“What could go wrong for a ragtag group of mercenaries who sell their skills to the highest bidder while doing their best to not get caught by the law that unfairly placed them in a prison they escaped from?“In nearly 100 episodes aired over five years from 1983 to 1987, the NBC show The A team tried to answer that same question. Episodically covering violent, cartoonish adventures, the show follows four abrasive men who fought together in the Vietnam War, can turn anything into a weapon, and can rain down a storm of bullets without killing anyone.
In addition to being rebooted as a film in 2010, The A teamIts greatest surviving legacy is undoubtedly its iconic theme song. If it had been released today, the sound bytes would be in every YouTube short, Instagram and TikTok. Of course, the show also deserves credit for making T-Pain a household name in the 1980s, before his rap career began in the late 2000s. His gruff, rude personality brings out the Bad Attitude behind the B.A. in B.A. Baracus, who he plays in the show. However, The A team I still saw highs and lows in terms of quality.
5
The 5th season of the A team
IMDb Highest Rated Episode: E13 – 7.2
As fun as the show was, The A team it felt like it had overstayed its welcome when the final season began airing. With ratings falling during Season 4, the creators felt it best to change the episodic format to a more dramatic, narrative-based approach. The big change of having the A-Team work for the CIA cost the show one of its most fun and characteristic elements – the characters’ constant escapes and scams to avoid being caught by the authorities.
As expected, the decline in ratings continued throughout the fifth season as well
The show’s vibe also feels off with a fifth member, resulting in forced new dynamics that disrupt the A-Team’s simultaneously chaotic and tightly synchronized teamwork. The new character is completely unnecessary, and the season’s episodes don’t have as interesting stories as those in the best seasons. Instead, the ongoing plot takes over, meaning that fun adventures are no longer a priority for The A team. To make matters worse, they changed the theme song, downgrading it from the original.
As expected, the decline in ratings continued throughout the fifth season, although the final episode was the highest-rated of the last installment. Unfortunately, the writers were unable to save the show from its rushed ending when a sixth season was not deemed viable by NBC due to a lack of interest from viewers; they then had to come up with a seemingly conclusive final episode. In fact, Season 5 Episode 13, “No Reservations,” is probably not the intended ending of The A teamwith the previous episode offering more closure to the show than the official ending.
4
The 3rd season of the A team
Highest rated episode on IMDb: E22 – 7.5
The longest season of The A team suffers from being too long. It is the most popular season because, after season 2, when their work underwent some changes, the A-Team seems to be returning to their usual way of doing things from season 1. However, simply because it has 25 episodes, there are enough mediocre episodes for it not to be an incredible season as a whole. Season 3 is also responsible for the eventual drop in ratings during the next season because the episodes are too straightforward and predictable, meaning fatigue with the formula develops.
However, the high points of season 3 make it worth it; this includes episodes like “The Big Squeeze” (season 3, episode 15), where the action takes place almost entirely in one location: a restaurant opened by the A-team. Setting the episode in a relatively crowded and enclosed location ensures a showcase of the A-team’s elite fighting skills and comedic prowess. shoot everything in sight without hurting any of the people in the firing zone – even when they are the intended target.
Additionally, Season 3’s highest-rated IMDb episode, “Bounty” (episode 22), is a perfect mix of comedy, suspense and action, involving the law, bounty hunters and, of course, the A-team fighting for their safety. The humor comes from the unbelievable nature of a random romance arc that somehow isn’t lost in all the chaos, driven by the charisma of Dwight Schultz as Murdock. If it weren’t for the episodes that lack action and are too predictable to be exciting, The A team season three would have been the best season of the show.
3
The 4th season of the A team
IMDb Highest Rated Episodes: E4 and E23 – 7.6
It’s a shame the network deemed the ratings too low to continue the formulaic, episodic format after Season 4, because The A team finds its rhythm this season. Season 4 establishes a comforting familiarity that’s still exciting to watch because the adventures are engaging and the A-Team is at the peak of its functionality as a group. Celebrity cameos are often considered a symptom of a failed TV show, where their presence is used to maintain relevance, but for Hulk Hogan or Country George, it seems like they are excited to appear on such a popular show.
