bill-2158 Reviews

A Gentleman in Moscow (2024)

A Very Enjoyable Series

[7/10 · 10 May 2024]

This is a well-written and well-acted series. It's nice when a show or movie does not have to depend on special effects and action to be good.

As others have mentioned, I just have trouble believing some of the casting. It's bad enough that most of the actors have English accents. Having more Russian actors, or at least actors that look and sound Russian would have been preferable.

The most unbelievable aspect of the casting is the number of actors of African descent. I have a hard time believing there were that many (if any) people of African origin in Moscow at that time, and I'm sure none that would hold a position like Minister of Culture. Very unbelievable. I know when I visited Russia (including Moscow) around the year 2000, the only African people I saw were young, male African exchange students going to a university, and I saw less in all my travels around Russian than I see in one episode of this TV series.

FBI: International: Red Light (2024) Season 3, Episode 10

Bad Writing = Bad Episode

[1/10 · 26 April 2024]

Writing teams that no nothing about the military should not write scripts for episodes that include military information unless they research the information they are writing about. This team did not do that. Consequently, most of the details about the former navy men are incorrect. This results in lazy, bad writing and a bad episode.

At one point, one of the characters is shown in uniform, from his "navy days". It's obviously a recently taken photograph of the actor in "Navy Whites". Beards are not allowed unless you have a "chit" from a medical person stating you do not have to shave because of the possibility of creating ingrown hairs. Normally, this is only a problem with men of African descent.

The victim, we are told, is a former Gunner's Mate. That's an enlisted rate (specialty). However, a bit later, the victim's uncle tells us he is an Academy grad. That's the United States Naval Academy, which means the victim was an officer in the navy and could not possibly have been a Gunner's Mate.

The FBI personnel are always treating the guys leaving the navy as something suspicious. Most people do one enlistment, and when that enlistment or mandatory service is over, they leave. Nothing suspicious or questionable about it. Why did they leave the navy? Their enlistment was over.

In the case of the victim, however, if he was a graduate of the Naval Academy, he would have owed at least 4 years of active-duty naval service in payment for his free education. If he was already out of the navy and in civilian employment at age 25, that means he would have graduated the Academy no later than 21 years of age and entering the Academy at 17. Possible, but that's a pretty tight timeline.

All in all, the writers knew nothing about the subject matter they were writing about and created a terrible, error-filled episode. It ruined the whole story for me, as all I paid attention to were the numerous factual errors. Why don't you write an episode where the fly team goes to space? I bet you know nothing about that either.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Star Trek: Touchy-Feelie

[3/10 · 21 April 2024]

Disclaimer: You can say that maybe a lot of things are depicted as changing in the next 500 - 900 years, but here are my opinions.

NOTE: I just subtracted another star. I forgot that they even made the computer a hot mess of emotion and inaction!

This is my least favorite Star Trek, including every TV show and movie ever made. It's not a terrible show, and I do watch it when I'm caught up on every other show and movie. Too much time spent on people's feelings and emotions at the sacrifice of the mission and action. Multiple instances of the whole universe in danger, and characters literally stop what they're doing and talk about how they feel.

See if this makes sense. I hate musicals because in most musicals, the whole story line stops when characters start singing. That's what this show reminds me of. Regardless of what's going on, let's hit the pause button and talk about things. Completely unrealistic premise.

Star Trek, from it's very beginning in TOS dealt with controversial topics and was very ground-breaking in some respects. The diversity of the Enterprise crew, one of the first TV interracial kisses, and many more interesting tidbits. However, the Federation was based on traditional U. S. Navy structures and traditions. Just review ship names and Federation ranks for proof of that. Being ex-navy myself, I identify with a lot of that tradition and structure.

As such, Federation crewmembers in every TV show and movie I can think of are always fit and in good shape. Sure, some of the TOS actors got a little pudgy in later movies, and "William Riker" gained a bit of weight in the latter TNG years, but they didn't start out that way. This is why "Tilly" is my least favorite character. First of all, let's be honest - she's too fat. In my day, anyone that overweight would be on what was called, "The Fat Boy" program. That was a real thing and that's what it was called. If you were overweight, you would have extra P. T. (physical training) and be in a program to lose weight. That is, or at least was, a reality in the navy if you were overweight. Not sure if that's still a thing.

