I loved him playing himself in his cameos in Castle. I also loved Scene of the Crime an anthology crime series for CBS's Crimetime after Primetime during the early 90's . He hosted each episode Rod Sterling style. A few of the clips are on youtube.
The A Team was the perfect action series and a positive influence for kids…no one got killed or badly injured, each member contributed their own skills to help one another and the victims…AND.the plans ALWAYS came together … thanks for this memorable presentation Minty…some great nuggets of information and facts… 🅰️Team
Firearm use? Really. I was in school at the time where it was common guys brought shotguns and rifles for hunting to school year round. No school shootings, it was commonly taught hunters safety so young kids were aware of guns proper respect, and our principal approved a very good student to bring in his handguns for speech on safety when handling. What would happen if 1 day while children's prefrontal cortex is still growing, gun safety was taught only. I never had hunters safety at time it was taught and potentially killed myself and friend because my parents hated guns, playing with a unloaded pistol not knowing difference or rules. Sex Ed is taught now from 4 until infinity in age as I guess as some way of doing something good? But we've seen not only the numbers but lives destroyed by immorality and encouraging promiscuous behavior. Leading to disease, abused victims, and death of children and mother's choosing abortion as contraception.
@@DoctorQuackenbushwhen we were kids, the more realistic the replica toy guns were the more you wanted them. I had an AK-47 that looked real and my brother had an UZi. Unfortunately, so the story goes, kids were apparently getting shot by police thinking they were actually armed, so they started making them have red tips and crazy colours. When we were kids though we were absolutely obsessed with war stuff. Kept us out of the house. My father encouraged it, because he loved weapons, and as I later found out, enjoyed the “alone time” with my mom while we were gone all day, lol. Always wondered why, when we were hanging around the house, he’d give us 20 bucks each and told to go have fun…
I've always wondered if it was actually a bad influence on kids since it taught them that guns never hurt anyone, lol. The characters in this show, good ones or evil ones, had worse aim than stormtroopers. I sure loved it - it and McGyver, Knight Rider, and the Dukes of Hazzard, were my type of show back then.
I recall Dwight Shultz saying in an interview that he wasn't the first choice to play "Murdock". He said that he was filling in for someone else but he apparently did such a good job that they decided to keep him as a regular cast member.
I remember there was an entire episode when Murdock acted as the Face, it was bonkers to see him do it so well. He completely had exactly the same mannerism, body language face expressions and even was saying the type of things Face would say with his accent. Dwight Schultz is one hell of an actor.
My most memorable moment of the A-team is when they are on the studio lot and the look on Dirk Benedicts face when a Cylon warrior walked by. Yeah, I am still a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica series
Yes! I recreated this walk by at UK Games Expo one year when they had very good Cylon cosplayers. Just for fun I did the look and point as one walked past, with my daughter filming it😂
Dwight Schultz was magnificent as Murdock. Definitely my favorite character when I rewatched the show around 2008. @Minty Comedic Arts you should mention The Benny Hill Show with episode "The B-team" which did a great parody of the show.
I loved the A-Team back in the day, particularly in the first few seasons, before they started introducing new characters that added nothing to the show. Still, even I must admit that every episode was essentially the same, so it's no big wonder it got cancelled after 5 seasons. It went pretty much like this: - Hannibal disguises himself to receive the mission - Face breaks Murdock out of the mental institution - The team drugs BA so that they can go on a plane - The team fights a few of the bad guys and win - The bad guys come back in force, defeat the team and imprision them somewhere with lots of gear - The team uses the gear to build/reinforce something and wins the final battle - The team leaves just as Lynch and the military are arriving
It’s very much a product of its era, which is one of the reasons it failed as a movie in the 21st century. Not only did the background of Vietnam vets adapt less easily to later American wars, snd not only did it lack an icon like Mr. T, but just the tone of ‘80s silliness didn’t make much sense to later audiences, especially since they didn’t bother trying to give it some new spin like 21 Jump Street (another Stephen Cannell creation). And the show itself was already starting to collapse on its own weight in its fifth and final season (which is considerably darker than the previous seasons, but never found a way to comfortably justify the tonal shift).
The whole thing about sedating B.A. to get him on an aircraft was because B.A. hated flying, even in the one episode where he'd said he wanted to fly to where the team's mission was to take them. They'd still had to sedate him once he was on board the plane
@@karlsmith2570 He never went on a plane willingly, they'd always trick him by secretly drugging his milk, or other methods. And he always fell for it, again and again and again. In a real world context it would be pretty cruel, but in a cartoonish '80s action-comedy it was simply a running gag and apparently never hurt their friendship.
Although I loved the A-team too… the 80’s was airwolf. So many iconic moments. Although I had borrowed my best friend’s box set and watched all the episodes before. I watched 4 episodes a day on tv during my chemotherapy, it was the right level fun nostalgia to help get me through things. I also watched a lot of your channel while sitting at home recovering. Thanks for both Minty.
Having grown up in the 80s, shows like the A Team and Air Wolf were a staple in my household. My father was a huge fan of both, but used to joke openly about the violence in the A Team. "Shoots hundreds of bullets, hits no one. What crappy soldiers." And this from a Vietnam vet.
Ya, because Stringfellow Hawk and Dominick Santini never shot thousands of rounds and rockets killing people with Air Wolf. He definitely didn't use a dozen rockets to blow up Moffet in the first episode.
The Baracus & Murdock action figures were the 1st action figures ever had as a kid. I remember when I was playing on the balcony of my 3rd floor apartment when I unfortunately dropped Baracus all the way down to the street. I ran all the way down to find out I broke his arm off. I was so devastated. As an adult I ended up buying the complete set of original action figures of the A-Team. It was one of the 1st sets of figures I completed as I got hooked on action figures collecting.
That Baracus toy didn't break no arm, fool! You can't break Baracus, even if he a action figure! What had happened was when I was falling to the street, I seen a kid in another apartment that didn't have no arm on his Rambo doll, cause Rambo a punk! So I stopped falling and jumped into that kid's apartment! I said 'Listen up, kid! That Rambo doll ain't gonna be able to fight S.A.V.A.G.E. if he only got one hand, so here, take mine! Now be good to your mother, cause she good to you!' And then I jumped back out the window to finish falling, and teach you a lesson! I pity the fool that think Baracus need two arms to fight somebody! Stay in school and don't do drugs, you hear?
