The proper perspective regarding "Ship" is to not allow any prejudice regarding the overall military theme to deter you from enjoying this well-produced program from action-adventure film legend Michael Bay. A comparable personal bias against westerns and sports-oriented films and television series has prevented seeing "Rocky" and many other quality productions. The setting of "Ship" largely is incidental to the compelling season-long story arc that has heavy shades of both incarnations of the scifi series "Battlestar Galactica."
Just like the opening minutes of the "Galactica" series, everything generally is shipshape and Bristol fashion at the beginning of "Ship" S5. Modern naval legend Admiral Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) happily is teaching at the Naval Academy; his Number One Mike Slattery (Adam Baldwin) still is active-duty but is living a life free of trauma and drama. The rest of their former crew is equally as happy as can be expected after their professional and personal ordeals of the prior seasons,
A celebration of normalcy complete with (ala "Galactica") the Nathan James now being a museum brings the band back together. Meanwhile, a small group of our heroes is trying to persuade a truly duly-elected South American leader to increase his security,
The lighter mood of S5 E1 provides for awesome humor; one of the best scenes in the entire season has tourists asking Chandler to take their photo with a life-size cardboard cutout of him. A real-life equivalent is celeb friends who no longer resemble their characters often sharing tales of fans ignoring them in favor of actors who play supporting roles when the two are out-and-about together,
Two closely-related events change everything for our heroes and everyone else in their world. Colombian terrorist/S5 nemesis Gustavo "Tavo" Barros escalates his rhetoric regarding United States domination of Central and South America to the level of killing the aforementioned South American leader and executing a Pearl Harbor-style attack on the aforementioned festivities that the U.S. naval fleet is attending. The scenes of the latter make excellent use of the skills of "Pearl Harbor" producer Bay.
The attack using an insidious in every sense computer virus that plays a role in knocking our military tech. back to the WWII-era while the enemy enjoys all the modern conveniences adds several interesting elements to S5. We see how the keyboard kids of today are modern heroes and how the old salts use human brainpower to adapt when tech. fails. In other words, everyone brings something to the table.
S5 goes even more old school by having the 19th-century novel Moby Dick play a prominent role; this begins with the Melville prose being a favorite read of Chandler. We also see this text help the squids adapt to the new normal, This is not to mention things being very personal for both Barros and Chandler and the latter facing an enemy that more closely resembles a whale.
A more modern element enters the picture in the form of Chandler rejecting his desk-jockey role to repeatedly throw himself in the midst of the action ala Jack Bauer of "24." This also is a akin to a "Star Trek" captain ignoring the desire of his or her crew to participate in a dangerous away mission.
Much of the action centers around the Trump scenario of very bad hombres marching el norte to add territory to Gran Colombia and ultimately invade the United States. The threat is very real this time, and a wall will not be a significant deterrent.
This war game also involves both Mexico and Cuba having high strategic importance, This requires that Chandler use diplomacy to get the leaders of these two countries with animosity toward each other to kiss and make-up.
Meanwhile back at home, the "24" element is very strong. An aforementioned guy in the chair has identified both the aforementioned virus and the means by which it cripples the Navy. This is only part of the story.
The rest of the tale is that the person who creates the harm does so inadvertently and is the victim of a "24" style betrayal. Although this aspect of "Ship" is as well-written and executed as the rest of the story, it arguably reflects a disliked stereotype of the past that portrays a certain demographic as psychotic.
The discovery of the truth leads to a manhunt that culminates in events that show that the military strategists forget the lesson of the Trojan Horse, This leads to some of wonderfully "Die Hard" style mayhem that includes handling a hostage situation with extreme prejudice.
Devastating losses on both sides have particularly brought Barros to the edge of madness and have taken a heavy toll on Chandler by the season and series finale. Their final showdown is reminiscent of Kirk v. Khan. One lesson here for both sides is to not allow your emotions to take control.
The final adventure also has Chandler take his boldest action ever; this leads to an incredibly surreal sequence that pays homage both to naval tradition and to Charles Dickens. It being the end of a five-year mission makes it equally probable that our hero will experience a fitting death and will return to his teaching duties until the next global crises requires that he once again cowboys up.
As indicated above, "Ship" S5 is a typically compelling Bay thrill ride. It easily passes the "one more" test and will leave you desiring further adventures.
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