After 5 years, she's a Lieutenant (navy rank, not army or another branch). That's possible, but I remember in early episodes, she's given far too much responsibility for her rank and experience. Additionally, her attitude would not be tolerated in an organization like this. Even in the episode I just watched, S5E04 - "Face the Strange", she's always making faces, talking inappropriately, and generally acting like a spoiled little kid. This is in relation to the XO. I get the point of why this was done, but it's very unrealistic. The XO on a ship has more administrative responsibilities than tactical duties. He's the disciplinarian, among other things, like a college dean. You don't backtalk and roll your eyes at the XO, regardless of what you think of him. Tilly's whole character is just wrong and unbelievable.

Another thing I don't like is all the drama and problems caused by relationships in the crew. Too many married and otherwise involved crewmembers. That would not be tolerated, especially since it interferes with the mission too much. At the very least, these couples would be split up and assigned to different commands. The character "Gray Tal" (Ian Alexander) was allowed to just hang out on the ship for no reason, episode after episode, just to cause personal problems with "Adira Tal" (Blu del Barrio).

This is a series written for the current generation with very little thought given to the traditions that Star Trek is based on, and obviously created by people that have no sense of the military, even though the scientific and exploratory missions of the Federation almost always turn combative. Gene Roddenberry was an Army Air Corps officer in WW2 and at least knew what to base the Enterprise and the Federation on. The people behind this series have no clue. This series is more concerned with feelings and emotions, non-traditional relationships, and non-binary characters and actors at the expense of the action and the mission. It's a snapshot in time, and I find myself wondering if it will stand the test of time. What will people think about this series in 60 years? Anyway, that's what I think, and why this is my least favorite Star Trek franchise.

The Last Ship: The Scott Effect (2016) Season 3, Episode 1

Let's talk about ranks

[1/10 · 10 August 2023]

OK. I've been out of the navy for a while. Maybe things have changed but let me give you my thoughts anyway. I always thought the Nathan James was "top heavy". The captain had the rank of commander. That's correct for a destroyer. The executive officer, Slattery, was also a commander. XO's on destroyers are usually lieutenant commanders. Then, the chief engineer, Garnett, was also a commander. Department heads, like the chief engineer, are usually lieutenants on destroyers. Now it's possible the XO was recently promoted to full commander and is awaiting rotation to his own command. I can buy that. However, a full commander (Garnett) would never be a department head/chief engineer on a destroyer. This was all in effect before the pandemic, so we can't say it's because all the rules changed or were abandoned because of the virus.

Next, the new president appoints Chandler to CNO (Chief of Naval Operations). He gets promoted from commander to captain (the rank, not the commanding officer of a ship). But traditionally, the CNO is a 4-star admiral. Now, in this post-apocalyptic word, I guess anything is possible, so I'm just pointing out what is usual in the real navy. In the show, Chandler says it was his choice to only be a captain, but in the real world, you don't get to pick your rank. You get the rank befitting the post, or you don't get the post.

Slattery gets promoted from commander to captain (in rank) and is given command of the Nathan James, replacing Chandler. Well, that kind of shoots down my theory of him recently being made full commander but only being the XO of the Nathan James. Commanding officers of destroyers are commanders, like chandler was. Commanding officers with the rank of captain would command at least a cruiser. Again, I guess anything goes in the world of this show. I'm just stating how things are in the real world. Knowing how many other mistakes are made in every episode of this show, I'm willing to bet the creators and writers of this show didn't know anything I wrote above.

I also never saw anyone below the rank of petty officer 3rd class (E-4) until the last episode of the second season. Up until that point, everyone had either bars (officers) or crows (E-4 and above).

In hardware mistakes, at one point someone says their helo is loaded with 22mm and hellfire missiles. Now the navy version of the Blackhawk helicopter is called a Seahawk. Seahawks are usually fitted out for ASW (Anti-submarine Operations). I'm not sure they can be fitted with Hellfire missiles. In addition, to the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as a 22mm weapon. In the U. S. Navy. Calibers generally go from 20mm to 25mm. In an earlier episode, they show the Seahawk firing some kind of weapons straight ahead, like a gunship. I don't think this is possible either, and I think it's more the creators and writers making things up, as usual.

