Review of A Team, The: Series 2

Introduction

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...(cue gunshots)...

Da da da, da da daa...

Ah, The A Team. Quality Saturday night entertainment on ITV, ideal for when Dr Who wasn`t on (yes, there was a time when even I watched ITV for something other than football). Great programmes for kids (who loved the whole army/always build their way out of a crisis part) and also adults (who enjoyed that bit, with the Dads appreciating Amy, Tawnia and other females in the show). The main characters were:-

Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (George Peppard)
Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict)
Howling Mad Murdock (Dwight Schultz)
Bad Attitude Baracus (Mr. T).

The following episodes were sent to me to review:-

Say It With Bullets

The team are asked by a female army officer to investigate the murder of her brother, who was killed by dodgy arms dealers. All is not at it seems, and this turns out to be a trap by the team`s new nemesis Colonel Decker (played by Lance LeGault). Can they escape his clutches yet again?

Pure-Dee Poison

A reverend in a small town is concerned by local moonshine dealers who are muscling in on his parish. He contacts the team and asks for help. They arrive to smash the bootleg liquor racket.

It`s A Desert Out There

A gang is holding up coach parties who leave a small town casino, and relieving them of their valuables. The team are hired to investigate, and uncover something more sinister than a few heists.

Chopping Spree

Car thieves are stealing to order, and taking them to a local chop shop where the cars get a makeover and are sold on quickly. The team are hired, but B.A.`s van ends up getting stolen. He "pities the fool" who messes with his wheels, and the team are hot on the trail of the thieves.

Video

A standard 4:3 transfer as you would expect. It looks pretty good for a 21 year old TV programme. Like much US TV of this era, The A Team was shot on film, so this means that the image doesn`t look too bad, but there`s still damage to the source material, in the form of dust and dirt.

If you weren`t sure that this was the 1980s, just check out the female characters with their big hair and shoulder pads. Regular A Team helper Tawnia Baker (a reporter) is a prime example of this.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which sounds like the original mono replayed over both channels. Like most other TV discs of this era, it`s functional, does the job, and there`s not much more to say about it.

Except for that wonderful theme tune by Mike Post. It still lives on today, with plenty of mobile phones blaring it out wherever you go.

Features

Nothing on my disc which is a shame. Don`t think there was much advertised for the set itself.

Conclusion

"I love it when a plan comes together"

This was a fun journey back to childhood. The A Team was (and still is) great fun to watch, even though you always knew everything would work out, and they would escape from the locked barn because of the old tractor which they converted into a tank that fired cabbages at the enemy. The inventiveness of the engineering is still seen today in more serious programmes like Scrapheap Challenge.

Series 2 moves on from series 1, with the introduction of Decker as the new nemesis, and the replacement of Amy with Tawnia. The "reporter" part is rather tenuous, but it was always handy to have a female member of the team to flatter eyelashes at rednecks and make the odd phone call to find out information to move the plot on.

A great nostalgia trip, and one to watch after a few beers with the lads. I`m sure the kids will love it too, and there`s nothing too offensive in it, even by today`s standards. Just make sure you don`t let them into the garage or shed after watching it, else they might start building their own crazy contraptions.

Great fun! I pity the fool who doesn`t want to watch this show again!