"Special Unit 2" (2001) TV series 2001-2002

Creator:

Evan Katz

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

11 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Monsters are real. Deal with it!

Plot:

Chicago cops hunt monsters.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Enemy | Supernatural | Chicago Illinois | Friendship

Cast

Michael Landes	...	Detective Nicholas O'Malley (19 episodes, 2001-2002)
Alexondra Lee	...	Detective Kate Benson (19 episodes, 2001-2002)
Richard Gant	...	Captain Richard Page (19 episodes, 2001-2002)
Danny Woodburn	...	Carl the Gnome (19 episodes, 2001-2002)
Jonathan Togo	...	Jonathan / ... (12 episodes, 2001-2002)

Also Known As:

SU2 (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

Runtime:

60 min (19 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

Christina Moore was originally cast as Kate Johnson. She was later replaced by series regular Alexondra Lee.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Golden City Dry Cleaner sign has a phone number at the very bottom. In some shots the number '7' will be present; in other shots it will be absent.

Quotes:

Carl: Hey, I still scare the ladies.
Nick O'Malley: Just not the way you want to.

Enjoyable Premier of Sci-Fi Cop Show

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!