The A-Team season 2
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| The A-Team | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 Original season 2 DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 20, 1983 – May 15, 1984 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on September 20, 1983, and concluded on May 15, 1984, consisting of 23 episodes.
Cast
[edit]- George Peppard as Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith
- Dirk Benedict as First Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck
- Melinda Culea as journalist/reporter Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen (11 Episodes Only)[1]
- Dwight Schultz as Captain H. M. Murdock
- Mr. T as Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus
- Marla Heasley as journalist/reporter Tawnia Baker[2] (7 episodes)
Opening credits
[edit]The second season's opening credits consisted of scenes taken from Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part", "West Coast Turnaround", "Black Day at Bad Rock", "A Small and Deadly War", and "One More Time". Season 2's "The Taxicab Wars", "Steel", "Water, Water Everywhere", and "The Only Church in Town".
Version 1
[edit]Version 1 was Melinda Culea's final season
- Hannibal launches the cannon at a pursuing Jeep in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- The helicopter chase from the Season 1 episode "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Hannibal was dressed as the aquamaniac, tempting Colonel Lynch in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride".
- Hannibal disguised as an old woman in Season 1's "One More Time".
- Hannibal disguised as a hippy doctor in Season 1's "West Coast Turnaround".
- Hannibal prepares to step out of the helicopter in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- Face in taxi going through a car wash in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Face in the back of the A-Team van in Season 1's "A Small and Deadly War" (actual shot not used in that episode).
- Face posing as Dr. Dwight Pepper in Warden Beale's office in Season 1's "Pros and Cons".
- Another shot of Face, taken from Season 1's "A Small and Deadly War".
- Amy smiling in Season 2's "The Only Church in Town" (actual shot not used in that episode).
- Amy laughing in the back of the A-Team van in the final act of Season 1's "One More Time" (actual shot not used in that episode).
- Amy at the wedding reception in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Amy in the disused warehouse in Season 1's "The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing".
- Murdock in the catering truck, coughing after eating shaving cream, in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Murdock singing in the make shift aircraft in Season 1's "Holiday in the Hills".
- Murdock reveals himself as the bride in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Murdock emerges from the wrecked car, hat on sideways, and head crooked, in Season 1's "West Coast Turnaround".
- B.A. bursts into the Mexican bar while making his entrance in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- B.A. breaks into a smile while holding up his fist, at the end of Season 1's "Black Day at Bad Rock".
- B.A. turns his head around to see what Hannibal is doing in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- The car (driven by Hannibal, B.A., and Murdock) crashes into the front of the sheriff's office in Season 1's "Pros and Cons" (as previous version).
- The helicopter (piloted by Murdock) forces the mobsters' car off the road in Season 1's "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas" (as previous version).
- A Jeep flips over as Hannibal throws a grenade in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
Version 2
[edit]Version 2 of the Season 2 opening credits removed shots of Melinda Culea, and replaced them with more scenes for the rest of the characters:
- Hannibal launches the cannon at a pursuing Jeep in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version, note that Melinda Culea can still briefly seen behind Hannibal).
- The helicopter chase from the Season 1 episode "Til' Death Do Us Part" (as previous version).
- Hannibal was dressed as the aquamaniac, tempting Colonel Lynch in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- Hannibal disguised as an old woman in Season 1's "One More Time" (as previous version).
- Hannibal disguised as a hippy doctor in Season 1's "West Coast Turnaround" (as previous version).
- Hannibal prepares to step out of the helicopter in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- Face saying goodbye to sister Teresa at the end of Season 2's "The Only Church in Town".
- A cylon walking past causes Face to double take in the Season 2 episode "Steel".
- Face posing as Dr. Dwight Pepper in Warden Beale's office in Season 1's "Pros and Cons" (as previous version).
- Another shot of Face, taken from Season 1's "A Small and Deadly War" (as previous version).
- Murdock in the catering truck, coughing after eating shaving cream in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part".
- Murdock singing in the make shift aircraft in Season 1's "Holiday in the Hills" (as previous version).
- Murdock disguised himself as "Captain Cab", as he talks to a sock puppet named "Socki", but breaks into safe in Season 2's "The Taxicab Wars".
- Murdock reveals himself as the bride in Season 1's "Til' Death Do Us Part" (as previous version).
- Murdock emerges from the wrecked car, hat on sideways, and head crooked, in Season 1's "West Coast Turnaround" (as previous version).
