The Unit
 

This is the new show from Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield) and David Mamet, starring Dennis Haysbert (President David Palmer from 24) and Scott Foley. Here's the synopsis from the website:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_unit/

So who else is gonna watch this? I'm mainly watching this show because Dennis Haysbert is in it, and because Shaawn Ryan made it. I'm also watching it because it reminds me a little bit of Over There, the canceled FX show about the Iraq War.

Sounds good to me. It all depends on what time and day it comes on that will determine whether I'll watch it. Right now there's only three shows that I actually make an effort to watch each week.

It comes on tonight, actually, at 9/8c. Convenient for me, as it comes on right before The SHield does. And this is its regular timeslot.

But I have to watch Idol. waaaaaaa! ;_; Maybe I'll flip back and forth.

Idol only stays on for an hour, from 8/7c - 9/8c (yes, I watch it too), so you can watch both (like I am). My problem is that I also wanted to check out that show Sons and Daughters on ABC, which comes on at the same time as The Unit. But The Unit looks better, so I'll have to check that out another time.

Well to tell you the truth my initial react is basically; Meh. I liked the slow motion reaction time sequence with Black, the sky diving scene and the explosion at the beginning of the episode but other then that I saw nothing noteworthy that would encourage me to watch it next week.

Others reactions?

The show actually turned out better than what I expected it to be. I liked how Dennis Haysbert was gonna be on there, and how Shawn Ryan was one of the creators, but other than that I actually didn't think I was gonna like it that much. However, I did turn out to like it a lot. Both plots interested me (the "husbands" and the "wives"), and the show seem to have pretty good production values. I'll definitely watch it again next week (even though I didn't get to see the preview for next week since my stupid local news cut it off for election results).

Plus, President Palmer shot a mule. Best scene ever.

All these shows are too similar. Same kind of characters in the same dramatic situations. I think the best one of its kind so far was Over There.

These shows need to start throwing in some new stuff before I just give up on FX.

I actually watched this by chance since my mom taped it. I don't usually get into shows like this, but it was pretty good. I'd only watch it when she watches it though, nothing too engaging.

I liked the part at the end with stuffed monkey and the "Yaalah Halam." They already throw that mental stability issue into the mix.
I really liked that concept of the wives as well, with how reluctant the one woman was at first.
I was sad when he shot the mule though :( Poor mule... but I laughed when the missile decimated the car (thumbs up)

I thought that part with the monkey was kinda dumb. Sure it added some "mental stability issues" into the mix but with his seemeingly bullet-time-like reactions, I figured he woulda been able to handle a situation like that better, I mean what if it was just a kid standing there with the monkey toy. oh noes! =o

But didn't he shoot the mirror? That's the thing I found stupid about that scene. If he truly thought that there was a threat, why shoot the mirror instead of turning around and you know...shooting the threat?

This looked like it would be a hell of a show, to me, from the previews. Too bad the reviews are lackluster, at best. I guess I'll watch an episode next week and see if I like it, though.

Does anyone just not feel right seeing Haysbert not as the President? I tried watching it at first, but I couldn't take it seriously so I just watched another show.

It's a little weird, but if he wasn't such a great actor it then yeah, it wouldn't feel right. I think he still managed to play the part well without taking too many elements from the Palmer character.

CBS is now advertising, due to the 20 or so million viewers of the series premiere, that The Unit is the number one new drama. I didn't watch it myself, but found this to be an interesting piece of information. It still won't make me watch it.

CBS's advertising is always bullshit. This show only got 18.2 million viewers, yet they advertised 21 million. Not nearly as bad as that one CSI commercial I saw (163 million viewers, or something like that), but still, I don't have much faith in their advertising.

Maybe it's just his darn voice, I might give it another chance since apparantly it's actually good.

Well, last night's episode managed to do good in the ratings (17.8 mil), even against American Idol. I still haven't watched it fully yet (I only caught it during commercial breaks on Idol), but it looked pretty interesting. Did anyone else catch it?

I just finished watching the two episodes. So far, so good. President Palmer is beast. The first episode is intense, and it reminded me a lot of that one Rainbow Six mission. I like the show so far, though I wouldn't risk my life trying to watch it like I often do with 24. Also, them bitches...

I liked Over There a bit better than this show, but I suppose it's still pretty decent.

I do however dislike that stupid fat black lady that was talking to the shrink. Annoying as hell.

Definitely. I still wished they hadn't cancelled that show, but at least they're releasing the complete series on DVD.

Yet another kick-ass episode. This time a beast solo operation by President David Palmer. I liked it. The show doesn't have the same enticement factor as the gods of TV, like 24, Lost, etc., but this is just another hour to add to the 16 hours of must-see TV I have each week. Glad I don't sleep.

