Season two continues where the first season left off, showing the heading for more dangerous missions around the world. In the case that you are unfamiliar with the show, The Unit follows the lives of both in the field and at home of a group of elite US special forces soldiers. Starring Dennis Haysbert (24) as Jonas Blane the team leader, you get to see the not so advertised missions he has to lead his team through for the US government. Also starring in The Unit are Regina Taylor, Abby Brammell, Michael Irby, Scott Foley, Max Martini, Demore Barnes, Audrey Marie Anderson and Robert Patrick (Terminator 2). The first season of the show was very hit and miss as the characters needed to be introduced.
In Season 2, now we know about the characters plus the psychological and financial issues they are facing, so it’s all about their finding solutions. It can be said that The Unit has something for everyone. Although not at the same time. While a male audience will love he heavy action sequences provided by seeing the missions take place, they will find the at home soap opera moments dull. These, however, would be of more interest to the female audience than the mindless action, if you assume the usual stereotypes.
The season includes such great episodes as Extreme Rendition, Sub Conscious and Dark of the Moon. In Extreme Rendition, a former member of the unit is in a Bulgarian prison and Jonas with his team must go and help him escape to get information on an arms dealer. Sub Conscious has the team on a mission to take control of a South Korean submarine to help a North Korean Scientist defect. Dark of the Moon is easily the best episode of the show so far with nothing but 40 minutes of action in Pakistan as the team help defend a US base from attackers wanting to break out a number of recently taken suspected terrorist prisoners. The last episode of the season, Paradise Lost is where The Unit is under investigation by the Government for their past actions and gives a great cliff hanger ending to the season.
In addition to the boxsets, 23 episodes on 6 discs, there are 10 commentary tracks by members of the cast and crew, such as the actors Dennis Haysbert, Demore Barnes, Regina Taylor, Abby Brammell, Scott Foley and Michael Irby. Also included in the commentary tracks are the writers and executive producers, with around 3-4 people per commentary track. The tracks are informative but some are much better than others.
The set also includes a number of making-of documentaries which manage to keep your attention. Paradise Lost: The making of the season 2 finale (32mins 48sec) focuses on the production process from start to finish. Mission: The making of Sub Conscious (11min 31sec) shows the technical aspects of shooting the episode and since shooting fake submarine shots is such a technical and interesting topic, you would hope for it to be longer. Finally, there is Dark of the Moon: Working with Weapons (19min 11sec). If you are looking for something each member of the family will enjoy bits of, then The Unit: Season 2 is worth serious consideration.
Ted Stokes
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