There's Always a Catch s2ep8

co-starring: John Quade as Garber, Tracy Scoggins as Shana Mayer, Robin Strand as Doug Mayer, Lance LeGault as Colonel Decker, Carl Franklin as Captain Crane, Len Wayland as Calvin Mayer, Rebecca Stanley as Betty
Written by Richard Christian Matheson, Thomas Szollosi
Directed by Ron Satlof

The team help a woman whose father was beaten up by rival fishermen who are depleting lobster stocks.

An entertaining season two episode that may have a standard protection racket storyline but the presence of Decker makes it a cut above the average. Things get off to a bright start as the team arrive at the local hospital to arrange treatment for BA who has stepped on a rusty nail. Decker is never more than a short step behind throughout the episode, adding a sense of urgency that makes the time fly by. His entertainingly gruff presence is a real asset and he delivers his lines with typical aplomb (“Son, when you can get a search warrant as quick as I can, you don’t need one”).

There isn’t a great deal of action here, a couple of fist fights is pretty much all you get. They are good ones though, with Murdock accidentally landing on BA’s foot and Face literally slamming into one of the heavies during the first dock fight. In a scene that demonstrates the power of his smooth-talking technique, Face is at his charming best when he poses as a magician to acquire some gear from Betty’s Scuba.

Murdock adds some good comedy with his lobster companion Thermidore. Initially mounted on a board, Therm ends up as just a claw after the first clash with the bad guys. All in all, good fun from the reliable pen of Matheson & Szollosi who were story editors for the season and would go on to write the excellent double of “Say it with Bullets” and “Deadly Manuevers” later in the season. 8/10

Labor Pains s2ep7

co-starring: Charles Napier as Ray Cross, John Vernon as Ted Jarrett, Penny Peyser as Laura, Alan Autry as Gary, Lance LeGault as Colonel Decker, Carl Franklin as Captain Crane
Written by Thomas Szollosi, Richard Christian Matheson
Directed by Arnold Laven

The team helps fruit pickers who are being treated like slave labour by their bosses.

A typically solid second season episode, one that ticks along nicely but without any of those moments that would make it anyone’s favourite. Perhaps the problem is that the overall effect is rather low-key, particularly after the action sequence that opens the episode. The first five minutes comprises of an extended chase sequence which sees BA performing a couple of spectacular jumps in the A-Team van to evade the pursuing Decker. It’s a lively start and as good an action scene as you’ll find in any episode but the story that follows does seem rather flat in comparison.

The supporting cast is certainly impressive with bad guy Vernon (the mayor in “Dirty Harry”), lovely Penny Peyser (best known for her role in “Crazy Like a Fox”) and henchman Napier (who would return to pursue the team as a stand-in for Decker in season three’s “Fire!”). Individually, there are some strong scenes, most notably when the team crash Vernon's party to steal food for the workers.

Overall, though, the episode never seems to get out of second gear and remains very watchable without being particularly memorable. The final battle (which includes a cabbage launcher) is just a little too ridiculous and over too easily. There's also a sense that Vernon is such a tough character that it's not wholly convincing that things would improve for the pickers as smoothly as is suggested. Nice try but no cigar. 7/10.

The Taxi Cab Wars s2ep6

co-starring: Michael Ironside as Miller Crane, Robin Dearden as Kathy, Brion James as Ryder, Greg Monaghan as Shelly, Ernie Hudson as Cal Freeman
Written by Stephen J Cannell
Directed by Gilbert Shilton

The team helps a cab firm who are being forced out of business by a villainous rival.

In many ways, this is the archetypal A-Team episode, a perfect introduction to the series as it contains all the elements you would expect from the show. A Hannibal disguise, the break-in/out of the villain’s lair, the building of an armour-plated combat vehicle, the car flipping. It’s all here and very well-written by show creator Cannell.

The plot is the one that would be used in the most A-Team episodes, the small company being harassed by a larger rival, either for purely commercial reasons, to gain access to the land on which the business resides or for something more obscure. It’s just the commercial angle in this case but Cannell still manages to subvert the usual episode structure, having the team lose rather than win their first confrontation with the rival cab firm, something that makes their ultimate victory all the more sweet.