Damn, I missed it (I just saw last week's episode over weekend). I hope someone is making torrents of this show so I can catch this episode.

^ Guess what XIII?

The Chinese official (Hahn I think) who wanted to Jack to receive justice last season for capturing the Consulate...was alongside Palmer!

The Unit is 24 Heaven/Purgatory LOL.

I'm beginning to like this show now. I never judge a show by its pilot (Venture Bros., American Dad, this, etc.) because it ends up being good later.

For real? Man, they just keep bringing in all these 24 people. I'm sure next season Tony and Chase will be joining the unit.

I'd be up for that. Carlos Bernard needs work.

And now that you mention that, I just realized that I've never seen him in anything except 24 (well, I think I saw him on one of those celebrity poker shows, but they don't count for anything). He should be in something new just to get more exposure along with getting another job.

Yeah, I was surprised when I checked his IMDB page how little he's done (made-for-TV movies, the odd episode of Walker: Texas Ranger). I'm not expecting him to get his own show like Dennis Haysbert, but I'd love to see him in something watchable.

I think The Unit is decent so far. I'm not fond of the "terrorist-of-the-day" format (if that's even where they're going), but I'll watch for a while and see how the show progresses. I don't find the wives' part of the show especially appealing, but again, maybe it'll pick up as the episodes roll on.

It's jarring to watch Dennis Haysbert speak military lingo and kick ass. I like it. Robert Patrick has been especially good so far, too.

The wives subplots I am sure are to appeal to the female audience no doubt. I don't mind as long as it isn't something that takes away from the action of the missions. It gives the soldiers a soul and shows they aren't just trained killers.

I finally got arounf to watching the third episode today, and I would say it was alright. The part I liked the most was that it showed the interactions of the rest of the unit other than Jonas (the whole fact that he was doing a solo mission does seem weird though). It was also pretty cool when that blonde lady went off on that senator.

Show's getting a bit better every episode, I think. And without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, episode 4 features a character with the last name of Salazar.

Yeah, I liked it a lot at first, but I'm liking it even more with each new episode. Even the wives' plot is growing on me more than I thought it would, especially since it parallels so nicely with what the guys are doing. And since the show is doing good ratings-wise, I don't have to fear whether or not it'll be cancelled like other new shows that are struggling (now I'm glad I chose this over Sons and Daughters).

I finally got around to watching the most recent episode. I actually enjoyed it, despite no cameo from the 24 cast. Roffle at Palmer the Daddy. But, the whole escape story... I liked it. I suppose this mission-of-the-day thing will work.

"Permission to board, Captain?"

I liked this episode a lot. I thought it was a nice touch that Bob floundered a bit at first when he was trying to get away. Drives home the point that he IS the new guy, but he does end up making a pretty slick getaway in the end.

Yeah, this was a pretty good episode. At first, I thought the thing with the daughter was dumb, but when she said she wanted to be in the army I was like 'oh shit!'. I also liked the escape as well, because it not only showed the fact that he's the new guy, but it shows that despite that he's still good enough to be in the unit.

Oh damn, oh damn. Another good one, except I really losing interest in the wives' story. That can go away now, kthx.

The whole time I was thinking they were gonna actually just fail the mission, just to demonstrate they don't always win; but that clearly can't be the case. Palmer is the fucking man.

They win, and I should've noticed it as there really was no other reason to show the "Jew" scenes.

Yeah, I really wasn't even paying attention to the wives' plot in this episode. I thought it was interesting at first, but now I realize there just isn't much they can do. Even when they are doing something that they think is important (like in this week's episode), it doesn't even compare to what their husbands are doing. Plus, I hated the fact that Jonas's wife (I'm trying to learn these people's names) lied to Bob's wife about cheating whore wife (like I said, trying). She's the one always stressing how important it is that they all be together and stuff, yet she goes and lies to her. That's not promoting togetherness.

But yeah, the mission was good. I kind of suspected right from the beginning that something was up about the whole 'Bob is a Jew thing', but other than that it was all good, if a little less action-packed than the other episodes.

The whole episode was like a build-up to Jonas pwning the CIA. It was pretty satisfying when it finally came, though. The wives' plot continues to be horribly lame. I'm fine with drama, but yeah, it's such trivial shit when directly contrasted with their husbands' work. What a waste of Richard Patrick, too.

Bob's slut wife actually seems to be named Tiffy. I didn't know that was a real name, but I don't recall anyone ever calling her Tiffany.

I thought Bob's wife was...well I don't remember her name, but I think Tiffy is that other dude's (Mack, I believe) wife.

It's funny though, because before this show the only other show I had seen Tiffy on was The Shield...playing a prostitute. Can't she get a role not playing a whore/slut/prostitute?

Yeah, you're right, Tiffy is Mack's wife. I can't even think of Bob's wife's name.

