The A-Team. Wheel of Fortune

 

I watched the A-Team, and Magnum P.I, this weekend. I was impressed by both episodes . A low down of the A-team episode follows

The A- Team, The Wheel of Fortune is from the fourth series of the A-Team. The episode is of course almost a crossover with the ABC series Wheel of Fortune. The episode almost looks like a pastiche - We see Vana White working the board, and in stock footage after the credits

You see B.A in Face's apartment watching the Chicago Bills in their pomp - The Refrigerator, is powering through an NFL defense. B.A is even holding an America Football in that weird way while that Americans do- while watching the game

Hannibal is down in Rio, with a pair of twins, who are staying on his casting couch... Yes it is the 80's it is not subtle 

We get to see Dwight Schultz play it more or less straight and it's good. It turns out that Captain  Murdock flew for Air America in Vietnam. His reputation has proceeded him and he is kidnapped by a CIA team to steal a Soviet Helicopter from Central America.

In fact Schultz is really playing two roles, he is playing a Wheel of Fortune contestant too, he is dressed as college professor - nerd. Bow tie and tweed jacket. He wins 5k of prizes - Including a years supply of Turtle wax- Reptile wax and a 5k trip to Hawaii for two

Face's heart is broken when Murdoch wants to take a young lady to Hawaii, so one for you their shippers

Murdoch getting drugged and put on an aircraft is a subversion...Normally it is him doing it to B.A 

Stealing a Soviet aircraft could be be a reference to Firefox As I said the episode is almost an 80's pastiche 

Murdoch is kidnapped from his V.A hospital- This is something that darker in hindsight about the A-Team. Someone pretending to be mentally ill would not a spot where comedy would stop to draw water now. 

Well it turns out there is a twist in the plan to kidnap Captain Murdoch. They were not CIA, but people willing to murder security guards to steal a Russian helicopter held by the US, and use that helicopter to perform a heist at a casino. Murdoch was used as their test pilot and then their patsy- Interestingly Murdoch speaks enough Russian to read the  Helicopter's controls. Is this another Firefox riff? 

Murdoch's russian language skills are a plot point, later as Murdoch realizes something is up by looking at the radios of the guards, the ``CIA'' team has killed. The dials and buttons are in English

Escaping from his Captors, Murdoch meets a young leggy blonde, who wants to be a show girl. She becomes his love interest

Damn look at her

It is a lot of fun. The episode is a little bit subversive Murdoch hiding on live TV, Murdoch playing it straight and getting the girl. When I was younger I used to enjoy Murdoch as a clown. It is nice to seem him play it straight and see the method in the madness 

The A-Team

This was a classic piece of 1980’s TV. I watched it for years. We bought the merchandise, we talked about it in class. My brother is a big fan. He had the DVD boxed set
Well it’s exciting, and its a good cast, but its a little disappointing. There are lots of memorable set pieces, and some snappy lines.
This film actually seems to be more of a vehicle for Bradley Cooper than anything else. He graces the camera without a shirt. He flirts with the very sexy Jessica Biel. Who is playing the Colonel Decker analogue
They could have had Jessica Garner and a homage to Alias. As they had a homage to BSG
Iraq, will be the new Vietnam. In the original A-Team series our heroes robbed the bank of Saigon. Here they are to liberate some printer plates that have fallen into Saddam loyalist hands. The missing printer plate have some basis
Liam Nelson, does a good job impersonating George Peppard. You see it, in his mannerisms
After 8 years of service. Face is still a Lieutenant?
The film is violent. The opening scenes, where Baracus fights to get to his van, come to mind. The film tries to answer this by having Baracus take a vow of non violence
Some of the action takes place in Germany. They show Cologne rather than Frankfurt Cathedral
The various villain's are better written than normal. The CIA goons, cannot even use a silencer. There is a gasp moment, when one of the baddies is unmasked
Murdoch seems more southern. Less Insane, I don’t know perhaps I am too old, for that sort of humor
John Hamm ( Don Draper) has a cheeky cameo.
I liked it but than I would. I would have wondered about taking a kid to see, it. Its not a bad film, but it lacks fun