FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS SHAWN RYAN ("The Shield," "Angel") and PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT DAVID MAMET. They are The Unit, a covert Special Forces team operating outside the usual military chain of command. Whether... more » stateside or aboard, these heroes are on the frontlines protecting U.S. citizens and foreigners alike, slipping in under the radar and risking their lives to save the day then leaving just as quietly without any well-deserved credit or thanks. Starring Dennis Haysbert and Scott Foley, this riveting, action-packed drama is as realistic and pulse-pounding as it gets.« less
Jean W. from JORDANVILLE, NY Reviewed on 7/19/2016...
This is good enough to have started us off on the rest of the seasons and our only regret is that it ended after 4 years.
Jr N. from TAMARAC, FL Reviewed on 8/1/2014...
These guys are great in the field, all play their parts very well. And the story lines with the things that are going on with family back home is balanced and done very well to .. military situations with good action.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
SHERI O. from GRAYSLAKE, IL Reviewed on 3/20/2012...
LOVE THIS SHOW & YOU'LL BE HOOKED AS WELL!!! STARTING ON SEASON 2 & 3 & I CAN'T WAIT - IT IS KIND OF LIKE 24 & COVERT AFFAIRS. SUCH GREAT SHOWS!
Sandra S. (ratracesandra) from CUMMING, GA Reviewed on 8/2/2009...
Enjoyed the first season and look forward to the second...
Movie Reviews
UNIT breaks the CBS MONOTONY
Chris Kennison | Jefferson City, Mo United States | 07/25/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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."
The Man Code is a Special Forces Drama Always Compelling
M. JEFFREY MCMAHON | Torrance, CA USA | 09/29/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
The BEST new show of last season.
James Donnelly | Arizona | 09/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
It grows on you
K. Carnes | NW Oh United States | 05/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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!"
Ladies fast...
Akela | Russia | 03/03/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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."