Sound Off With The Unit Complete Giftset On DVD

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By David Wharton
published

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
  • 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
  • “Inside The Unit” featurette
  • Deleted Scenes

Season Two, Disc One:

  • Change of Station
  • Commentary by Scott Foley, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer/Writer Daniel Voll
  • Commentary by Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Supervising Producer/Writer Lynn Mamet and Robert Patrick
  • Manhunt

Season Two, Disc Two:

  • Commentary by Scott Foley, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer/ Writer Daniel Voll
  • Old Home Week
  • Off the Meter
  • 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
  • Commentary by Director Bill L. Norton, Dennis Haysbert and Max Martini
  • The Broom Cupboard

Season Two, Disc Four:

  • Commentary by Audrey Marie Anderson, Abby Brammell and Co-Executive Producer/Writer Daniel Voll
  • 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:

  • 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
  • Commentary by Abby Brammell, Dannis Haysbert and Co-Executive Producer Daniel Voll
  • Paradise LostCommentary by Abby Brammell, Dannis Haysbert, Supervising Producer/ Writer Lynn Mamet and Co-Executive Producer/Director Vahan Moosekian
  • “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:

  • Commentary by Executive Producer/Director Vahan Moosekian, Director of Photography Krishna Rao and Supervising Producer Sharon Lee Watson
  • 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
  • Commentary by Visual Effects Supervisor Dave Altenau, Actor Abby Brammell and Executive Producer Shawn Ryan
  • Commentary by Actor Demore Barnes, Co-Executive Producer Lynn Mamet and Editor Rick Tuber

Season Three, Disc Two:

  • Commentary by Actors Audrey Marie Anderson, Demore Barnes and Abby Brammell and Writer Dan Hindmarch
  • M.P.s
  • Commentary by Actors Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Irby and Max Martini and Co-Executive Producer Frank Military
  • Commentary by Actors Demore Barnes, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Irby, Max Martini and Robert Patrick and Co-Executive Producer Daniel Voll

Season Three, Disc Three:

  • Commentary by Actors Dennis Haysbert, Robert Patrick, Demore Barnes and Michael Irby, Story Editor Randy Huggins and Special Effects Coordinator Dennis Dion
  • Gone Missing
  • Side Angle Side
  • The Writers’ Roundtable featurette
  • Deleted Scenes

Season Four, Disc One:

  • Sacrifice
  • Sudden Flight
  • Sex Trade
  • Conduit

Season Four, Disc Two:

  • Dancing Lessons
  • Inquisition
  • Into Hell, Part 1
  • Into Hell, Part 2

Season Four, Disc Three:

  • Deleted Scenes
  • Misled & Misguided
  • Switchblade
  • Bad Beat

Season Four, Disc Four:

  • The Spear of Destiny
  • The Last Nazi
  • Hero
  • Hill 60

Season Four, Disc Five:

  • Flesh & Blood
  • Best Laid Plans
  • Whiplash
  • Chaos Theory

Season Four, Disc Six:

  • End Game
  • Unknown Soldier
  • “Into Hell: A Brotherhood Divided” featurette
  • “Shadow Riders: A Western Come Undone” featurette
  • “Snake Doctor: A Leader Among Us” featurette
David Wharton