|
Post by novastar6 on Feb 20, 2017 6:45:02 GMT
Any fans of the show here?
|
|
|
Post by fangirl1975 on Feb 20, 2017 21:43:09 GMT
I'm an A-Team fan. Who's your favorite character? Mine's B.A.
|
|
|
Post by Wesley Crusher on Feb 20, 2017 21:47:51 GMT
I loved the A-Team ...
|
|
|
Post by novastar6 on Feb 20, 2017 22:08:30 GMT
I'm an A-Team fan. Who's your favorite character? Mine's B.A. Howlin' Mad Murdock, him and B.A. are what *made* the show.
|
|
|
Post by novastar6 on Mar 10, 2017 13:56:36 GMT
It's ironic that when America is often criticized by other countries of being too violent, here, it was the parents of America complaining that the A-Team was so violent and made their kids write letters to NBC saying "The A-Team is harmful to us children", but in Holland, they had tens of thousands of kids that turned out to see them, and everybody loved the show over there because "There's NO violence". I guess violence is in the eye of the beholder.
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on May 15, 2017 17:58:40 GMT
I made this post in another forum, a while ago and I am thinking about re-watching the show as it is one I enjoy most when it is summer/hot outside, which sadly it is not too often in my country (or part of the country) and finally get to see also the final season, as it was one of my favorite shows as a kid. "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 else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team."Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (George Peppard) the A-Teams leader, who always enjoy being "on the jazz", a cigar or two, outsmarting his enemies - often with the use of several disguises and of course he just loves it "when a plan comes together". First Lieutenant Arthur Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict) the teams smoothtalking ladies man, who would use his trustworthy looks to con, scam and lie his way out (sometimes in to) any kind of trouble, but his taste in women has often gotten both him and the gang in lots of trouble. Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus (Mr. T) This mean ol' big mudsucka doesn't take to kindly on any jibber jabber (especially when it comes from Murdock), and even though at first sight he might seem like a scary guy, he is actually more of a friendly giant who always sticks up for his friends and those who are down and out. Much more than just the brawn of the gang, as B.A. can fix his way out of anything thanks to being a legendary mechanic, and the only thing he fear in life, is flying. Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz) The A-Team's "secret" weapon and mad genious, H.M. Murdock is a fantastic pilot and one of the best there ever was, and even though he might be a bit off this planet at times, the team always knew that they can trust him to do the job. He loves animals, especially his dog Billy, but somehow he's the only one who can see him. H.M. best buddy is B.A. (even though B.A. would never admit that) and Murdock loves to play around with the big mudsucka, and he knows nothing irritates B..A. more than many of Murdock's fictional characters and adventures, such as Cabtain Cab and many more. As much as I used to hate the school as a kid, the reward was the knowledge that afterwards me and my friends would spend hours every monday to thursday, watching great 80s show like: Knight Rider, MacGyver, Airwolf and my favorite The A-Team. We were really spoiled back then. It was like saturday morning, every afternoon. Of course not everybody were happy with this, both our parents and teachers hated these shows, especially The A-Team, because it "made violence look fun" but somehow they had no trouble letting their precious innocent kids watch other mindless action filled shows like, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bikermice From Mars, Transformers, James Bond Jr., Power Rangers etc. The A-Team stood out as the best and most enjoyable of "the fab 4". Everybody seemed to have their own A-Team club, dressing up, acting like and wanting to be either B.A. or Murdock. Somehow nobody wanted to be Faceman or Hannibal. It was a great time, were we would play A-Team in school, planning our own little schemes and trying to not get caught by the teachers at the same time. Sadly the show was taken off the air, and the only way to see it was later on a german channel, RTL, and even though none of us knew a single german word, we would still catch every episode and laughing out loud at how funny it was seeing B.A. being dubbed by a german. When The A-Team was getting released on DVD for the first time, around 2006-07, I remember there were suddenly a small backlash written about the show and none of them in a very positive