Synopsis
Includes:
The A-Team: The Crystal Skull (1986)
The A-Team: Quarterback Sneak (1986)
The A-Team: Firing Line (1986)
The A-Team: Trial by Fire (1986)
The A-Team: Dishpan Man (1986)
The A-Team: The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair (1986)
The A-Team: The Grey Team (1986)
The A-Team: The Spy Who Mugged Me (1986)
The A-Team: The Theory of Revolution (1986)
The A-Team: Point of No Return (1986)
The A-Team: Family Reunion (1986)
The A-Team: Alive at Five (1986)
The A-Team: Without Reservations (1987)
The A-Team: The Crystal Skull
The A-Team is dispatched to a South Pacific island in search of a stolen religious icon, which must be returned in order to maintain political stability in the region. When Murdock (Dwight Schultz) puts the icon on as an adornment, he is immediately designated a "god" by a cannibal tribe ("Mutata, Murdockah, Mutata"). Meanwhile, the band of phony monks who swiped the icon in the first place descend upon the island and enslave the locals in order to work a diamond mine. (For those who enjoy inside jokes, listen to the supposed "religious incantation" at the end of the episode!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Quarterback Sneak
Now forced to follow the orders of General Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) if they hope to receive pardons, the A-Team is dispatched behind the Iron Curtain to rescue defecting chemical-warfare scientist Dr. Strasser (Bo Brudin). To cover their tracks, the Team organizes a football game in East Germany, utilizing the talents of several professional players--including T.J. Bryant (Joe Namath), a longtime enemy of B.A. (Mr. T.). Unfortunately, the plan hits a snag when Strasser suddenly refuses to defect...but why? In addition to Joe Namath, this episode utilizes the talents of former gridiron stars Jim Brown and Jim Matuszak) (reportedly, Joe Montana was slated to appear, but professional conflicts prevented him from doing so). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Firing Line
In the conclusion of The A-Team's three-part Season Five opener, Hannibal (George Peppard), B.A. (Mr. T) and Face (Dirk Benedict) are found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by firing squad. In their efforts to prevent the execution, Murdock (Dwight Schultz) and Frankie (Eddie Velez) steal a plane owned by the Team's principal accuser, the mysterious General Hunt Stockwell (Robert Vaughn). But the rescue plan fails--and the three condemned men are shot! End of story? Not quite...and certainly not with General Stockwell involved. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Trial by Fire
In the second episode of The A-Team's three-part Season Five opener, the Team is betrayed by Vietnam vet Josh Curtis (Sandy McPeak) and forced to stand trial for their lives, accused of killing their former commanding officer Col. Morrison and robbing a Hanoi bank. Curiously, Murdock (Dwight Schultz) is not held for trial, and is thus able to secure the services of defense attorney Benny Conway (Byrne Piven). Alas, as the trial progresses, it is painfully clear that the witnesses are lying and the evidence has been manufactured--but who is behind this travesty of justice? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Dishpan Man
The fifth and final season of The A-Team opens with a three-part story, as an injured Hannibal (George Peppard) is captured by the mysterious General Hunt Stockwell (Robert Vaughn). Threatening to put Hannibal on trial for his life if his demands aren't met, Stockwell orders the A-Team to rescue a group of hijacked hostages in Spain. Among those hostages is movie special-effects expert "Dishpan" Frankie Sanchez (Eddie Velez), who was responsible for the on-set "accident" which allowed Hannibal to fall into Stockwell's hands, and Vietnam veteran Josh Curtis (Sandy McPeak), the only person able to confirm that the A-Team had been ordered to rob a bank in Hanoi during the war, and thus were unfairly sentenced to prison. Unfortunately, one of these two worthies will end up stabbing the Team in the back! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair
As indicated by its title, this classic episode reunites the former stars of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Vaughn appears in his traditional A-Team role as the mysterious, manipulative General Stockwell, while McCallum is seen as Stockwell's former partner Ivan Trigorin, now a rogue agent who had sold out to the Other Side. Ivan kidnaps Stillwell and spirits him away to his headquarters at the Coastal Psychiatric Hospital, where he plans to exact a terrible revenge for Stillwell's supposed treachery. Normally, the A-Team would leave Stockwell to his fate, but if they ever hope to get a pardon, they'd better rescue him immediately--even if it requires Murdock (Dwight Schultz) to return to his former "nuttiness." The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair abounds with clever references to its source material, right down to Stillwell beginning a radio message with "Open Channel D"! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: The Grey Team