Also, I thought the grilling of the random couple at the beginning was kind of unnecessary. They've been driving the same point home since the first episode. Pesky sub-plot.

I STILL SEE DEAD PEOPLE! :p

Richard Walsh from Season 1 is (I saw him in next week's show too) playing a cranky, medicated senior.

This cannot be a coincidence!

I thought I saw that guy, but I wasn't sure. I was busy with something, so I didn't really see much of the episode. I'm gonna have to download it.

I finally got around to watching the last two episodes, and while they were both pretty good, I particularly liked episode 8, "SERE". I may go as far as to say that it was my favorite episode so far this season. And after watching tonight's episode, that's three hours of the show I'll have watched today. I would say that that's pretty good, as I usually can't watch too much of the same show unless I really like it.

Oh true. SERE was awesome. I definitely didn't expect THEM to be the ones to be put through it. But I kinda saw what was coming once it started. We know they're hella elite now. Enemies (and the Unites States, apparently) can only hope to contain them.

I agree, the SERE episode was probably the best yet. I loved the "Dirty Dozen" quotation. One of the reasons I thought the SERE episode was so great is because a lot of the suspense for me came as a result of the relationships between all the characters involved. This is why I think the "mission-of-the-day" format is a little weak, because the bad guys are generally faceless. Even if this is more true to actual military operations, it doesn't make for a terribly compelling plot. Guess that might just be my tastes, though.

Also, I think Jonas' wife is getting pretty tiresome. Can't someone else take a turn being the voice of reason? It does make sense as a parallel to Jonas being the leader of the men, but every single week it seems like she has to tell someone what's what.

DAMN. :biggrin:

I didn't enjoy last night's episode too much (especially the wives' plot), but to be fair I missed about the first 15 minutes. Even so, the plot wasn't all that interesting, and was barely holding my attention. I guess I'm just expecting more now after watching SERE.

Tonight's episode hasn't really been good that far, except for attempted rape out of nowhere. There is another episode coming on after this one though (which i never even heard about until about five minutes ago), so hopefully it will be more interesting.

Can someone tell me how The Unit got rid of the nuclear C4 bomb and who got capped on the final episode? I feel asleep after "the hole" was created to get everyone out of the hotel. I wasn't bored, I was just dead tired from completely cleaning up my dorm room and submitted to beautiful sleep.

I'll take download links too, no torrents please.

I missed some of the second half of the first episode, so I don't really know how they got rid of it. As for who got shot:



I'm downloading episode 12 right now via torrent, so I guess I can upload it for you via sendspace or whatever when I'm done.

I realize Mamet is only Executive Producer, but is the dialogue in anyway Mamet-like? I'm sort of interested in this, but his writing just isn't my thing.

Alright AC1, here's a link to episode 12:

http://www.gigeshare.com/preview/1aa...87n28781n8121/

To tell you the truth, I've never seen any of his work outside of this show and an episode of The Shield he directed. But for the most part, I would guess that it most likely is, since in addition to being an executive producer, he also wrote and directed some of the episodes. A lot of it is supposed to be based on a book by Eric Haney anyway, so his influence writing-wise may not be too great. I would still give the show a chance though, as it is a good show for the most part.

Just finished episdoe 13 (started 2 days ago when I noticed this thread) and it was pretty intense toward the end (lots of French bashing for some reason...).

The wives plot kinda weakened imo... I thought everything would come out exploding (kinda did literally in the end) but can't wait for next episode :)

Ah, thanks for this! I just got around to downloading it yesterday so sorry for the (very) late replay. The resolution was pretty funny yet sad.

Do you have the last episode by chance?

Is this show different every episode, or is it all connected through one story? I have a few on tape but I don't know if I should watch them since the episodes are like 3, 5 etc..

Nope, I don't have it. I could download it via torrent and then upload it like I did the last episode if you want me to, but it'll probably take me a couple of days to do so.

Double Post:
For the most part, it is different every episode, though there are certain plot points that run throughout the course of the entire season. To get the most enjoyment from the show, you should probably watch it from the beginning, though any single episode will still probably be enjoyable.

Is it time to bump this? Yes, it is. A new season of The Unit has begun, but it's not really enough to warrant a new thread.

The first episode of Season 2 aired on Tuesday, and in my opinion, it was quite week. I was snoozing through the first half of it, though it got a little bit more interesting later on (very little). But Dennis Haysbert is beast, so there should be more awesome packed into the next one.

I concur. I have been watching a lot of season premieres (House, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, CSI: Miami, etc.) and this episode seemed like a weak regular season episode at best. The loose ends weren't tied up in a meaningful way, and the motivation for the blonde's family to stay or go wasn't plausible to me:



In general though, I like the concept of a show like this. I think it's interesting that the show about the Pentagon doesn't seem to be renewed, but this show was.