- B.A. bursts into the Mexican bar while making his entrance, in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- After throwing an opponent over the bar, B.A. turns his head to give an angry glare, in Season 2's "Water, Water Everywhere".
- B.A. breaks into a smile while holding up his fist, at the end of Season 1's "Black Day at Bad Rock" (as previous version).
- B.A. turns his head to see what Hannibal is doing in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
- The car (driven by Hannibal, B.A., and Murdock) crashes into the front of the sheriff's office in Season 1's "Pros and Cons" (as previous version).
- The helicopter (piloted by Murdock) forces the mobsters' car off the road in Season 1's "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas" (as previous version).
- A Jeep flips over as Hannibal throws a grenade in Season 1's "Mexican Slayride" (as previous version).
Episodes
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
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| 15 | 1 | "Diamonds 'n Dust" | Ron Satlof | Patrick Hasburgh | September 20, 1983 | ||||||
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The A-Team is hired by the daughter of a deceased diamond mine owner; their mission is to get the mine up and running, with half of the first profit going to them. However, they must transport dynamite to do it, and standing in their way are the thugs of a greedy and ruthless businessman. | |||||||||||
| 16 | 2 | "Recipe for Heavy Bread" | Bernard McEveety | Stephen J. Cannell | September 27, 1983 | ||||||
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When the A-Team come across an old Vietnamese cook that they recognize as the man that helped them survive captivity in a POW camp during the war, they must help him against the camp's brutal commander who now seeks revenge for their escape. They also discover that a US traitor in the POW camp is now the general's partner in a heroin smuggling operation. Special Guest Star: Mako as Lin Duk Coo; John Fujioka as General Chow; Marjoe Gortner as Lt. Tom Anderson aka Thomas Angel Michael Alldredge as Don | |||||||||||
| 17 | 3 | "The Only Church in Town" | Christian I. Nyby II | Babs Greyhosky | October 11, 1983 | ||||||
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Face receives his old fraternity pin in the mail, to him a sign that an old girlfriend of his is in trouble. Unable to convince the others to help him, Face must hire the A-Team to track the woman down to Ecuador, where she has become a nun. His fears turn out to be justified when they learn she and the rest of the convent are being held prisoner by a group of wanted bandits. Special Guest Star: Markie Post as Leslie Bektall | |||||||||||
| 18 | 4 | "Bad Time on the Border" | Bruce Kessler | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | October 18, 1983 | ||||||
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A young girl appears at B.A.'s youth center and he discovers that she has escaped from a group of people smugglers who are holding her ill mother and others captive before transporting them into America as slave labor in a clothing sweatshop. The A-Team go to the rescue, but when Hannibal goes undercover and is captured, the others must race to save both him and the girl's mother. Guest Stars:
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| 19 | 5 | "When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?" | Christian I. Nyby II | Frank Lupo | October 25, 1983 | ||||||
| 20 | 6 | ||||||||||
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The A-team is hired by a native American from the Midwest to protect a herd of wild mustangs from being slaughtered. Meanwhile, a new Military Police pursuer is introduced in the form of Colonel Roderick Decker, and he will stop at nothing to apprehend the A-Team. Soon the A-Team must try to find of evidence of the mustangs' illegal rustling as quickly as possible before they are captured themselves by Decker and the Military Police. With enemies coming from two sides, it is ultimately up to Murdock to save his friends. Notes: First appearance of Lance LeGault in the role of Colonel Roderick Decker.
