Fortunately, The A-Team is being re-run on the Centric cable television network in the early mornings (as of May 2012). It's a prime candidate to catch with your DVR. It's a chance to return to a pure, unadulterated, shoot 'em up show from the 80s. The show originally ran on NBC and was written and produced by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. It had one of the best TV music themes and a cool title opening. The fictional premise is that a special forces A-Team was sent to military prison for a crime they didn't commit, escaped to the Los Angeles underground, and is available for hire for people who are in trouble and need their help.
The A-Team's crime was that they were ordered to take all the money from the Vietnamese central bank in the closing days of the Vietnam War. However, while they were off succeeding in their mission, their commanding general was killed, their headquarters was overrun and burned to the ground, and all records of their orders were lost. Consequently, they were arrested for robbing the bank. The premise is a set up for a fun show with lots of gratuitous cartoon-style violence.
As kids, my brother and I weren't allowed to watch The A-Team because of the violence. In retrospect, the A-Team may have been the least accurate shots in the history of television. Each show featured lots of automatic weapons fire and explosions with no on ever getting hit. The laughable violence of the A-Team is a relief after the relentless realistic crime scenes, autopsy scenes, and medical scenes of gruesome contemporary television shows like Law and Order: SVU, CSI: Miami, and House. After 9/11 and a decade of war, viewers generally know what realistic violence looks like and we know its consequences. However, if you are watching The A-Team with kids, you might want to take a few minutes for a quick gun safety lecture to explain how the show is unrealistic television. Since I didn't really watch the show as a kid, I love having an untapped fountain of 80s television shows at my disposal.
The cast of characters created for The A-Team are all television icons now - Hannibal, Face, Howling Mad Murdock, and B.A. Baracus. George Peppard was perfect as the mastermind behind the operation. He was a master of disguise and the undisputed leader of the group. It's nice to see him chomping on a cigar again as the hard bitten Colonel in reruns. He always reminded me of a light version of George C. Scott's Patton. After the pilot show, Dirk Benedict (of Battlestar Galactica fame) took over as "The Faceman" or "Face" who acts as the smooth talking con-man and charmer who works the system to arrange things for The A-Team. Dwight Schultz played Howling Mad Murdock who was certifiably insane as an individual, but gifted as a pilot. Finally, the inimitable Mr. T played B.A. ("Bad Attitude") Baracus who provided real muscle and mechanical genius for the group.
The A-Team is definitely formula television with fairly predictable plots. A typical episode consists of a setup to establish the bad guys and their victims, a meeting between the A-Team and the victims, a confrontation with the bad guys, a reversal in the groups fortune, the creation of improvised weapons or armored vehicles, and a final showdown with the bad guys. It lasted for 5 seasons for a total of 98 shows. In the final season, the A-Team started performing missions for the government. It's fun, 80s-style, escapist entertainment. I'd highly recommend setting up your DVR, catching a few shows, and popping some popcorn.
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