I saw that Harry Humphries, former Navy SEAL, is the military consultant starting with season 3. I haven't seen any improvements so far. Either they didn't listen to him, just bought his name for the end titles, or he forgot everything he ever knew about the navy. He has been out of the navy since 1971.

Why am I still watching? I watch because it is a navy-themed show. Also, it's now like a game to see how many errors I can find.

The Last Ship: Cry Havoc (2015) Season 2, Episode 12

This whole script is pathetic!

[1/10 · 10 August 2023]

I can't say too much because the whole episode is flawed and inaccurate. A few more cringeworthy moments from a script that's just totally wrong.

"Let's turn the depth finder into a sub-hunting sonar". Yeah. Right. Let's turn the microwave oven into a surface-search radar while we're at it.

"The magazine is flooded. We have no more weapons." Right. Every single round of ammo for all the different types of weapons is stored in one place. 5-inch rounds, torpedoes, 20MM ammo for the CIWS - all stored in one magazine.

"How many rounds do we have for the 5-inch gun? Only the 4 rounds in the gun." Rounds are not stored in the gun mount. It's not a tank. There's a 20-round drum loader below the deck and modular ammunition storage racks below that. I'm sure they meant 4 rounds left in the 20-round drum loader. Yeah. That's what they meant.

It's also amazing how the whole crew, including the CO and XO are experts at ground warfare, and have all these weapons and special equipment to fight on land. In one earlier episode, they even had something like SEAL team delivery vehicles and SCUBA gear. WOW!

Even though the enemy sub was sunk, it was remarkably intact for having taken 4 5-inch rounds and 4 anti-ship missile hits. Oh, and as the sub is sinking, the two main bad guys are still alive as the sub is going down. Pathetic.

The Last Ship: Friendly Fire (2015) Season 2, Episode 10

More inaccuracies AND demeaning to men

[1/10 · 9 August 2023]

Let's start with more cringeworthy errors. The enemy sub fires a bunch or torpedoes at the Nathan James. Instead of using standard torpedo countermeasures (Nixie) because there's no time (?), they instead fire their surface and air weapons like the 5-inch gun, CIWS, the 25mm...and chaff?

AN/SLQ-25 Nixie is a device specifically designed to counter multiple types of torpedoes. I won't go into details here. You can Google it to find out more. Let's just say that I don't think firing weapons in the water is going to fool a torpedo, and I've never heard of that being tried, much less being successful. However, the biggest joke is them firing chaff. Think of chaff as a mortar that fires little pieces of Mylar into the air, like a cloud. The idea is that a missile (not a torpedo) with active homing radar will see the reflection off the chaff and detonate in the cloud of chaff instead of the ship. Firing a cloud of little Mylar strips into the air that will EVENTUALLY land in the water is not going to do a thing to deter a torpedo strike. The mistakes just get more idiotic with each episode.

Now, their brilliant move of firing weapons into the water (God, help me) stopped all but one of the torpedoes, which hit the port-side bow of the ship - but did no damage and did not penetrate the hull. Totally absurd! This is like when missiles hit the superstructure of the ship right under the bridge and did no damage whatsoever. None of this is even remotely accurate!

Here's how I'm dealing with this show so I can keep watching it. It's obviously a comedy. It's not meant to be serious, and all these mistakes are really jokes that are intended to be funny. It's like a spoof of a military/action show or movie. That must be it - like Airplane, Hot Shots, or The Naked Gun. If only Leslie Nielsen was alive during the making of this show, he could have played a crazy admiral or something. It all makes sense now!

I also noticed something else. I've been paying so much attention to the navy-related mistakes (because it's most of the show), that I just noticed is the way some of the men are portrayed. Most of the characters, male or female, good or bad, are strong characters with at least some capabilities. I can't recall any truly weak characters on the show. However, certain male characters just turn to mush or spill all their secrets if a woman so much as bats her eyelashes at them.

