One of the most talked-about new shows on television is also the hardest to explain.
ABC’s "Last Resort," which uses Hawaii locations as stand-ins for the Indian Ocean, is a political thriller about the crew of the USS Colorado, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with ballistic missiles. That’s the easy overview.
But as events unfold in the pilot, which airs Thursday, the crew members are attacked by their own government, point guns at one another and discover they may never see their loved ones again.
They consider themselves patriots even as they are branded as a rogue crew.
|
‘LAST RESORT’
Airs at 7 p.m. Thursdays on KITV. The pilot airs this week.
|
And, oh yeah, the crew of the Colorado also takes over a small island and declares it the world’s newest nation, complete with a nuclear deterrent of Trident missiles that can cross oceans and continents to find their targets.
"Last Resort," the pilot of which was shot here in February and March and whose crew returned in July to begin shooting episodes, has created island sets at Kualoa Ranch and at some North Shore beaches. But its most interesting sets are inside the soundstage at the state film studio at Diamond Head. That’s where the show’s submarine was built: There’s a wood-paneled mess hall, a hallway with a flight of stairs leading nowhere and the control room, a computer-screen-filled nerve center with more blinking lights than a Christmas parade.
There’s a lot of action in the first hour of the show, but there’s also the promise of complicated relationships, romance and a touch of madness.
To help viewers get onboard with "Last Resort," here’s a roll call of the major players.
ANDRE BRAUGHER
Capt. Marcus Chaplin
No doubt about it, Andre Braugher is the commanding presence on "Last Resort." The Emmy-winning actor is the leader of the show’s large cast, and as Capt. Marcus Chaplin, commander of the ballistic missile submarine USS Colorado, he’s the man with his finger on the nuclear trigger.
All summer, Braugher’s version of Chaplin delivered the show’s signature line — "You’ve been warned" — in movie theater trailers and television promos.
"Both my character and I depend on the same thing, which is that we are clear about our goals and our aims," Braugher said. "So my goal and my aim is to make sure we are doing the best possible television we can and that we are elevating the material past what is on the page."
Braugher views Chaplin as a disciplined patriot who loves his crew as much as his country. But with only a few episodes finished, it’s too soon to explain the captain in depth.
"The character becomes fuller and more complete one scene at a time," he said. "So it is really dependent upon clarifying the story ourselves, understanding the stakes, discovering the essence of the scene and — to the best of our ability — being able to tell the story in a compelling and dramatic way."
The 50-year-old Braugher, who is best known for his role as Baltimore detective Frank Pembleton on the acclaimed 1990s series "Homicide: Life on the Streets," was attracted to the pilot script written by the show’s creators, Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek. Braugher was a fan of Ryan’s "The Shield" and its dark, antiheroic lead character, Los Angeles Police Detective Vic Mackey.
"The Mackey character goes on one hell of a journey, and I’m hoping to go on one hell of a journey," Braugher said.
In Chaplin there will be an undercurrent of emotion that’s driven by devastating loss.
"He is known to be a very loyal commander and to think strategically, but he is also a man whose entire family has died while he is at sea," Braugher said. "Consequently, he’s a man who is grieving, and he’s a man who in essence is quietly enraged that he has been made an outlaw by the United States Navy."
SCOTT SPEEDMAN
Executive Officer Sam Kendal
Scott Speedman, who stars as Sam Kendal, executive officer of the submarine USS Colorado, thinks TV audiences are savvy enough to digest the complicated plot of "Last Resort."
"It’s a smart show," he said. "It’s big-themed. It is very romantic. It is definitely not a cable show, but it does ask a little more of you than some of the generic fare."
Speedman, 37, has spent most of career in films — he appeared earlier this year in "The Vow" — but is also remembered for his role in the "Underworld" movies and TV’s "Felicity."
In "Last Resort" the character of Kendal has been described as more of a pragmatist than a philosopher, more a man of action than a sideline coach. As the show’s premise unfolds and Kendal has to decide what’s right and wrong, his relationship with Capt. Chaplin is quickly stretched to breaking.
Speedman feels this is where the real fun begins in "Last Resort." Acting with Braugher is like playing tennis, he said.
"You can be in a scene with him and turn to him at any moment and you won’t find a false beat," Speedman said. "He will be right there with you. He makes tough scenes very believable."
DAISY BETTS
Lt. Grace Shepard
When Daisy Betts thinks about her role as Lt. Grace Shepard, the Australian actress sees her “Last Resort” character as a role model for women. She’s a Navy officer giving orders in the male-dominated world of submarines — “a real pioneer,” Betts said. Women began serving on U.S. submarines only last year.
“Her toughness is something I don’t get to go to very often,” Betts said. “I have a pretty relaxed, casual approach to life, and so being in control of everything that is going on is something that is fun. And there is a lot of commanding going on, and I don’t necessarily do a lot of that.”
Betts has acted in a variety of roles, mostly in Australian film (“Caught Inside”) and television (“Sea Patrol”), but she appeared in a three-episode arc opposite Kathy Bates in “Harry’s Law.”
Betts, her husband and their 2-year-old son — who thinks his mother works on a submarine — moved to Hawaii from Los Angeles specifically for the series. They love it, too: At home, where Betts is “just a mom,” the house often fills with neighborhood children.