way. Sure it has been a favorite target for several 80s haters/critics and they just love to point out how silly the show was. Unrealistic, making violence and war seem fun, treating women like mindless sex objects and that every episode were exactly the same so on. One thing that seemed to get mentioned over and over again, was how it would never get made today, because it was too much of a man dominated macho TV show, which only audience were young boys who did not know any better. I do not know which rock many of these angry critics had been hiding under for all those years, waiting for the opportunity to take their revenge on the evil A-Team, but they seemed to overlook the fact that this was a show that kids loved, both boys and girls. Heck, I had to "fight" with the girl I was in love with, because we both wanted to be Murdock, and we knew better than throwing knives and rocks at each other or beating ourselves to death with our bare hands. Anyway, The A-Team was and still is one of the coolest and most enjoyable TV-shows ever made, and for the past few months I have been going through season 1, 2 and three, and all I can say is: "I love it when a show holds up so well together (much better than expected)". I know that things got a bit downhill somewhere between season 4 and five (too many changes with the formula), but the first three seasons are all classic. Highly entertaining and all of the great nostalgia comes right back, but in a good way. I was sadly surprised to see how fast they got rid off Amy Allen, but from what I understood the character was not a big favorite of George Peppard who said he had nothing against Melinda Culea but that the show didn't need a female sidekick. She was "replaced" by Tawnya or Twania I think, but she too went away on a permanent vacation from the show later on. Every episode is packed with great feel-good atmosphere, and its even funnier watching how ridiculous some of the scenes are now, like when: - Murdock and Hannibal are being chased in a helicopter (by another one) and the bad guys later crash in to a mountain, their helicopter burst into flames and explodes to tiny pieces. Afterwards we see all the bad guys crawl out of the wreck, unharmed, like they just have gotten out of their beds in the morning. - Carton boxes were always bulletproff (but not for the bad guys) - Nobody dies or (at least not that I can think of) - If your name is Brion James, Dennis Franz, Kurtwood Smith or Michael Ironside it is very unlikely you'll get a the part as one of the good guys In 2006 or 07 there was a "documentary", fan made? called Bring Back The A-Team!, which was about trying to get the remaining actors of the show back together again.
|
|
|
Post by outrider127 on Jun 23, 2017 18:38:53 GMT
Any fans of the show here? I hadn't heard of the show until a cable channel started showing it every night back in the late 1990's--I really liked it a lot--of course after awhile, you realize that every single show is the same thing--lotsa pretty women with those funny 1980's hairstyles
|
|
|
Post by rateater on Jun 23, 2017 21:02:19 GMT
i think faceman is the best character on the show. but i think they're all great. i remember rewatching the whole series before the movie came out. in season 4 i think murdock is declared sane and they all are happy for him. and it lasts like 2 or 3 more episodes until they need his "craziness" for a job or something, but they have to trick him cause he's not crazy? and he gives a little speech but then shows hannibal his release letter from the doctor and it's written in crayon.
|
|
|
Post by novastar6 on Jun 26, 2017 5:04:31 GMT
I read something tonight in a book about Project 100,000 that lowered IQ test scores to allow borderline-retarded men into the army to fight in Vietnam, keep the numbers up, who cared if their mental deficiencies got them or other people killed?, and they mention a guy named Murdoch who talked to people who weren't there and would go on rambling tangents about something instead of directly answering questions, he was later found to be schizophrenic which at the time was blamed on the stress from being in Vietnam and was shipped out...realistically I know the odds of Steven J. Cannell having any knowledge of this man at the time he was creating the characters for the show is next to none, but it makes you wonder, doesn't it?
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Jan 11, 2018 4:39:44 GMT
I recently bought season 1 on DVD, but haven't watched it yet. I hope to get around to it soon.
|
|
|
Post by teleadm on Jan 26, 2018 22:59:52 GMT
Dwight Schultz manners get's on my nerves, he's like a pre Jim Carrey
|
|
OmegaWolf747
Sophomore
A lonely wanderer, jettisoned from my cozy den.
