Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1696 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-30
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 549 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Full of action, intrigue, and espionage, The Unit offers a dramatic, fictionalised look inside the military while also giving viewers a peek inside the private lives of the elite squad. Conceived by the critically acclaimed David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games), The Unit is an elite, covert Special Forces team that operates outside the military chain of command. The first season's 13 episodes offer insight into the characters without revealing too much about the men who make up the operation. Are they extremely patriotic, or are they adrenalin junkies who have to be in danger to feel validated? The answer probably falls somewhere in between, and the viewer gets the feeling that as much as the men love their wives and children, it's their jobs that give them their true reason for living. Led by veteran Jonas Blane (Dennis Haysbert, 24), the Unit deals with terrorism, rescue missions, and assassinations quickly, discreetly, and efficiently. If all goes well, someone else gets the credit. If things go awry, it's their necks on the line. In the first season of The Unit, the action is fast, the plot is succinct, and the acting is well done (when dealing with the deadly missions). It's the secondary storyline involving the wives that's less successful. The newest member of the Unit, Bob Brown (Scott Foley, Felicity), apparently didn't fill his wife Kim (Audrey Marie Anderson) in on what their new life would be like. From the beginning, she resists the hoo rah attitude that the other wives exhibit. But rather than coming across as an independent free thinker, she is presented as a whining drip of a woman who has no clue about the definition of a secret. Of course, when faced with the military's version of The Stepford Wives, who could blame her? As Jonas' supportive wife Molly, Regina Taylor (I'll Fly Away, Courage Under Fire) is less sympathetic than usual. In the early episodes, she comes across as an almost stalkerish busybody who is always there when Kim is trying to cope with a life she never wanted. Throw in an affair between commanding officer Colonel Tom Ryan (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and one of the wives and you've got the makings of a military soap opera. The show is at its best when it concentrates on the men and their missions. We may not understand why they do what they do, but we're grateful that someone is doing the dangerous job for us. --Jae-Ha Kim

Synopsis
Created by David Mamet (GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, EDMOND), this television drama follows the exploits of a special forces unit, tracing the heroism of its members, as well as their foibles. The team is charged with some of the U.S. military's most top-secret, dangerous missions, while their families at home deal with the trials and tribulations of having a loved one with such a unique and dangerous occupation. Dennis Haysbert (24), Scott Foley (HOUSE, M.D., SCRUBS), and Abby Brammell (SIX FEET UNDER) co-star.

Customer Reviews

The Badgers Nadgers!
ive been watching the unit now since it started on bravo on a tuesday night, and i must say having a big military intrest i bloody love this show. Its a military drama that is not only about a special forces team of 5 but also about their wives and how they cope with their husbands being deployed around the world at very short notice into extremly hostile and dangerous missions. The missions themselves are soo well written and you can be assured that no two missions are ever remotly the same with different scenarios from assasinations, plane hijackings, hostage rescues, search & rescue missions, natural disasters, dealing with drug lords and special forces competitions and those are just the first few episodes. series 2 is now being shown on bravo and it keeps just getting better and better.

Slightly Disappointing
I bought this purely on the strength of Dennis Haysbert being in it after admiring his work as President Palmer in 24, but after watching this it is a reminder that it takes more than just a great actor(s) to make a great show.

The writers of The Unit have tried to make each episode individual with regard to the stories but this has the unfortunate consequence of making it feel rushed as writers are fighting against the time restrictions of an episode whilst characters get weighed down with dialog because of the need to explain a whole new scenario.
Couple that with the unnecessary viewpoint of the army wives's perspective alongside the main story and it feels like the opportunity to show the men in full on action has been, sadly missed.

This is a shame because you want to like these men, and you want to see what these highly trained special forces can really do, but they never really face a challenging enough adversary to impress the viewer, and they always get it right and go home to their wives at the end of the day.

On the subject of the wives, it seems like they were thrown into the mix as an afterthought to maybe draw in some female viewers, but in the process, not really adding anything to the story or the enjoyment but holding it back in most cases.

It's unclear to me exactly who this show is aimed at as there doesn't seem enough involvement in either the wives or The Unit's character development to feel any empathy or respect for them. Your not really given any time to get to know anyone or care what happens to them as it makes you feel like you are an observer skimming over the surface of their day to day lives rather than being privy to, and involved in a great story.

Covert military Ops - Mamet and Ryan Style
A U.S delta force unit led by Jonas Blane(Dennis Haysbert) and under the overall command of Col Tom Ryan(Robert Patrick)trawl the world and home soil putting out fires that range from hijackings to 40 lb bombs to guarding political summits etc.Their missions are constrasted with their families lives on base and the steps they have to take to protect their husbands real identities.
Military soap opera has some excellent performances,a thoughtful and well drawn account of the lives of those left behind and some exciting and hair-raising moments for the "Unit".
Created surprisingly by David Mamet and Shawn Ryan(The Shield)The Unit is a well written and engaging series marred only by the occasional story lull,some obvious twists and a preposterous final episode that was just too silly for words.Haysbert stands out as the beacon of responsibility and decision making in the field in a well chosen cast of characters who are all allowed to develop quite nicely.
Solid Entertainment.