Variety have an interesting slant on it's cancellation. Is it one of those shows that viewers will binge watch rather than watch on transmission. Has 'catch up' actually helped to stop the show?http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062345
Variety have an interesting slant on it's cancellation. Is it one of those shows that viewers will binge watch rather than watch on transmission. Has 'catch up' actually helped to stop the show?http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062345
This I think is one of the problems with network television - it grew out a bygone age when families sat down together in front of a dumb box. Now we have Netflix, Lovefilm, Blu-Ray and PVRs. This is changing viewing habits but the networks are being left behind. Even there business model is at risk - because people either avoid or fast forward over ads.
The thing is the more they cancel popular shows - the less people are going to watch them - X-Factor and the like might get eyeballs for advertisers, but not the long term returns that good drama does.
We are already seeing the best programming appearing on cable channels which are funded by subscription - so they really do not care if you do not watch the ads.
Dont know if it was the break in the show, but the last episode was all over the place. I didn't know what was going on and why most of the time. It seems like they took extracts from 3 episodes and mixed them up to make one episode!
Glad it's been cancelled, I'm only watching because it's that bad I cant not watch!
I think it would have been better without the pointless love triangles. I don't give a crap about how Sexy French Bird and XO feel for each other, nor Lt. Grace and SEAL Dude and Dollhouse Barmaid.
This week's episode really should have focussed more on the main story.
I think it would have been better without the pointless love triangles. I don't give a crap about how Sexy French Bird and XO feel for each other, nor Lt. Grace and SEAL Dude and Dollhouse Barmaid.
This week's episode really should have focussed more on the main story.
That's been one of the failings of the show, not caring about the characters.
Well, I'm pleased that's finished. The pilot was promising but the rest of it, apart from the odd moment, was a total mess of characterisation and story telling.
Well I stuck with this even though it was a pile of trash from about Ep3 onward. It promised so much, a good story idea, but scripts were poor, acting was poor, but worst of all the story got complicated and jumped all over the place. At times it seems like the story editor threw all the filmed shots in the air and stuck them together where they landed.
I said I stuck with it, a bit like a car crash you knows that's coming, you want to look away but you can't.
I thought episodes 1, 5 and 9 were outstanding so stuck with it but wasn't expecting the standard to be maintained right to the end so wasn't disappointed.
There were enough good ideas there for a decent two-hour movie but not for a 13 part series.
Felt (as others have said) the finale was rushed. One thing that puzzled me was Autumn Reeser's character being able to smuggle a gun into a party where the president of the United States was without being searched beforehand by the secrect service.
It was an odd show, couldn't see it going anywhere past the first series. They really didn't manage to explain much of what was going on - they nuked Pakistan FFS!
It was an odd show, couldn't see it going anywhere past the first series. They really didn't manage to explain much of what was going on - they nuked Pakistan FFS!
At least it ended.
What's wrong with that?
From what I saw it could have been good if it had been about a 3rd world war between China and the US but they spent too much time on the rubbish relationship stuff, and the 'whose side are you on?' stuff.
One thing that puzzled me was Autumn Reeser's character being able to smuggle a gun into a party where the president of the United States was without being searched beforehand by the secrect service.
I thought that was one thing they did explain? Her father told the bodyguards "That won't be necessary fellas, she's one of us".
From what I saw it could have been good if it had been about a 3rd world war between China and the US but they spent too much time on the rubbish relationship stuff, and the 'whose side are you on?' stuff.
That would be kind of a big deal in any other series, hardly got to see any of the reasons for it or who was behind it, in fact one of the people who were planning to overthrow the supposedly bad President abruptly shoots himself on TV. Weird.
That would be kind of a big deal in any other series, hardly got to see any of the reasons for it or who was behind it, in fact one of the people who were planning to overthrow the supposedly bad President abruptly shoots himself on TV. Weird.
It happened off screen as well (I assume you mean the one in the first episode as I miss a couple near the end?)/
It was all a mess. They focused too much on the island, and the smuggler bloke was a waste of screen time.
It was an odd show, couldn't see it going anywhere past the first series. They really didn't manage to explain much of what was going on - they nuked Pakistan FFS!
At least it ended.
They never explained why the order to nuke Pakistan went via that weird back-channel, either.
The US was quite open about nuking Pakistan (using the fake evidence of terrorist nukes as justification), so why not use the normal procedure to order the Colorado to do so in the first place? If they'd done that, Chaplain would have turned his key...
That would be kind of a big deal in any other series, hardly got to see any of the reasons for it or who was behind it, in fact one of the people who were planning to overthrow the supposedly bad President abruptly shoots himself on TV. Weird.
Yup. *How* was the coup attempt discovered. What caused the guy from Ghostbusters to shoot himself?
I was pleased that they managed to give the show some sort of ending, even though the last 2 episodes were ridiculously rushed. Mind you, I do agree that this concept was always more suited to a movie (or maybe a mini-series) than an ongoing episodic drama.
Regarding all the loose ends and plot holes, I have a lot of sympathy for the writers, who started out trying to come up with a something that might run for a number of seasons, then are told after 6 episodes that it's going to be cancelled, so have to retro-fit everything into a quick ending... it wasn't perfect, but I preferred it to the "leave everything hanging" option that most cancelled series take.
Rushed ending aside, they clearly did their very best to give us some answers. This was a really good show that amounts to around and 11 hours of story at a level which was better than many movies. I was particularly impressed with Andre Braugher.
They never explained why the order to nuke Pakistan went via that weird back-channel, either.
The US was quite open about nuking Pakistan (using the fake evidence of terrorist nukes as justification), so why not use the normal procedure to order the Colorado to do so in the first place? If they'd done that, Chaplain would have turned his key...