@omegawolf747
Posts: 184
Likes: 79
|
Post by OmegaWolf747 on Jan 29, 2018 19:29:46 GMT
Loved BA. We share a phobia of flying. ✈
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on May 30, 2018 11:20:30 GMT
Even though I began re-watching almost the entire show back in spring/summer of 2016, I somewhat lost a little "motivation" after season 4 and tried to pick up again but I just never got around to finish it. So now I am back to the very first beginning, starting off with season 1 and I think watching it during spring/summer time is the perfect occasion for such a colorful and nostalgic series. Anyway, I have already seen through the first 3 episodes and I do not have time to write down an entire and lengthy review of every one of them, but I will keep on saying a few lines and rate them, then maybe get around to do a fuller review of each season. Episode 01 and 02 - Season One: Mexican Slayride (1983)The 90 minute pilot episode, in which it was quite "strange" to see another actor portray Face, but the rest of the gang is all there and the chemistry between them is on from the very first minute. Always enjoyed the whole B.A. set up whenever the gang is about to take a flight to another country and they have to go through all kind of trouble to make sure the big fella do not explode into a thundering atomic bomb at the end of the day, when realizing he has been set up by his comrades. Beside the one with the other Face, I had almost forgotten that B.A. gets his ass kicked in a very cool bar fight by the giant south american who a year later would end up having his privates sqeezed till death by Charles Bronson in The Evil That Men Do (1984). I think B.A. never again got beaten up or had such a tough opponent, or of that I can remember. All in all, compared to other great 80s shows and their pilot episodes, Mexican Slayride is a fun and very enjoyable one, but if one is to put it up against the epic pilot episode of Miami Vice with Brother's Keeper, The A-Team do end up looking a little "out of its league" at the end of the day, but I still enjoyed watching it again and while not something I would describe as a classic A-Team episode, it surely is a very good introduction and opening which has lots of action and makes sure to get to know each and one of the gang. 7/10Episode 03 - Season One: Children of Jamestown (1983)In this one we finally get the real Face and he fits right into the gang and looks like he have always been there. The story and plot is not all that great, here a bunch of religious fanatics run by their crazy leader (John Saxon) ends up taking on the wrong guys when trying to capture The A-Team. While not that much of a good episode, I enjoyed John Saxon as this creepy doomsday reverend with his sunglasses and chilling manners, however I thought he should have deserved to star in a much better written episode, as this one have always been one of the more "forgettables" for me that of season one. 5/10Episode 04 - Season One: Pros and Cons (1983)An old friend of B.A. gets sent up to a corrupt prison where the warden and his crew are putting up brutal and illegal cage matches and where the inmates must fight till the death or be shot on trial. If one succeed in winning, you will be handed a "chance" of getting away, but of course it is never that easy and when one of B.A. old pal's goes missing, he comes in contact with his friend kid brother and they decide to hire The A-Team for the task of shutting the nasty business down for good. I really liked this one, actually the best of the first four episodes. Here we have all kind of fun, where Murdock is as crazy as ever "TRAAAASHBAAAAGS! I WANT SOME TRAAAAASHBAAAAAAGS!" and Faceman goes undercover as Dr. Pepper! , and then of course we have B.A. playing a mute and deaf inmate along with Hannibal as his gay hair dresser and speech guide. While not as action dominated as the first three episodes, Pros and Cons is more tighter and memorable as a whole. The escape part is the stuff of legends and the fight scenes are also done rather well, and not in the more "comical" or cartoonish manner. All in all, out of the first four, my favorite and one which I think could easily be described as a classic The A-Team episode. 8/10
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on May 31, 2018 13:04:58 GMT
Episode 05 - Season One: A Small and Deadly War (1983)
Once again the topic relies on a few the police force corrupt officers and their dirty business. The episode opens up with a brave veteran who risks both him and his familys life by going up against a small bunch of detectives whom have a nasty way of killing off people during the "lunch break". The A-Team gets involved and decides to bring the murderous thugs down by leveling out their gameplay.
