DVD Review

The Unit: The Complete Series

Official Synopsis:

Known only as “The Unit,” this ultra-secret contingent of Special Forces soldiers operate outside the usual military chain of command. Their very existence is a closely held secret protected by the soldiers themselves. Their wives, who are also in on the secret, strictly adhere to a fictitious cover story that is provided for them. “The Unit” chronicles a team of unknown heroes who, without ever receiving credit, risk their lives while protecting others.

Our Take:

I've never watched The Unit regularly, but I always like a chance to visit a show on DVD with fresh, non-commercial-laden eyes. Fox's new mega box set, The Unit: The Complete Series, compiles all four seasons of the hit action show into one gorgeous box set.

Now, it would be impossible for me to sit down and watch all four seasons of the show and try to get my review done any time before, oh I don't know, early next year, so what I did was to go through and pick out what seemed like key episodes and focus on those, so I could get a sense of the entire series as a whole, rather than just focusing on one particular season. I mean, isn't that the point of a box set like this?

So armed with a little internet research, I delved into a handful of episodes from each season. What I found is that when the show is "on," it's downright awesome. When it's not, it's, well, not. Take Season Three's two-part episode, "Five Brothers" and "Play 16." This was an intense, action-packed, dramatic storyline that had me engaged from start to finish. On the other hand, Season four's "Switchblade," in which the Unit takes a bureaucrat into the field so he can witness the horrors of war firsthand is a heavy handed mess that highlights some maudlin tendencies the show throws in on occasion to balance out the action of the show. Still, overall, I found The Unit to be much more of a hit than a miss, and I'm impressed with the quality of some of the action sequences, especially considering that they were shot on a TV budget.

Special Features:

I'm a little surprised that the only extra features included are the ones that originally appeared on each season's DVD set. I would have expected that a set of this magnitude (and price point) would include at least one bonus disc of new material, but there isn't one. Luckily, you do get a pretty solid collection of extras with the original features. Here's the breakdown:

Optional Commentary on Selected Episodes
Deleted Scenes
Paradise Lost: The Making Of The Season 2 Finale Documentary
Mission: The Making Of Sub-Conscious Featurette
Dark Of The Moon: Working With Weapons Featurette
Inside Delta Force Featurette
The Writers' Roundtable Featurette
Into Hell: A Brotherhood Divided Featurette
Shadow Riders: A Western Come Undone Featurette
Snake Doctor: A Leader Among Us Featurette

Conclusion:

The Unit: The Complete Series is a great DVD set in a beautiful package. Unfortunately, if you're a die-hard fan of the show and have been buying the DVDs as they've come out, there's really no incentive to buy this version. However, if you've been a fan on TV but have held off on buying the DVDs, this is the way to go.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:

Movie: B+
Extra Features: B+

- Mike Spring
Editor