The Unit

First Responders

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired 3/7/06

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Episode Summary

The Unit is a covert team of U.S. Special Forces operatives who must undertake missions around the world. The latest newcomer is Bob Brown who joins Jonas' team and they set out to rescue an airliner filled with European businessmen who have been hijacked by terrorists. Meanwhile, Bob's wife Kim is struggling with how much control the Unit has on her own personal life.moreless

8.6

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Cast & Crew

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Regina Taylor

Molly Blane
Dennis Haysbert

Jonas Blane
Michael Irby

Charles Grey

Fan Episode Reviews (30)

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Jonas and the new guy get a surprise while visiting an old friend in Idaho. A commercial airliner is hijacked by arab speaking terrorists.

10

"Perfect"

By XxsNaKeDoCxX, Aug 12, 2010 Report Abuse

Incredible show that started it all. I read alot of posts saying this was unrealistic. I disagree. I read the Inside Delta Force book by Eric Haney. While alot of people don't think Jonas would enter the plane by himself without armor. This is in fact exactly what would happen. The senior operator would execute this because the plane is to narrow for multiple people to breach. He wears no armor because he wants to move freely and not get snagged on anything. Plus the whole purpose is not to get shot.

I also love how Bob takes out the spotters in the trees. A knife to the neck of the first one a single shot to the face/neck area of the second and two more shots to seal the fate of the third guy.

All in all a great way to start of a new show. I will watch until they make no more.moreless

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2 1
Action drama starts out with horribly weak characters. With these people, no situation that requires sympathy for their fate will be suspenseful.

3.2

"Bad"

By Trident, May 18, 2010 Report Abuse

***some spoilers***

What might be a good series left a really bad taste in my mouth right off the bat. Forget the atrocious acting, the drama among the wives made my blood boil. Not being one to enjoy egotistical wives in TV-shows, this had me annoyed to no end in the portrayal of the Unit-men's wives being borderline "Stepford Wives" in the way they expect a hapless new recruit's wife to accept (and like) being deceived into a situation that she had no real knowledge of or had agreed to. All it takes in the end is one of the veterans' wife to give the newbie's wife a pathetically superficial, meaningless speech about "love" and a man's "dreams", that anybody with half a brain could've blown away for the nonsense that it is for that particular wife in that particular situation.

I mean: REALLY? A woman shouldn't break her husband's "dream" after he callously kept vital life decisions (let alone a chance to be in that decision making process) from her and their daughter? Just accept being kept in the dark? Just accept not being able to say anything to your friends and family? Just accept having to live on a base with complete strangers that you don't know and care nothing for? Apparently, basic respect between a husband and wife only comes one way in this "Stepford" community.

Oh, and meanwhile, the undeveloped and (because of the way they apparently start out treating their wives as unquestioning sheep who deserve no part in a marriage's decision-making) unsympathetic Unit-agents have their own mission (a plane-hostage situation) that quite frankly left me cold after enduring the robotic treatment of the new wife at the base.

I'm the farthest thing removed from a feminist, but when even i as a sometimes "chauvinist" man get seriously annoyed by something like this, it means something.

When i have to start out on a show with characters with either no respect for their wives to tell them what's in store for them, female characters who act like unquestioning sheep in that they expect other wives to also accept it like they did, or characters with no self respect enough to tell those men to go to hell for keeping such important lifelong decisions from them until it was too late, i cannot possibly enjoy it. "The Unit" may mostly be about these men and their missions, but i've already started out not caring whether these guys come home alive or not, and that will render the everything about the show meaningless to me.moreless

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The Unit is a covert special forces team, that undertake black ops mainly, meaning that they are denieable and untraceable even though they have been sanctioned to be undertaken at the government level.moreless

9.7

"Superb"

By captainbritain, Jun 08, 2008 Report Abuse

We see a new member is entering the unit, so we get to meet the rest of the team and backup by following Bob Brown's integration into the unit, but also Mrs Brown's interaction with the other unit wives.