Specifically, I'm thinking of the interaction between the characters of LT Carlton Burk and LT Ravit Bivas. Burk is this big, tough guy, but all Bivas has to do is tease him a bit and he's a bowl of Jell-O. Same thing with Niels and Dr. Scott. He's had this big secret, and all Scott had to do was snuggle up next to him and he's spilling his guts. Very demeaning. Most of the men I know, including me, would tell these women to go jump. Who writes this trash? In my opinion, they seem to have a low opinion of men.

I guess this show is meant for people that know nothing about the navy, but wouldn't you think a show like this WOULD attract current and former navy personnel? And the way they portray some of the male characters should be disgusting to all.

The Last Ship: Achilles (2015) Season 2, Episode 5

Whole episode is just wrong!

[1/10 · 8 August 2023]

If I wrote down everything wrong with this episode, it would be longer than the script. I read some other reviews that echo my feelings about what's wrong with this episode, so I'll just highlight a few things. I should also mention that I served over 4 years on an anti-submarine warfare ship.

They have an ensign manning the sonar gear? An ensign is the lowest rank officer in the U. S. Navy. He really has no formal raining in any equipment aboard ship. He rotates from department to department every 6 months just to get familiar with all the workings of a ship.

The ship has to have some sonar techs - enlisted personnel that train for months, if not years, on sonar equipment. The ship hasn't lost so much of their crew that every sonar tech is gone. Having an ensign instead of a sonar tech run the sonar gear is not even a distinct possibility unless you are trying to commit suicide. Total nonsense.

They mention their helicopter. Helicopters aboard a ship like this are designed for anti-submarine warfare. They would have launched the helo and prosecuted the sub while the sub was too far away from the ship to be a threat. That's the whole point of the helo, and it's standard procedure.

Finally, the whole thing about "Quiet Level Whatever". More nonsense. Surface ships don't do this. Someone watched too many World War 2 submarine movies. Even a ship travelling 4 knots is going to make a heck of a lot more noise than someone dropping a small knife in the galley. Hmmm. Let's think about this. 4 General Electric Gas Turbines (jet engines) powering the ship, and all its associated electrical gear and whatever is needed to keep the lights on versus a knife dropping? It's the biggest insult to an average person's intelligence yet.

While I enjoy shows about the navy, sometimes the garbage gets too much. I can't watch any more of this episode right now. Time for bed, and maybe I can get through this tomorrow. I'll keep watching the show, just for the nostalgia value for me, and to catch glimpses of things they don't screw up, but it's coming at a price!

The Last Ship: It's Not a Rumor (2015) Season 2, Episode 3

More Cringeworthy Mistakes

[4/10 · 8 August 2023]

Not as many goofs in this episode as others, so I gave it a few stars. Still, the mistakes are nauseating. There's one scene where the captain promotes someone from LT. JG to full lieutenant. The master chief is there with another lieutenant. After the captain hands the newly promoted lieutenant her bars, the master chief shouts, "Attention to promotion!" What??? What idiot made that up?

Then, the other lieutenant and the new lieutenant start swearing the oath of enlistment. What?? Why? She wasn't being sworn in. She was already an officer in the navy. Also, officers are officers until they resign their commission. And you don't swear the oath of enlistment when you get promoted, no matter if you're an officer or enlisted person. Just a stupid, stupid scene.

I watch the series because I like military-themed shows, especially if they are navy shows. It's a shame there's so much stupidity to endure while doing so. If there were any technical advisers for the show, I'd like to write to them and ask them if the creators of the show just ignored them, or if they are just that ignorant about the navy.

The Last Ship: Dead Reckoning (2014) Season 1, Episode 3

Same mistakes, over and over!

