it premieres, whenever that may be.

Originally Posted by CCIP

I haven't read the book, but the premise (and
summary of the story on Wikipedia) sure seem cool.

It's a great book. A wee bit on the long side, the author is very verbose, using ten words to describe something that could be said with one, but it's a great read nonetheless. Not only that, he uses a lot of uncommon English words, so keep a thesaurus handy. The book can get depressing at times, though, but that's to be expected with a post-apocalyptic setting. Sometimes, that's a good thing.

Originally Posted by CCIP

My only reservation is Michael Bay's involvement in this...

Same here. Now, if it were Spielberg, on the other hand...

Originally Posted by Thagarr

Ahoy mates! I have been a long time lurker around these forums, but this is my first post here. By long time, I mean since just after Subsim went online. It was in fact these forums that steered me to Sea Dogs back more than a decade ago, but that is a whole different story.

Well, allow me to welcome you on board! Don't worry, the sharks don't bite.

Originally Posted by Thagarr

I have never read the book myself either, but it does sound like quite an interesting premise. I am always looking for a good book though, so I may give this one a read.

It's a great book, but it's not for everyone. Fairly long, if I do say so myself.

Originally Posted by Thagarr

I agree that Michael Bay's involvement is a bit disconcerting, he is not exactly known for historical accuracy or realistic plots.

Well, we can always bite the bullet and hope for the best. This is one of my favorite books and I just hope to Poseidon that they don't muck it up.

[Sailor Steve]

Sounds a bit like On The Beach to me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

Not sure if this is a necro or not...

It's only two weeks old. Necro requires a bit longer than that.

@ Thagarr: WELCOME ABOARD!

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sounds a bit like On The Beach to me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

That's what came to my mind too when I read this.

On the beach came out in 57

The last ship sounds like a combination of On the Beach and story of the Pandora's crew on Pitcarn Island.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

Just by reading the press release, it looks like there'll be some changes the original source material. The original book was about a USN DDG that survives a nuclear war between the USSR and NATO. Obviously, since that's not all that relevant to our world of the 2010s, they might change it to some natural disaster or leave the entire cause of the apocalypse completely ambiguous, like The Road did. I'm just hoping that they don't change it to Sci-Fi, as although I love aliens, this isn't the place for it.

Well, since in the book the US DDG is not the "last ship" but the Soviet Submarine Pushki, I would imagine a bunch would need to be changed.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Right now, I'm worried about it being shown on TNT. The original book had some very dark subject matter (and some juicy subject matter, if I may add), and being shown on a cable network would require a lot of it to be edited for television.

Originally Posted by Platapus

Well, since in the book the US DDG is not the "last ship" but the Soviet Submarine Pushki, I would imagine a bunch would need to be changed.

I thought submarines were considered boats, not ships? Oh, and spoiler alert!

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sounds a bit like On The Beach to me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Agreed. I haven't read On The Beach yet, unfortuately (I know, silly me), but I really liked the movie adaptations of it.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

It's only two weeks old. Necro requires a bit longer than that.

Okay, thanks for the info. I was worried because on some of the more busier forums I've been on, even one week was considered a necro. Thanks.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

Okay, thanks for the info. I was worried because on some of the more busier forums I've been on, even one week was considered a necro. Thanks.

I'm one of the worst for jumping on necros, and even I only go after folks who respond to a two-year-old post as if it was two minutes ago.

[Kaye T. Bai]

According to the IMDB page, the TV show is slated to air in 2013 and will be about a pandemic, rather than a nuclear war.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402207/

I guess it was to be expected that they'd not use a nuclear war as a backstory. In the original book, radiation sickness played a huge part in the plot, so I guess a pandemic shouldn't be too much of a deviation from the source material.

[Thagarr]

Thanks for the welcome mates!

It's been a while since I had a chance to check back over here, so no worries on the response times. That's the best thing about forums, even in an instant gratification world, an immediate response is not required. I am just glad you all found the information useful.

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

Michael Bay's inolvement? We all know how Pearl Harbor turned out.

I am a bit concerned about his involvement in Black Sails as well, but it will be worth the risk to see booming cannon and fully rigged sail fluttering on screen! He had a real chance to do many things with Pearl Harbor. Instead he chose the typical path of glamorized Hollywood fiction. Sadder still is the fact that he actually made lot of money doing it. Real history is slowly becoming history it's self.

[GinoC]

I remember reading it over 20 years ago and it was OK. I remember thinking the author had some very naive and utopian ideas about mixed gender relations at sea. There was something about how there were no intimate relations going on because that would be unprofessional. Now that's a howler.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Originally Posted by GinoC

I remember reading it over 20 years ago and it was OK. I remember thinking the author had some very naive and utopian ideas about mixed gender relations at sea. There was something about how there were no intimate relations going on because that would be unprofessional. Now that's a howler.

Well, you gotta cut him some slack; the book was written almost thirty years ago and the author was an old-fashioned WWII naval officer.

[GinoC]

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

Well, you gotta cut him some slack; the book was written almost thirty years ago and the author was an old-fashioned WWII naval officer.

Well, perhaps, but he obviously didn't know sailors very well. It reminds of the legendary exchange between a Wren senior officer and an RN admiral during the war over relationships:

Wren - Don't worry, Sir, my girls have got it up here.

Admiral - I don't care where they've got it, my sailors will find it.

[Kaye T. Bai]

It looks like Jonathan Mostow, who directed "U-571", "Surrogates" and "Terminator 3", will direct and produce "The Last Ship".

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UPDATE: OCTOBER 12th, 2012

The show will star Michaela McManus, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Elmore, and British actors Rhona Mitra and Sam Spruell. Eric Dane will play the C.O. of DDG-80. According to reports, they will play members of the ship's crew, probably the wardroom, I'm guessing. I like that they kept the original ship's name and the skipper's first name too. Can't wait for this!

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UPDATE: OCTOBER 25th, 2012

Adam Baldwin, from "The X-Files" and "Full Metal Jacket", will be in the show as well.

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UPDATE: OCTOBER 31st, 2012
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402207/fullcredits#cast

Darren O'Hare - Lieutenant Siegle, Tactical Action Officer (TAO)
Chris Sheffield - Comms Officer Mason
Aidan Sussman - Sam Chandler
Maximilian Osinski - Derek Evans
Grace Kaufman - Ashley Chandler

And now, a picture from production! DDG-80's skipper, CDR Tom Chandler, played by Eric Dane, and a real USN PO3.