Part of the charm of season four is seeing the actors become the characters they’ve played for over 60 episodes. The characterizations, especially the idiosyncrasies, now go beyond the simple fact that BA Baracus is afraid of flying, for example. There’s a comfort level that the actors have finally found, and they pay close attention to the little details that make the characters who they are. The episodes spend time with the main cast outside of missions, and it looks like the long wait to get to know them even better is paying off.
In many ways, The A team peaked with season 4, although this feeling is possibly more a consequence of Season 3 having a lot more average episodes in comparison, along with the decided drop in quality in Season 5. The best part is perhaps the development of the overarching concepts for the characters as they discuss their future prospects, including the difficulties of always having to break “Howling Mad” Murdock out of the mental hospital for every mission. It accidentally prepares people for next season’s radical format change.
2
The first season of the A team
IMDb Highest Rated Episodes: E5 – 7.7
Meet the A team: adventurer John “Hannibal” Smith (George Peppard), who is the brains behind the operation and really enjoys every situation the A team gets into; the fast-talking Templeton “Faceman” Peck (Dirk Benedict), who is a master at creating scams; the erratic HM Murdock (Dwight Schultz), who can command almost any flying vehicle; and the temperamental BA Baracus (Mr. T), who is an expert mechanic and the strength of the operation. With an iconic opening introducing these characters to viewers for the first time, The A team It starts fantastically.
The emblematic season of The A team There isn’t a single bad episode. With just 13 episodes, this probably isn’t as big a feat as it seems. It’s impressive, however, to open a show with a perfect season, and the perfection can almost entirely be attributed to the chaotic and exaggerated nature of the characterizations and action. Things explode, cars fly, no one on the team gets hurtand they always manage to get past the police. The myth of this group is itself the strongest selling point of The A team.
As is the case with most episodic shows, The A team the first season is largely responsible for setting the tone of the show. From being familiar to emphasizing action over story, everything that is characteristic of The A team is present in the first season. It creates mercenaries who, while working for others, always fight in some way on the side of good. The 13 episodes do a commendable job of establishing how much disbelief one has to suspend to enjoy the show.
1
The 2nd season of the A team
IMDb Highest Rated Episodes: E21 – 7.7
When a short season of television is followed by a season almost twice as long, it’s as good as the first season, it’s a seal of quality. With quality fluctuating over time after Season 2, it is the most consistently well-made season of The A team. It picks up where the first season left off, jumping headfirst into the crazy action that characterizes the show.
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IMDb Ratings of The A team Season 2 Episodes |
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Episode number |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
|
IMDb Rating |
6.8 |
7.3 |
7.1 |
7.0 |
7.4 |
7.4 |
7.6 |
6.8 |
7.2 |
7.0 |
7.1 |
6.8 |
7.1 |
7.0 |
7.0 |
7.1 |
6.8 |
7.0 |
7.2 |
7.1 |
7.7 |
6.5 |
6.6 |
Season 2 is more similar to Season 1, but with some refreshing differences. For example, it focuses more on these characters’ backstories, contextualizing the premise of the series. By the end of the second season, viewers know what happened in Vietnam, which adds flavor to the eclectic group. Their story is as crazy as their adventures, based on a scenario they could not have predicted or avoided. The narrative is chaotic and fun, enhancing the mythos of the characters by highlighting their unbelievable competence and even less believable bad luck.
If anyone watched season 1 and wished for more, that’s exactly what season 2 is.
The A-Team helping community members without asking for payment is a highlight of Season 2, as it shows they care beyond their livelihood, and we believe that security is a basic need that everyone should have. Character dynamics also take shape in Season 2, making the viewing experience even more fun as previously hidden personal differences and preferences begin to impact their lives, though they never waver as a team. Season 2 is the best season of The A team because if anyone watched season 1 and wished for more, that’s exactly what season 2 is.