Customer Reviews

The Unit - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ah... finally CBS produced aired and had faith in a show that WASN'T FORMULAIC... mystery-solved, every week. Here's a court case and an immediate resolution. When does that ever happen?

The nation was starving for something outside the box and outside the typical routine T.V. shows that overwhelm our video box every night, and not to my surprise... THE UNIT actually locked in a solid rating. Was the state of the world we're in the reason for the people who tuned in? Was it the fact that Dennis Haysbert who was a lot of people's favorite character from the smash FOX hit, 24? Was it the no holds barred, no mercy, no sugar-coated story-telling method?

I think it's a combination of a lot of things. My favorite reason for tuning in was that it was REAL. It wasn't like all the other CBS shows that unrealistically solve a murder in 40 minutes or resolve a court hearing in 40 minutes.

The UNIT shows the not-so-pretty side of counter-terrorism secret units. A shadow company of elite soldiers who aren't even allowed to tell their wives what they do. But, unlike many CBS shows, you actually get to know the characters in the show. You get to see the HARD mission minded Jonas Blane (Haysbert) and the family man when he returns home. You get to see what the wives have to deal with while their men are away.

The most important thing the UNIT gives its viewer is the understanding that GETTING THE JOB DONE, isn't always pretty. Isn't always moral. Isn't always negotiable. The UNIT also shows what it is to be military, what it is to be American, and what it is to do a thankless job.

This show is gritty, dark, dangerous, secretive and it comes to a dramatic and shocking finale that will leave you salivating for the 2nd season episodes to begin their run.

I'd give the DVD season set 5 stars, but the season was a mid-season replacement. Most likely a show that CBS didn't have any faith in until people starting actually watching.

Well, seeing as though it was a mid-season test show... it only had 13 episodes. So, in my opinion, this show is just getting started. The second season should have the full 24 episode run and then we'll really see what this incredible show is truly capable of.

I've always loved David Mamet films because of his brisk realistic dialogue and his preoccupation with the male code and its clash with civilization. That theme is well served in The Unit, even better than films, because he has the long-range TV landscape to develop his characters, Delta Force anti-terrorist unit who, for hardly any pay, risk their lives in international missions while their wives, living in a nondescript military base, pinch pennies and deal with the daily dramas of having husbands who could die in the blink of an eye. Avoiding sentimentality, piety, and jingoism, The Unit has an appropriately cynical look at power and the use of trickery to succeed against one's enemies and even one's bureacratic bosses. In this sense, The Unit resembles the show 24 but unlike 24, which is often over the top, The Unit employs psychological realism. Perhaps better than any TV show right now, The Unit specializes in riveting plot lines, especially employing the reversal, where the plot goes one way and then turns the tables in a way that never seems forced or arbitrary. So far the second season has proved as the good as the first. If you haven't seen The Unit, the DVD first series season is a must.

I watched the very first episode of this when it aired and thought "not bad, but I don't think it will last." I watched several episodes after that, here and there, mainly because it comes on after my favorite show (NCIS). Then a few weeks ago I caught the season 2 finale and got hooked. The next day I immediately went out and rented all of season 1. It is an excellent show. Of course like most shows I watch the ratings were shaky in season 2, but it was just announced that there will be a season 3. :) I see this compared to "24" a lot (which I don't care for), but it's a lot more realistic I think. Very good show!

David Mamet, one of the premier dramatists in the world combining with Shawn Ryan, the creator of THE SHIELD, one of the most consistenly intelligent and uncompromising shows on TV to create an instantly addictive new program: THE UNIT. It has a terrific cast, with a great leading man in Dennis Haysbert, and makes for very compelling TV. The basics of this program are essentially an extension of one of Mamet's favorite recent subjects: The Black Ops soldiers. Their missions are secret, even to the people they love the most, and they are very important to the security of our nation. Even if the mission is "BOHICA". Mamet's love for this subject has been displayed in two of his recent efforts, SPARTAN, which he wrote and directed, and John Frankenheimer's RONIN, which he co-wrote under a psuedonym, which both focus on the lives and missions of professionals who will stop at nothing to get the job done. And as in everything Mamet, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. Don't believe what you hear, see, or feel. On occasion, the show can be a little predictable, but those who are students of Mamet's dialogue will definitely be able to tell the episodes that he himself has written, which by and large, are the best of the episodes. Aside from that, this is a great show, showing the aspects of several different conflicts of all the lives involved, whether the men in the field or the wives and the children and friends left back home. Check it out.

Fastforward all the episodes with wives. It is painfully obvious that David Mamet's great talent is not in writing family scenes or chic flics (and thank God for that!). While the show follows the men - either in the field or on the base - it is taught, fast and interesting. The moment it switches to ladies, it becomes utterly predictable, boring, cheaply sentimental and etc ad nauseam. But if you skip most of that, it is a very good show with believable characters and interesting plot situations.

'The Unit' Season 1 is a fantastic intro to a wonderful series from CBS TV and creator David Mamet. The series features the Mamet-esque super-sharp dialogue enabling a solid actor like Dennis Haysbert to add some great depth and interesting personality traits that most shows just don't feature.

In addition to the terrific acting and quirky conversation, the show also kicks some serious posterior! 'The Unit' which is based on the book, 'Inside Delta Force' by Eric Haney also displays some of the daring techniques and special forces muscle that the US Army's elite divisions are (or prior to 'The Unit' were not) known for. In short, the show features all the action you'd expect in a military series with the extra punch of smart story lines and unexpected twists.

Don't miss it!

The Amazon.com editorial review hit it on the head. I am a woman, and I love this show. It is exciting, interesting, and thought-provoking; but the wives' storyline is just painful.
I believe that it's due to a combination of poor writing for the women's characters and bad acting. Most notably bad is the one having an affair with the colonel (can't think of her name, that's how forgettable she is). The actress playing Molly Blane, who is normally good, is horrible in this role. The best acting performance is for Mrs. Brown, but she needs to have better scripts.
The most interesting parts are those when the men are on their missions. The male performers are all very good actors. If I were the writers, I would get rid of the colonel's mistress and Molly Blane characters; and replace them with better actresses. And give Mrs. Brown better material to work with. If they do this, it can become a 5-star classic.

I love The Unit. I love this first season on dvd, but I want to know why the Pilot episode is not included? Love the set! Sad there's no pilot, I remember some of that episode from when it first aired and was looking for it when I watched the season.

"The Unit" provides its fans with an excellent view into the workings of our special ops forces. The degree of realism portrayed during the various clandestine missions is completely engrossing. Additionally, we are given a glimpse into the life of each unit member's wife and how she must live while her husband is deployed. The show is so well acted that you can easily believe in the reality of each character.
My only disappointment with the storyline is the affair between the commanding officer and the wife of a senior mission specialist. The level of trust required to command such a highly trained group of men should, in my opinion, preclude this type of betrayal by its leader. However, this is a small matter when you weigh the overall strengths of this fine series. I hope "The Unit" is given the opportunity to develop its fan base and continue to grow as a series.

I am an Army soldier, and this show is a very close depiction of military life. This show brings front and center, the struggles that many face, military and civilian. I have seen about 95% of all the shows and am awaiting for my last season DVD order. I'm very disappointed that the Unit has been canceled!