At the time of the original fire order issued to the Colorado they may not have been absolutely sure that Hopper and his team had secured the fake evidence. Hopper was the only one to receive the order, and he was shot shortly afterwards sending the mission into chaos.
The back channel comms was likely a means of retaining some sort of plausible deniability - Pakistan gets nuked, but the powers could then claim that Chaplin was wrong for acting on the order given that it was through an unofficial channel, thereby laying the blame at his feet.
Yup. *How* was the coup attempt discovered. What caused the guy from Ghostbusters to shoot himself?
WTF was actually going on?
Must admit, this narked me. If the cancellation timing had been different then they could have used the coup attempt as an effective way of wrapping up the story. Instead, it got snuffed out and we got a rushed/tacked on ending after the fact that offers scant resolution.
Yeah. Too much time wasted on the island smuggler baron, too much time wasted on love triangles, too much time wasted on CRAP.
Serrat was so fcuking irritating. Anyone in their right mind would surely have put a cap in his @$$ 5 minutes after arriving on the island FFS! :rolleyes:
Ultimately, I loved the premise of the pilot episode, but almost everything afterwards, with the odd exceptional episode, has been pretty disappointing. The finale provided a resolution of sorts, which is probably better than nothing, but ultimately, again, was rather unsatisfying as a series finale.
I'd have been disappointed had the show been dropped after the pilot. Now, I'm not so bothered.
Finally got around to watching the last episode and its nice, for once, that a cancelled show was able to wrap up. I'd love to know how the story was going to pan out had it got renewed but something shows has a distinct shelf life, some stories just need a few episodes and this show told its story. Yes it was a little rushed at the end but in bind sight that may be a strength rather than stretching its story out too far.
EDIT: some info here on what we would have seen in more episodes.
Comments
This I think is one of the problems with network television - it grew out a bygone age when families sat down together in front of a dumb box. Now we have Netflix, Lovefilm, Blu-Ray and PVRs. This is changing viewing habits but the networks are being left behind. Even there business model is at risk - because people either avoid or fast forward over ads.
The thing is the more they cancel popular shows - the less people are going to watch them - X-Factor and the like might get eyeballs for advertisers, but not the long term returns that good drama does.
We are already seeing the best programming appearing on cable channels which are funded by subscription - so they really do not care if you do not watch the ads.
Glad it's been cancelled, I'm only watching because it's that bad I cant not watch!
This week's episode really should have focussed more on the main story.
That's been one of the failings of the show, not caring about the characters.
Turns out I never got round to watching Ep12 even though I aquired it last week
Right from the start though it was clear this would have worked much better as an 8 or 10 hour miniseries.
Far too rushed. If only they'd not wasted so much time on filler earlier in the season...
I said I stuck with it, a bit like a car crash you knows that's coming, you want to look away but you can't.
Bye Bye Last Resort, you won't be missed.
There were enough good ideas there for a decent two-hour movie but not for a 13 part series.
At least it ended.
What's wrong with that?
From what I saw it could have been good if it had been about a 3rd world war between China and the US but they spent too much time on the rubbish relationship stuff, and the 'whose side are you on?' stuff.
I thought that was one thing they did explain? Her father told the bodyguards "That won't be necessary fellas, she's one of us".
That would be kind of a big deal in any other series, hardly got to see any of the reasons for it or who was behind it, in fact one of the people who were planning to overthrow the supposedly bad President abruptly shoots himself on TV. Weird.
It happened off screen as well (I assume you mean the one in the first episode as I miss a couple near the end?)/
It was all a mess. They focused too much on the island, and the smuggler bloke was a waste of screen time.
They never explained why the order to nuke Pakistan went via that weird back-channel, either.
The US was quite open about nuking Pakistan (using the fake evidence of terrorist nukes as justification), so why not use the normal procedure to order the Colorado to do so in the first place? If they'd done that, Chaplain would have turned his key...
Yup. *How* was the coup attempt discovered. What caused the guy from Ghostbusters to shoot himself?
WTF was actually going on?
Yeah. Too much time wasted on the island smuggler baron, too much time wasted on love triangles, too much time wasted on CRAP.
Regarding all the loose ends and plot holes, I have a lot of sympathy for the writers, who started out trying to come up with a something that might run for a number of seasons, then are told after 6 episodes that it's going to be cancelled, so have to retro-fit everything into a quick ending... it wasn't perfect, but I preferred it to the "leave everything hanging" option that most cancelled series take.
At the time of the original fire order issued to the Colorado they may not have been absolutely sure that Hopper and his team had secured the fake evidence. Hopper was the only one to receive the order, and he was shot shortly afterwards sending the mission into chaos.
The back channel comms was likely a means of retaining some sort of plausible deniability - Pakistan gets nuked, but the powers could then claim that Chaplin was wrong for acting on the order given that it was through an unofficial channel, thereby laying the blame at his feet.
Must admit, this narked me. If the cancellation timing had been different then they could have used the coup attempt as an effective way of wrapping up the story. Instead, it got snuffed out and we got a rushed/tacked on ending after the fact that offers scant resolution.
Serrat was so fcuking irritating. Anyone in their right mind would surely have put a cap in his @$$ 5 minutes after arriving on the island FFS! :rolleyes:
Ultimately, I loved the premise of the pilot episode, but almost everything afterwards, with the odd exceptional episode, has been pretty disappointing. The finale provided a resolution of sorts, which is probably better than nothing, but ultimately, again, was rather unsatisfying as a series finale.
I'd have been disappointed had the show been dropped after the pilot. Now, I'm not so bothered.
EDIT: some info here on what we would have seen in more episodes.