The Unit is an
American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real life
Delta Force. The program features both the domestic lives of the team members and their missions abroad, in addition to the effect their careers have on their home lives, wives and girlfriends. It premiered in the
United States on
March 7,
2006 on
CBS as a
mid-season replacement. The second season debuted on
September 19,
2006, and the third season premiered on
September 25,
2007. The third season started on
September 25,
2007, with a hiatus occurring after the 11th episode due to
2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. The show was picked up for a fourth season by CBS on
May 12,
2008.
[Upfronts: CBS renews Britney Spears-enhanced 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'The Unit' : Show Tracker : Los Angeles Times] The fourth season began on September 28, 2008.
Based on show producer
Eric Haney's book,
Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit (
ISBN 0-440-23733-5),
The Unit was created for television by
David Mamet and
Shawn Ryan and is executive produced by Mamet and
Shawn Ryan. The show is produced by The Barn Productions Inc., David Mamet Entertainment, and Fire Ants Films in association with
20th Century Fox Television and
CBS Paramount Television.
Internationally,
The Unit premiered on
3 October 2006 in the
United Kingdom on
Bravo, on
11 October 2006 in
Australia on the
Seven Network, and on FOX8 Cable TV on Foxtel/Austar Cable network, on
11 January in
Spain on
La Sexta, on
25 January in
The Netherlands on
RTL 5, on
7 March in
Germany on
Sat. 1, on
September 23 in
Bulgaria on
bTV and on
9 March 2008 in
Russia on DTV.
The theme music for the first and second season was
Fired Up, an adaptation of the
United States Marine Corps running
cadence song
Fired Up...Feels Good by
Robert Duncan. He also created
Walk the Fire, a 22 second segment used as a theme since season three.
[MySpace: Robert Duncan Retrieved on October 5, 2007.]
Summary
The Unit is a
U.S. Army organization similar to
Delta Force. As with Delta Force, its members come from the
United States Army and appear to be primarily tasked with counterterrorism. The unit's official cover is as the "303rd Logistical Studies Group". In the third season's premier, an onscreen read-out specifically identifies the unit as "ALPHA Team 1st Special Actions Group".
The Unit is based at a fictional army post, "Fort Griffith". The location of Fort Griffith is never explicitly stated, but in Episode 303 "Always Kiss Them Goodbye", the storyline suggests that it is northwest of Pine Bluff, Arkansas and west/southwest of St. Louis, Missouri, which would place it in the vicinity of the real-life
Fort Leonard Wood. The common sight of the Missouri license plate supports Fort Griffith being placed in Missouri, as well as a flyer in Episode 206 "Old Home Week", handed out at an anti-war rally at the Fort Griffith gates, inviting fellow protesters to a seminar in
Greenwood, Missouri.
The unit's immediate chain of command goes to the commanding officer, Colonel Tom Ryan — and, presumably, straight to the
President of the United States. It is unknown if this bypasses the
Secretary of Defense.
The wives of the unit's ALPHA team personnel are given minimal mission or operational information. They are responsible to maintain the "303rd Logistical Studies Group" cover in all interactions with anyone who is not a Unit family member. Their husbands are, in fact, still performing highly dangerous missions, but they are not permitted to know specifics, such as where their husbands are deployed, what their training routines consist of, how long their assignments will last, or even if their husbands are safe.
If a member of the Unit is killed in action, the family is told that they have been killed on a training mission. The wives themselves are encouraged to form a close, cohesive military family based on the mutual knowledge and strife this inevitably leads to.
The Unit has an unconventional structure. With the size of a company, approximately 130 operators, it is commanded by a Colonel (
companies are usually commanded by Captains; Colonels usually command elements like
regiments). The
CO, Colonel Ryan, normally wears a "sanitized" uniform (bearing absolutely no tapes, such as his name, or even U.S. Army, or rank insignia).
Whereas a
Special Forces ODA (Operational Detachment - Alpha) is commanded by a Captain, the Unit sends 5 man teams into the field under non-commissioned officers, such as the team lead by
Sergeant Major Jonas Blane, the Unit's
NCOIC of Alpha team. It is possible that their soldiers have the same Special Forces specialties as in Army Special Forces. An ODA, formerly known as an "A-Team", has weapons sergeants, engineering sergeants, medical sergeants, communications sergeants, etc.
The wives, if suspected of speaking about the Unit's existence, can cause their husbands to be expelled, and returned to regular Army service. Colonel Ryan has stated, time and again, that this can ruin a soldier's career, as well as their marriage, and has also stated that he will not hesitate to destroy families, in order to preserve the Unit's security. He has also threatened the wives with closing the Unit down, and restarting it someplace else under another cover, and forcing the uprooting of all families involved.
The Unit deploys throughout the world, and both the Army and United States government have the ability to
deny the existence of the Unit and any of its members in order to prevent the onset of international incidents. Their uniforms are commonly not standard Army issue, which makes it easier to deny their connection with the US Army if killed or captured. They also carry weapons that are not always standard-issue, and the Unit's personnel are well-familiarized with weapons from around the world and can make themselves look like military personnel from other organizations.
The Unit's members will frequently use code names such as Mr. White, Mr. Black, Mr. Blue or Mr. Green. These are usually used when working directly with American civilians, other English speakers not trained for emergencies, or on counterterrorism missions. According to
Jonas Blane, the order of precedence for his team after he is disabled, is, from top to bottom:
Mack Gerhardt,
Charles Grey,
Hector Williams, and
Bob Brown.
Episodes
Ratings
USA TV Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of
The Unit on
CBS:
| Season
| Timeslot (EDT)
| Season Premiere
| Season Finale
| TV Season
| Rank
| Viewers
(in millions)
|
| 1
| Tuesday 9:00 P.M.
| March 7, 2006
| May 16, 2006
| 2005–2006
| #14
| 15.5 |
| 2
| Tuesday 9:00 P.M.
| September 19, 2006
| May 8, 2007
| 2006–2007
| #36
| 11.1 |
| 3
| Tuesday 9:00 P.M.
| September 25, 2007
| December 18, 2007
| 2007–2008
| #37
| 10.7 |
| 4
| Sunday 10:00 P.M.
| September 28, 2008
| May, 2009
| 2008–2009
| #28
| 10.45 (to date)[abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=121608_04]
|
DVD releases
| DVD Name
| Region 1
| Region 2
| Region 3
| Region 4
|
| The Complete First Season
| September 19, 2006
| April 30, 2007
|
France: July 4, 2007
Belgium: August 8 2007
April 18, 2007
| April 18, 2007
|
| The Complete Second Season
| September 25, 2007
| October 22, 2007
| TBA
| March 4, 2008
|
The Complete Third Season | October 14, 2008
| October 20, 2008
| TBA
| December 2008
|
Cast
Main crew
Notes
There are
continuity errors regarding the rank of Jonas Blane. In "Pandemonium, Part 2", Blane states his rank as
Command Sergeant Major, while in "Play 16" and "Five Brothers", his uniform rank is Sergeant Major.
Promoted from
Staff Sergeant during "Side Angle Side".
Although this might have just been
dirty talk, a similar continuity error exists regarding the rank of Mack Gerhardt. In the season 1 episode "True Believers" his wife says to him "come here Sergeant Major, and give me a report", but his rank is later established as Master Sergeant.
Killed in action,
Beirut,
Lebanon during "Five Brothers".