Apart from a moment in which BA frightens the life out of an elderly English couple, the comedy in this episode comes from Murdock's ”Captain Cab”, a hilarious superhero complete with mask and cape (but no cowl). It’s one of his best delusions, ably assisted by companion Sockie despite threats from BA and "Knockout”. It is a credit to the rest of the cast that they can keep a straight face through it all, particularly Peppard when he has to deliver the classic line, “That sock's telling the truth”.

Villains Ironside and James were two of the greats at playing psychotics at the time and add greatly to the appeal of the episode, as does the fact that it is shot almost entirely on location. Perhaps the compendium of classic elements means the episode does not serve repeated viewing as much as the more distinctive classic episodes but in terms of the standard A-Team plot, this is as good as it gets. 10/10.

Incidentally, this episode marks the first appearance of Face's corvette which practically became a good luck charm for the episodes in which it appeared: The Battle of Bel Air, Chopping Spree, Say It With Bullets, Deadly Maneuvers, Incident at Crystal Lake and Dishpan Man among others.

When You Comin' Back Range Rider? s2ep5

Co-starring: Richard Yniguez as Daniel Running Bear, Morgan Woodward as Bus Carter, Mills Watson as Stryker, Lance LeGault as Colonel Decker, Carl Franklin as Captain Crane, Dana Kimmell as Lane Carter
Written by Frank Lupo
Directed by Christian I. Nyby II

The team go up against a gang of castle rustlers who are stealing wild horses.

The second of the four 90 minute episodes that were made during the run of the series, this is easily the best of the four. The main reason for the feature-length is that there are essentially two stories to tell. The first is the introduction of Colonel Decker, the team's best military foe, marvellously played by LeGault. Proving all heroes need strong adversaries, LeGault's contribution to the show was immense, always enhancing the episodes in which he appeared (which was less than you might expect, only 16 out of 94 if you include his cameo in “Trial By Fire”).

Whereas Colonel Lynch was always a figure of fun and portrayed as a fool, Decker is much more of a threat, as is acknowledged early on by Face and Hannibal (“Who is this guy?”, “I don’t know but it’s going to be fun finding out”). The first half hour has Decker twice corner members of the team who escape via a chase in a Trans-am and then by driving the A-Team van off a harbour (it was never established how they got it back). It’s all very enjoyable and a fine starting point for the adversarial relationship with Decker that was to develop as the season progressed.

The main plot then begins and given how many episodes have western-type scenarios, it was inevitable that there would eventually be one set in the Wild West. The outdoor filming gives the story a greater sense of scale than in most and the slower-than-usual pacing suits the more relaxed locale. It has to be said that Amy is largely absent, basically relegated to being the romantic interest for the client, though she does get to handle a bow and arrow during one of the action scenes.

The action is excellent, moving past an initial fist-fight to stage a series of attempted train hijacks using various modes of transport. The action certainly makes up for dialogue scenes (including an obsession with “The Range Rider” for Murdock) that tend to lack spark. There is a good moment in the local store where a woman lets Face hide in her changing cubicle (Benedict: “Thanks, I really appreciate you for trusting me”, Woman: “Let's just say I like your face”, Benedict: “I have an honest face?”, Woman: “No, but I like it”).

The tendency with the 90 minute format was to let scenes drift on longer than necessary and that is often in evidence here. There's an extra meet-the-client scene, the end credits last almost five minutes and the construction montage is greatly extended (albeit with excellent music). An early series of flashbacks of A-Team military evasions looks suspiciously like padding, especially given that they use the opening escape from “Holiday in the Hills” out of context.

Nonetheless, for all the padding and indifferent dialogue, the end result is never less than entertaining. A few adjustments and script polishes could have made this one of the greats but it is still well above-average, building to an excellent train/helicopter set-piece and the classic western drive-off into the distance. 9/10

Bad Time on the Border s2ep4

co-starring: Jack Ging as Lieutenant Taggart, Dennis Lipscomb as Prince, Joey Aresco as Presley, David Graf as Cooper, Jeffrey Josephson as Henchman, Marla Heasley as Cherise
Written by Richard Christian Matheson, Thomas Szollosi
Directed by Bruce Kessler

The team help a young girl whose ill mother is being held by a gang of people smugglers targeting Mexicans trying to start a new life across the border.

An OK if fairly standard episode, most notable for a series of distractions and an overall feeling of familiarity. One element of familiarity comes in the first reappearance of a guest star, in this case Jack Ging who played the crooked SWAT team leader in season one’s “A Small and Deadly War” and here plays a crooked border patrol guard. The location where the Mexican immigrants are held is also rather familiar, as if the gang have taken over the remnants of the camp left behind by the “Children of Jamestown”.

