Jan 25, 2013

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Outtakes Online: ‘Last Resort’ goes out with a bang

Andre Braugher starred as Capt. Marcus Chaplin in "Last Resort." COURTESY PHOTO

Andre Braugher starred as Capt. Marcus Chaplin in "Last Resort." (Courtesy ABC)

BY MIKE GORDON / mgordon@staradvertiser.com

The action was rapid fire — and at times explosive — during the Thursday series finale of ABC’s “Last Resort,” but the political drama that shot in Hawaii once again drew a small audience.

“Last Resort” attracted 5.39 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings released by the network.

Among adults 18-49, the audience cited as the key advertising demographic, the show drew 1.2 percent of the total viewing audience and 3 percent of those watching TV at the time, ABC said.

“Last Resort” was the story of a U.S. ballistic missile submarine under attack by its own government. The captain, played by Andre Braugher, orders his crew to take over a small island and they declare themselves the world’s newest nuclear power.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television, “Last Resort” started the season relatively strong, riding a wave of critical acclaim. It premiered in September with 9.1 million viewers but never got close to that again.

TV critics urged fans to tune in and the network often cited the bump in ratings when it factored in those who recorded the show and watched it on a later date. But the show never caught on and the ratings sank a little lower nearly every week.

Sony produced a pilot and 12 episodes for ABC, all shot in Hawaii at the state film studio at Diamond Head, Kualoa Ranch and at locations around Oahu.

The series averaged 6.27 million viewers.

It was the third series ABC shot in Hawaii since the final season of “Lost” in 2010.
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Mike Gordon covers film and television in Hawaii for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Email him at mgordon@staradvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his weekly “Outtakes” column Sundays in the Star-Advertiser.

  • Mark Odin

    You’re right that the action was rapid-fire and I was impressed by how much of the story they resolved in such a short amount of time. I was happy with the way things were wrapped up, but it also makes want more resolution about some of the loose strings they left. I watched the finale and caught up with other Thursday night shows this weekend since they were recorded on my DISH Hopper through PrimeTime Anytime. I don’t need to worry about missing any of my favorite shows when I work nights at DISH because my DVR automatically records three hours of the four major networks during primetime and catch up with them at my own pace.