[1/10 · 6 August 2023]

I said I wasn't going to critic more episodes of a dead show, but this episode is just nonsense. Much of the story centers around radar, and this episode gets everything wrong. I highly doubt a roll of aluminum foil is going to look like a destroyer on a radar screen. Even if it did look like a destroyer on a radar screen, you would then have two objects on the enemy's radar - the roll of tin foil AND the real destroyer. Nothing they did would hide the destroyer's radar reflection. Turning off every piece of electrical gear on board (impossible) doesn't have anything to do with radar either. Radar reflects off the surfaces of the ship. Electronics emissions are a totally different thing, measured by different equipment. There are also acoustic noises measured by sonar. So, the enemy would have seen and heard them moving away - aluminum foil or not. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

In another scene, they are supposed to be onboard the Kirov-class battle cruiser, but they are obviously on an Iowa-class battleship. The secondary armament of 5-inch guns is unmistakable. In addition, they still talk about using Tomahawk missiles against ships. I don't know why they keep repeating this mistake over and over. The navy had an anti-ship version of Tomahawk (RGM/UGM-109B Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM)), but these were all withdrawn from service in 1994. The destroyer in this show would not have them. They should be saying Harpoon Anti-ship Missiles. That would have been correct. When these guys make mistakes, they make the same ones over and over.

There are many more mistakes, but they are too numerous to list. Some of them, like the radar mistakes, make the story impossible. It's hard for me to watch.

The Last Ship: Phase Six (2014) Season 1, Episode 1

Too many goofs!

[5/10 · 6 August 2023]

I'm writing this review in 20203 because I never heard of this show or came across it until now. The story seems OK, and quite prophetic, given that COVID-19 would rear its ugly head a year after this show ended. Are the creators of this show psychic?

The biggest problem with a military-themed show like this is that it will attract current and ex-military. I am ex-navy and was stationed on a destroyer, so even the smallest of mistakes jump out at me and keep me from focusing on the plot. Instead of commenting on each episode for a show that no longer exists, I'll just make a few comments here from what I have seen in the first few episodes. Some things may have changed since I was in the navy, but most of my comments should be accurate.

At one point, they run across a possibly deserted passenger ship. The exterior of the ship they show is so old, that it would not be in service at the time that this show was made. It looks like a ship made in the 1950's.

They also transfer fuel from this deserted ship. This passenger ship was probably diesel-powered, and definitely was not gas turbined powered like an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. A gas turbine is powered by jet engines (4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines in the case of this destroyer) and requires jet fuel.

The ship does not see the attacking helicopters until they are 25 miles away. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have the SPY-1D phased-array radar system (AEGIS) and can spot air targets hundreds of miles away.

While it was nice to see various weapons systems firing, they were not being used correctly, and were not used correctly or realistically on many occasions.

In my day, a crew at sea did not usually wear hats, for a variety of reasons. You might have had a few that wore them at sea, but this show makes it seem like it was mandatory that the crew wore them, both inside the ship and out. Maybe that's changed?

At one point, they talk about making the radio room a secure place that is off-limits to most of the crew. That's always the case.

They show the fire control radar for the wrong scenarios. In one scene, they talk about communications and show the fire control radar dish. Fire control radars are not used for communications.

Again, many of these mistakes didn't affect the story line too much, but they ruined the show for me. The makers of the show could have done a little more research and gotten it right.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023) Season 2, Episode 9

Interesting, but I didn't like it

[2/10 · 4 August 2023]

I'm sure the cast had fun doing something outside the norm, and it's great that they had the freedom to do something like this. I just don't like musicals and don't watch a Star Trek series or movie to listen to a musical.

The reason why I don't like musicals is because the story comes to a grinding halt while someone sings about their feelings or something else that does not keep the story moving forward. I tried to keep fast-forwarding past the singing in this episode, but it's really most of the episode. That means there's really not much of a plot. I won't spoil anything here, but you could summarize the entire plot in one paragraph. Consequently, it's my least favorite episode/storyline from ANY Star Trek series or movie ever made.

So, in summary, a bold change from the usual kind of episode. Just please don't do it again!

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

More like a spoof of a Thor movie

[1/10 · 20 December 2022]

This movie should have been named, "Thor: Stupid and Ridiculous". This seems more like a spoof of a Thor movie, rather than a real Thor movie. For starters, Thor is pretty much a bumbling idiot throughout most of the movie, especially in the beginning. I guess Taiki Waititi is trying to make this into a comedy movie? Deadpool is a good, funny superhero movie. He's funny, but only because of his sarcasm and wit. He's not running around like a moron. If this is supposed to be a comedy, it's not funny. If it's supposed to be a serious superhero movie, it's not. It's just stupid.

