Special Unit 2

Very impressed by first episode. Well-written, playful, and original sci-fi series. Loopy creatures mix freely with humans in what appears to be a normal Earth city of the not too distant future. Headquarters of Special Unit 2 is in the back of a dry-cleaning store, perhaps a tribute to Man From U.N.C.L.E. Hill Street Blues (or maybe Barney Miller) meets Outer Limits. One of the regulars at first appears to be a dwarf, but with the bulbous nose, serrated elfin ears, and traditional costume, you might notice he's a little odd. Turns out he's a genuine "gnome", and an important part of Special Unit 2. In the first episode, we meet the "parasites", creatures who take over people for "joy rides".

Reminds me a bit of the "leaky universes" theme that ran through many of Clifford Simak's sci-fi novels, weird things showing up where they're not expected. Here, though, anything goes, and the police of Special Unit 2 just deal with it, muddling through as best they can, although with a lot of help and guidance from our friendly gnome.

Fans of the original Star Trek who remember how they introduced a new critter or two almost each week, and fans of the original Star Wars bar scene, probably would enjoy something here.

I hope they can keep it up. The first episode is very promising. If they cheap out on the writing, or run out of ideas for new and funny villains, it could go downhill rapidly. Let's hope they don't. This idea for a series has a lot of potential!

The reason the show was canceled was due to a copyright infringement. It turns out that the show was based on a role playing game and no one got permission from the creator to pinch his stuff.

He tried to talk to the producers and writers but couldn't find any satisfactory answer to the infringement. The producers decided to cancel the show.

I believe the name of the RPG was "Bureau 13", I was also told that the writers had played the game when they were younger.

They probably forgot where they got the idea for the show (I least I hope it was accidental.)

Dave

I loved this show! I would watch every episode, it was so GOOD! And the characters were great together. I like Carl the Nome, he was always funny and getting into something. It's to bad they canceled the show, I thought it was a great hit, and I miss. One of the many shows I watched and really liked, and by fact i don't watch TV much, because most all of it sucks. Everything is the same, but this show was different. I really really liked it. I give it a perfect 10.

It's all about mixing together a cast of excellent actors, good scripts, nice effects, and, to top it all off, truly witty dialogue. Really, everything written by Jeff from Wisconsin is true. The show and the characters tackle serious crimes, but they do it with style. The cast really does work well together. The characters respect each other, but they don't let that get in the way of constantly barraging each other with barbs and sarcastic comments. You can't help but relate to them--they're the kind of people you'd like to go drinking with--there's something appealing about each one. But the wit is what puts it over the edge. This is wit like The Thin Man, like Bogie, like Jimmy Stewart. Good stuff. Who would have guessed.

Oh, and the music by is by Mark Snow. Enough said.

Well, Special Unit 2 was canceled in 02/2002. It's a shame. It was one of the most creative and funny shows to come across the small screen in some time. The quick witted, sharp tongued characters were the perfect match for the utter "campy-ness" of the show's premise. Sheer genius. Let's hope UPN decides to bring this one back.