Now as most of you have gathered by now, I'm not a huge fan of this show. My plan was to
give it three episodes, and if it didn't sway me, then I'd walk away. Last night's episode was the third installment,
so that means I'm walkin'.
Now I went in to this planning on writing a less harsh review because, believe it or not, I do read all the comments people write and I realize that many folks love this show. However, I won't have to try too hard at doing so because this episode wasn't that bad. It's easily the best of the first three.
First, I'll just get the things that bugged me out of the way. I didn't like that Jonas was sent out solo. Are we forgetting the title of the show? As boring as I found the desert mission last week, at least it was the whole team doing their thing. And then there's the wives. I still can't stand them, Molly especially. I like the premise of the wives, the whole idea that they're affected too. But all I really want too see is more of the missions, the espionage, and the action. I need more Mission: Impossible and less Stepford Wives. I mean c'mon, Molly is creepy.
All that being said, this show still has a lot of potential because these first episodes still count as a test run and the show could easily change around by the seventh or eighth installment. I liked the whole training sequence that Mack, Bob, and the rest of the team went through and hope that this gets used a little more. A good structure for this show could involve training for the mission in the first half-hour and the execution of the mission in the second half-hour. Notice the lack of the wives; they can be around but they don't need a whole side-story.
So that's it I suppose. I'll continue to watch the show but there really is no point in continuing to tick off the loyal fans by telling everyone why I think the show is so poor (right now anyway). The second The Unit does something right though, I'll be writing about it because I really would like to see this show keep Dennis Haysbert on TV.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-22-2006 @ 11:42AM
Jimmy said...
I haven't really been able to get into this show either. First, I know they are trying to be realistic in their representation of what it means to be a soldier during a time of war, but just comes off way to fake and over the top. Scott Foley, especially, is totally unbelievable in this role -- TOTALLY. Second, the wives are just a little too creepy; although, this week's wives segment was interesting in that it showed how invested these women are in the safety and well-being of their spouses, propably the most real of what they've shown so far. I'll probably keep watching because there is nothing else on that I like, but given a choice I doubt I'll stay.
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3-22-2006 @ 12:49PM
Tony said...
If you don't like covering this show, I'll write about it for TV Squad! ;)
Actually, I have only seen one full episode (only caught parts of the other episodes), but your take seems spot on to me.
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3-22-2006 @ 1:13PM
Nick said...
I totally agree with you that the show could be better, and I like your training/execution idea. I don't think the show will get cancelled or moved since the ratings seem to be pretty good. The reason this show is good, or at least the reason I think it is good, is because it is not prefaced with "CSI" or "Law and Order" or have anything to do with investigating and prosecuting.
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3-22-2006 @ 3:37PM
Brent McKee said...
I know what bothers me about the show. Every episode seems so jam packed with storylines that none of them gets their just deserts. Take last night. There was Jonas in Indonesia rescuing the idiot kids. There was the Colonel and the wives trying to work the senator (the criminally underused Lindsay Frost, who I've been in lust with since her one season show "Mancuso FBI" with Robert Loggia). There's the training accident. There's the threat of violence in the way that Mack behaves with his wife. So that's three or four distinct stories that could be told, each capable of building a lot of dramatic tension and strong enough to carry an episode on it's own. But by lumping them together you don't allow the dramatic tension to build on any one of them and none of the stories receives the attention it deserves. Put that down to the writing. Mamet may be one of America's great playwrigths (Pulitzer for "Glengarry Glenn Ross") but TV is a different form from plays or movies.
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3-22-2006 @ 5:30PM
LC said...
If things don't work out here, Haysbert would be the perfect replacement to play Chef on South Park. He has a similar voice to Isaac Hayes, and he can sing.
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3-23-2006 @ 10:48AM
Moovyphreak said...
Considering the creative pedigree behind this show, you'd think it would be better. I watched two episodes before giving up. I agree wholeheartedly that the wives storyline needs to be retooled for me to regain any interest. The actresses aren't that good and don't deliver Mamet's dialogue properly.
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4-18-2006 @ 7:55PM
Al said...
This show is great! I do not agree with you; I think the acting is better than TV, yea the writing can improve and I am sure it will. This show has more than potential; it has a future.
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5-12-2006 @ 10:49PM
Al said...
This show gets better and better each time I watch it. I can't wait to see how it develops next season. Will the major's daughter quit school or not? Will the stories be more focused on the missions or stay on both the at home and away on missions line that it follows now. Either way I like the show.
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