A few big stars have these little cameo roles, and they add nothing to the story. In fact, their presence in the movie is a distraction. You say to yourself, "There's what's his name. What's he doing in this movie"? Turns out, not much!

Then there's a scene with a bunch of other gods, and it's just one "joke" after another. A bunch of non-funny jokes, I might add. There's even a god of dumplings or something, called Bau? Just ridiculous!

Christian Bale does a great job as the main villain. Too bad his talents were wasted in a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be and fails at everything.

USS Christmas (2020 TV Movie)

Terrible! I couldn't watch the whole movie

[1/10 · 23 October 2022]

People that don't know anything about the military should not make a movie with a military theme or backdrop. There are so many mistakes and things wrong about this movie, I could not watch for too long.

I think if you look at the "Goofs" section, you can find enough examples of the many mistakes in this movie. Even if the movie itself was good, the mistakes would be too distracting. With some of the mistakes, even a non-military person could just look at things in the scene and see something wrong.

On top of everything militarily wrong about the movie, it's complete drivel. Reminds me of a bad TV movie from the 1970's.

NCIS: The Immortals (2003) Season 1, Episode 4

A lot of mistakes

[3/10 · 15 May 2022]

Mistakes all over this episode.

As others have pointed out, the ship is supposed to be a Spruance-class destroyer, but long exterior shots are of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

A seaman (E-3) would never have a middle rack (bunk). The petty officer who showed Jethro the seaman's rack consequently would not have had the rack above the seaman's. Higher ranking petty officers get the more desirable middle racks. Neck in line would get the bottom racks. Lowest ranking get the top racks. The seaman would have had a top rack.

The victim would not have been a regular seaman with no rating and be working in CIC (Combat Information Center). They clearly show his patch in several shots. He would have been assigned to something like the deck department. An E-3 in CIC would most likely be an OS (Operations Specialist) and have the patch of an OSSN.

Real navy officer swords can be purchased online by anyone with the money, except maybe in certain areas where any such kind of weapon is prohibited by local laws. You don't need to go to a Navy Exchange and show an officer's ID card.

I don't know about the fictitious ship in this episode, but on the ship I was on, anyone could have a legal and registered weapon stored on board. The Gunner's Mates would just keep them locked up in an armory, and you would have to go through them to access it. We had guys that had personal weapons onboard.

OK. These are examples of the mistakes in this episode, and I'm only half-way through the episode so far!

Redemption Day (2021)

Boring and bad!

[1/10 · 24 April 2022]

Mostly, I just have to say this movie is very boring. The basic storyline has been done time and time again, only better.

There's a constant flashback to some battle in Syria. The main character is supposedly traumatized by something that happened there, but I never understood exactly what it was that messed him up so bad. He was in a firefight? That's the big trauma?.

The battle itself is pathetic. Hundreds of rounds fired, and no bad guys seem to get shot, even though they are only about 25 yards away, stand straight up and don't move. Two bad guys did get blown up by a grenade thrown by the main character. Only problem is that is he made some kind of a limp side-arm throw at bad guys about 10 feet away. In real life, he would have fragged himself.

Then, "U. S. Navy SEALS" come to the rescue. One of them identifies himself with a rank of captain. Captains in the Navy (and all SEALS are Navy) are equivalent to full colonels in other branches. A Navy captain is not going to be some young guy that goes out on missions like this. The movie makers couldn't even get this small detail right.

To make matters worse, the main character tells the SEALS to leave without him, and they obey him and leave him behind. First of all, SEALs would not follow his orders and more importantly, would not leave an American behind.

Just a bad, pathetic movie.

SEAL Team: The Strength of the Wolf (2019) Season 3, Episode 4

Writers don't even remember or care about details

[1/10 · 2 April 2022]

When the team is first getting briefed about the ship they need to assault, they are told the perimeter of the ship is guarded by electrified wire. When they do assault the ship, one of the team members cuts the wire with non-insulated metal wire cutters and their bare hands. Guess someone forgot the wire was supposed to be electrified, because bare skin, metal wire cutters and electrified wire = electrocution. Thanks for lack of attention to details you write, and generally crappy writing.

