Watching a marathon of "Special Unit 2" on SyFy today. This was actually a decent show from 2001. It deals with a secret group of people who investigate and contain creatures from myth that oddly love to hang out in Chicago. The formula is pretty familiar: secret group of agents, special weaponry to take out the creatures, a funny creature who helps out the squad, lots of jokes in which the mystical beasties are juxtaposed with human society (such as the gnome who helps the Unit who loves slurpees, strippers, and has a penchant for holding up convenience stores).
Indeed, the formula of the "monster hunters" has been used in some shape or form for other series such as the X-Files, G vs. E, Supernatural, Angel (which the show most reminds me of with its mix of humor and drama), Warehouse 13 (which hunts objects, but can creatures be far behind?), Sanctuary, Primeval, The Chronicle, Reaper, Dead Last (a fun ghost hunters series also from 2001), and the Men in Black movies. What's interesting is the description and explanation different series use to explain these creatures. "Special Unit 2" takes the tack that gnomes, gargoyles, etc., are all various missing links in the evolutionary chain, some taking our path, others taking parallel but different evolutionary paths. Hence the name "Links" for the beings. As such, i don't think they can be called "supernatural" in terms of magical. "Sanctuary" takes a similar view, that they all occur naturally in Nature, but calls them "Abnormals", a term I find oddly egocentric and condescending. Maybe *we* are the real abnormals on Earth! "Supernatural", "Angel", and "Reaper" go with the more standard magical/supernatural explanation. "Warehouse 13" and "X-Files" were a mixture, trying to base it all in science, but not quite able to explain everything away. At any rate, it's a fun little show, nothing fancy but worth a look if you've never seen it before. Since it came and went in a flash, i don't think I've seen a single ep fully, so it's all new to me. And man does it make me sad for the loss of so many of those great other shows!