Betts says “Last Resort” is the kind of drama that a couple can enjoy together.
“I think women will enjoy the kick-ass female characters,” she said. “There are five of them, and all of them are very strong. And I think the men will enjoy the women as well, but they will also enjoy the action.”
ROBERT PATRICK
Master Chief Joseph Prosser
The crustiest, crankiest and probably the most believable character on “Last Resort” is Robert Patrick, an actor with a world-class scowl and lines such as, “I come from a time in America where men were men and women knew it.”
As Master Chief Joseph Prosser, he is the top enlisted sailor on the USS Colorado. Prosser is a career military man who respects the chain of command and loves his country. But the plot puts him at odds with his longtime friend and Colorado skipper, Capt. Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher). Their relationship is built on respect but also on status.
“I think he is stunned that his friend and commanding officer goes soft when it comes time to do his duty,” Patrick said. “My guy has been an outlaw underdog his entire life, and he has worked his ass off to get to where he’s gotten to. And he deserves respect and he gets respect. He loves his country and he obeys orders.”
Patrick’s acting credits, which include a number of military roles, stretch back more than two decades. Perhaps his most remembered role was the menacing T-1000 in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” in 1991.
But he also worked with “Last Resort” creator Shawn Ryan when the executive producer was a writer for the CBS military drama “The Unit.” He also has a recurring role on HBO’s “True Blood” and is in Clint Eastwood’s new movie “Trouble with the Curve.”
Creating a believable Navy chief is important, Patrick said, even if it means living with an unfashionable military haircut or suggesting that a scene that required pushups also include dips — a scene that was shot again and again for three hours.
But it takes time to find the heart of any character, even a cranky one, he said. “That’s sort of the ongoing thing with an actor. I think that’s the anxiety that we all have — that we are not going to be prepared, that we are not going to be able to pull it off. We cram in all the preparation we can.”
DICHEN LACHMAN
Tani Tumrenjack
Don’t expect a lot of dialogue from Dichen Lachman in the early episodes of “Last Resort,” but don’t worry for her, either, the Australian actress said.
As Tani Tumrenjack, a native of the island where the crew of USS Colorado parks the missile-laden submarine, Lachman found herself in scenes where her acting primarily consisted of intense listening. A scene like that demands a lot more acting, she said.
“You have to respond to it in a way you can’t verbalize, and for me that is a really lovely thing to be able to do on television because you don’t often get that opportunity to … just be,” Lachman said. “They always make you talky, talky, talky. So I think that this is actually challenging. It is one of the gifts of this character.”
The 30-year-old Lachman got her first big role on the Australian soap “Neighbours,” appearing in 88 episodes. She also starred in the Fox science fiction-action series “Dollhouse” and played a vampire on the TV series “Being Human.”
Lachman’s character is a product of two worlds: Australia and the island. When a Navy SEAL arrives aboard the Colorado, she sees him as a potential way out.
“It’s going to take time for you to really understand who she really is — for me, too,” Lachman said. “With such an ensemble piece things move and shift, and you know it takes time. I’m just really enjoying the journey and the possibility right now.”
DANIEL LISSING
SEAL officer James King
In his home country of Australia, Daniel Lissing is considered a rising star who not only appears regularly on TV shows, but also before audiences who pack houses to hear the singer-songwriter perform.
But landing a role on “Last Resort” as Navy SEAL James King is a much bigger deal, said Lissing, who was a series regular on the Australian TV series “Crownies” and who recently finished a film called “The Cure.” There’s far more potential for an actor who can break into American television.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Lissing said. “I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. That is no exaggeration at all.”
To prepare for the part of a SEAL, he was given hand-to-hand combat and weapons training, underwater diving instruction and a fitness routine.
“I reckon my character is the best character on the show,” Lissing said. “From the outside point of view, I think it’s like every little boy’s fantasy to run around with guns, doing Navy diving, romance scenes with beautiful girls and getting to work with amazing, high-caliber actors.”
AUTUMN REESER
Kylie Sinclair
There’s an ambiguity about her role as the scheming and seductive Kyle Sinclair that actress Autumn Reeser thoroughly enjoys: Is she good or bad? Or both?
The role has also touched her on a personal level.
Sinclair is the child of a leading defense contractor who discovers her profitable new weapon has just been hijacked by the captain of the submarine USS Colorado. She suddenly finds herself in a dangerous game of politics and power — a role that sometimes leaves Reeser, who has steadfastly avoided political discussions, feeling unsteady.
“She is strong in the way she uses her femininity and her intelligence,” Reeser, 32, said of her character. “I am learning from her. She is making me rise to the occasion. I am doing so much more reading — a lot of political books. I want to understand this world she lives in and I don’t.”
At the same time, her character’s search for “personal integrity” is forcing Reeser, a new mother, to look at what she wants to teach her 16-month-old son.
“It certainly feels authentic to a place that I am at in my life right now … sort of coming into a new understanding of myself since becoming a mother and confronting my own personal truths,” she said.
Reeser worked steadily since 2001, starring in a range of film and TV projects — “The O.C.,” “Valentine,” “Entourage,” “Hawaii Five-0” and others.
