If you’ve heard the name Shawn Ryan, it’s probably in association with his excellent FX cop drama The Shield. But for the last few years of that show’s run, Ryan was dividing his attentions between Vic Mackey and an entirely different breed of manly man. For The Unit, Ryan teamed up with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-director David Mamet to tell the story of an elite, off-the-books Special Forces unit headed by Jonas Blane (24’s Dennis Haysbert). Those two creative heavyweights would be impressive enough, but the show brought a serious level of authenticity to the table courtesy of the involvement of former Delta Force Command Sergeant Major Eric L. Haney, whose memoir Inside Delta Force inspired the series. The show wrapped up its final season last may on CBS, and on September 29th you can enlist for the entire four-year deployment on DVD courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and The Unit: Complete The Giftset.
The show is chockablock with action, tension, and razor-sharp Mamet-esque dialogue, and what really sets the show apart from similar fare is its honest portrayal of the stresses, challenges, and sacrifices this sort of life imposes not just on the soldiers, but on their families. Nearly as much time is spent with the wives back on the base as with the boys in the field, and in later seasons they even get involved more directly (and not entirely of their own free will). The Unit never got the attention it deserved while it was airing, so it’s definitely worth checking out in this full-series set. The set will run you $199.98, and you can check out the specs below.
Season One, Disc One:
First Responders
Stress
200th Hour
True Believers
Season One, Disc Two:
Non-Permissive Environment
Security
Dedication
SERE
Commentary with Shawn Ryan, Eric L. Haney & Demore Barnes
Season One, Disc Three:
Eating the Young
Unannounced
Exposure
Morale, Welfare & Recreation
Season One, Disc Four:
The Wall
Special Features
“Inside The Unit” featurette
Deleted Scenes
Season Two, Disc One:
Change of Station
Extreme Rendition
Commentary by Scott Foley, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer/Writer Daniel Voll
The Kill Zone
Commentary by Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Supervising Producer/Writer Lynn Mamet and Robert Patrick
Manhunt
Season Two, Disc Two:
Force Majeure
Commentary by Scott Foley, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer/
Writer Daniel Voll
Old Home Week
Off the Meter
Natural Selection
Commentary by Audrey Marie Anderson, Scott Foley, Co-Executive Producer Eric Haney and Supervising Producer/Writer Sharon Lee Watson
Season Two, Disc Three:
Report By Exception
Bait
Silver Star
Commentary by Director Bill L. Norton, Dennis Haysbert and Max Martini
The Broom Cupboard
Season Two, Disc Four:
Sub-Conscious
Commentary by Audrey Marie Anderson, Abby Brammell and Co-Executive Producer/Writer Daniel Voll
Johnny B. Goode
Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Todd Ellis Kessler, Max Martini and
Co-Executive Producer/Director Vahan Moosekian
The Water is Wide
Games of Chance
Season Two, Disc Five:
Dark of the Moon
Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Eric Haney, Dennis Haysbert,
Executive Producer Shawn Ryan and Director Michael Zinberg
Two Coins
Outsiders
In Loco Parentis
Season Two, Disc Six:
Bedfellows
Freefall
Commentary by Abby Brammell, Dannis Haysbert and Co-Executive Producer Daniel Voll
Paradise Lost
Commentary by Abby Brammell, Dannis Haysbert, Supervising Producer/
Writer Lynn Mamet and Co-Executive Producer/Director Vahan Moosekian
Special Features
“Paradise Lost: The Making of the Season 2 Finale” featurette
“Mission: The Making of Sub-Conscious” featurette
“Dark of the Moon: Working with Weapons” featurette
Season Three, Disc One:
Pandemonium, Part One
Commentary by Executive Producer/Director Vahan Moosekian, Director of Photography Krishna Rao and Supervising Producer Sharon Lee Watson
Pandemonium, Part Two
Commentary by Actors Dennis Haysbert and Michael Irby, Co-Executive Producer
Todd Kessler, Executive Producer Vahan Moosekian, Actor Rebecca Pidgeon and
Director of Photography Krishna Rao
Always Kiss Them Goodbye
Commentary by Visual Effects Supervisor Dave Altenau, Actor Abby Brammell and Executive Producer Shawn Ryan
Every Step You Take
Commentary by Actor Demore Barnes, Co-Executive Producer Lynn Mamet and
Editor Rick Tuber
Season Three, Disc Two:
Inside Out
Commentary by Actors Audrey Marie Anderson, Demore Barnes and Abby Brammell and Writer Dan Hindmarch
M.P.s
Five Brothers
Commentary by Actors Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Irby and Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer Frank Military
Play 16
Commentary by Actors Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Robert Patrick and Co-Executive Producer Daniel Voll
Season Three, Disc Three:
Binary Explosion
Commentary by Actors Dennis Haysbert, Robert Patrick, Demore Barnes and Michael Irby, Story Editor Randy Huggins and Special Effects Coordinator Dennis Dion
This site is operated by Cinema Blend LLC. For advertising inquiries, contact Gorilla Nation. CinemaBlend.com is a private, independently owned website which is intended only as entertainment. The views expressed on this website may or may not reflect those of its owner. Don't take us too seriously.
If you’ve heard the name Shawn Ryan, it’s probably in association with his excellent FX cop drama The Shield. But for the last few years of that show’s run, Ryan was dividing his attentions between Vic Mackey and an entirely different breed of manly man. For The Unit, Ryan teamed up with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-director David Mamet to tell the story of an elite, off-the-books Special Forces unit headed by Jonas Blane (24’s Dennis Haysbert). Those two creative heavyweights would be impressive enough, but the show brought a serious level of authenticity to the table courtesy of the involvement of former Delta Force Command Sergeant Major Eric L. Haney, whose memoir Inside Delta Force inspired the series. The show wrapped up its final season last may on CBS, and on September 29th you can enlist for the entire four-year deployment on DVD courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and The Unit: Complete The Giftset.