Special Guest Star: Morgan Woodward as Bus Carter | |||||||||||
| 21 | 7 | "The Taxicab Wars" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Stephen J. Cannell | November 1, 1983 | ||||||
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The Lone Star cab company is faced with the overzealous Love Cab company, which is trying to force them out of business; worse, the Love Cab meters are rigged and they sell narcotics out of the trunks. The A-Team is hired by the company and become involved with a war between cab companies on the streets of Los Angeles. Will Love Cab win? Not if Murdock's new superhero persona, Captain Cab, has anything to say about it. In the end, Hannibal tricks the owner into attacking Lone Star HQ, catching him in the act of vandalism and murder, leaving him for the police. Special Guest Star: Michael Ironside as Miller Crane, Ernie Hudson as Cal Freeman | |||||||||||
| 22 | 8 | "Labor Pains" | Arnold Laven | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | November 8, 1983 | ||||||
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Hannbial uses his usual plan of making Decker think the A-Team left the state, to throw him off their trail; they instead hide out in a small town, only to find that a group of itinerant workers are being exploited by a malignant landowner. Murdock's lunacy for the episode is using a Ouija board. The A-Team step in to help, and encourage the workers to form a union. As usual, the A-Team takes off the moment the military show up. Special Guest Star: John Vernon as Ted Jarrett | |||||||||||
| 23 | 9 | "There's Always a Catch" | Ron Satlof | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | November 15, 1983 | ||||||
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Hotly pursued by Decker, the team seek medical help for B.A. in the hospital of a fishing town. While there they meet a family who tell them of a man extorting the fishermen of the town and causing depletion of the lobster beds. The team decide to help the town out, but need to go to great lengths to avoid the clutches of Decker. | |||||||||||
| 24 | 10 | "Water, Water Everywhere" | Sidney Hayers | Story by : Sidney Ellis Teleplay by : Jo Swerling, Jr. and Sidney Ellis | November 22, 1983 | ||||||
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Three partially disabled Vietnam War veterans (one played by wheelchair athlete Jim Knaub) attempt to establish a hotel in a small desert town. Their property impacts access to a water bore for a wealthy local rancher who tries to run them out of town, by sending in thugs to damage their hotel. The trio tell Murdock of their plight at the VA Hospital, and the A-Team volunteer their services to come to their aid. | |||||||||||
| 25 | 11 | "Steel" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Frank Lupo | November 29, 1983 | ||||||
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The A-Team are hired by a construction company who become involved in a turf battle with a larger opposition company over the demolition of an old high-rise building. Things become far more serious when they realise the opposition are backed by a big-time mobster who buried his partner in the foundations years before.
Special Guest Star: Norman Alden as Mickey Stern | |||||||||||
| 26 | 12 | "The White Ballot" | Dennis Donnelly | Jeff Ray | December 6, 1983 | ||||||
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A journalist friend of Amy tells her of a corrupt sheriff in his small hometown who has threatened him about reporting on the town's problems. The A-Team agree to intervene and Face poses as a returning local war hero in order to run for sheriff in an upcoming election. Things get more complex when Decker sees Face's photograph on the wire and comes in pursuit. Note: Final Appearance of Amy. Special Guest Star: Clifton James as Sheriff Jake Dawson | |||||||||||
| 27 | 13 | "The Maltese Cow" | Dennis Donnelly | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | December 13, 1983 | ||||||
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A Chinese tong looking to expand their business in LA try to raise money by running a protection racket on local businesses. One of their targets is a Vietnamese friend of The A-Team, whose restaurant the team part own. The A-Team step into help, but along the way must deal with the tong targeting their friend's family and a brush with the LAPD. | |||||||||||
| 28 | 14 | "In Plane Sight" | Tony Mordente | Babs Greyhosky | January 3, 1984 | ||||||
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When a courier pilot crash lands in Venezuela, he is found to be smuggling cocaine, to his surprise, and is imprisoned. Convinced of his innocence, his family hire the A-Team to seek out those behind the operation both in the US and South America. The team must deal with both the Federales and the international drug lord behind the operation in their investigations. Note: B.A. is temporarily hypnotized into falling asleep with a key word, but is released from it by the end of the episode. Lance Henriksen as one of the 'bad guys' | |||||||||||
| 29 | 15 | "The Battle of Bel Air" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Frank Lupo | January 10, 1984 | ||||||
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A reporter friend of Amy, Tawnia Baker, moonlights as a clerk in a major security firm and discovers that Decker is about to pounce on The A-Team. She comes to warn them, but in the process some corrupt heads in the company suspect she has stumbled on their plans to murder one of their clients, a major oil-sheikh, and come in pursuit of her. The team inadvertently take on the job of saving both Baker and the sheikh. | |||||||||||