The writers still don't understand the rules around fraternization in the navy, but at least it now MIGHT apply since Davis is now an officer (ensign). However, they then script a statement where Davis says both their careers could be ruined. Only Davis can be charged with fraternization, since she is now an officer. Sonny, still enlisted (E-6), cannot be charged with fraternization. Therefore, his career couldn't be ruined. His team could be pissed off at him, but he cannot be charged with fraternization. More crappy writing.

SEAL Team: My Life for Yours (2019) Season 2, Episode 21

More goofs from writers that think we're idiots

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

The two biggest goofs in this episode that I see are:

1. When Ray gets separated from the team, he turns on the infrared strobe on his helmet so he can be seen by friendly forces in the air. At one point, Ray falls and loses his helmet. The support unit, Blackburn and Mandy, see the strobe the whole time, and vector the team to that location, unaware it's only his helmet that's there now.

The problem is, they show Ray losing his helmet, and they show the team finding it. It's upside down! That means the strobe is pointing down, into the ground, and would not be seen from the air. Total B. S. scene.

2. This part was the most ridiculous scene in the series yet. The guys need a way to quickly get to Ray. They see some horses that just happen to be standing around near them. Convenient. Next, we see them riding the horses with bridles, reigns, saddles, blankets, the whole rig. Problem is, the horses did not have any of this equipment when they were shown, and I doubt someone just left all of that gear on the ground, next to the horses. Besides, horses can move. They were not tied up, so who knows how far they moved since they were left there, even if all the gear was left with them.

Thanks writers. The most unbelievable scene yet. You guys should write fantasy novels or science fiction or something. You sure can't write accurate and believable war stories.

SEAL Team: Rock Bottom (2019) Season 2, Episode 20

Another mistake that could have been avoided

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

Davis is in Newport, Rhode Island attending Officer Candidate School. At her graduation from OCS, they very clearly pan the hull of BB61, the decommissioned battleship U. S. S. Iowa. The Iowa is now a museum ship in Los Angeles, California. Anyone here really believe they would fly a whole graduating class to Los Angeles for the ceremony?

The crew went our of their way to show us the ceremony took place on the Iowa. Thanks for another insult to our intelligence!

The attention to detail and accuracy, as usual, is terrible.

SEAL Team: All That Matters (2018) Season 2, Episode 4

One Visible Mistake Can Ruin an Episode

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

Sometimes, just a little mistake in geography can ruin an episode. I know you're probably not filming this episode in Mumbai, India, but you can make the set believable enough to make the viewer think you're in Mumbai.

Case in point - if you want us to believe "the guys" are in India, don't zoom in on a row of U. S. style electrical outlets that can't exist in India.

It's a little thing, but once you see U. S. electrical outlets, it ruins the premise of the episode being set in India. The crew could have done just a bit more to make this believable. Again, another insult to our intelligence.

SEAL Team: Say Again Your Last (2018) Season 2, Episode 5

Terrible Writing Again?

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

OK. Maybe the enemy sniper is just the worst sniper ever. Maybe it's just another case of bad, unbelievable writing.

They show the sniper popping off round after round with no target. The SEAL Team is behind cover and not exposed, and this sniper guy is just shooting at nothing.

Bad sniper or bad writing? You decide.

SEAL Team: Santa Muerte (2018) Season 2, Episode 9

Tactically Inaccurate

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

1. The RPG that blows up the SEAL Team's vehicle. Clay spots it and they exist the vehicle before it blows. The RPG was fired from behind, at a high angle. No way for Clay to see it from inside the vehicle.

2. In other scene, they show the firing of an RPG without a grenade being shown in the launcher. They've done a better job at showing an RPG being launched than this. Not sure why they made this shot so unbelievable.

SEAL Team: Backwards in High Heels (2019) Season 2, Episode 11

The Whole Premise is Wrong!

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

I think this is one of the episodes where they talk about Sonny and Lisa's relationship as being illegal because it's considered fraternization. Totally wrong!