I thought the episode started up rather well, more of a crime dominated episode but my problem was that The A-Team dominated almost every scene, through the entire time. It could have been a better laid out plot and story, but it just gets a little too sloppy and the final climax was just a letdown, too cartoonish and random. The bad guys pose of absolute no threat and their victim only showed up at the beginning and the end, I like it when the gang lets some of their "customers" ride along to help them out, but in this case it was just not to be.
All in all, another mediocre and not that memorable episode and hopefully there will be not too many of these in the near future, but still i cannot complain about being entertained, even though it sometimes gets a little "too much" of the routine job.
Also to be mentioned, Dean Stockwell plays one of the baddies, well more of a bad guy version of Face really, but still thought I should just mention it.
5/10
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jun 1, 2018 11:18:57 GMT
Episode 06 - Season One: Black Day at Bad Rock (1983)
Now we're talking. This episode has pretty much everything a fan of the show would love. Drama, action, memorable lines, funny scenes and a great feel-good vibe. Black Day at Bad Rock starts up rather dramatic, with the gang on a desperate run from the law and to make it even worse, B.A. have been wounded severly by a nasty gun shot and are in a hasty need of surgery. This leads them into a small town out in nowhere, and with both Colonel Lynch and his crew right on their tail, they do not have any plans of staying for far too long. However, a sweet local female doctor gives them a helping hand. But that goes down the drain when Hannibal and Faceman is put into jail and things is not looking too bright for poor Baracus as he is in serious need of some new blood, which means that Amy have to find a way of getting Howlin' Mad Murdock out of the psychatric ward as fast as possible, as he is the only one the gang know of, who have the exact same rare blood type as B.A. and whom of course will not be too thrilled upon learning that he is about to be blood brothers with the crazy fool!
Back at the prison cell, Hannibal and Face soon finds out that the local sheriff (Ed Lauter) and his town are in bad need of some rescuing themselves, as the rest of the gang of their next door neighbor/prison "mate" who is a biker leader, have sworn to get their leader out of jail and take revenge on Bad Rock and its citizens. The A-Team however, is not somebody who will just run away and leaving innocent people and their lives at stake behind, and so they decide to help them out by setting up a fake police station and getting prepared for one final showdown.
A real classic, no question about it. In fact, this was one of the first episodes of the show I can remember watching as a kid back in the early 90s during summer and it was a complete riot. It is so nice to be able of re-capturing that same magic now as an adult. Love the chemistry between B.A. and Murdock in this one, so much fun and memorable stuff going on. B.A. tied up to a wheelchair, commanding Faceman and Murdock around, and then his fear of becoming just as crazy as Murdock because of the blood they now share. Great stuff all the way.
Without a doubt the best and most memorable episode of the first 6 ones, and will probably stand among as one of the highlights of the season as well.
8,5/10
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jun 4, 2018 13:48:21 GMT
Episode 07 - Season One: The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas (1983)
The gang is being contacted by two young women in need of help rescuing their professor who seems to be held captive by a powerful crime boss down in Las Vegas. The A-Team then decides to show up and screw up his business by doing a little search and destroy but things end up getting a little way out of hand when their target suddenly gets dropped (literally) from a tall building into his death and suddenly everybody wants to get a piece of the A-Team.
Another one of those early episodes which did not do much for my part. The most memorable parts here was the ridiculous bad disguise which Hannibal wore from time to time, and his terrible mafioso accent/undercover set up. The bad guys were pretty dull, and again it was a rather forgettable one, not bad just mediocre at best.
5/10
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jun 5, 2018 14:20:25 GMT
Episode 08 - Season One: The Out-of-Towners (1983)
The A-Team heads into the big Apple after hearing the news about a small group of poor shop owners who are terrorized by a ruthless loan shark and his muscle but the first big problem is to try and "convince" B.A. on dealing with his fear of flying, even if the good news is that the pilot will not be Murdock this time around.
