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Advocating the A-Team
WetRats
Posts: 6,314
As this series, which I had always considered disposable drivel, has turned out to have been the inspiration to make our @Matt the man he is today, clearly the show has depths of which I was previously unaware.
Here, therefore, is a brand-spanking new thread for the exploration and glorification of said depths.
Knock yourself out, lads.
Here, therefore, is a brand-spanking new thread for the exploration and glorification of said depths.
Knock yourself out, lads.
Comments
Hannibal - George Peppard...no self-respecting lad my age knew him from Breakfast at Tiffany's. And if you did, you kept your trap shut because it'd get your ass kicked if you did. Rarely do I light up a stogie without paying tribute to the man by clenching it between my teeth and talking about how I love it when a plan comes together.
Howlin' Mad Murdock - comic relief. Pure and simple. Nowadays you'd get in trouble for making fun of veterans with mental disabilities. God Bless the 80s.
Faceman - it's frickin' STARBUCK, people! The original one!
BA Baracus - it's MR. T! The greatest actor of our generation? Doubt my words? Go watch Rocky 3...he was overlooked at the Oscars. I quote Clubber Lang lines to people at least once a week.
Amy - Alas, she was only with them for two seasons, but she was still a cutie. Particularly in the second season where she started showing a little leg.
Were I older in the early 80s, I would likely have seen it for what it was - but it hit right at the point in my life where I was willing to believe anything the television told me. :)
M
Growing up, I was all about Murdock. He was hilarious. Rewatching now, he kind of gets on my nerves. I've grown to admire Hannibal the most. Always a plan, witty remark, & a grin punctuated with a cigar.
The series got a crappy finale, but when they found out the Presidential pardons were near, they started discussing what they were really qualified to do. They realized the only thing they were qualified to do was the same thing they have been doing since their escape from the military stockade.
When my buddies & I signed up for the Armed Forces after high school, each picking a different branch, we agreed if we got drafted & survived, we'd form an A-Team to help people.
The opening theme was the music Meg & I used as we entered our wedding reception. It was one of the few non-negotiable things I wanted.
In case you ever wondered if they got pardoned:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-military-clears-ateam-of-charges,1204/
M
Just wow.
The following picture has now been trumped.
As a kid who didn't have cable, ever saw a PPV and was too young to see Rocky III... This moment was the greatest television moment I had ever seen.
I watched the pilot, thought it ridiculous, and never to this day have seen another entire episode.
You can download episodes from iTunes for about $2-3 each. I would say 3 great episodes from season 1 are 'The Children of Jamestown', 'Holiday in the Hills,' & 'Nice Place to Visit.' IF you watch them & still feel the way you do, I'll reimburse you.
M
I do think its interesting when the Ninja Turtles cartoon made April a reporter, she looked a lot like Amy Amanda Allen.
M
probably with a cabbage throwing machine. :D
Just wanted to add that I loved both immensely as a child.
The A-Team were wanted fugitives who used their military tactics to help their clients.
MacGyver worked for a think tank & mostly got assignments to work. He used his vast knowledge of science to help his missions.
The final season of the A-Team was more like Mission: Impossible. The last couple seasons of MacGyver had a lot of environmental & social messages. They also lost the voice overs.
MacGyver is why I've carried a pocket knife for almost 20 years on a daily basis.
Sidebar: my groomsmen each got an A-Team t-shirt, roll of duct tape, & a Swiss Army knife; each initialed & a different color.
Between the 2...I'd probably choose the A-Team. The environmental & social message episodes, along with dropping the voice overs, of MacGyver kind of turns me away in the long run. Though MacGyver was virtually no camp...well unless Jack Dalton was around!
M
M
That said, A-Team Van > Mac's Jeep.
M
What is everyone's opinion about the A Team movie? For me, It was no where near as good as the TV show, but it was a very good film - probably the best movie adaptation from a tv show out there. ( i know the bar is set pretty low for that)
I liked what Liam Neeson did with Hannibal. It wasn't an imitation, but an amalgam with his own style.
These types of movies are hard to do. You can make an attempt to imitate the original series, you can do your own thing (Dukes of Hazzard did this; Bo & Luke weren't written in the voices of the characters, but rather the actors), or you can incorporate the heart of the series with a modern angle. The A-Team movie did that.
M
As far as movie adaptations (not counting continuations) of TV go, it was good, but I think "The Fugitive" and the first "Star Trek" reboot movie and "The Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values", then maybe "The A-Team". Certainly one of the better ones though.
All pretty good. What a gauntlet of Big Bads the team had to go through!
There was:
Mexican Paramilitary (ep 1&2 -the pilot)
Religious Cult (ep 3)
Corrupt Prison Warden (ep 4)
Corrupt LA Swat team (ep 5)
Biker Gang (ep 6)
Biggest crime boss in Vegas (ep 7)
Small Time NYC crimeboss (ep 8)
Backwoods hicks (ep 9)
Corrupt Rancher (ep 10)
I think half of the episodes had the standard BA is scared to fly gimmick
I had only noticed the standard BA flip toss of bad guys once until the 10th episode where he did it about 5 times.
The best moment was in the prison episode with Murdoch's yelling/singing of "I want some trash bags!" It made me laugh when i was six and it is still funny when i am 36.
Picking out the most absurd moment of what i saw is pretty tough, but these are the top 3 i came up with:
1. The team having an explosive fire fight in NYC and not one cop ever showing up
2. Murdoch flying a helicopter with no hands, the pilot door open, and him leaning out the side (dropping dynamite)
3. The team strategically locating nearly all its missions into areas that look exactly what you would imagine a Hollywood studio backlot would look like.
So to your point, it was NYC in the 80's... clearly that was just the smallest explosive fire fight going on that day.
Then again, it was a VERY dark time for TV...you had a few great shows like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere, but the smart sit-coms of the 70's were gone and dramas had gone so lowest common denominator that most of the stuff on TV was unwatchable. I have revisited a few of the TV shows I loved as a kid, and I wish I would have left them in my memory. The Six Million Dollar Man looked like a high school production...just heartbreaking.
The current era for TV is SO much better...
I'm betting the movie was much better because it was based on a decent enough book. But the series was aimed at kids...and Land of the Lost was better written.