Believing that her father plans to sell a briefcase full of government secrets to the KGB, Paula Anderson (Moya Kordick) steals the briefcase herself and hides out at Silver Creek Retirement Home, where she has befriended a sprightly senior citizen named Bernie Greene (Lew Ayres). It is up to the A-Team to convince Paula that her father isn't a traitor and to retrieve the briefcase before the Russians catch up to the girl. As it turns out, it is Bernie and his fellow "Grey Team" oldsters who save the day. Although this was intended to be The A-Team's final episode, it was ultimately telecast in the next-to-last slot, followed several months later by "Without Reservations". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: The Spy Who Mugged Me
In this elaborate spoof of the Bond films, Murdock (Dwight Schultz) dons tux and toupee to pose as dashing secret agent Logan Ross--a man who doesn't exist, but was created as a decoy by General Stockwell (Robert Vaughn). It is Murdock's mission to prevent a political assassin named Jaguar from striking again--and to keep his fellow A-Teamer Face (Dirk Benedict), jealous over not being chosen to impersonate Logan Ross, at arm's length. The episode is filled to the brim with "007" references, including an exotic and enigmatic heroine, a wheelchair-bound master villain headquartered in a Monte Carlo casino, and an Oddjob-like henchman named Frobe! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: The Theory of Revolution
Under orders from General Stockwell (Robert Vaughn), the A-Team tries to rescue three innocent Americans from the third world country of San Marcus. Their mission is nearly scuttled by a rebellion against the country's despotic ruler, Alexander Martien (Castulo Guerra)--and by the fact that those three Americans aren't quite as "innocent" as they seem. This episode marks the only time that new A-Team member "Dishpan" Frankie Sanchez (Eddie Velez) falls in love (at least on-camera!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Point of No Return
Defying the orders of General Stockwell (Robert Vaughn), the A-Team heads to Hong Kong when Hannibal vanishes during a secret mission involving stolen plutonium. The plot thickens when Stockwell is captured, requiring the Team members to stage two different rescues--and to come full circle by robbing another bank! This episode prominently features two future TV-series stars: 21 Jump Street's Dustin Nguyen, and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Rosalind Chao. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Family Reunion
The A-Team's Thanksgiving celebration is put on hold when Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) orders our heroes to capture exiled political adviser A.J. Bancroft (Jeff Corey), who carries a diary implicating several high-ranking government officials in a sinister conspiracy. It turns out that Bancroft is willing to trade the diary for a reunion with a young woman who claims to be his long-estranged daughter Ellen--a woman whom Face (Dirk Benedict) is presently wooing. The situation reaches the crisis stage when the possibility arises that Bancroft is actually Face's father...which of course radically alters his relationship with Ellen! This is the famous episode in which the ending was originally determined by the call-in votes of the viewers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Alive at Five
Figuring that he'll never get a pardon from the mercurial Stockwell (Robert Vaughn), Face (Dirk Benedict) plans to escape during the A-Team's next mission. But things don't quite go as expected when Face falls in love with Sally Vogel (Valerie Wildman), a journalist whose pose as the girlfriend of mobster Tommy Tedesco (Richard Romanus) has placed her in dire peril. Throughout the episode, Face continues seeking a means of escape only to return to help out Sally and his fellow A-Teamers--a pattern he follows all the way to the climax in Atlantic City. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The A-Team: Without Reservations
The A-Team brings its five-season run to a rousing conclusion as Face (Dirk Benedict) and Frank (Eddie Velez) pay a visit to a surprisingly "sane" Murdock (Dwight Schultz), now working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, the three A-Teamers are held hostage, along with the restaurant's owner and his daughter, by mobsters who intend to murder Attorney General Liebster (Chuck Walling). Sneaking out a message written in anchovies on a pizza delivery, Murdock manages to alert Hannibal (George Peppard) and B.A. (Mr. T) to his plight. The climax is a riotous free-for-all, with guns blazing and fists flying--resulting in a near-fatality for one of the Team members! (If the opening of this episode looks familiar, that's because it was lifted virtually in toto from the first-season A-Team entry "Holiday in the Hills".) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
