RECAP: Andre Braugher And Scott Speedman Avert Nuclear War With Pakistan On 'Last Resort'

by uInterviewSeptember 28, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

ABC’s new large-scale military drama, Last Resort, opened Thursday with its series premiere, “Captain.”

The premiere began with the USS Colorado submarine picking up a small band of Marines stranded on a rescue boat. Later, the Colorado crew, led by Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) and XO Lt. Commander Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman, pictured), received orders to fire nuclear missiles on Pakistan; however, they suspected something was amiss and refused go through with the assault. In response to their insubordination, a fellow U.S. submarine fired on the USS Colorado, damaging the sub and killing some of the crew. The survivors managed to take their damaged submarine to a nearby island where a NATO communications base was stationed.

Reports in the U.S. declared the sub was sunk by missiles fired from Pakistan and that none of the crew survived. But upon further digging, it appeared even Navy officials were unsure of the true circumstances behind the attack.

Later, as the USS Colorado crew tried to make sense of their situation, the Marines they rescued turned on them. The crew then subdued the Marines, killing one, but soon realized that U.S. planes had been sent to bomb their location. Captain Chaplin responded by launching a missile at Washington D.C., which forced the planes to be called off. Chaplin then destroyed the missile before it could do any damage to the nation's capital.

The episode concluded with the crew of the USS Colorado sending a warning message to their U.S. superiors that they will not take orders and will uncover the truth, signaling the start of a storyline sure to be rich with surprises and deceit.

Last Resort had a solid — but far from stellar — premiere, finishing third in the ratings (9.1 million viewers) for its time slot behind CBS’s The Big Bang Theory (15.3 million) and Fox’s The X Factor (9.2 million). Keep your eyes on the fate of the USS Colorado, as well the show itself, in the coming weeks. Last Resort's second episode, "Blue on Blue," airs Thursday on ABC at 8 p.m. EST. –Hal Sundt