The A-Team
The A-Team
TV-PG | 23 January 1983 (USA)

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SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
    Nonureva Really Surprised!
    NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
    Protraph Lack of good storyline.
    ikrani It is really hard to put into words just how much I love this show, but I'm going to try."In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... the A-Team." Cue greatest theme song ever written.These larger-than-life characters include Templeton "Face Man" Peck, a good-looking con artist whose job it is to scam the A-Team's equipment from any hapless passerby and question everything dangerous the team undertakes, John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-chomping disguise- wearing dated-insult-slinging leader of the group, and B. A. Baracus, who is essentially just Mr. T. I'm not kidding, Mr. T was the only cast member who never had to audition since the role was written specifically for him.There is a fourth member named Murdock who was the pilot that flew them to Hanoi for the infamous bank job. He has since gone banana balls and spends his days in the greatest mental hospital ever constructed. They let Murdock have his own private arcade and snack stash; THAT is good service. Face Man is usually the one sent in to break him out, and it's always fun to see what new con he'll pull to sneak Murdock out in plain sight, from a case of TB to a bout of rabies that Murdock contracted from his imaginary pet dog. Yes, that actually happened. And it was hysterical.The series centers around the A-Team doing jobs for people who can't prove who done it or otherwise can't count on the police for aid. In fact, more than once the A-Team are HIRED by the police to take care of dirty cops or corrupt officials. Other clients include logging companies, taxi companies, college students, Wild West show owners, all-female funk groups, and sometimes a pretty girl with a diamond mine to her name.And from that point on each episode begins building up to the big showdown, which is always crammed full of explosions, cars flipping over, guns that can't shoot straight, and poorly edited gun shot sounds. It's totally fake, but one does not watch this show for any amount of realism. One watches the A-Team because this is the romanticized action genre, the kind where the heroes always win, Face Man always gets the girl, cars blow up without injuring anyone, and the bad guys never stand a chance. It's cheesy, it's over-the-top, it's upbeat, and, above all, it's a ton of fun and I would happily rewatch it any time.I pity the fool who doesn't like The A-Team. Trademarked Mr. T 1997.
    IncorrigibleNerd There are many great TV shows from the 80s, and there is lots of great action-adventure goodness from every decade--but once in a while, you get something that is just truly special. The A-Team is one of those. Lots of people on here have already described the show's plot and characters, so I'll be brief with this bit of the review. Suffice it to say that as Hannibal the savvy commander with a wisecrack for every occasion, B.A.the tough-guy mechanical whiz with a heart of gold, Face the ladies' man/con artist extraordinarre, and Murdock the adorably "insane" pilot, the very talented Peppard/T/Benedict/Schultz brought to life a quartet of some of the quirkiest and most memorable characters in American cinema, whose various idiosyncrasies complement each other in a perfect--and often hilarious--fashion. Due to a misunderstanding during the Vietnam War, these four innocent veterans must keep one step ahead of the MP's as they use their wits and military expertise to defend those in danger both across America and abroad--be it the disadvantaged owner of a family roadside diner or the terrorized inhabitants of a South American orphanage. I know not everyone will have the same high opinion of this show that I do. There will always be "suckers" out there who are ready to label this show as anything from mindless drivel to sexist propaganda. But I believe that not only is the A-Team an exciting and very funny bit of entertainment, it is a show that portrayed courage, patriotism, self-sacrifice, and as Dirk Benedict himself once described it, a clear-cut sense of good over evil. This show is clean, healthy, very laughter-inducing, and is something you can definitely feel comfortable watching with your kids-- there are enough explosions, machine guns, and overturning cars to satisfy the most action-loving viewer, but people rarely, if ever, die and only act injured about every 12th episode. All in all a truly great show and an unforgettable piece of Americana.
