Coming off of Battlestar Galactica, I had a "thing" for Dirk Benedict. Which is why I never saw the original pilot episode for the series The A-Team but became a viewer, religiously, soon afterward. There is no other "Faceman" in my opinion, just as there is no other "Starbuck".

The A-Team builds on the premise of an elite commando team who were betrayed by their commanders after a mission and forced to go underground to stay free men. They survive as mercenaries, hiring themselves out to help people whom the law has somehow failed to protect. Ostensibly, they charge a high fee for their services, However, many times their soft sides come through and for those who are down and out, their fee is reduced or waived.

Having escaped their military prison, they are always trying to avoid being recaptured. Well, all but one of them (more on that later). While hiring out their service, they are always on the lookout for Colonel Lynch, the military policeman who is intent on recapturing them.

The main characters stayed the same each week. The leader of the band of mercenaries is Hannibal Smith (portrayed by George Peppard). He is quite cocky and self-assured, even when his plans don’t exactly go the way he wants them to. Templeton Peck, also known as Face (portrayed by Dirk Benedict) uses his charm and good looks as well as the ability to tell a fast story to get things the team needs to complete each job. He’s also not afraid to get in a firefight, although he does seem to fuss a bit more than the rest of them.

B.A. Baracus (portrayed by Mr. T) is hardly a reach for this actor. B.A. looks tough and acts tougher, but has a heart of gold under all that… well… gold. Finally, there’s Howling Mad Murdock (portrayed by Dwight Schultz). At least for the first few seasons, he was the most interesting and complex member of the team. There also seemed to be more debate at the beginning of this first season whether or not he was really insane or just faking it. His place of residence is the local mental hospital, rather than a military prison. Most weeks, he is seen escaping on his own or being helped out by one or more of the other team members so he can join them in their latest adventure. He’s also a crack pilot.

The token female shows up in the pilot episode. Reporter Amy Adams (portrayed by Melinda Culea) seems to be there only to stop the testosterone from oozing down the screen. She doesn’t really have much to do throughout the season, and part of that might have to do with the fact that stories have leaked out that Peppard was quite biased against the women and not afraid to show it. I am sure nowadays, his actions would have landed him with a $225 million sexual harassment lawsuit.

There are many recurring themes throughout the season, include BA's fear of flying, the apparent hostility between Murdock and BA, the roadrunner and coyote style pursuit by military officials, and, most of all, no one ever getting killed. Hell, hardly anyone ever even was injured.

The DVD release is unfortunately typical of what I’ve seen from Universal in regards to the 1980’s shows. Like many of the shows from this era, the original music has been edited out. Although it didn't play as big of a part in the show as others, I still missed songs like Jumpin' Jack Flash from the pilot episode, among others. There are also no extras on the DVD at all. No commentaries, no reminiscing, no nothing. What you see is what you get - episodes of the series uncut and uninterrupted. The picture is good, and the sound is clear. Those are about the only places where it seems the DVD has anything over watching these over the air.

The A-Team was a show that many of us enjoyed. I was a huge Dirk Benedict fan and I enjoyed the character of Murdock as well, which was why I was pleased when Dwight Schultz turned up on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The stories seemed to get repetitive toward the end of the season, and there really wasn’t any growth of the characters. The A-Team was mindless entertainment, a life-like cartoon. If you have no expectations above that, it’s enjoyable. If you’re expecting anything to really make sense, you won’t get that here.

EPISODES:

Mexican Slayride Parts 1 & 2

Sets up the premise for the series as Amy Allen seeks out The A-Team after a reporter friend of hers goes missing.

Tim Dunigan portrays Lt. Templeton "Face" Peck here. He was reportedly let go due to the fact that he's noticeably a head taller than everyone, including Mr. T. Stories have also circulated that Dirk Benedict was Cannell's first choice for the role.

Children of Jamestown

The team is hired to rescue a girl from a cult. However, the plan does not go perfectly, even though the girl is happy to get away from the cult. As they are making their getaway after delivering the girl to her father, BA, Face, Hannibal and Amy are ambushed by cult members and taken prisoner.

Pros and Cons

A friend of BA's is falsely imprisoned in Florida where the warden has the inmates in a boxing-type program where the loser dies and the winner gets to be hunted down like a dog by prison guards.

A Small and Deadly War

A police officer about to expose a SWAT team that is hiring themselves out as assassins. Four of them pull him over and threaten him and his family if he talks to his chief. Dean Stockwell guest stars.

Black Day at Bad Rock

B.A. is shot in the leg during a case. Hannibal and Face take him to a doctor in the small town of Bad Rock. The doctor calls the sheriff, suspecting them of being part of a motorcycle gang that is terrorizing the town. The sheriff arrests the two men and learns their real identity. Meanwhile, Murdock escapes the psychiatric hospital so he can give B.A. a blood transfusion and joins them in Bad Rock as they help the sheriff fight off the motorcycle gang.

Funny moments as Murdock tries to convince B.A. he's going to become crazy like him after receiving the blood transfusion.

The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas

The team is hired by students of a mathematics professor who consider the man to be a genius. He's developed a mathematical system for winning in Las Vegas, and after sending them his first batch of winning has disappeared. The co-eds and the Team believe his disappearance ties into a mobster named Gianni Christian. Once they manage to wrest the professor away from the mobster, they find themselves fingered for the mobster's murder.

The Out-of-Towners

The Team travels to New York City to help a group of store owners who are being subjected to extortion for protection by a group of racketeers. Yaphet Kotto guest stars.

Holiday in the Hills

As Murdock is flying into Guatamala to extract the team from their most recent adventure, the guerillas they were battling make a run on the team. Unfortunately, the plane seems like it was damaged, and they soon crash land in the mountains. While trying to walk out, they come across a man being burned at the stake by another man and rescue him. However, they must now defend their predicament with little weaponry and no outside help.

Meanwhile, Amy has a man shadowing her who is a UPI reporter working with the military to flush out the team.

West Coast Turnaround

A produce farmer is battling another rancher in the valley who is determined to run the man out of business so he can buy up the ranch. The team comes in to help the farmer get his produce to market before it spoils.

One More Time

Lynch finally manages to catch the A-Team, only to have them snatched from his grasp by higher-ups who want to send the team on a mission to rescue General Ludlam and his daughter in Borneo who have been kidnapped. The General was the team's superior when they were in the military, and there is no love-loss between them.

Denis Haysbert is a nurse in the mental hospital where Murdock is kept.

Till Death Do Us Part

The team takes the case of a woman who is being forced to marry a man she doesn't love, and who may have murdered her father to gain control of the company he owned. To cool the ardent groom off, Face marries the reluctant bride.

The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing

When the team helps out an airline that's had a jet hijacked, everything goes wrong. B.A. and Murdock end up trapped in the cargo hold. When there's a shooting and the hijacker who can fly the craft is sucked out, Hannibal ends up in the pilot's seat when Murdock is blinded.

A Nice Place to Visit

The team goes to a small town for the funeral of a fellow soldier from Viet Nam. They learn from the man's wife and their own experience that Ray and the town are being terrorized by a group of men using strong-arm tactics and the law to their advantage.



© 2008 Patti Aliventi


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD