The A-Team
Release date June 11th, 2010
A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
What else.
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson, UFC Champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Jessica Biel
Director: Joe Carnahan
Runtime: 1 Hr 35 Min
The A-team Story
During the Vietnam War, the A-Team's commanding officer, Colonel Morrison, gave them orders to rob the Bank of Hanoi to help bring the war to an end. They succeeded in their mission, but on returning to their base four days after the end of the war, they found their C.O. murdered by the Viet Cong and his headquarters burned to the ground. Therefore no proof existed that the A-Team were acting under orders, and they were sent to prison by a military court. They were sent to Fort Bragg, from which they escaped before they could actually stand trial.
The Show
The show's early seasons did not have overarching plots, although occasionally there would be two-part episodes. The episodes are linked to a specific season by their primary antagonist, a recurring assistant character and its particular use of guest stars (the first season was relatively low on guest stars while the show's fourth season often featured well-known stars such as Boy George and Hulk Hogan).
As such, only a few significant developments are made during this time, which include the blood transfer between Murdock and B.A. in the first season episode "Black Day at Bad Rock", the replacement of recurring character Amy Allen with Tawnia Baker and the replacements of the recurring antagonists of the Military Police. The final episode of the fourth season does present two unusual occurrences; the antagonist (Gen. Fullbright in this case) works with the Team and also features the second on-screen death (also Gen. Fullbright). This episode, together with the first three of the fifth season deal extensively with the team's Vietnam history.
The A-Team is a naturally episodic show, with few overarching stories - except the characters' continuing motivation to clear their names - with few references to events in past episodes and a recognizable and steady episode structure. In describing the ratings drop that occurred during the show's fourth season, reviewer Gold Burt points to this structure as being a leading cause for the decreased popularity "because the same basic plot had been used over and over again for the past four seasons with the same predictable outcome."[15] Similarly, reporter Adrian Lee called the plots "stunningly simple" in a 2006 article for The Express (UK newspaper), citing such recurring elements "as BA's fear of flying, and outlandish finales when the team fashioned weapons from household items."[16]
Unlike modern shows, The A-Team episodes do not begin with a cold open, but instead start with the main introduction and title of the episode. Generally, the first few scenes will focus on the plight of the episode's victim, who is hoping to hire the A-Team, thereby introducing the story for that episode. These prospective clients are usually led through a series of off-beat and comedic tests, after which a member of the team, most frequently Hannibal, will reveal himself and tell the clients they've "just hired the A-Team."
Frequently, one of the clients will be a young woman who Face is immediately attracted to and who will serve as the object of his advances. Occasionally, the A-Team are on the road and simply stumble across someone who needs their help. The A-Team often return their fee to the most needy clients or find another way to pay their expenses.
By this time, Murdock will escape from the psychiatric hospital, where he is interned, with the help of Face. After scamming items necessary for the mission - often directly angering the episode's antagonist - the A-Team will confront that antagonist, insulting him/her, which will lead to a counter-attack later on.
Generally, the A-Team then assist their clients in their daily routine, while furthering Face's romance with the female guest star and initiating a conflict between B.A. and Murdock. These scenes will usually also feature clients and the team alike questioning Hannibal's sanity, leading to the proclamation that Hannibal is "on the jazz", a term to denote the adrenaline rush that accompanies their adventures.
Traditionally, the antagonist's counter-attack then follows, which succeeds and leads to the team's capture. In order to escape, the A-Team will usually construct a weapon - often in the form of a vehicle - of sorts from their available resources. This is detailed in a musical montage focussing on the team's hands and the tools used. The escape will be successful and the antagonist will be defeated with use of the new weapon. The team's opponents are rarely hurt, as bullets miss their targets and the enemies manage to evade or survive, unscathed, numerous explosions.
The show became emblematic of this kind of "fit-for-TV warfare" due to its depiction of high-octane combat scenes, with lethal weapons, wherein the participants (with the notable exception of General Fullbright) are never killed and rarely seriously injured (see also on-screen violence and Principle of Evil Marksmanship).
After the defeat of the antagonist, the episode's other storylines will be wrapped up as the team make their escape. Every few episodes, the Military Police catches up with the team, giving them an extra obstacle to overcome in that particular episode, sometimes also appearing in the final few minutes of the episode, forcing the team to make a quick exit. A recurring element that can usually be fit anywhere into the episode is B.A.'s fear of flying, which leads to the team having to knock him out (either by drugs or, less often, a blow to the back of the head using a heavy object and once even using hypnosis) to get him onto a helicopter or plane. (In "The Beast From The Belly Of A Boeing," B.A. is awake during the flight that occupies most of the episode.)
The A-team