I've been meaning to comment about last week's episode, I just haven't got around to it for some reason. Oh well, not really much to say, except that I agree with what you guys said. It wasn't really that strong an episode, especially for a season premiere.

This week's episode was much better, though. It pretty much just had better everything (story, character development, etc.), and it gets bonus points for SUMMER GLAU! Hopefully last week was just a fluke, because this week was good and next week looks good as well.

Yeah, this week's episode of The Unit brought the show back to its first season form of awesome. It was great. It had 80% man action which is always good stuff. (Hmm, don't quote me on that :p). Great episode.

So yeah, major bump.

Just caught up with this show last week, and I have to say, these last few episodes were so fucking great. You know the only person that can be greater than Big Brown Bear is father of Big Brown Bear, so watching him kill those racist dudes was awesome. Of course, Big Brown Bear would not be outdone, so he had to knock some sense into his wife-beating nephew.

As for the last one that aired, you can't lose with William H. Macy as the president (talking to a former president, no less). Great episode on both fronts, with that stuff with the senator and that general dude on the mission, and with the engagaement stuff on the homefront. Sad ending, though. :(

It sucks that there won't be a new episode until next week, though it's all good since we get two new ones in a row. Since Tuesdays are pretty dry now (especially since they moved Friday Night Lights to Wednesdays) this will give it a shot of awesome.

Yet another major bump. =/

This show has actually been pretty intense. I'm usually not motivated enough to load up the show to watch, but once I start, I'm hooked for the entire episode.

The last two were especially amazing, with the CT games and then that battle in the middle of nowhere. That CT games is a really interesting concept, and I wish it was just played out "normally" without that overall threat to take care of, but it was still intense. And oh man, last night's episode... so fun (no wives at all there too :p).

I had watched this show and enjoyed what I saw in the past, but I never realized it was from Shawn Ryan.

I'll have to rent the dvd's, see how I like it in retrospect to the shield (which is like my favorite show ever)v

I'm a pretty big Shield fan as well (not my favorite show ever, but definitely in my top 5), but I'd have to say that The Unit is nowhere near as good. Still a good show, but it just not as groundbreaking or enthralling as The Shield is.

But yeah, I'm still a couple of episodes behind (two awesome episodes behind if i go by naz's post :p). I don't know if it's gonna be new next week, but I hope to be caught up to it by then.

I admit, maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention or something, but I was confused as hell by a lot of the things that happened in these last few episodes. The only thing that made sense was the cheating and the wife beating. =o

But from what I managed to gather from it, season 3 could be interesting. I don't know, but to me they made it seem like Brown was going to be going on the hunt for Big Brown Bear, which will be fucking awesome if they do spread it out over the season. Bear hunting is awesome.

Huge revive.

There were no comments on the extremely short season 3 at all. but season 4 just started last night in what was, so far, my second favorite premiere of any show this season, after Entourage.

Big Brown Bear aka Snake Doctor aka President Palmer had some epic quotes to contribute as well, including a 24-esque one:


However, a Sunday 10:00 PM time slot is pretty much death for this show. =/

Yeah...I didn't even watch it. I was watching Brothers & Sisters instead. That is not very manly. :(

I'm downloading it though, so I'll catch up on it soon. It really sucks that they moved it too, because the show that took its place (The Mentalist) sucks balls. Not that I would have watched it then either, though (because Fringe is <3). It looks like the ratings didn't go down too badly though (just a million viewers less than its previous premiere, which isn't that bad considering almost every show across the board has lower ratings), which is a good thing.

And yeah...Season 3...don't know what happened there. I watched all of it, I guess there just wasn't anything interesting enough to post about.

Good thing that watching The Unit will cancel out most of one's unmanly decisions.

But hey, as long as we're admitting to watching unmanly shows, I'm caught up in the new 90210. In my defense, I blame fantasy football for getting me into it; plus Rob Thomas is the creator, and his Veronica Mars was one of my favorite series ever.

I saw the first The Mentalist episode and won't be watching it again. It's a complete Monk+Psych rip-off. From Monk it stole the uber-aware OCD-ish skills, the detective mannerisms, the tragic death of the wife backstory,etc. Then it steals from Psych the characters passing themselves off as a psychic. =/ Monk and Psych are way more entertaining though.

Fringe is money.

Just got caught up on it, and the episode was awesome. I could always do without the family drama stuff, but everything else was top notch. Can't wait to see what else they do with the new woman who joined. Also, fucking David Aceveda as the president-elect for the win. Hopefully they bring him back on a more permanent basis as the president since The Shield is about to be over soon.

And I can't wait to see some shit go down if they try to kill Robert Patrick.