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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.
Unit, The
EMAILPRINTSERIES: CBS, Tuesday 9:00p (60 minutes)

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 134 votes
Read user comments
Rate this show >
Show Info
Genre(s): Action / Adventure, Drama
Created By: David Mamet
First Air Date: March 7, 2006
Summary
Starring Dennis Haysbert, Scott Foley, Robert Patrick, Regina Taylor, Max Martini, Michael Irby, Demore Barnes, and Abby Brammell
Playwright David Mamet's first real stab at network television follows an elite Special Forces unit (led by 24's Dennis Haysbert) on covert missions around the globe, while also focusing on the wives left behind.
Episode Guide & More Info: More about this show at TV.com
Also On The Web: Official Show Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science MonitorGloria Goodale
This could all get old really fast, but Taylor's steely performance keeps the home front interesting, while the globe-trotting soldiers bring home the reality of how many troubled spots this small planet still has.
Read Full Review >SalonHeather Havrilesky
One of the major strengths of "The Unit" is its ability to tackle the blurry ethical lines and confusing behavioral codes of the military during a time of war.
Read Full Review >San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum
It just oozes potential with sharp dialogue and a strong cast.
Read Full Review >Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
"The Unit" is filled with thrilling action and heart-pounding adventure.
Read Full Review >Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Mamet skillfully balances the men's harrowing missions with their wives' sacrifices on the home front.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Only an occasional over-spicing of melodrama keeps The Unit from TV's top echelon. Even so, it's the best new dramatic series of a TV season that started way back in September.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
"The Unit"... is predictably Mametian only in that it's interesting, tightly written and finely shot.
Read Full Review >Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
It's uneven in spots, with the riveting action sequences sometimes overshadowing the more subdued domestic scenes. But unlike the often gratingly shallow "JAG," "The Unit" allows for ambiguity.
Read Full Review >Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
This being Mamet, there's lots of folksy jargon. [10 Mar 2006, p.56]
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Sometimes formula done entertainingly is just what the country wants to eat.
Read Full Review >Washington PostTom Shales
Mamet offers a kind of thinking person's war movie for a nation that is, indeed, at war.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
A promising cast and respected executive producers conspire to give "The Unit" a shot at being this spring's breakout hit. But the real proof's in the pilot, a thrilling balance between the action of this sharpshooting brotherhood and the schemes of their secretive, slightly overbearing wives.
Read Full Review >Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
After the male action sequences, alas, the feminine interludes tend to be soporific.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
This is news that never quite rises to the level of an event: "David Mamet Came to Television and All We Got Was a Better 'E-Ring.' "
Read Full Review >NewsdayVerne Gay
Some of Mamet's dialogue is certifiably awful and some certifiably brilliant, and the dichotomy is breathtaking.
Read Full Review >The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
"The Unit" becomes distinctive only when the action shifts back to the wives left behind on the base.
Read Full Review >New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
"The Unit" features a strong cast - but for much of this show, they're cast adrift.
Read Full Review >Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
These two extraordinary talents have done an average job with what is a surprisingly unimaginative premise.
Read Full Review >New York PostAdam Buckman
The executive producers of this series are David Mamet and Shawn Ryan, but it has none of the panache of Mamet's plays and movies such as "Glengarry Glen Ross" or "The Spanish Prisoner," and none of the blunt force of Ryan's best-known work, "The Shield" on FX.
Read Full Review >Cleveland Plain DealerMark Dawidziak
Halfway through tonight's clunky and cartoonish debut, it dawns on you that we're stuck in the middle of Operation Letdown.
Read Full Review >Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
The Unit hits more false notes than an American Idol tryout.
Read Full Review >The New RepublicLee Siegel
What you get is a show constricted by radical artistic compromises that it refuses to acknowledge having made. The result is an expulsion of Mamet's distinctive vision into the margins of the series, in which it wanders around like a director who's been fired from a movie yet will not leave the set.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this show is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 134 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
phillip k gave it a10:
Terrific show. Please do not take it off the air. My buddies and I watch it faithfully. Very well done. One of the best on TV.
alex g gave it a10:
I love this show. The acting and attention to detail when it comes to the weapons and tactics is awesome! I hope to see a movie maybe or a special extra long episode some day? There are too many epic moments to count.
Dave C gave it a2:
The opening episode of season 1 should have been entitled 'Operation Cliché', such was the nature of the script. The show also seems to pitched to 12-15 year-old kids - there are no sub-plots, no complexities, just a bunch of guys 'lock-and-load'-ing and playing 'soldiers', while the equally 2-dimensional women play 'supportive housewife' at home. 24, it ain't.
B U gave it an8:
For those of us who grew up on the A Team, Commando and the like this show's good for a weekly action fix. I've never been in the military, but its still easy to tell that there's a lot of poetic license, and I bet most military types probably hate it. Even so, I still enjoy it. I rate Patrick, Martini & Foley, and Haysbert is the man, but I'd like to see a version that had all the wives' scenes edited out. Too much drama for my tastes.
Rory P gave it a10:
The Unit this season has outdone itself. It is great! Thank you to David Mamet and his crew!
Eric E gave it a9:
The second show of my Tuesday night lineup. I love this show, it has a little bit of everything, action, romance, thrills, chills. Not a ton of action but plenty to keep me entertained. Also it makes for a good break from all the forensic science murder shows.
Shaggy gave it a9:
The show get's into your head and makes you think about world issues and how they affect everyday lives. It's addictive!