Been waiting for this one. Still my favourite TV show! Met Dirk Benedict at a Comic con about 10 years ago. Really nice & down to earth guy. I enjoyed the film too.
I completely agree that the original series retains its charm, which is true for most remakes not like "Knight Rider", "MacGyver", and "Mission Impossible" which was a completely different series or movies from the original series. Moreover, the acting performances across all roles are impressive. Except for BA, all actors were significantly better in their roles than the originals, even when interpreting the classic characters. This definitely makes it a worthy remake.
Having been a fan both of them back in the 80s I recently watched back the entire final seasons of Knight Rider and The A-Team. I had stumbled into a rabbit hole of sentimental nostalgia while reading up on the show's respective histories and decided to track them down and oh boy, season 5 of The A-Team is truly bonkers! You could tell that both shows were on life support as so many new ideas were being thrown about it was clear that desperate times were beginning to set in. With regards to The A-Team movie I must say that I think it really is massively underated. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the very best reboots (one of the only truly good ones for that matter) of a classic 70s or 80s film or TV show I have ever seen. I was actually gutted when it failed to be a success and the planned sequel got canned. For anyone that loves the orginal show and has thus far avoided the movie I say to you, do yourself a favour and give it a watch as I believe it manages to emulate the vibe of the original and that the casting choices for the 4 leads was excellent. The same cannot be said of anything Knight Rider related I have seen after the original show ended... P.S. To Minty: On the off chance you read these comments I would recommend you (if you can find it) watch a one off UK TV Show from 2006 called "Bring Back The A-Team" with Justin Lee Collins. In which, Justin attempts to track down as many people who were involved with the show's production as he can, have a chat with them about the show and invite them all to a private party he is setting up for them to attend. If you love The A-Team, I reckon you will enjoy it!
70's kid/80's teen here. Thanks for these 80's shows retrospectives. Although I usually hated shoot-em-up, "action" shows, I loved watching these guys. FWIW, I just looked up Mr. T on one of those "where are they now" listicles. He no longer wears the gold jewelry, due to his religious beliefs and feeling that it was a bit crass, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to wear thousands of dollars of gold around his neck when others were starving and homeless. So if you see a recent pic, you'll see him rocking a red white and blue bandana, but no gold chains.
Bonus there were multiple vans used in the series. The hero car is the one carpeted and kept pristine. There were rolling chassis, some that ran but were just shells. They switched between years and GM/Chevy. Look at the headlights. Square vs round.
I'm 52 years old. I was the perfect age to watch it when it came out in 1983. The movie came out before I went to Afghanistan in 2010. I still have the song stuck in my head and I'm considering getting an A team style paint job on my Transit Connect.
I just watched the movie again last night. I really like the movie. So far, I've watched the movie 7X now. But I've never seen the series and I grew up in the 80s. I don't know why. I watched Knight Rider and Airwolf. But I've put The A-Team tv show on my to do list. Great video as always.
Funnily enough, it was the movie that got me into the show and I was obsessed! I just couldn’t get enough of the ridiculous fun and Murdock! I actually ended up getting a custom bomber with his iconic tiger paint job. It’s my absolute favorite. Great vid!
And another part of pop culture Mr. T was a part of, which considering we are now entering WrestleMania Season with WWE setting up matches for WrestleMania 40, Mr. T was in fact a participate in the main event of the very first WrestleMania.
He was also a main card at WrestleMania 2. He boxed Cowboy Bob Orton. And showed the whole world the Mr. T couldn't really box. You should watch it, it is so funny. It was so embarrassing for T that he never came back lol
The A Team was huge. Not just as a show but as a cultural icon. It was the perfect recipe.. Vietnam vet heroes and plenty of action for dad, a nice assortment of eye candy for mom, cartoony family friendly action and humor for the kids, an awesome iconic vehicle, actors that came preloaded with their own fanbases and wove those established personalities into the characters, excellent chemistry between the leads, and a happy ending/moral lesson every week. Where the movie messed up is it not only replaced the actors (when are studios going to realize this is like replacing a family member for audiences?)...but took it all way too seriously. The A Team was basically a weekly comic book in video form, and that is what people loved about it. As for Murdock.. his character was genius.. there were plenty of guys in that generation who didn't come back mentally stable from the war, that was reality.. but instead of being simply a broken man (such as John Rambo who was at best a killing machine who couldn't function in society), he was still a valuable member of the team and not only an ace pilot, but spoke multiple languages, had a photographic memory, and was able to operate pretty much any machine. He single-handedly saves the team multiple times. It was a very unique character people didn't see on their TV's. Also unique was how they dealt with race.. at the time it was rare for a black/white characters to be completely equal to each other and just there with virtually no mention of racial issues.. this was never a problem on the A Team.
My late father a Vietnam Veteran, enjoyed two shows (Vietnam based of course), "The A-Team" and "China Beach" I think The A Team reminded him of himself as apart of Army Special Forces
Minty, THANK YOU! While I love your channel and your videos, this one was above and beyond. I grew up in the 1980s and am a die-hard "A-team" fan. Honestly I still hum the theme whenever I'm fixing things. AWESOME VIDEO!
❤ The A-Team was a staple in my house. My mom didn't let us watch the fifth season though. BA was my favorite when I was younger, but then Murdock stole my heart with his wackiness.
Me too... But think of all the things we will need to build very soon to save the world from these....people....running it into the ground. You are ahead of the curve :)
Another data: the rifle used by the A-Team was a Ruger Mini 14, fires only in semi auto mode, but in the series (also the movie decades later) they fire in full auto. Was a trick played by the actors who was instructed to pull the trigger several times and the sound editing made the other part of the trick
I didn't grow up with this show myself since I was born in the 90s but I’ve heard so many good things about it and I may have to look it up soon when I have time. I have been watching more of your videos lately even though I’m not familiar with all of these 80s tv shows but I just really like your presentation style. So keep up the great work and I will definitely keep tuning in for more!
I remember reading at the time that Melinda Culea was released due to salary demands. Although not one of the four main stars, she demanded equal money that they were making. When she would not accept any of the network's counter offers, she was written off the show.
Project alpha was the group name that was part of Studies and Observation group know as SOG. The alpha teams would go into North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. They were “ sanitized” teams that had no US markings or even US made weapons. They were flown In exclusively by highly trained and and dedicated South Vietnamese pilots. There are two really good historical books about them. “SOG the Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam” and “Secret Commandos Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors Of SOG” both by John L. Plaster. Another good one is “Project Alpha Washington’s Secret Military Operations in North Vietnam” By Sedgwick Tourison
@@markcarpenter6020 common misconception actually the full name was MACV SOG. Military Assistant Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation group. SOG knife company started out making untraceable combat knifes for them.
I never got to watch this show until last year on TUBI. I found it very awesome and hilarious. Murdock became my favorite character after the second episode.
As a kid the A-Team gave me my biggest pet peeve with Hollywood that I still have with virtually every action show. All that gunfire and not only does no one die, but nobody reloads.
One of the recurring themes in the first 2 or 3 seasons was them making all kinds of improvised vehicles and weapons. I don't think that happened too much in the later seasons, so that could also have led to a drop in the viewing ratings.
I agree and I think that was one of the coolest parts of the show. There was a burning question in my mind on every episode of what they were going to build next. I honestly never paid that much attention to the fact that there wasn't real violence. I just thought it was cool to see them shoot big guns and blow things up. Sadly though as a 90s kid my exposure was mostly reruns. I didn't really grow up with it as much as I would have liked. That and knight rider were shows I missed out on and wish I would have seen them in their glory days. Watching the reruns is still cool but just doesn't feel the same. My dad was the biggest influence in me watching them as my grandpa mostly watched old westerns. I think westerns are cool but as a kid I was more fascinated by a modern approach. The show I did get to grow up watching was walker texas ranger with good old chuck Norris. That was a blast as well.
I got a good laugh from a Mad Magazine comment about how much suspension of disbelief we needed to appreciate this show (and we did, of course). "So,anybody who needs their help can always locate them - but the Government CAN'T locate them?" Funny 'cause it's true.
To be fair, they have methods for people to locate them and then if they personally choose to, they show themselves. Clearly if the government shows up they'll stay hidden. That's why Hannibal always shows up in a disguise: to make sure it's not the feds.
We only got to see the ones that passed their screening process. There were a few that didn't and they knew were obvious traps to capture them by the Army. One where Hannibal plays a bum in an alley way waiting for a payment, but due to a mix up, Hannibal is drugged and taken away by other people, and another bum gets the money as Face, BA and Murdock swoop in to get "Hannibal" out before the MPs catch him. In the last episode of the 4th season, General Fullbright is sniffed out by the A-Team during the screening process, where they capture him and interrogate him to find out what he really wants.
We all loved the A-Team! My kids had almost every type of A-Team merch, from the van to the action figures (those never lasted very long) to the A-Team hideout/fort. Where is any of that? Probably somewhere with the lost socks😅. When the kids watched Rocky III, I pointed out that Clubber Lang was Mr T. They said it can’t be - Mr T never loses a fight! Great video. Agree with many others that you should do more Classic TV!
I’d love to own an A-Team van!!…. Imagine taking it to Tesco or Asda for your shopping and jumping out the back of the van with your bags for life🤯🤣 The reason we all thought the van was always black with a red stripe is because of the toys!!….. to save on costs, toy company’s like Galoob would mould the vans in one colour which was black!! I had loads of A-Team merch….. still do😃👍❤️ Love this video minty… ya crazy fool!!👊
I think since the video coming through the TV was pretty bad also made it look all black. I never had any of the toys and I still thought it was black with a red stripe.
Mr.T said "I pity the fool" in Rocky 3. It was the part of the movie when he was being interviewed by a news reporter and Rocky was watching it on TV. I think the line was something like, "I don't hate the man, I pity the fool." I've watched the Rocky series many times.
Minty, I love this episode. This is possibly my favorite show of all time when I was growing up. I watched it all the time with my dad. Thank you. Your videos are the best.
The Members of the A-Team were as follows: Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (played by George Peppard), Lt. Templeton "Faceman" [Face for short] Peck (played by Dirk Benedict), Sergeant Bosco Albert "B.A. [Bad Attitude] Baracus (played by Mr. T), and "H.M." [Howling Mad] Murdock (played by Dwight Schultz)
Millennial here who was born in 1995. I went through a classic tv phase in my teens. The A team, The incredible hulk and Knight Rider were among the shows i watched in reruns.
I grew up watching this show and every once in a while, I'll go back and rewatch some episodes. The cheesy, blood-free violence was a demand from the network to keep it "family friendly" and did become a running joke for the writers. There's some great behind the scenes stuff in Dirk Benedict's memoir "Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy." And I was actually a fan of the movie remake. It got a lot of press in the States but people couldn't stop comparing it to the original, rather than judging it for itself as a unique entity, so it ended up flopping. Bradley Cooper was excellent as Face. I would have loved to see a sequel.
I really enjoyed the movie for what it was. It wasn't perfect, but I thought they managed to catch the spirit of the thing. I was kind of surprised people reacted the way they did, I would also have loved at least one sequel.
Exactly! They did capture the spirit and the cast had great chemistry. The story was a little convoluted but it was generally a fun movie. @@ninjaswordtothehead
The fact that Murdoch is also Reginald Barkley is star trek next gen was completely lost on me as a kid. But I've always loved both characters. So makes sense.
Minty, I have been a huge fan of your series for years. I was a TV producer/ associate producer in Hollywood for 20 years from the late 70s through the 90s . Your research on various films and especially TV series, blows me away. Kudos to you and your team. !!! I was the Associate Producer on Remington Steele , starting the second season through the series first ending and then its “ re- birth “ when NBC screwed Pierce out of James Bond and brought us back for more episodes. Have you ever considered doing an episode on Remington Steele ? Just wondering. Thank you for a great show and continued success. jm 0:24
There should definitely be a Remington Steel episode. That was one of the more cool detective dramas of the time and is to Pierce Brosnan what Moonlighting was to Bruce Willis. If we're making requests (though it's completely unrelated to Remington Steel or A Team), I would love to see an episode on Midnight Madness; Disney's trip into raunchy 70s/80s college comedy and Michael J Fox's first movie.
Please do Airwolf next. It lasted for 4 seasons and came out around the same time as Knight Rider and The A-Team. It actually debuted 40 years ago yesterday and still my favorite 80's show.
As an 8 year-old back then, The A-Team was my favorite series. Everyone at my class watched it and loved it. If a TV show or feature film at the theaters hits the right spot of either pre-adolescent boys or adult women, it will definetly be a huge hit (just look at Star Wars, The A-Team, Sex and the City and Barbie)
Mr. T actually has said, about the jewelry, it’s a symbol of enslavement using the chains, and what not in a symbol of God’s struggle and sacrifice. Chains of Jesus.
Mr. T's gold was from when he was a club bouncer, each one was basically a trophy of anybody who stood against him. It took so long to arrange them properly, and his refusal to go without them, him and the studio came to an agreement to have them all basically combined at the clasp in some fashion so that they work as one entire piece, or two, to expidite putting them on.
cool shirt dude, it's about TIME! great 10-lists, even though most productions seem to have these issues. it's great to see some behind the scenes info. keep it up.
The Cylon that walked in front of Templeton in an opening was Dirk's idea. Love the show.
I wondered what that tie in was about.
@@thebagnechannel3183 HMMM who knows.
Dirk Benedict used to play Lt. Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica.
The sequence was filmed at Universal Studios.
Seems like déjà vu for Face , he’s like frack , I forgot my Colonial laser gum
Scene never gets old...
Stephen J Cannell was a great man. Rest in Peace creator of many wonderful classic shows.
I loved him playing himself in his cameos in Castle. I also loved Scene of the Crime an anthology crime series for CBS's Crimetime after Primetime during the early 90's . He hosted each episode Rod Sterling style. A few of the clips are on youtube.
The A Team was the perfect action series and a positive influence for kids…no one got killed or badly injured, each member contributed their own skills to help one another and the victims…AND.the plans ALWAYS came together … thanks for this memorable presentation Minty…some great nuggets of information and facts… 🅰️Team
The flip side was that it downplayed the potential danger of firearm use.
Firearm use? Really. I was in school at the time where it was common guys brought shotguns and rifles for hunting to school year round. No school shootings, it was commonly taught hunters safety so young kids were aware of guns proper respect, and our principal approved a very good student to bring in his handguns for speech on safety when handling. What would happen if 1 day while children's prefrontal cortex is still growing, gun safety was taught only. I never had hunters safety at time it was taught and potentially killed myself and friend because my parents hated guns, playing with a unloaded pistol not knowing difference or rules. Sex Ed is taught now from 4 until infinity in age as I guess as some way of doing something good? But we've seen not only the numbers but lives destroyed by immorality and encouraging promiscuous behavior. Leading to disease, abused victims, and death of children and mother's choosing abortion as contraception.
@@DoctorQuackenbushwhen we were kids, the more realistic the replica toy guns were the more you wanted them. I had an AK-47 that looked real and my brother had an UZi. Unfortunately, so the story goes, kids were apparently getting shot by police thinking they were actually armed, so they started making them have red tips and crazy colours.
When we were kids though we were absolutely obsessed with war stuff.
Kept us out of the house.
My father encouraged it, because he loved weapons, and as I later found out, enjoyed the “alone time” with my mom while we were gone all day, lol.
Always wondered why, when we were hanging around the house, he’d give us 20 bucks each and told to go have fun…
TBH.. I love it when a plan comes together.
I've always wondered if it was actually a bad influence on kids since it taught them that guns never hurt anyone, lol. The characters in this show, good ones or evil ones, had worse aim than stormtroopers. I sure loved it - it and McGyver, Knight Rider, and the Dukes of Hazzard, were my type of show back then.
I still watch this show - having grown up in the 80s I have a special place in my heart for the whole team❤
Fa sho
I love the movie too.
"Are they trying to shoot that drone?"
"No. They're trying to fly that tank."
I was skeptical about the movie at first, but admit I'll watch it anytime I see it available
Movie was good. The problem was the ending
I love that scene.
They did Murdock justice in the movie; made me happy :)
@@steveshattuck8128 I agree, and I would like to add 1 more thing that I didn't like about the movie was the way Baracus was portrayed.
I recall Dwight Shultz saying in an interview that he wasn't the first choice to play "Murdock". He said that he was filling in for someone else but he apparently did such a good job that they decided to keep him as a regular cast member.
Thank goodness for that.
Murdock and BA had the best chemistry in my opinion. All of them were great, even Amy Amanda Allen. The action, banter, and disguises were cool.
I remember there was an entire episode when Murdock acted as the Face, it was bonkers to see him do it so well. He completely had exactly the same mannerism, body language face expressions and even was saying the type of things Face would say with his accent. Dwight Schultz is one hell of an actor.
They should have kept Amy as their connection to the ordinary world.
Loved watching the A-team with my brother as kids in the 80s. We still often quote BA "I ain't going on no plane". Good times.
“There is no such thing as an invisible dog!”
I love it when Minty's plans come together! ❤
Stop with your jibber jabber!
I was going to say that.😂
You should be punished for that...
Sitting here smoking a cigar watching this
I pity the fool who doesn’t love it when Minty’s plan comes together. 😂
My most memorable moment of the A-team is when they are on the studio lot and the look on Dirk Benedicts face when a Cylon warrior walked by.
Yeah, I am still a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica series
I love it when tv shows and movies do that kid of thing.
Learn how to spell
Yes! I recreated this walk by at UK Games Expo one year when they had very good Cylon cosplayers. Just for fun I did the look and point as one walked past, with my daughter filming it😂
Dwight Schultz was magnificent as Murdock. Definitely my favorite character when I rewatched the show around 2008.
@Minty Comedic Arts you should mention The Benny Hill Show with episode "The B-team" which did a great parody of the show.
You mentioned two of my favorite shows.
I still laugh whenever I think of Murdock singing the Fireman Fred song.
"IN A CUP FOOL!" 🤣
Mr T's BA was always my favourite 💪🏿🤜🏿💥
It annoyed George Peppard that Mr. T was more popular with fans than him.
I loved the A-Team back in the day, particularly in the first few seasons, before they started introducing new characters that added nothing to the show. Still, even I must admit that every episode was essentially the same, so it's no big wonder it got cancelled after 5 seasons. It went pretty much like this:
- Hannibal disguises himself to receive the mission
- Face breaks Murdock out of the mental institution
- The team drugs BA so that they can go on a plane
- The team fights a few of the bad guys and win
- The bad guys come back in force, defeat the team and imprision them somewhere with lots of gear
- The team uses the gear to build/reinforce something and wins the final battle
- The team leaves just as Lynch and the military are arriving
It’s very much a product of its era, which is one of the reasons it failed as a movie in the 21st century. Not only did the background of Vietnam vets adapt less easily to later American wars, snd not only did it lack an icon like Mr. T, but just the tone of ‘80s silliness didn’t make much sense to later audiences, especially since they didn’t bother trying to give it some new spin like 21 Jump Street (another Stephen Cannell creation). And the show itself was already starting to collapse on its own weight in its fifth and final season (which is considerably darker than the previous seasons, but never found a way to comfortably justify the tonal shift).
And most of the bad guys were trying to steal land.
Spoilers!
The whole thing about sedating B.A. to get him on an aircraft was because B.A. hated flying, even in the one episode where he'd said he wanted to fly to where the team's mission was to take them. They'd still had to sedate him once he was on board the plane
@@karlsmith2570 He never went on a plane willingly, they'd always trick him by secretly drugging his milk, or other methods. And he always fell for it, again and again and again. In a real world context it would be pretty cruel, but in a cartoonish '80s action-comedy it was simply a running gag and apparently never hurt their friendship.
Although I loved the A-team too… the 80’s was airwolf. So many iconic moments. Although I had borrowed my best friend’s box set and watched all the episodes before. I watched 4 episodes a day on tv during my chemotherapy, it was the right level fun nostalgia to help get me through things. I also watched a lot of your channel while sitting at home recovering. Thanks for both Minty.
Having grown up in the 80s, shows like the A Team and Air Wolf were a staple in my household. My father was a huge fan of both, but used to joke openly about the violence in the A Team. "Shoots hundreds of bullets, hits no one. What crappy soldiers." And this from a Vietnam vet.
Jan Michael Vincent was the it guy for a while. He was hot hot hot - even to a young girl. I'd had such a crush on him. He was beautiful
💯
I'm glad I'm not alone in remembering Air Wolf. What a great time be a kid. Even Fantasy was covered with Battlestar Galactica 😂😂🤣🤣😂😂
@@susannpatton2893 He was all my mother would talk about for days, after every episode.
Ya, because Stringfellow Hawk and Dominick Santini never shot thousands of rounds and rockets killing people with Air Wolf. He definitely didn't use a dozen rockets to blow up Moffet in the first episode.
The Baracus & Murdock action figures were the 1st action figures ever had as a kid. I remember when I was playing on the balcony of my 3rd floor apartment when I unfortunately dropped Baracus all the way down to the street. I ran all the way down to find out I broke his arm off. I was so devastated.
As an adult I ended up buying the complete set of original action figures of the A-Team. It was one of the 1st sets of figures I completed as I got hooked on action figures collecting.
That Baracus toy didn't break no arm, fool! You can't break Baracus, even if he a action figure! What had happened was when I was falling to the street, I seen a kid in another apartment that didn't have no arm on his Rambo doll, cause Rambo a punk! So I stopped falling and jumped into that kid's apartment! I said 'Listen up, kid! That Rambo doll ain't gonna be able to fight S.A.V.A.G.E. if he only got one hand, so here, take mine! Now be good to your mother, cause she good to you!' And then I jumped back out the window to finish falling, and teach you a lesson! I pity the fool that think Baracus need two arms to fight somebody! Stay in school and don't do drugs, you hear?
One of my favorite 80's TV shows
Even the A-team's theme song was iconic and very cool sounding just like Miami Vice's theme song.
Dirk Benedict is perfect in the role. Everyone in the cast is fantastic, really.
Or Kurt Benedict as minty calls him in one part of the video, along with calling the great John Saxon, James Saxon!
Been waiting for this one. Still my favourite TV show! Met Dirk Benedict at a Comic con about 10 years ago. Really nice & down to earth guy. I enjoyed the film too.
I actually like the Liam Neeson A Team movie 😊 and big respect to all the stunt personnel that were involved with the show. Great video, Minty! 🤗
Do yourself a favor and don't watch the adult film parody lol.
I completely agree that the original series retains its charm, which is true for most remakes not like "Knight Rider", "MacGyver", and "Mission Impossible" which was a completely different series or movies from the original series. Moreover, the acting performances across all roles are impressive. Except for BA, all actors were significantly better in their roles than the originals, even when interpreting the classic characters. This definitely makes it a worthy remake.
So do I, somehow it kind of works, when it very clearly shouldn't have.
One of my favorite shows on tv as a kid. Never missed an episode 😊 Love your retro work Minty!!
Having been a fan both of them back in the 80s I recently watched back the entire final seasons of Knight Rider and The A-Team. I had stumbled into a rabbit hole of sentimental nostalgia while reading up on the show's respective histories and decided to track them down and oh boy, season 5 of The A-Team is truly bonkers! You could tell that both shows were on life support as so many new ideas were being thrown about it was clear that desperate times were beginning to set in. With regards to The A-Team movie I must say that I think it really is massively underated. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the very best reboots (one of the only truly good ones for that matter) of a classic 70s or 80s film or TV show I have ever seen. I was actually gutted when it failed to be a success and the planned sequel got canned. For anyone that loves the orginal show and has thus far avoided the movie I say to you, do yourself a favour and give it a watch as I believe it manages to emulate the vibe of the original and that the casting choices for the 4 leads was excellent. The same cannot be said of anything Knight Rider related I have seen after the original show ended... P.S. To Minty: On the off chance you read these comments I would recommend you (if you can find it) watch a one off UK TV Show from 2006 called "Bring Back The A-Team" with Justin Lee Collins. In which, Justin attempts to track down as many people who were involved with the show's production as he can, have a chat with them about the show and invite them all to a private party he is setting up for them to attend. If you love The A-Team, I reckon you will enjoy it!
but they killed the van in this film like it was nothing, I can't forgive them
Thank you. I've loved your stuff for a long time and always will. ❤ I also love your collectibles and appreciate your love of film
70's kid/80's teen here. Thanks for these 80's shows retrospectives. Although I usually hated shoot-em-up, "action" shows, I loved watching these guys.
FWIW, I just looked up Mr. T on one of those "where are they now" listicles. He no longer wears the gold jewelry, due to his religious beliefs and feeling that it was a bit crass, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to wear thousands of dollars of gold around his neck when others were starving and homeless. So if you see a recent pic, you'll see him rocking a red white and blue bandana, but no gold chains.
Mr T was a Bouncer in Chicago and he held on to people's jewelry when asked.
Over the years people who never came back for it accumulated.
@@corssecurity Interesting!
Bonus there were multiple vans used in the series.
The hero car is the one carpeted and kept pristine.
There were rolling chassis, some that ran but were just shells.
They switched between years and GM/Chevy.
Look at the headlights.
Square vs round.
8:40 that would have killed it for me. He was by far my favourite character.
I'm 52 years old. I was the perfect age to watch it when it came out in 1983. The movie came out before I went to Afghanistan in 2010. I still have the song stuck in my head and I'm considering getting an A team style paint job on my Transit Connect.
This channel definitely needs more golden age tv classics.
The Incredible Hulk one he did is good
Would Air Wolf make it on too that list?
@@peterrogers9257 it damn well should
More? There really aren’t that many. After years of doing this, he’s running out of worthy mentions.
@@peterrogers9257Already done.
I just watched the movie again last night. I really like the movie. So far, I've watched the movie 7X now. But I've never seen the series and I grew up in the 80s. I don't know why. I watched Knight Rider and Airwolf. But I've put The A-Team tv show on my to do list. Great video as always.
I'm the biggest A-Team fan. I love the show opening when Dirk Benedict points at the Cylon from his old show, Battlestar Galactica
Funnily enough, it was the movie that got me into the show and I was obsessed! I just couldn’t get enough of the ridiculous fun and Murdock! I actually ended up getting a custom bomber with his iconic tiger paint job. It’s my absolute favorite.
Great vid!
I have to say movie Murdoch was funnier than tv show one in comparison I think and I watched it back then
Murdock: "I want trash bags!!! I want... trash.... bags!!!! I... want..... trash..... bags!!!!!!" Still remember it from 40 years ago.
@@eloscuro704 loved it
And another part of pop culture Mr. T was a part of, which considering we are now entering WrestleMania Season with WWE setting up matches for WrestleMania 40, Mr. T was in fact a participate in the main event of the very first WrestleMania.
He was also a main card at WrestleMania 2. He boxed Cowboy Bob Orton. And showed the whole world the Mr. T couldn't really box. You should watch it, it is so funny. It was so embarrassing for T that he never came back lol
The A Team was huge. Not just as a show but as a cultural icon. It was the perfect recipe.. Vietnam vet heroes and plenty of action for dad, a nice assortment of eye candy for mom, cartoony family friendly action and humor for the kids, an awesome iconic vehicle, actors that came preloaded with their own fanbases and wove those established personalities into the characters, excellent chemistry between the leads, and a happy ending/moral lesson every week. Where the movie messed up is it not only replaced the actors (when are studios going to realize this is like replacing a family member for audiences?)...but took it all way too seriously. The A Team was basically a weekly comic book in video form, and that is what people loved about it. As for Murdock.. his character was genius.. there were plenty of guys in that generation who didn't come back mentally stable from the war, that was reality.. but instead of being simply a broken man (such as John Rambo who was at best a killing machine who couldn't function in society), he was still a valuable member of the team and not only an ace pilot, but spoke multiple languages, had a photographic memory, and was able to operate pretty much any machine. He single-handedly saves the team multiple times. It was a very unique character people didn't see on their TV's. Also unique was how they dealt with race.. at the time it was rare for a black/white characters to be completely equal to each other and just there with virtually no mention of racial issues.. this was never a problem on the A Team.
Dwight Schultz had a penchant for making fan favorite characters.
My favourite TV show in the 80s.Loved this so much.❤❤❤❤
My late father a Vietnam Veteran, enjoyed two shows (Vietnam based of course), "The A-Team" and "China Beach" I think The A Team reminded him of himself as apart of Army Special Forces
I thoroughly enjoyed both shows when I was a kid...
Minty, THANK YOU! While I love your channel and your videos, this one was above and beyond. I grew up in the 1980s and am a die-hard "A-team" fan. Honestly I still hum the theme whenever I'm fixing things. AWESOME VIDEO!
I got to see Mr T while he was filming for the movie Rocky.
He was larger than life!
T was a real Army veteran, highly respected enlisted soldier 🪖.
Thanks Minty, I will now have the A Team theme running rampant in my brain for the rest of the day...
A Team reboot was really fun. All the actors were top notch. The guy who played Murdock was perfect.
He was my favourite character.
❤ The A-Team was a staple in my house. My mom didn't let us watch the fifth season though. BA was my favorite when I was younger, but then Murdock stole my heart with his wackiness.
I remember the episode when Murdock took over the Enterprise. Good stuff.
I had almost unlimited access to a workshop growing up and this show was one of my favorites... I got into trouble a lot.
Me too...
But think of all the things we will need to build very soon to save the world from these....people....running it into the ground.
You are ahead of the curve :)
Love this series, Murdock was my favorite.
