OnTV: ‘Special Unit 2′ to the Rescue
The Sci Fi Channel “Links” to Yet Another Fleeting Supernatural Series
Sweet Home Chicago provides the backdrop for the ragtag team of investigators in Special Unit 2, the latest short-lived series served up in syndication on basic cable’s Sci Fi Channel. The part supernatural, part comedy program—which sports the telling tagline “Monsters are real. Deal with it!”—originally aired on the now defunct UPN from April 2001 to February 2002 for a total of nineteen episodes. Appreciated by fans for its sly sense of humor and efforts to deliver unique storylines, the series focuses on a pair of police detectives, Nicholas O’Malley (Michael Landes) and his new partner Kate Benson (Alexondra Lee), and their various associates (played by Richard Gant, Danny Woodburn, Sean Whalen, and Jonathan Togo) as they hunt mythical entities called “Links.”
The distinctive creature name derives from the belief that such beings evolved from the widely contemplated missing link between apes and humans. Special Unit 2, aka SU2, was consequently established as a special clandestine division of the Chicago Police Department with the sole purpose of tracking down said Links—who, as diabolical fate would have it, hide undetected amongst us mere mortals unless some exceptional person with higher perceptive abilities, like Detective Benson, manages to sniff them out—and “eliminating” the threat.
The Sci Fi Channel currently has all nineteen produced episodes of Special Unit 2 scheduled to air in three-hour 8pm–11pm blocks each Friday night from tonight until March 9. The final four episodes will then air from 7pm–11pm on Friday, March 23. If you’re hankering for the old Friday-night one-two punch of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, why not give this peace offering a look-see? As I’ve learned in the past from the Sci Fi Channel’s eclectic programming of previous shows, once you try it, you just might like it.
Other New Stuff on TV Tonight
- Ghost Whisperer—MEAN GHOST: Say what? Who’s that guest starring on Jennifer Love Hewitt’s unscary supernatural series (sorry, fans, but it’s the same old soppy same old week after week, which is why I recently gave up on waiting for the *real* ghosts to arrive and just stopped watching)? The haunted high-school cheerleading coach is none other than R&B songstress and living legend (all in due time, my dears) Mary J. Blige. How nice of the Grammy Girl—already a prior winner who may very well lug home one or more statuettes after this Sunday’s 49th Annual Grammy Awards telecast, where she’s the leading contender with a whopping eight nominations—to put in some dramatic face time on TV right before what must be one of the most anticipated nights of her life this year. [CBS/8:00]
- Celebrity Deathmatch: The words “celebrity” and “death” in the same title? Sounds good to me, especially since in the 6th-season premiere of this Claymation fightfest, we get to see Mischa Barton, formerly of The O.C., take on fellow TV starlet-light Kristin Cavallari, formerly of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Skinnygirlfight! And if that’s not enough to pique the senses, additional spot-on matches include That ’70s Show‘s Wilmer Valderrama against Drumline‘s Nick Cannon and Spider-Man Tobey Maguire versus Brokeback Mountain cowboy Jake Gyllenhaal. [MTV2/10:30]
- Monk—MR. MONK VISITS A FARM: There’s nothing better, or more potentially annoying, than shows that feature the immediate family members of lead actors. Tonight, the hordes of rabid Monk fans—and I assure you, they are out there—get to see star Tony Shalhoub mix it up with his real-life wife Brooke Adams in a countrified episode that also features my favorite Desperate Housewives spouse bar none, Ricardo Chavira. [USA/9:00]
- Crime Stories—THE ELDERLY EXECUTIONERS: The next time your brats refuse to behave, tell them this story about the great-grandparents who were sentenced to death after slaying five complete strangers, and then threaten to send them to their own for an extended visit … sans you. [Biography/10:00]
- Law & Order—CHURCH: Ripped from the headlines, indeed … and then regurgitated and rehashed until its nearly unrecognizable before watching for at least twenty minutes. In this case, however, knowledgeable audience members should have no problem whatsoever recognizing the shadow of a certain former evangelical preacher from Middle America who recently achieved infamy when he was very publicly outed by a “gentleman of the night,” but now claims to be miraculously rehabilitated and on the “straight” and narrow. Yeah, right, which is why the latest installment of L&O will be sooo much darn fun to watch. [NBC/10:00]
- ABC: 20/20 (9:01)
- Animal Planet: The Planet’s Funniest Animals (7:00); Ms. Adventure (9:00)
- BBC America: Hyperdrive (9:00); Feel the Force (9:40); Hardware (11:00); Spaced (11:30)
- Biography: Crime Stories (10:00)
- CBS: Ghost Whisperer (8:00); Close to Home (9:00); NUMB3RS (10:00)
- The CW: WWE Friday Night SmackDown! (8:00)
- Cartoon Network: Class of 3000 (8:00); My Gym Partner Is a Monkey (8:30); Squirrel Boy (9:00); Camp Lazlo (9:30); My Gym Partner Is a Monkey (10:30)
- Court TV: Video Justice (8:00)
- Disney: Hannah Montana (8:00); Cory in the House (8:30)
- E!: The Soup (10:00); Starveillance (10:30)
- ESPN: NBA Basketball (8:00/10:30)
- Food Network: Giada’s Weekend Getaways (9:30)
- Fox: Nanny 911 (8:00); Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (9:00)
- HGTV: House Hunters International (10:30)
- History: The Lost Evidence (8:00)
- MTV2: Crank Yankers (10:00); Celebrity Deathmatch (10:30)
- MyNet: Wicked Wicked Games (8:00); Watch Over Me (9:00)
- NBC: 1 vs. 100 (8:00); Las Vegas (9:00); Law & Order (10:00)
- PBS: Now (8:00*); Washington Week (8:30*)
- TLC: What Not to Wear (9:00)
- USA: Monk (9:00); Psych (10:00)
*All PBS times may vary—Check your local listings to verify them
All times are PM and EST/Eastern Standard Time
Special Unit 2 photo courtesy of Paramount Television