    barryraven What can I say...as us kids used to say back in the 80's...."it was wicked"!!! ...Despite the so called friction off set..they created a magic between them that gave millions of kids so many great memories..God Bless them! Although,if they make a movie on cinema , Stephen J Cannell wants to seriously rethink about whether he wants the James Bond writer from the Brosnan years messing up his master piece....if somethings not broke (don't fix it)..stick to the original game plan And as much as I would rather see the original cast rekindle their roles.. here are some alternate suggestions: Jim Carrey as Murdoch,John Coffey (huge guy from the Green mile) as B.A....Brad Pitt as Face Man and my personal favourite character John Hannibal Smith played by Mel Gibson!!! (second choice Tommy Lee Jones)...Mr Cannell suggested the budget wouldn't be big enough for an all star cast....but I think he underestimates just how many people are going to be buying cinema tickets on that long awaited day!!
    smith-tim I absolutely agree with a previous comment that the internal chemistry between the characters AND their great interactions made this show great fun to watch. It was a "cartoonish satire" with real people lots of bullets that did not take it self too seriously until mid third season or so. I was a big fan. Rumblings on several recent boards talk (again) of a movie. They are a laugh as they all about guessing the choices to play the roles from the Rock as T (noone could replace T (he was an original entity) to Mel Gibson or George Clooney as Hannibal and Jim Carrey or Will Farrell as Murdoch or Brad Pitt as Face. (These people don't seem to get it that it was not only the characters and their interpretations but the period in which A-Team ran that made it work. The Lennon shooting the attempt on Reagan -- viewers enjoyed and accepted the absurdity of the show because of the time and sensibility of what was going on around them.) That rant being being made it might be nice to bring the gang back except for the death of George Peppard. Supposedly Stephen Cannell is again screening scripts. One rumor has it, that the original cast will play some role. Sounds like when they tried to do a show about show remaking a show of Bewitched (directed by the super Nora Ephron) and it was absolute garbage. If GP was around I might be interested (altho somehow I suspect GP would not touch it.) I don't wish to watch Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, K. Reeves, Jim Carry, Steve Buscemi or any of the other choices, spoil the the great work Dirk Benedict Dwight Schultz and the rest did with the characters. I also feel, the forgotten character of Amy Allen (by the far the best of the three sidekicks dropped in during the run) had the greatest potential. This potential but was given short shrift by the writers. There are many web sites of interviews with Melinda Culea explaining that she did everything to get the the writers to give here more to do than be a face with no part. Mr Cannell even admitted in one interview they were not clear on her role. In pilot Melinda Culea played feisty, a fighter, wanting to get involved in everything including fights. She was a super counterpoint to the all boys gang from keeping them from fighting to providing background checks and other help the thru the paper etc. I disagree with the comment Melinda was eye candy. Or, perhaps, the straitjacket that the writers put her in as the show went on made her seem that way. However as one poster notes, today it would be different. Someone like a Joss Whedon would know how how use her talent. (Just watch her in her 3 episodes of Family Ties 1984 and the strength of her comedic sense partnered against Michael J. Fox is hilarious. Loved the scene with the cockroaches where she was given the main job of sewing listening buttons on cops jackets. The comeback to Face was "sewing buttons -- how wonderfully sexist". It was subtle but funny. However, this kind of thing was never developed. Two of my favorite early episodes The Rabbit who ate Los Vegas and Jamestown where the show has one of it really serious tones. Hanibals makes a dark "acceptance of death to keep the edge" speech showed and Melinda clearly showed she had the ability to handle the scene. I wish they had kept her on as the role could given the stories wider range. Any way. I have little interest in seeing Bruce Willis, Rock, Cloony or anyone else muck this up by trying recreate it esp. given the train wreck of rail cars that have come of TV to big film conversions. The reruns are fine up to the entrance of Robert Vaughn (who essentially did what Decker and Lynch never could do ) which was bring the A team down. It was great for its time and its fun to drift back to that period and smile. I recently read a web interview with Cannell stating the movie "IF" it came would not be much like the original. There would be far more "realistic" action, real shooting and more fast paced without the humor that the show ever had. Sounds like a different program from the one I knew. While I might agree with his idea it would not be the A TEAM as it was. More like a Mission Impossible or Oceans 2X whatever number they are up to now. No thanksPity the fool who plays with this. Leave it alone sucker.... And if HM could not take Billy or THerm he might never agree to do a reprise. Tim S. Ottawa
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