Another data: the rifle used by the A-Team was a Ruger Mini 14, fires only in semi auto mode, but in the series (also the movie decades later) they fire in full auto. Was a trick played by the actors who was instructed to pull the trigger several times and the sound editing made the other part of the trick
I didn't grow up with this show myself since I was born in the 90s but I’ve heard so many good things about it and I may have to look it up soon when I have time. I have been watching more of your videos lately even though I’m not familiar with all of these 80s tv shows but I just really like your presentation style. So keep up the great work and I will definitely keep tuning in for more!
I remember reading at the time that Melinda Culea was released due to salary demands. Although not one of the four main stars, she demanded equal money that they were making. When she would not accept any of the network's counter offers, she was written off the show.
I heard that AAA demanded more _action-oriented_ roles (without regard to 'salary') for her character.
@@bonghunezhou5051 You're both correct!
She was gorgeous !
Project alpha was the group name that was part of Studies and Observation group know as SOG. The alpha teams would go into North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. They were “ sanitized” teams that had no US markings or even US made weapons. They were flown In exclusively by highly trained and and dedicated South Vietnamese pilots. There are two really good historical books about them. “SOG the Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam” and “Secret Commandos Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors Of SOG” both by John L. Plaster. Another good one is “Project Alpha Washington’s Secret Military Operations in North Vietnam” By Sedgwick Tourison
MAC V SOG & Phoenix Program. The SF mainly 5th SFG was in SE Asia. 🇻🇳 In GWOT and 2000s the Army & JSOC called the Detachment A not "A Team".
I'll be damned I always thought SOG stood for special operations group....
@@markcarpenter6020 common misconception actually the full name was MACV SOG. Military Assistant Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation group. SOG knife company started out making untraceable combat knifes for them.
I never got to watch this show until last year on TUBI. I found it very awesome and hilarious. Murdock became my favorite character after the second episode.
As a kid the A-Team gave me my biggest pet peeve with Hollywood that I still have with virtually every action show. All that gunfire and not only does no one die, but nobody reloads.
I still watch the series every Saturday & Sunday and i love it !!!!!! My Parrot can do the theme song
One of the recurring themes in the first 2 or 3 seasons was them making all kinds of improvised vehicles and weapons. I don't think that happened too much in the later seasons, so that could also have led to a drop in the viewing ratings.
I agree and I think that was one of the coolest parts of the show. There was a burning question in my mind on every episode of what they were going to build next. I honestly never paid that much attention to the fact that there wasn't real violence. I just thought it was cool to see them shoot big guns and blow things up. Sadly though as a 90s kid my exposure was mostly reruns. I didn't really grow up with it as much as I would have liked. That and knight rider were shows I missed out on and wish I would have seen them in their glory days. Watching the reruns is still cool but just doesn't feel the same. My dad was the biggest influence in me watching them as my grandpa mostly watched old westerns. I think westerns are cool but as a kid I was more fascinated by a modern approach. The show I did get to grow up watching was walker texas ranger with good old chuck Norris. That was a blast as well.
I got a good laugh from a Mad Magazine comment about how much suspension of disbelief we needed to appreciate this show (and we did, of course). "So,anybody who needs their help can always locate them - but the Government CAN'T locate them?"
Funny 'cause it's true.
To be fair, they have methods for people to locate them and then if they personally choose to, they show themselves. Clearly if the government shows up they'll stay hidden. That's why Hannibal always shows up in a disguise: to make sure it's not the feds.
We only got to see the ones that passed their screening process. There were a few that didn't and they knew were obvious traps to capture them by the Army. One where Hannibal plays a bum in an alley way waiting for a payment, but due to a mix up, Hannibal is drugged and taken away by other people, and another bum gets the money as Face, BA and Murdock swoop in to get "Hannibal" out before the MPs catch him. In the last episode of the 4th season, General Fullbright is sniffed out by the A-Team during the screening process, where they capture him and interrogate him to find out what he really wants.
The A-Team movie was one of the first big people movies i brought my son to . It's still one of his favourites .
Absolutely loved the a team when I was growing up
Hey Minty, been watching ypu for years now and ypur awesome presence never gets old. Love your work foooool😂
We all loved the A-Team! My kids had almost every type of A-Team merch, from the van to the action figures (those never lasted very long) to the A-Team hideout/fort. Where is any of that? Probably somewhere with the lost socks😅. When the kids watched Rocky III, I pointed out that Clubber Lang was Mr T. They said it can’t be - Mr T never loses a fight!
Great video. Agree with many others that you should do more Classic TV!
"Anyone want some coffee? How would you like it, In a cup fool" LOL
One of my all time favorite 80s show
I’d love to own an A-Team van!!…. Imagine taking it to Tesco or Asda for your shopping and jumping out the back of the van with your bags for life🤯🤣
The reason we all thought the van was always black with a red stripe is because of the toys!!….. to save on costs, toy company’s like Galoob would mould the vans in one colour which was black!!
I had loads of A-Team merch….. still do😃👍❤️
Love this video minty… ya crazy fool!!👊
I think since the video coming through the TV was pretty bad also made it look all black. I never had any of the toys and I still thought it was black with a red stripe.
I always thought the top was lighter but assumed it was all black and the upwards facing surfaces reflected the sky
Mr.T said "I pity the fool" in Rocky 3. It was the part of the movie when he was being interviewed by a news reporter and Rocky was watching it on TV. I think the line was something like, "I don't hate the man, I pity the fool." I've watched the Rocky series many times.
Thank you minty I just started binging this series
don t you just love it when a video comes together?
good show bro
I think the next two top tents should be Airwolf and Steet hawk.
Airwolf for sure.
Minty, I love this episode. This is possibly my favorite show of all time when I was growing up. I watched it all the time with my dad. Thank you. Your videos are the best.
The A-Team was and is one of my favorite shows!! You did this video well!! 😉😉😁😁
Thanks, Minty. You're like a time capsule. I love coming here. The 80's were like my Wonder Years...😉👌🏻 Keep up the awesome work.
'How do you want your coffee? In a cup fool!!!' Priceless!
