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TV Media Weekly | August 8 - 14, 2015 people showed up. The secretary of the Navy [Ray Mabus] himself has been to our set and actually recorded a cameo. It's the episode where they find the message that was buried in the files of the White House. The guy who's play- ing the secretary of the Navy is the real secretary of the Navy." Aside from cameos, "The Last Ship" also does a lot of its filming on actual ships, including a hospi- tal ship that was featured in an episode last month. This kind of support has been crucial to the success of the show, according to Dane in the "Today" interview. "We get a lot of support from the Navy," he said. "We are forev- er indebted to them; they have been absolute sports about this. Shooting on a naval destroyer is interesting because you're on a $3 billion ship — you better take care of it — and once you put on the uniform and sit in the cap- tain's chair, it really helps [give you a feel for things]." It's not only on screen that the Navy features prominently, either. The cast undergoes a lot of inten- sive physical training to give them an idea of what it's like in the Navy and how the personnel be- have, and that was something Tra- vis Van Winkle ("Transformers," 2007), who stars as Lt. Danny Green, told a panel at SDCC 2015 he couldn't wait to get started on. By Cassie Dresch TV Media A bout this time last year, I wondered if it was possi- ble to survive a devastat- ing pandemic that deci- mates the world's population if you were isolated from it. Today, we have our answer: definitely! But not without some major fall- out. "The Last Ship" battens down the hatches and charges full steam ahead when a new epi- sode airs Sunday, Aug. 9, on TNT. With only a few episodes left in season 2, it's safe to say that much has transpired since "The Last Ship" set sail on its first sea- son last year. From a global pan- demic to cures to armed merce- naries to a group of immunes, the USS Nathan James's crew has faced its fair share of challenges. The immunes have been a big plot point this season, providing most of the opposition for the commanding officer, Cmdr. Tom Chandler (Eric Dane, "Grey's Anatomy"), Dr. Rachel Scott (Rho- na Mitra, "Boston Legal"), XO Mike Slattery (Adam Baldwin, "Chuck") and the rest of the crew. The immunes, who aren't affected by the virus that wiped out 80 per cent of the world's population, believe they are a chosen few meant to inherit the Earth due to their natural immunity and don't want the vaccine shared. It definitely sounds like some crazy sci-fi conspiracy theory when it's laid out in front of you. What's actually crazy to think about, though, is that this kind of situation could very well happen today, something that's not lost on Dane, who cites a recent viral outbreak as a prime example. "I think 30 years ago, this would have been science fiction, and now it's somewhat proba- ble," Dane said in an interview with "Today." "The Ebola out- break was pretty isolated, but had that happened in a densely popu- lated area with people flying in and out, we [humanity] would have been a wrap." Thankfully, that's not the case and we can still look at "The Last Ship" as another piece of fiction — well, sort of. One aspect of the drama that really stands out is how faithful the show is to the ac- tual U.S. Navy, so much so that the Navy is heavily involved in the se- ries in more ways than one. "The Navy has been incredibly supportive and excited," execu- tive producer Hank Steinberg said in an interview with FOX411 at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. "We had a big premiere in Washington, D.C., where thousands of military Rhona Mitra as seen in "The Last Ship" All hands on deck 'The Last Ship' steams through its second season 2 | Cover story Tipton Ford 3 x 10" A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" 3830 S LAFOUNTAIN, KOKOMO 765-453-9125 SUN-THURS 11AM-1OPM FRI & SAT 11AM-11PM www.grindstonesrestaurantandpub.com $ 3 00 OFF $15.00 Food Purchase Expire: 08/31/2015 One coupon per person, per visit. Not good with any other offer. Taxes & Gratuity not included. Must present this Coupon for discount. TV

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