Bob Brown is new to the unit, so on his first day(we presume) then he is taken by the senior unit member to go and see one of the units finest gunnery sargeants, but medically retired out of the unit. Else where, Bob's wife is finding that the wives of the unit are getting into her business and re-arranging all the plans that she has been working hard on, she's head strong and does not like the interference that is being directed at her, in her opinion.

Meanwhile, whilst Bob and Jonas are on their field trip, a commercial airliner is hijacked by arab speaking terrorists and has been parked on a hard to get to airfield, leaving the situation to be handled by the local police force and the other local agencies. Jonas is informed about it, they are then able to borrow some firepower from the former unit member and off they go to assess the situation.

They take a light aircraft from a nearby airstrip to the airfield where the airliner is, as they approach using the standard approach they overfly a group of AK-47 carrying people that have set up a camp just outside the perimeter of the airfield but in line with the runway.

The local try to take back the airline using stand protocols, which the terrorists have read (strange), which results in the locals not achieving their mission but just getting some killed. Jonas dispatches Bob and a couple of national guards to go and recce the small group of terrorists and await further orders.

Other team members have since arrived by parachuting in, at night, safetly and to the correct area, met up with Jonas and have established a plan of attack, after they witnessed the failed attempt of the locals. Intel from Bob allows Jonas to know that the group is a spotting group giving them on board the advantage as they are being warned of what is approaching the plane from all angels.

The locals get upset when Jonas and his team, board and complete their mission without losing any members, and then they all pack off and head for home for tea and medals.

A cracking good pilot episode which had me hooked from this initial episode.moreless

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1 1
the beginning...

8.2

"Great"

By Fwirrel, Sep 03, 2007 Report Abuse

Jonas is showing the new guy, Bob, around in Idaho while the wives are showing Bob's wife, Kim, around the base. The team is called out to stop highjackers on a plane. They take down the highjackers and come home safe. At the end, the stress is getting to Jonas and he shoots the mirror. Anyways, that part of the story was interesting. I really liked the highjacker story, though it was a little unorigonal. On the home front, however, it was getting a little annoying. Kim is abnoxious. I understand that it's a lot for her to handle, but she's such a butt about it. "Oh I want a house off base," what a baby. Anyways, it was a good episode, but not a very good season premiere.moreless

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0 0
A good show with good potential

8.8

"Great"

By raimondo, Jul 15, 2007 Report Abuse

this show has great potential, lets us see how the military force od the US has to strech to the limit and we do not even see it. It also reflects the stress that the families are put up too, when the soldiers go into batle to fight our war or someone elses war

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Goof: They pack up the laser designator shortly after the missile/bomb is away. It should have be pointed at the target until impact, because the laser reflection is used to home in on the target. Edit
- Goof: The team leader said that the plane was an 727, but in fact the plane is an MD-80 Edit
- During the laser spotter scene the pilot called 'missle away' over the radio despite the weapon being a bomb. Edit
Notes
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- This episode was nominated for the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The Emmy went to the show, E-Ring. Edit
- In every episode, there is a "hidden" or subtle reference to Eric Haney: In this episode Bob Brown is looking at photos on the wall of Ron and Ruthie's cabin — the first photo is of Eric Haney. Edit
- All the missions in the first season are based on actual missions that the writer was involved in. Edit
Quotes
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- (Colonel Ryan is shipping Mack out again) Colonel Ryan: Mack, Tiffy, sorry to be taking him away so soon... he just got back- Molly: No, you're not Tom. (Jokingly) No one likes a liar. Edit
- Kim: Wait- Wait- Wait, what's the 303rd Logistical Studies Group? Molly: The 303rd Logistical Studies Unit is where your husband works, that's his cover. Other than that this unit has no name, other than that this unit doesn't exist, you will live that cover as if your husband's life depended on it, as belive me it does. Tiffy: Any one who knows another piece of information, is another person who could get our husbands killed. Molly: You will not tell your mother, your best friend, your priest what your husband does. Edit
- Molly: How were things at the office? Jonas: Same as usual. Molly: That's nice. Trash needs to be taken out. Edit
Allusions
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- The Unit's cover is the 303rd Logistical Studies Unit. This is a reference to the fictitious infantry unit in the film Wag the Dog. This film and this episode was written by David Mamet. Edit