Depiction of the sacrifice of a young boar, with kalos inscription (ΕΠΙΔΡΟΜΟΣ ΚΑΛΟΣ). Tondo from an Attic red-figure cup, ca. 510 BC–500 B.C.
A short review for the pilot of “The Last Ship” (2014)
So I finally got around to checking out “The Last Ship” (2014), and while the pilot didn’t immediately have me hooked, it seems like a decent show. I’d rate it an 8 out of 10, and I’ll probably continue watching it.
I was surprised I’d heard so little about this program … it’s a big-budget, post-apocalyptic military science fiction series, but none of my fellow horror or sci-fi nerds mentioned having seen it.
The plot setup seems like something that would please horror fans — a virus eradicates 80 percent of the world’s population, and a lone American naval vessel elects to remain at sea. (They’re fortunate enough to be carrying a civilian virologist who was tasked by the fallen United States government to develop a vaccine.) And there are hints that the show’s writers would do well scripting a frightening TV series — there are a couple of nice flourishes for a serialized horror show right here in the pilot.
But the story’s horror elements are minimized in favor of a more mainstream, safe-for-general-audiences techno-thriller. And that’s not a bad thing, because it succeeds as a such. The show is based on a 1988 novel by William Brinkley, and it’s produced in cooperation with the United States Navy. (The destroyers U.S.S. Halsey and the U.S.S. Dewey stand in for the fictional U.S.S. Nathan James.) It seems smartly scripted with respect to both virology and how the military works. I’m barely literate in either of those subjects, but what I watched seemed coolly authentic, and that entertained me and held my attention. So while I might not recommend this to fellow “The Walking Dead” fans, I’d definitely recommend it to fans of Tom Clancy.
The directing is pretty good, the story moves along quite quickly, and the action scenes in the pilot are surprisingly ambitious and effective for a TV show.
The acting, I suppose, is average — though it’s always fun seeing Adam Baldwin on screen, and the square-jawed Eric Dane seems well cast and shows promise as the ship’s commanding officer.
The dialogue and character interaction are average at best. This isn’t high art when it comes to human storytelling. There are some pretty predictable character tropes, and a few exchanges are so cheesily melodramatic that they nearly insult the viewer’s intelligence. Dane’s commander faces off, for example, against a beautiful, independent, female scientist who doesn’t like following orders … gee, I wonder if we’ll see any romantic tension there?
Still, this looks like a good enough show, if its pilot is any indication. The good outweighs the bad, and I’m glad I heard about it.
“The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!” by John Keats
“The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!”
by John Keats
The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!
Sweet voice, sweet lips, soft hand, and softer breast,
Warm breath, light whisper, tender semi-tone,
Bright eyes, accomplish’d shape, and lang’rous waist!
Faded the flower and all its budded charms,
Faded the sight of beauty from my eyes,
Faded the shape of beauty from my arms,
Faded the voice, warmth, whiteness, paradise –
Vanish’d unseasonably at shut of eve,
When the dusk holiday – or holinight
Of fragrant-curtain’d love begins to weave
The woof of darkness thick, for hid delight,
But, as I’ve read love’s missal through to-day,
He’ll let me sleep, seeing I fast and pray.
1819
Portrait by William Hilton, circa 1822
Downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia, June 2017
My Fredricksbud declined my offer to bring him an Official City of Roanoke, Virginia, commemorative mug. (You’d figure those things would be in higher demand.) So I brought him a … fidget spinner!!! There it is, below … fidgety-spinning, I guess. All jokes aside? The allure of these (surprisingly pricey) fad toys is entirely lost on me. That thing entertained me for less than two minutes. (And it is generally agreed upon that I have the mind of a child.)
Falmouth Bridge heading west into downtown.
George Street looking north to Caroline Street.
Caroline Street. I must say that the entire town looks far better than when I last spent a lot of time here in 1995. There are more and better stores, and the downtown area even looks better maintained. Of course, the mid-1990’s economy wasn’t doing so well.
Pictured below is Goolrick’s Drugs.
The reopened Sammy T’s!
Looking west up Hanover Street from Caroline Street.
At Benny Vitali’s on Caroline Street. The pizzas and individual slices there are twice the normal size. It seems like a decent marketing device; how many Mary Washington College students wouldn’t want to order a giant pizza? The pizza is cheap and damned good too.
A mural on Sophia Street.
The corner of William Street and Princess Anne Street, heading west.
The Confederate Cemetery (and Fredericksburg City Cemetery) as seen from Washington Avenue. My apologies for including this — for some reason, I’ve always really liked speeding car shots.
Actual quote from my Roanoke landlord:
Actual quote from my Roanoke landlord:
“Erik’s not from around here. You might be able to tell that.”
Was it my accent? The fact that I was commenting on how beautiful the mountain sunsets are? (I gather lifelong residents might be less inclined to make that slightly touristy observation.)
When I shared the above on Facebook, my BritBud up in NoVa commented, “I hear ya.”
Route 3 East through Spotsylvania County, VA, June 2017
I hate to say it, but what you see below is now the last nice looking stretch of Route 3 East toward Fredericksburg. It’s as though New York has come to Central Virginia, but not in a good way. Just past this monument after Salem Church Road, there is a long, garish clutter of retail space that is typical of the “strip development” you would find on Long Island.
I’m honestly happy if the growth of Fredericksburg’s retail and service sectors have driven job growth. (Hey, I used to live here.)
But it ain’t pretty. I can’t help but wonder if the planning and zoning folks for Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg could have done a better job.
“Gone But Not Forgotten,” John William Waterhouse, 1873
A mountain in Southwest Virginia
Off I-81 North from Roanoke, maybe? Or was it I-64 East?
Given my lifelong penchant for getting lost, I’m probably lucky I made it home to sit here struggling to remember …
Throwback Thursday: the “WKRP in Cincinnati” theme song!
I didn’t watch “WKRP in Cincinnati” (1978 – 1982) when I was a kid; it was a show for adults. I loved the theme song just as much as anyone else, though.
This was just meant as a catchy tune for the show’s opener — but it was such a cool and popular soft-rock number (performed by Steve Carlisle), that a full-length version was released as a singe in 1979. It reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 1982.
Cover to “Grendel: War Child” #7, Matt Wagner, 1992
Dark Horse Comics.
