co-starring: Alan Fudge as Frank Gaines, Robin Riker as Amanda, Jim Knaub as Jamie, Michael Rider as Harry
Written by Sidney Ellis, Jo Swerling Jr
Directed by Arnold Laven
The team help some war veterans whose property is under threat by a landowner trying to obtain the water which is available there.
A reasonable but patchy episode, not terrible by any means but suffering from a structure that consists of more padding than plot. There’s a good moment during the requisite bar brawl in which the team discuss fight types in code (“I was thinking of a 38 or a 32”, “There's nothing like a good old 22”). Perhaps the best moment is when two of Murdock's smart comments lead to parts of the A-Team van being shot out by Gaines. Before he can get a third comment out, an aggravated BA shouts, “Shut up, Murdock, shut up!”.
Too much of the second half is taken up with montages, either drilling for water or preparing for the final battle as Gaines and his cronies close in. Face and Amanda have a good scene during a break in one of the montages but the episode just seems to meander along with familiar and uninspired situations, not helped by a bland stock villain. A good final fight (inevitably with water as the main weapon) helps matters somewhat but as a whole, the episode is just too dry. 6/10.
Well, H.M. this episode wasn't one of my favorites, but in revisiting it I was pleasantly surprised that it was better than I remembered. The "evil land developer" bit sounds like a bad cartoon, but Alan Fudge gives his character a coldness that is unique among A-Team villains. Face gets to run two fun scams, as well as have a great one-on-one scene with Amanda in which he confesses how he and the other Team members are really "social misfits" who are special when working together as a team.
ReplyDeleteThis episode does follow the same "big business bullies small business" template as the last few episodes, but this formula really did not become stale until Season Three. The high-pressure hoses used against guys with guns is predictable but plausible, and not utterly ridiculous like the cabbages in "Labor Pains."
Face's remark during his scam that "I guess he can't eat turkey..." makes sense if you know that this episode aired right before Thanksgiving 1983.