Considering the familiar faces of the bad guys included in this episode, I always think of it as an underwhelming final result, as here we get to see the gang take on heavies such as Yaphet Kotto, Robert Tessier and Albert Popwell, and we are introduced to each of them in a rather brutal way as well. Popwell pretty much bitchslaps a kid to the ground, while Tessier ends up breaking a few of Hannibal's ribcages and Kotto delivers well on being a scummy bastard who is not one to get on the wrong side of. Still, I was expecting a much better anticlimax than what we ended up with, considering how promising it all started.
The plot do in some ways remind me a little of Death Wish 3, where the neighborhood fights back along with their newly recruited and trigger happy janitors. I loved how B.A. and Murdock teams up to take up the trash and deliver it to the right owner, and Faceman and his slippery side-business was kind of amusing as well. Also, in this one he ends up getting some pretty tough competition from Howlin' Mad when it comes to the ladies.
All in all, not a great or very memorable episode this either but it had some funny moments and I end up with a:
6/10
|
|
|
Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jun 5, 2018 18:35:45 GMT
Pretty sure I watched every episode. Yeah, no one ever got hurt but it was entertaining trash and well cast.
I had a hand me down London Fog coat similar to what Peppard wore. It was too big for me but who cares, it was like channeling Hannibal when I had it on. All I needed was the Donahue hair.
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jun 6, 2018 13:22:20 GMT
Episode 09 - Season One: Holiday in the Hills (1983)
Just when the gang thinks it is safe to celebrate their recent successful mission down in Guatemala, Murdock choice of airplane takes a nasty dive into some god forbidden backwoods where they soon encounters a large bunch of trigger happy hillbillies.
Another episode which is close of somewhere between mediocre and good but somehow it ends up becoming rather okay as entertainment but not a very memorable or classic view. While there is surprisingly little action to be seen, that doesn't always mean it's a bad thing, as here the gang must try and rely on more than just weapons and fighting skills, but stand together as a unit and that is of course always easier said than done, specially when the big bad Mudsucka! awakes from his "sleep" and he is not too thrilled when realizing he has once again been fooled into taking one of his far too many flight schedules. An even worse, this time it is one which was flown by Murdock and it ended up with a crash landing.
Of course, while the the rest of the A-Team must take on a small army of hairy, fat and angry local jokels, Faceman disguised as a priest find the only female to be seen around, and she is cute as a button and the two seems to get on very well. Murdock and B.A. seems to be putting their differences aside and works well together when building a very cool flying machine, which is to bring a wounded innocent bystander along with Murdock to safety, and I loved the little wink Howlin' gives his big fella, who smiles back shortly before taking off.
Yep, he is crazy as they come, but as Hannibal puts it so nicely, he is the right kind of crazy.
All in all, not a great or very memorable one, but it is to be yet another entertaining and fun episode.
6/10
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jun 8, 2018 12:09:34 GMT
Episode 10 - Season One: West Coast Turnaround (1983)
The gang is called in to action when a former Vietnam veteran now trying to succeed as a watermelon farmer is being pushed into the ground by a bunch of nasty thugs who wants to exploit his business and take over.
Another episode I remember fondly from being a little kid, and while not the best one around it sure is a fun filled one. Murdock drives B.A. crazy with his new dog, Billy and poor Amy gets her car re-arranged into something out of a Max Mad post-apocalyptic b-movie in order to unleash a little bit of trouble upon the baddies. Some really cool action scenes and fights unfold but the story is maybe not the most solid one, however nostalgia seems to get the better of me this time around.
7/10
Episode 11 - Season One: One More Time (1983)
This episode had a bit of what to come in the later and final seasons, as the gang after a very explosive and dramatic opener is being captured by Colonel Lynch and put in jail, only to see them forced to take on a riskful mission to save a former Vietnam veteran from a ruthless guerilla group who are operating at some small island in the Borneo. Murdock and Amy must then follow closely but safely behind, and try to find a way of rescuing their friends.
This one started up very promisingly, but soon turned into a little bit of a hasty or rushed episode which could have fared better if it had been a two hour episode instead of just one. Some great action and stunt scenes along with a memorable rescue attempt but the story and villains where mostly forgettable and I end up with a:
6/10
|
|