SPECIAL UNIT 2 "The Grain"

The quirky blend of BUFFY and THE X-FILES almost connects with its second season debut

By Carl Cortez     October 03, 2001

Earlier this year, UPN trotted out two mid-season replacement series that barely registered a blip on the TV map. ALL SOULS was a quirky hospital thriller from TWIN PEAKS co-creator Mark Frost. It didn't have a chance. SPECIAL UNIT 2 was the other entry a weird blend of THE X-FILES and BUFFY that had a great concept, great make-up, but a kiss of death title and a thankless timeslot after the D.O.A. VOYAGER.

Something funny happened on the way to cancellation though the six fresh and exciting episodes of this series, which follows an ultra-secret precinct of the Chicago Police Department who hunt down "Links" (a paranormal special being that is the missing link between man and beast), managed to find the right demographic and proved to be something UPN was willing to give a second chance.

Now paired up with the equally adventurous

and intentionally funny ENTERPRISE (as opposed to VOYAGER's unintentionally funny storylines), SPECIAL UNIT 2 suddenly has a great lead-in (ENTERPRISE's ratings were through the roof last week) and a chance to continue to build upon its already growing audience.

The sad part is that "The Grain," the show's second season debut, is uneventful at best with a story that doesn't manage to mix the humor and the grotesque as well as last year's episodes did.

The story follows a rash of unexplained crimes where people are acting out their most repressed fantasies. What detectives Nick O'Malley (Michael Landes) and Kate Benson (Alexondra Lee) have discovered is there is a parasite known as the Sandman who infiltrate people's bodies and make them do things they normally wouldn't (i.e. a housewife robbing a 7-11 or a mailman taking a bat to mailboxes). When Kate gets infected by the Sandman, it's up to Nick to save her from essentially turning into a gun-toting slut.

What this episode

lacks in an original story it makes up for in style and sex appeal. Lee is pretty much by the books in her demeanor, but when they sex her out here it makes you totally forget about Jolene Blalock from just an hour before on ENTERPRISE. And since we probably won't be seeing T'Pol decked out in leather any time soon, Lee has that arena sewn up for sure.

Landes is also a likable presence and his repartee with Lee has its own flair. Though the comparisons to Mulder and Scully will be inevitable, the dynamic is definitely different and the show's tone favors a lighter approach to its characters and situations that almost makes SPECIAL UNIT 2 a nice companion piece to the Sci-Fi Channel's tongue-in-cheek series THE CHRONICLE (about a tabloid paper whose extraordinary paranormal stories they report on are actually true). Neither shows try to out-gross, out-shock or out-laugh any of their peers currently populating genre television. Instead they're trying to carve out their own little niche.

"The Grain" may not be the best showcase for Evan Katz's clever creation, but as a sampler for ENTERPRISE fans looking for a reason not to switch channels, SPECIAL UNIT 2 just may be what the UPN ordered.

SPECIAL UNIT 2 - "The Grain"

Grade: C

Reviewed Format: TV Show Second Season Premiere

Network: UPN

Original Airdate: October 3, 2001; 9:00 p.m. EST

Cast: Michael Landes, Alexondra Lee, Richard Gant, Danny Woodburn, Jonathan Togo

Creator: Evan Katz

Writer: Jack Bernstein

Director: David Straiton