In terms of distractions, Marla Heasley (who would co-star as reporter Tawnia Baker in episodes 27 to 34) appears as a girl in a bikini during the scenes on in the yacht harbour. Having said that, Heasley is beaten in the glamour stakes by an even more distracting Melinda Culea who gets dressed up in a fetching blue number to entrap one of the bad guys. It is a little jarring to see David Graf (Police Academy's Tackleberry) in a serious role and there’s also a glaring continuity error in which BA's appearance (particularly his hair) is completely different in the first yacht scene than in the rest the show.

The episode seems to have a rather restricted budget in terms of its sets, the rather under-dressed bar being the most noticeable example of cost-cutting. Murdock's companion this time around is his bug “Herman” (named after “Moby Dick” author Herman Melville) but Schultz's best moment is when he talks his way into borrowing a helicopter, managing to get a long speech out in one take. The episode is perhaps most notable for the moment used in the later season credits in which an armor-plated car bursts out of the back of a delivery truck. It's a classic moment that kicks off an excellent and explosive final set-piece which redeems the somewhat patchy nature of what went before it. 8/10.

The Only Church in Town s2ep3

co-starring: Markie Post as Leslie Becktall/Sister Teresa, Ismael Carlo as Salvador, Beau Starr as Henchman, Deborah Shelton as Gayle, Don Knight as Gibbons, Elizabeth Hoffman as Mother Superior
Written by Babs Greyhosky
Directed by Christian I. Nyby II

Face “hires” the team to help his high school sweetheart who is now a nun in an orphanage in Ecuador that has been over-run by bandits.

Another solid episode from writer Greyhosky, unremarkable in terms of its action but excellent in the way it deals with the relationship between Face and Leslie. This is one of Benedict's strongest episodes in any season. The scene on the plane in which Face speaks to Amy about his high school romance with Leslie is one of his best and the subsequent scenes with Markie Post are both touching and believable. Greyhosky always wrote good dialogue, in evidence here when Murdock refers to Leslie leaving Face to become a nun, (“Boy, when they said she'd run off with another guy they weren't kidding!”). There's also a great moment when the team respond to BA's moans about being drugged and flown to Ecuador with a collective “Be Quiet!”.

The later stages of the episode are more standard and less interesting as the team head off the bandits only for them to return in greater numbers. The action isn’t badly staged but there are so many good moments in the first half (including a scene in Face’s apartment that highlights the camaraderie among the team) that the second half suffers in comparison. It’s not an episode that will appeal to every fan but being very relationship-driven makes it different from the norm and that is what makes it memorable. Besides, any episode that has Murdock dressed as a nun can't be all bad. 8/10.

Recipe for Heavy Bread s2ep2

co-starring: Marjoe Gortner as Tom Anderson, John Fujioka as General Chow, Michael Alldredge as Don, Mako as Lin Duk Coo, Liam Sullivan as Dr Peters
Written by Stephen J Cannell
Directed by Bernard McEveety

The team discover the cook from a Vietcong prison camp they were held in is working in a Los Angeles restaurant.

Something of a disappointment considering it was written by co-creator Cannell, this is a watchable but unremarkable episode that suffers from some serious pacing issues before the mid-point and never really recovers. The start is fine with the team witnessing Lin Duk Coo’s kidnap and then staging an assault on the warehouse where he is being held. It’s an excellent set piece (culminating in Murdock riding on the roof of the A-Team van) but the rest of the episode fails to live up to this promising start.

Face is posing as an interior decorator to gain access to an expensive apartment where the team are hiding out but the scenes of him having to explain the presence of the rest of the group eventually become repetitive. In addition, Murdock's obsession with golf balls and their liberation is not one of his more interesting fixations and could easily have been cut entirely with no loss.

Like a lot of Cannell episodes, the A-Team's military background is central to the story but the attempts to make serious points don't always come off and the good humour that plays a key part in all the best episodes is mainly absent here. The overall effect is interesting at best, heavy-going at worst and when the end comes it does so suddenly and rather too easily. The final action sequence is impressive though, a well-filmed chase featuring Murdock piloting a helicopter down a city street with the rest of the team in pursuit. 6/10.