Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3749 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-07-04
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 999 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If ridiculous banter, goofball plots, and many, many, many explosions sounds like the recipe for a perfect TV show to you--you must already be a fan of The A-Team. Each of these Vietnam vets on the lam had his specialty: Hannibal (cigar-chomping George Peppard, a long way from Breakfast at Tiffany's) is the cocksure master planner; Faceman (Dirk Benedict of the original Battlestar Galactica) is the smooth-talking con artist; the pilot with a screw loose is Murdock (Dwight Schultz, later to appear on Star Trek: Voyager); and B.A. Baracus (the charismatic and gold-encrusted Mr. T, Rocky III) is both mechanic and muscle. During the series' five year run, each of these eccentrics cultivated their own rabid fan-base as they threw punches, fired thousand of bullets, tossed hand grenades to and fro, and flipped speeding cars--all without killing or even really hurting anyone, which only adds to the show's willful silliness. (A warning for fans of reporter/sidekick Amy Allen, played by Melinda Culea: After being given nothing to do for a dozen or so testosterone-heavy episodes of the second season, Culea either quit or was fired.)

Only during the 1980s could this peculiar blend of lefty politics and military fetishism have thrived. Though supposedly mercenaries-for-hire, the A-Team usually finds itself defending the downtrodden and helpless out of sheer cussedness. In the second season they helped abused migrant workers form a union--which, naturally, required transmogrifying farm equipment into a cabbage-shooting cannon. Other underdogs included the disenfranchised heir to an African diamond mine; an independent cab company being squeezed by big business; and a pacifist commune harassed by bigots. The last of these prompted Hannibal to muse ponderously on the unappreciated role of the soldier, who fights so others don't have to--after which Murdock and B.A. began punching each other over a bag of pecans. Self-aware and self-mocking, The A-Team pushed the TV action/adventure genre to laughable extremes. --Bret Fetzer

Synopsis
Television producer Stephen J. Cannell (Hunter, Wiseguy, 21 Jump StreetThe A-Team. A group of Vietnam veterans falsely accused of a crime during the last days of the conflict, the A-Team was made up of cigar-chomping leader Hannibal (George Peppard), tough guy B.A. Baracus (Mr. T), suave con man Face (Dirk Benedict), and paranoid pilot Murdock (Dwight Schultz). The team survived through employment as soldiers of fortune, humiliating their foes, and standing up for the little guy.

Customer Reviews

Possibly the greatest mix of action with comedy ever
The A-Team is a programme that would be a complete and utter waste of even just thinking of remaking, no matter how talented a person was or how hard they tried it would never and I mean never match this, because everything about it feels as though it is how it was meant to be, that and the fact that it is one of the best pieces of television ever that successfully mixes action with comedy and does it so brilliantly. Now I have got that out of the way I will briefly, if you have never seen it that is, tell you a little of what all the fuss is about. To explain it as simply as possible it is about a group of soldiers who are on the run from the military for a crime that they did not commit. That in itself is rather tricky. But at the same time as all this, they help people (any people, it could be you, me or somebody you know, although you have to find them first) with problems for example whether it be somebody has been kidnapped or somebody's taxi business is being unlawfully ruined by a rival taxi business etc. or just generally being bullied. Whatever the problem is they have all got one thing in common, and that is in the end The A-Team will defeat the bad guys (usually deadly serious and smug, which make it all the more satisfying and amusing that they get what they deserve in the end) responsible, but in the process hurt them as little as possible. So by the end of each episode, the innocent victims involved can get on with their tedious lives and The A-Team can get on with helping another poor soul, although sometimes they have to escape from the military before they can move on. Below is a little information on the members of The A-Team.

Hannibal (my personal favourite) - In charge of the team (and rightly so given is age and experience) and loves it when plans come together, adores his cigars, looks for acting roles in between missions and is very witty, especially love it when he's on the jazz and uses his acting talents to disguise himself as various made up characters. George Peppard played this role with such coolness.

Face - Ladies man and likes to do as little manual work as possible, tries to fight as little as possible (although he can fight) and uses his conman skills to get various things, for example if they ever need a helicopter Face is your man, if the team need to get Murdock out of the nuthouse Face is your man, in general if The A-Team need anything for a mission, then it is no problem for the Faceman. I particularly find it funny the way he comes across as a bit of a snob and secretly looks down at the others.

Murdock - Completely mad but extremely funny (overall the funniest character), winds B.A. up all the time and his pilot skills are essential to the team. Hides out in a nuthouse and I'm still not 100% sure if he really is or really isn't.

B.A. - The gold chain wearing hardman of the team, loves his van and if some kind of weapon needs to be made, then he can make them unbelievably(still entertaining) out of almost anything. Arguably the most caring team member, hates flying. Love the way he fools the team into thinking he's about to do something really bad to them after they put him to sleep to get him on a plane.

In my opinion this season is as good as any. It is also the introduction of the legendary Col.Decker (the best character outside of The A-Team by far). He definitely wasn't stupid, it's just that The A-Team made him look stupid, especially when Hannibal gets as close as possible to him before they escape, just so he can rub it in with a big cheesy smile, these are classic A-Team moments. I sometimes kind of feel a little bit sorry for Col.Decker, he is so desperate to catch them, but at same time as nothing but respect for them and I always wonder if he secretly wants to be part of them.

One last comment, there is an episode in this season called taxicab wars and I am sure that this is another influence(one of many 1980's films and programmes from that time period) on the videogame Grand Theft Auto:Vice City (one of my favourite games ever) which includes a mission involving loads of taxi's, just thought I would mention it.

Anyway I hope this helps anybody that is interested to know what kind of programme this is, like I said, it is possibly the greatest mix of action with comedy ever.

Feel Good Saturday Night Fodder
Watching the A-Team as a youngster, I used to view it on a broad scale which could be summed up in the equation: Needy people + A-Team = Fights + Ultimate victory for the A-Team, however watching this now, I appreciate the hilarious ramblings of Murdock (my fav) particularly in a scene where he pretends to be an English military type and rebukes an English (American with terrible English accent) arms store owner that he does'nt have Rolls Royce oil caps and original pressings of Hey Jude at which Face silently lips "Hey Jude" in disbelief. It's good fun and you know theres not gonna be anything offensive in the shows. Also as a youngster I never really saw Amy Allen (Melinda Culea) as a member and feel she should have had a more valued input,however she is very nice on the eye.

Amazing!
Absolutely astoudingly good value for money - 22 episodes for just £16. A Must buy for all A-Team fans. Well worth the money. I found myself watching episode after episode. Buy this DVD Box Set!!!