The Members of the A-Team were as follows: Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (played by George Peppard), Lt. Templeton "Faceman" [Face for short] Peck (played by Dirk Benedict), Sergeant Bosco Albert "B.A. [Bad Attitude] Baracus (played by Mr. T), and "H.M." [Howling Mad] Murdock (played by Dwight Schultz)
I had the A-team action figures. They were action man size, and incredibly detailed and accurate as I recall
I had both versions of the figures.
Millennial here who was born in 1995. I went through a classic tv phase in my teens. The A team, The incredible hulk and Knight Rider were among the shows i watched in reruns.
I grew up watching this show and every once in a while, I'll go back and rewatch some episodes. The cheesy, blood-free violence was a demand from the network to keep it "family friendly" and did become a running joke for the writers. There's some great behind the scenes stuff in Dirk Benedict's memoir "Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy." And I was actually a fan of the movie remake. It got a lot of press in the States but people couldn't stop comparing it to the original, rather than judging it for itself as a unique entity, so it ended up flopping. Bradley Cooper was excellent as Face. I would have loved to see a sequel.
I really enjoyed the movie for what it was. It wasn't perfect, but I thought they managed to catch the spirit of the thing. I was kind of surprised people reacted the way they did, I would also have loved at least one sequel.
Exactly! They did capture the spirit and the cast had great chemistry. The story was a little convoluted but it was generally a fun movie. @@ninjaswordtothehead
Overhere it's still on t.v. from time to time each year. I don't even need to go online for episodes.
Love the expression on Benedicts (also Starbuck) face when the Cyclon from Battlestar Galactica walks by
The fact that Murdoch is also Reginald Barkley is star trek next gen was completely lost on me as a kid. But I've always loved both characters. So makes sense.
Coincidently I just rewatched The A-Team movie last weekend and it holds up. It's a fun 2 hour movie.
Minty, I have been a huge fan of your series for years. I was a TV producer/ associate producer in Hollywood for 20 years from the late 70s through the 90s . Your research on various films and especially TV series, blows me away. Kudos to you and your team. !!!
I was the Associate Producer on Remington Steele , starting the second season through the series first ending and then its “ re- birth “ when NBC screwed Pierce out of James Bond and brought us back for more episodes.
Have you ever considered doing an episode on Remington Steele ?
Just wondering.
Thank you for a great show and continued success. jm 0:24
There should definitely be a Remington Steel episode. That was one of the more cool detective dramas of the time and is to Pierce Brosnan what Moonlighting was to Bruce Willis. If we're making requests (though it's completely unrelated to Remington Steel or A Team), I would love to see an episode on Midnight Madness; Disney's trip into raunchy 70s/80s college comedy and Michael J Fox's first movie.
Please do Airwolf next. It lasted for 4 seasons and came out around the same time as Knight Rider and The A-Team. It actually debuted 40 years ago yesterday and still my favorite 80's show.
Mad Murdock was my favorite. Dwight Schultz ' Star Trek character, Lt Reg Barclay, is too. Dwight is a very talented actor.
The A-Team would be the perfect series for a videogame. A modern one, that is
Agreed, as long as they make it in it's own era and totally faithful to the source material. Genuinely could be good!
@@skylined5534 Like the 2010 movie but more faithful to the OG, or a completely new (maybe science fiction) setting that hasn't been explained yet?
You're on an 80's kick I see. Been feeling especially nostalgic for simpler times myself, lately.
Aww the childhood memories 😍
Murdock was and to this day is my favorite character
Howling Mad Murdock, my favorite ❤
As an 8 year-old back then, The A-Team was my favorite series. Everyone at my class watched it and loved it. If a TV show or feature film at the theaters hits the right spot of either pre-adolescent boys or adult women, it will definetly be a huge hit (just look at Star Wars, The A-Team, Sex and the City and Barbie)
"I love it when a plan comes together!" ❤ 😎
Mr. T actually has said, about the jewelry, it’s a symbol of enslavement using the chains, and what not in a symbol of God’s struggle and sacrifice. Chains of Jesus.
Mr T was one of the best in the 80's.
Mr. T's gold was from when he was a club bouncer, each one was basically a trophy of anybody who stood against him. It took so long to arrange them properly, and his refusal to go without them, him and the studio came to an agreement to have them all basically combined at the clasp in some fashion so that they work as one entire piece, or two, to expidite putting them on.
I remember as a teen, 1980s hearing how T had his chains, gold get caught in stunts, choke him. George Peppard was ticked after a few weeks.
George "Peppered", lol 🤣🤣🤣
Pretty disrespectful if you ask me. He butchers all kinds of names, all the time.
I love watching the A-Team with my dad. I really love all the characters and the adventures they wanted on.
Some of my earliest enjoyed TV shows, outside of the cartoons of the period, were the A-Team and Airwolf. Thanks for covering this one! Lots of fun!
Fun fact......The A Team repeated stories from Starsky & Hutch!! e.g:- shooting in bistro of Starsky!
The Mount Rushmore of 80's TV theme music is A-Team, Greatest American Hero, Fall Guy, and Dukes of Hazard.
Knight Rider?
You're high. It's Ateam, Knight Rider, MacGuyver, and Dukes of Hazzard.
Please also add Airwolf, Hardcastle and McCormick, Magnum PI and Automan.😊
Nah its A-Team, Airwolf, Knight Rider and Streethawk. 😁😁
Simon and Simon?
I just loved the submachine rifle they as their main gun from season 3-5.
The Ruger Mini 14 (Stainless version with Folding stock) 🥰
The movie was pretty good
I love the Robot Chicken spoof. When your line of credit isn't good enough to hire the A-Team, you get the B-Team!
"I found a lawnmower! I found a torch! I FOUND JESUS!"
Great Robot Chicken parody...
They will never build a statue of a critic.
Um.. not true? The first critic was Cassius Longinus and he has several statues.
cool shirt dude, it's about TIME!
great 10-lists, even though most productions seem to have these issues. it's great to see some behind the scenes info.
keep it up.
It will be interesting if you can do a video of. Ten things you don’t know about Sliders. That’s a good idea Minty.
Sliders is a great TV 📺 show.