L'agence tous risques

I remember watching this when it first was aired in the UK, it was on a Friday night and I was about 12 years old.

After watching it I knew it was a show that I would watch every week, this was certainly different from any other action show I had seen before.

Here were 4 guys who were on the run from the government but helped people out with problems they had, they were different types of guys but put them together and they made The A Team.

Hannibal who always had a plan, they didn't always come out the way he planned but they worked.

Face was the guy who could get anything from anywhere and always scammed hotels, planes etc for the team.

B.A was the muscle and the mechanic in the team who could build and fix anything, Murdock was the insane pilot who was always broken out of the V A hospital when the team needed him.

There was also Amy and Tania who were reporters who separately attached themselves to the team for a while, although rumours were that George Peppard who played Hannibal was not happy with the female involvement in the show.

Also there was the MP Colonel's who tried to catch the A team , first there was Lynch and then Decker who was played by Lancs Le Gault and the character of Decker was the one who pursued the team the most.

People do pick holes in the show like why did the team never shoot anyone and they always got locked up in a garage or warehouse where they would be able to build something to make their escape.

But you can pick holes in any fictional show, this was action packed family entertainment.

Weren't 80's shows the greatest? There are some great shows out there today but nothing like The Dukes of Hazard, The Incredible Hulk and The A-Team. What an absolutely fantastic idea to have four Vietnam Vets on the run from the law and along the way solving crimes and puzzles for people that can afford them. How many of us can remember the bickering of B.A and Murdock? Remember how funny it was to watch Hannibal and Murdock trick B.A into drinking his milk? All of this was done to knock him out so they could fly somewhere (B.A. was afraid of flying). Hannibal smoking his cigars and then spewing out cool lines like " I love it when a plan comes together. " Faceman could infiltrate any establishment, not through brute force but with his wit and ability to disguise himself. And Murdock was just plain crazy, or was he? Many people have alluded to the fact no one ever got hurt either. How many times did Hannibal shoot out someone's tires and the car would flip over 500 times and then the occupants would get out of the car just rubbing their neck and grimacing a bit? Classic stuff. I also think the A-Team was a distant cousin of MacGyver because they could build anything out of anything. They would be locked in a warehouse by the bad guys and that warehouse would just happen to have a blow-torch and a bunch of steel in it. Low and behold, they would build themselves a tank. Sure this is all incredibly silly but so entertaining.

Some 90's shows are great. Friends and Cheers and Frasier and I'm sure a bunch of others are awesome, but they can not match the sheer innocence and brilliance of shows like the A-Team. Maybe I am biased because I grew up in the 80's but I truly feel that way. The A-Team is one show that I wish would show up in syndication here in Toronto. It was fun, imaginative and damn entertaining. Just like most other entertainment that was born in the 80's.

A true staple of the 80's

10 out of 10

What constitutes a really really good TV show? I think it has to have good characters, good stories,action, car chases, villains and it has to be totally crazy and unafraid to show the impossible.

The A-Team had it all. It is the type of show one can watch over and over again and still enjoy it. I have very fond memories of The A-Team from the 1980's. I get all nostalgic when watching it. Why is it that the TV writers and producers from the 1980's produced such good stuff? Why can nobody write a good show nowadays.

The storyline for the A-Team hardly ever changed. Some underdog such as a farmer or small business owner would be getting hassle from some rich guy who wanted to put them out of business. The underdog would call in the A-Team. The A-Team would thrash the bad guys. The bad guys would get hold of as much weaponry as they could. The A-Team would then get hold of even better weaponry. There would be a good scrap at the end and plenty of gunfire (although neither the good guys or bad guys could hit anyone). The A-Team would beat the baddies and leave them for the police. That was the story for most the episodes. There were deviations from the normal formula (particularly in the last season)at times. In one episode a mercenary called Kyle tries to put the A-Team out of commission. In another episode Howlin' Mad Murdock was wounded whilst the US Army were on the Team's trail.

The really good thing about the A-Team was that it was totally crazy and didn't take itself seriously. There were so many odd things about this series.

For example, the A-Team never seemed to have a permanent house. I guess they lived in that van but I never saw any suitcases or personal belongings in their van.

There were other crazy things. The Team used to bust Murdock out of a psychiatric hospital when they needed him. Perhaps the hospital chiefs should have put a 24 hour guard on his door. The other funny thing was the way the Team always used to put B.A. Baracus to sleep when they needed to fly. They never failed in doing that. In short, the Team could do anything. They could evade the US Army constantly and they could build anything from scrap. The only thing they couldn't do was shoot anyone-they always missed. It was all these crazy things that made the A-Team great.

The characters were brilliant. The late George Peppard was Hannibal who always had a plan and only enjoyed himself when there were bullets flying past him and things getting blown up. Mr T played the grumpy B.A. Baracus whose heart was in the wrong place. He was tough but scared of flying. Dirk Benedict played Faceman who was the ultimate conman. He could play any part and get anything for the team. Dwight Schultz played the mad howlin'Murdock who may have been mad but he could certainly be counted on. Throughout the series the Team were joined by the likes of the beautiful Amy Allen and the slick Frankie Santana. The last season deviated from the normal formula but it was still good.

All in all, it was a great show which brings back great memories whenever I watch it. It was just one of the many shows which made the 80's great. A big pat on the back must go to everyone involved in this wonderful show. I hope the big budget film is good but nothing could ever be better than this show.

This is one of those shows where I can truly say that I have seen every single episode. Thanks to the reruns, off course, which made me watch it over and over again when I was just a young, little boy. Not seeing (or perhaps not wanting to see) how bad the action, how boring and slow the story was. And how every episode was almost the same as the previous one. The fact that people only shot at other peoples legs (not in the head or chest) didn't bother me either in those days. Now it does bother me and I'm always wondering why I was such a fan in my youth. Luckily I found out after some thinking.

When I was a fan of Hannibal, Murdoch, Face and B.A. (and Amy) I saw a group of friends, very good friends helping out good people who were oppressed by the bad people. They always won, every episode ended as a feel-good-one, there were a lot of laughs, justice was served and my friends Hannibal, Murdoch, Face and B.A. (and Amy) took me home where I was waiting for them to pick me up for another adventure. And I thank them for that joy and adventure they gave me.

Nothing defined the eighties so much as the television we watched. Dallas. The Young and the Restless. The Dukes of Hazzard. He-Man. The Greatest American Hero. Airwolf. Knight Rider.

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they did not commit. They promptly escaped a maximum security stockade into the Los Angeles Underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they exist 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.

With a script any eight year old would love, the four members of the A-Team went off every week to somewhere in America to help someone who couldn't find help anywhere else. They battled impossible odds (with impossible storylines) and managed to stay one step ahead of the law. They were always predictable, heroic, and fun. God bless the eighties, and long live TV Land.