Why first seasons of The A-Team were so good

Discussions about Movies & TV shows not "Super" related.
Post Reply
dragontigerandhorse1985
Staff Sargeant
Staff Sargeant
Posts: 183
Joined: 2 years ago



The first seasons were almost comic book like in action and humor.

Just like The Roadrunner or Bugs Bunny, in the end they always won or almost always did.

There were were real perils but the A Team always seemed to have fun getting out and away from the bad guys.

And then, ending with Hannibal Smith, lighting a cigar then saying, "I love it when a plan comes together."

The they made sucked, only using the name, The A Team.

I would love to see The A-Team make a come back, but think it impossible.

To cast the right actors and actresses to make up The Team,
would be,

well thoughts,
A: what would this new team have escaped from, what injustice?
B :What entity would be the teams protagonists?
C: Would you have a newspaper reporter as the Teams voice to the nation?
D : Would the Team need a new type o scammer like The Face man and what of the Teams strong man and or woman?
E: Would the Team need its version of Howling Mad Murdock?

And as to the bad guys, could they find as interesting baddies as the original series or the 1950's version of Superman. The baddies from both series were equally the same in personna, meaning cartoonish in nature.
bushwackerbob
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 781
Joined: 10 years ago
Location: Boston, MA

I loved the show as well, Tuesdays at 8 PM on NBC. I think as much as I enjoyed the characters and the premise, I think the reason I soon grew tired of the series around season 3 was that it was the show was formulaic to the extreme, the team gets to town, befriends one of the locals, the local complains that the town bully/ villain is ruining their town/business, the team gets involved and helps the local, the team showing the town bully there is a new boss in town, then the town villain captures the team and throws them in captivity in some type of building or warehouse, then the team "conveniently" finds tools in the warehouse to aid in their escape and they take down the town villain for good. Same damn thing every week, but I enjoyed it for the first couple seasons or so. I also loved the opening theme music as well. Some shows forgo that opening theme music altogether now, but I enjoy it when they come up with something that fits the show just right.
User avatar
tallyho
Ambassador
Ambassador
Posts: 5390
Joined: 13 years ago
Location: Land of No Hope and Past Glories

You missed out Decker chasing them and almost getting them before they out wit him.
If only they weren't so hard to spot in that big black can with a stripe.
How strange are the ways of the gods ...........and how cruel.

I am here to help one and all enjoy this site, so if you have any questions or feel you are being trolled please contact me (Hit the 'CONTACT' little speech bubble below my Avatar).
brdiy
Elder Member
Elder Member
Posts: 472
Joined: 14 years ago

Then there's the scene with all the gunfire and explosions yet no one seems to die or get hit.
Check out my superheroine-related short stories here:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/brdiy/works
User avatar
tallyho
Ambassador
Ambassador
Posts: 5390
Joined: 13 years ago
Location: Land of No Hope and Past Glories

Yes I remember seeing that and thinking if they were a crack commando team and they can't hit a barn door no wonder Vietnam didnt go so well
How strange are the ways of the gods ...........and how cruel.

I am here to help one and all enjoy this site, so if you have any questions or feel you are being trolled please contact me (Hit the 'CONTACT' little speech bubble below my Avatar).
Visitor
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 926
Joined: 14 years ago

brdiy wrote:
2 years ago
Then there's the scene with all the gunfire and explosions yet no one seems to die or get hit.
It was Saturday morning cartoon violence, A jeep slams into an obstacle, John Saxon goes flying through the air from the front of a jeep, and he stands up ready to lead the fight against the A Team.

The last season with Robert Vaughn taking over as head of a secret intelligence agency came too late to save it. It lost most of the fun.

The movie remake updated them to the Iraq Gulf War with the bank in Baghdad instead of Hanoi. So any new version is pretty much suck with that as the last war available
User avatar
Mr. X
Millenium Member
Millenium Member
Posts: 4598
Joined: 11 years ago
Contact:

Only thing I hated for the first season and first episodes is they introduce B.A. who gets his butt handed to him. I would think you'd want your bad ass to beat up the first big guy he comes across. Yeah it was a fun show.

I did like the tank scene in the movie. That was fun. "They're flying the tank".
dragontigerandhorse1985
Staff Sargeant
Staff Sargeant
Posts: 183
Joined: 2 years ago

tallyho wrote:
2 years ago
Yes I remember seeing that and thinking if they were a crack commando team and they can't hit a barn door no wonder Vietnam didnt go so well
My friend, and it was mentioned, but this was a cartoon with humans.
And Decker or the other officer were Bugs Bunny's Elmer Fudd or The Road Runners ; Wiley E Coyote.

Visitor is correct, the final season went no where and the show died.
User avatar
tallyho
Ambassador
Ambassador
Posts: 5390
Joined: 13 years ago
Location: Land of No Hope and Past Glories

I was 10
How strange are the ways of the gods ...........and how cruel.

I am here to help one and all enjoy this site, so if you have any questions or feel you are being trolled please contact me (Hit the 'CONTACT' little speech bubble below my Avatar).
Dogfish
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 934
Joined: 10 years ago

There's loads of old clips of the A-Team coming up on Youtube these days and it's definitely not as well put together as I thought it was when I was a small child who liked to see them building cabbage-shooting tanks out of stuff in a shed.
User avatar
Mr. X
Millenium Member
Millenium Member
Posts: 4598
Joined: 11 years ago
Contact:

I remember that they'd spend 80% of the episode trying to do something that would just fail but then solve things in the last 20% by being locked in a tool shed then making a tank.
Dazzle1
Millenium Member
Millenium Member
Posts: 1769
Joined: 10 years ago

Like most shows it went on too long and stories became stale

I thought they had a good antagonist possibility with Decker but than he became too easy to beat

You see Lance Le Gault and you think villain.
sneakly
Overlord
Overlord
Posts: 729
Joined: 10 years ago
Contact:

I found the show supremely annoying. The only reason to ever turn it on was the off chance a female guest star would get captured and a sloppy chair tie would ensue, with two or three middle aged putzes hogging the camera.

In fairness they did tie up a very delicious and young Tia Carrere. Personally, I think the show would have been infinitely better if the team were just the minor characters who would get the female lead (say, Cheryl Ladd) out whatever sadistic peril she found herself in that week. Because really, they were a crappy version of the Anthill mob…
Image
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
Mr. X
Millenium Member
Millenium Member
Posts: 4598
Joined: 11 years ago
Contact:

I think they tried to have a damsel 5th member on the team in the last season. One of the military guys who was chasing them had a daughter in vietnam or korea and he asked the team to save her and she became part of the team.
Visitor
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 926
Joined: 14 years ago

Mr. X wrote:
2 years ago
I think they tried to have a damsel 5th member on the team in the last season. One of the military guys who was chasing them had a daughter in vietnam or korea and he asked the team to save her and she became part of the team.
That was Tia Carrera from Vietnam who supposedly was under contract to a soap opera and couldn't get a release to change shows. It would have been different.

George Peppard supposedly hated Melinda Culea or at least the idea of a woman on the team which was why she left after season 1 and her replacement only lasted two episodes.
Dazzle1
Millenium Member
Millenium Member
Posts: 1769
Joined: 10 years ago

What would be fun for our genre is an adult female version of the A Team
Bert

I can still remember watching a later season episode where they were with a native tribe somewhere and the natives were chanting "Who wrote this? Who wrote this?"
Post Reply