| 30 | 16 | "Say It With Bullets" | Dennis Donnelly | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | January 17, 1984 | ||||||
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The A-Team are hired by a servicewoman whose brother has been killed by a corrupt officer selling army weapons on the black market. When she double-crosses the team in exchange for Decker's promise to put away the guilty officer, The A-Team are forced to take on both the arms' traders and an entire army base. The team sets up its escape by tricking Decker's team of National Guardsmen into heavily damaging a guest house on an army base (through machine-gun fire) by -- through use of a sound-effects record -- making them think they're being fired upon. Special Guest Star: Monte Markham as Lt. Mason Harnett | |||||||||||
| 31 | 17 | "Pure-Dee Poison" | Dennis Donnelly | Allan Cole & Chris Bunch | January 31, 1984 | ||||||
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A small town preacher takes on an illegal moonshine operation which is causing sickness and death amongst the district's population. However, the moonshine operators wound the preacher as a warning. Unable to continue his crusade alone, he hires The A-Team to come in and help shut the operation down. Special Guest Star: Bo Hopkins as Charlie Drew | |||||||||||
| 32 | 18 | "It's a Desert Out There" | Arnold Laven | Bruce Cervi | February 7, 1984 | ||||||
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When some elderly patrons of a small-time casino just over the Nevada border are robbed by bandits known as "The Scorpions" as they return to Los Angeles, they hire The A-Team to track the offenders down. The team discover that the bandits intend to murder their imprisoned former leader while en route to LA to testify against them, and intervene to attempt to prevent the hit and capture the bandits. Special Guest Star: Tony Burton as Burke | |||||||||||
| 33 | 19 | "Chopping Spree" | Michael O'Herlihy | Stephen Katz | February 14, 1984 | ||||||
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When an acquaintance of B.A.'s working as a parking valet is accused of being involved in a car theft racket, the A-Team step in to help break it up. However B.A.'s van is inadvertently stolen as part of the operation, so the race is on to get to the bottom of the racket and recover the van before it is cut up for spare parts. Special Guest Star: Dennis Franz as Sam Friendly | |||||||||||
| 34 | 20 | "Harder Than It Looks" | Ivan Dixon | Babs Greyhosky | February 21, 1984 | ||||||
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The A-Team are hired by a wealthy businessman to rescue his daughter who has been kidnapped by a group of terrorists who are now demanding a large ransom. Hannibal assures the team that the job will be "a piece of cake", but things turn out harder than they look when they find that the girl is reluctant to be saved because her boyfriend is one of the kidnappers, and her father only wants her saved to maintain his public appearance. In the end, the A-Team saves the girl, stops a terrorist group and keeps the money. When Hannibal finds out they've been double-crossed by their client, he tells him "we're like socks. You can put us through a rough wash once, but you'll never use us again." | |||||||||||
| 35 | 21 | "Deadly Maneuvers" | Mike Vejar | Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas Szollosi | February 28, 1984 | ||||||
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Concerned that the team's work has been becoming sloppy, Hannibal leads them on a series of training manoeuvres; frustrating Face and B.A., while Murdock is more than willing. Elsewhile, a corrupt group of wealthy individuals have had enough of the A-Team's interference plummeting their profits. As a result, they hire four highly skilled mercenaries to take out the team - sort of a Negative A-Team/Z-Team - when they're off guard. Reappearance of Tricia O'Neil as the doctor from Season 1's "Black Day at Bad Rock". Special Guest Star: Ed Lauter as Maj. Douglas Kyle | |||||||||||
| 36 | 22 | "Semi-Friendly Persuasion" | Craig R. Baxley | Danny Lee Cole | May 8, 1984 | ||||||
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A pacifist religious community is intimidated by a group of small town bullies who want to run them off their land, an experience they have faced elsewhere. Tired of running, one of the community seeks the help of The A-Team. In contrast to their usual methods, the A-Team must try to deal with the thugs while adhering to the non-violent beliefs of the community. Much to the annoyance of everyone but Hannibal, the pacifists decide to leave and try elsewhere as the A-Team had to use violence. Hannibal tells the preacher that it is okay to believe in non-violence, but to some other people it is quite stupid. Special Guest Star: Geoffrey Lewis as Kale Sykes | |||||||||||
| 37 | 23 | "Curtain Call" | Dennis Donnelly | Stephen Katz | May 15, 1984 | ||||||
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While finishing up a job in an isolated town, and with Decker in hot pursuit, Murdock is shot by one of the perpetrators. The A-Team must try to treat the ailing Murdock as the army rapidly closes the net on them. This second season finale is a partial clip show episode. | |||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Lewis, Jon E.; Stempel, Penny (1993). Cult TV: The Essential Critical Guide. Pavilion. p. 175. ISBN 9781857930535.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2. VNR AG. p. 24. ISBN 9780918432612.