A TEAM

80s hits return on the big screen

In what can only be described as a testament to the 80s, classics such as the A-Team and The Karate Kid are being remade to once again fill our screens with joy, but are they as good as the originals?

The A-Team first graced our TVs in 1983, and was full of mandatory explosions, fist fights and typical 80’s one-liners – not to forget the iconic characters. Who could forget Mr T? Immortalized in … well I’m not sure what but when anyone mentions the name, we all know who it is.

Karate Kid, released in 1984 was one of those kid-who-gets-bullied-and-then-kicks-ass-to-be-the-hero type of movies was so good it prompted 2 sequels and a ‘Next Karate Kid’ to come out. It might be just me, but I will always will think of Mr Miyagi as Arnold from Happy Days!

As for the new movies, check out these trailers:

A-TEAM

KARATE KID

Make your own mind up, but as good as they look, personally I think you cannot beat the originals.

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The A Team

“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team”

Sound familiar? This was the voice over (first 4 seasons) for the very successful TV series A-Team that ran from January 23, 1983 to December 30, 1986. The show was an action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a “crime they didn’t commit”. Each week was a different story (I think from memory there might have been a couple of multi-episode stories) but what I enjoyed most was the methods they went to at the beginning of each episode to disguise themselves to the new ‘clients’. This was done to be sure they were not being tricked into a trap by the military police who were always after them. Despite being thought of as mercenaries by the everyone else, the A-Team always acted on the side of good and helped the oppressed.

The Characters

The leader of the A-Team is Lieutenant-Colonel/Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, whose plans tend to be unorthodox but almost always work out in his favour. Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck, more often referred to as “Face,” is a smooth-talking con-man who serves as the person in the team who manages to ‘acquire’ vehicles and other large items and equipment. The team’s pilot is Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, who had been declared medically insane. Last, and by my no means least, is the team’s muscle Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert “B.A.” played my Mr T.

George Peppard ………. Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith
Dirk Benedict ……….. Lieutenant Templeton “Face” Peck
Dwight Schultz ………. Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock
Mr. T ………………. Sergeant Bosco “B.A.” Baracus

For its first season and the first half of the second season, the team was joined by reporter Amy Amanda Allen (Melinda Culea). She was ultimately replaced by fellow reporter Tawnia Baker (Marla Heasley) for the rest of the second season.

The A-Team was constantly pursued by the military police. In the show’s first season they were led by Colonel Francis Lynch (William Lucking), but he was replaced for the second, third, and earlier fourth season by Colonel Roderick Decker (Lance LeGault) and his aide Captain Crane (Carl Franklin).

Enjoy the video below of the opening sequence.

In June 2010, a movie based on the TV series was released.

A TEAM

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