Article 134 of the UCMJ is what covers fraternization. Only an officer or warrant officer can be charged with fraternization, and that is a relationship between an officer or warrant officer and an enlisted person.

Sonny and Lisa are both enlisted personnel, and I believe even the exact same rank at this time - E6, petty officer first class. Whether or not their romantic relationship is good for the team is another matter for consideration, but it is NOT fraternization!

Again, more stupid, ignorant writing and an insult to the viewer's intelligence.

I said this before, but a show like this is going to attract viewers that are military and former military. You have technical advisors, and a former Delta operator and a former police office in the cast! Can you stop making these obvious mistakes in the writing? I think you can write better stories that are realistic without going down fantasy lane.

Stupid writing like this = 1 star.

SEAL Team: Time to Shine (2019) Season 2, Episode 13

Worst Episode Yet

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

There's so much wrong with this episode, I don't know where to begin, or how much to write. I could probably write a document longer than the script. Again, where are your technical advisors and what are they doing?

I don't expect them to be able to get a real Mk 48 torpedo for filming a TV show, but could you have at least painted it green to make it look more like a real torpedo?

The torpedo tubes them selves looked so phony! The entire sub looked wrong, and the situation they find themselves in is all wrong.

As if the scenario with the torpedo tube could happen as described, and a grinder was too loud to use - how about a torch? Pretty quiet when compared to a grinder.

Then, the sub captain talked about how damaging one torpedo tube will hurt his combat effectiveness? First of all, he has 3 other tubes. Secondly, sine the tube Sonny is stuck in is already damaged and leaking seawater from the ocean side, he's not using that tube anyway. To make things even more unbelievable, once they get Sonny out of the tube, the seaward door miraculously stops leaking. What B. S.!

Furthermore, an SSGN's main offensive weapon is their Tomahawk missiles, not their torpedoes. Then, the captain says something about his ship being part of the nuclear triad or something. Sure, the SSGN's carry Tomahawk cruise missiles which can have nuclear warheads, but these are tactical, not strategic. The big-time nuclear deterrent is with the SSBN's and their ICBMs.

Again, I could go on and on, but let me just say this episode was terrible, and yet another insult to our intelligence!

SEAL Team: What Appears to Be (2019) Season 2, Episode 14

Another insult to our intelligence

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

Let me just point out one thing. The SEAL Team engages a vehicle from behind and end up blowing its hood off? Come on.

You know, a show like this is going to attract military and former military viewers. You have technical advisors that apparently don't advise much, and a former Delta operator and former police officer in your cast. Please stop including these easily avoidable errors in these episodes. It really ruins the viewing experience for some of us.

SEAL Team: Payback (2019) Season 2, Episode 18

More Bad Writing

[1/10 · 1 April 2022]

The ignorance and terrible writing really detract from what otherwise would be a good show.

1. In almost every episode, enlisted personnel refer to Lt. Commander Blackburn as simply "Blackburn" to his face. That doesn't happen. Enlisted people always refer to an officer by his rank or rank plus last name. An officer would not stand for being called simply by his last name by an enlisted person - ever!

Officers don't even call each other by only last name or first name in front of enlisted personnel. Even if they are best friends, they refer to each other by rank and last name in front of enlisted personal, and in any formal situation.

2. Maybe shipboard firefighting has changed since I was in, but the shipboard firefighting training Davis is going through was nothing like the shipboard firefighting training I received. The equipment and procedures are all wrong for shipboard situations, and seem to be drawn from civilian fire fighting.

Again, unless something has drastically changed recently, you don't wear oxygen tanks on your back, because they can get caught as you move through passages, hatches and scuttles on a ship. We wore OBA's (oxygen breathing apparatus) on our chest.

You don't use fire extinguisher bottles that run out in a few minutes when you have a trillion gallons of seawater around you. If you are fighting an aviation-related fire where fuel is involved, you use AFFF (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam).

3. Ray's new controversial friend Christine gets transferred from the Philippines to Guam at exactly the same time as Ray, just so they can keep the controversy with her going? Come on. Really?

Hey. Technical advisors! Do your job!