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!

This was one of the best shows on the air. It had a talented and likable cast. Snappy and hilarious humor abounded on this show. I even adored the camera work. I loved the shots going from the street, thru the back of the dry cleaners and down the stairs to the units secret headquarters. You saw those shots more often during the shows original short term run when Sean Whalen played resident historian on the show. I have been a fan of that hottie Michael Landes since his days as "Jimmie the photographer" on Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman. I was so happy to see him on this show. He can act, he's got great comic timing and he's got the wise-cracking, smart-aleck persona down-pat. Although he had great chemistry with the curvy, tough yet vulnerable "Kate", he seemed to have even more so with Carl the gnome. I loved watching them share screen time. In my opinion there was no better episode than the premiere. You have to see it to truly appreciate what they were trying to do with this series. Of course UPN being UPN canceled this show. What were they thinking? Probably the same thing they were thinking when they canceled NOWHERE MAN, one of the best and most mysterious shows EVER. They replaced that show with "Homeboys in Outerspace". I can't even put my outrage into words. UPN makes some really crap--- choices. Anyway I hope to one day be able to either tape these shows off of cable or buy their collections. GREAT STUFF!!! Feel free to write to me.

Special Unit 2 at first seems like it might be a plain old rip-off show with just smart-ass characters and big ass guns and cheesy monsters. That is a huge misconception on what this show is all about and is. Special Unit 2 is actually a refreshing and unique show that UPN should be proud of. The monsters are designed by the mad genius in Patrick Tatopoulos. They are simply beautiful yet wicked looking at the same time. The show has the uncanny ability to show off clever dialogue and strong writing with strong characters. Nick O'Malley may seem like the typical badass good guy, when he is that but so much more. In the first episode he makes it pretty clear he doesn't care about anyone other than himself. He dispels that formulaic theme in no time when he shows he is supporting the family of his deceased partner from 2 years prior. He does care, he just keeps it inside to protect himself from the everyday pain he endures to kill the monsters that killed his partner. So we care about him as much as we cheer on his wicked skills as a monster killer and wicked one-liners. Kate Benson is another character we care about as well, who has the ability to see past things normal don't do. She grew up being looked down upon for her ability to look past the obvious and what lurks beneath the surface and that's how she finds herself in Special Unit 2. She is a true good cop but quickly learns being by the book won't solve cases all the time. She still has her convictions and morals whose driving force is not loss but for what she wants to discover and learn. The cast of this show clearly has the best chemistry I've seen on a show in recent memory. They all play off of each other with such ease it's a sight to behold. The special effects are brilliant and so are the production values and art direction. Special Unit 2 works on many different levels from the acting to the creature effects. There is more to Special Unit 2 than just an elite monster fighting team concept. It has a heart and special magic that makes it work that I haven't seen on many shows in recent memory. Stargate SG-1 and First Wave have that, not many others do. Special Unit 2 is worth a chance to see Alexondra Lee, Michael Landes, Richard Gant, and Danny Woodburn show their talents. This is a kick ass show with a heart that is also very beautiful and haunting at the same time. There are strong artistic values to this show that make it that much better than other shows in this genre. Special Unit 2 is worth a look and some of your videotape!

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.

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