|
Post by HoudiniDerek on Mar 30, 2020 13:32:12 GMT -5
If it had been Sheila instead of Amy in that scene with the talk about death, it would have made more sense (because Amy had already faced death with the team back in MEXICAN SLAYRIDE and didn't seem so worried about it then). I agree. In SLAYRIDE, I think it might not have been as immediate to her, especially since Al was still alive and Face and Murdock were still free. However, I agree that it seems out of touch based on what she knows of working with the team.
|
|
amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,470
|
Post by amyk on Mar 30, 2020 20:49:30 GMT -5
She also seemed like a person who was pretty unafraid of things. It was pretty gutsy of her to just leave everything and go off with the team to Mexico.
|
|
amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,470
|
Post by amyk on Apr 7, 2020 21:17:33 GMT -5
Watching this one right now. Just finished the stupid "death talk" scene.
Those backup guys when the team was in town at the store were really terrible backup. Why did they just sit there in the second van when it was obvious that there was something going on? Also, did any of the guys in the robes stay in town and make sure none of the "children" escaped? Did the "children" just wait there until someone came and got them? But if so, who got them and when? Weren't some of those same people already back at the compound when the van brought the team there? How did they get back to that compound?
"Now you're beginning to walk through the valley of my wrath, preacher!" Love that line.
I also love how BA points out that James is high on something and BA's theory on why he wears those sunglasses.
"Nuttier than an almond bar!" Another great line. Yes, this episode has so many great lines.
The Face stuntman in the tree didn't look like the regular stuntman for Face in later episodes to me.
Poor Face - keeps losing his caps.
"....one of his 'unchosen'" - I really like Mr. Coulter a lot. Why don't they even have a telephone? Did "Reverend" James make them get rid of it? Or is it just that Mr. Coulter Tim)is sort of an eccentric artist or something? Anyway, he seems like a nice guy, and he's pretty generous with all his stuff, including a year's supply of something that he apparently needed for his artwork. If this didn't work, then he and his daughter would also probably be facing Martin James' wrath.
How does Amy know what Hannibal wants her to do with the paint on the roof?
Yeah, Murdock could have signed the order for the dynamite....but he would not have used his real name, so would it really have helped that guy? I hope that guy didn't get into trouble and lose his job over this incident.
I like the interactions between Hannibal and BA in this one. They really work well together.
Love the Biblical references in this episode. "Hey Reverend, we got a little fire and brimstone for you!"
I do feel like Martin James is insane, but I wonder why his thugs stick around? Are they somehow making money off of this whole bizarre cult? The kids they recruit can't probably have lots of money or possessions that they make them sign over to them. Are they actually involved in some illegal activity, like drug dealing or something? Or are they just also power-hungry? Are they brainwashed by Martin James, too? Or are they just too afraid of him to leave?
I laughed out loud at Martin James' flip out of the jeep. Such a perfect flip. This one really has a good climactic "battle scene."
"....or I'll turn you all into burning bushes!" I just realized that Hannibal must like the story of Moses....he referred to Moses in the pilot episode and now is referencing another event from Moses' life. Maybe Hannibal sees the leadership of Moses as sort of a role model.
I love Tim, but could he really keep all those bad guys from rushing him and getting the rifle once the team leaves?
I have to watch for Murdock reaching his arms out for Face when Face runs after the vehicle after kissing the girl....saw it!
And now one of my favorite endings! Yeah! Love this episode! I also just realized that Hannibal has more respect for the Bible than Martin James did....James had put the boots on top of the Bible, but Hannibal wipes off the Bible and puts it back down. I feel like it may be symbolic that the ostrich boots were more important to James than the Bible. Like the discussion earlier in the episode, this whole cult was not about religion or Christianity, but it was about power for Martin James.
|
|
|
Post by HoudiniDerek on Apr 8, 2020 8:00:47 GMT -5
Watching this one right now. Just finished the stupid "death talk" scene. Those backup guys when the team was in town at the store were really terrible backup. Why did they just sit there in the second van when it was obvious that there was something going on? Also, did any of the guys in the robes stay in town and make sure none of the "children" escaped? Did the "children" just wait there until someone came and got them? But if so, who got them and when? Weren't some of those same people already back at the compound when the van brought the team there? How did they get back to that compound? "Now you're beginning to walk through the valley of my wrath, preacher!" Love that line. I also love how BA points out that James is high on something and BA's theory on why he wears those sunglasses. "Nuttier than an almond bar!" Another great line. Yes, this episode has so many great lines. The Face stuntman in the tree didn't look like the regular stuntman for Face in later episodes to me. Poor Face - keeps losing his caps. "....one of his 'unchosen'" - I really like Mr. Coulter a lot. Why don't they even have a telephone? Did "Reverend" James make them get rid of it? Or is it just that Mr. Coulter Tim)is sort of an eccentric artist or something? Anyway, he seems like a nice guy, and he's pretty generous with all his stuff, including a year's supply of something that he apparently needed for his artwork. If this didn't work, then he and his daughter would also probably be facing Martin James' wrath. How does Amy know what Hannibal wants her to do with the paint on the roof? Yeah, Murdock could have signed the order for the dynamite....but he would not have used his real name, so would it really have helped that guy? I hope that guy didn't get into trouble and lose his job over this incident. I like the interactions between Hannibal and BA in this one. They really work well together. Love the Biblical references in this episode. "Hey Reverend, we got a little fire and brimstone for you!" I do feel like Martin James is insane, but I wonder why his thugs stick around? Are they somehow making money off of this whole bizarre cult? The kids they recruit can't probably have lots of money or possessions that they make them sign over to them. Are they actually involved in some illegal activity, like drug dealing or something? Or are they just also power-hungry? Are they brainwashed by Martin James, too? Or are they just too afraid of him to leave? I laughed out loud at Martin James' flip out of the jeep. Such a perfect flip. This one really has a good climactic "battle scene." "....or I'll turn you all into burning bushes!" I just realized that Hannibal must like the story of Moses....he referred to Moses in the pilot episode and now is referencing another event from Moses' life. Maybe Hannibal sees the leadership of Moses as sort of a role model. I love Tim, but could he really keep all those bad guys from rushing him and getting the rifle once the team leaves? I have to watch for Murdock reaching his arms out for Face when Face runs after the vehicle after kissing the girl....saw it! And now one of my favorite endings! Yeah! Love this episode! I also just realized that Hannibal has more respect for the Bible than Martin James did....James had put the boots on top of the Bible, but Hannibal wipes off the Bible and puts it back down. I feel like it may be symbolic that the ostrich boots were more important to James than the Bible. Like the discussion earlier in the episode, this whole cult was not about religion or Christianity, but it was about power for Martin James. I have always hated those guys as backup in the second van. So unlikely. Plus, why take all the kids into town to the store? Seems a stupid risk. I think, like most episodes, Hannibal explains part of the plan off scene and that's how she knew what to do. Otherwise, how does anyone EVER know?
|
|
amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,470
|
Post by amyk on Apr 8, 2020 19:42:35 GMT -5
Yeah, I also don't know why the kids were taken into town. Do you think they just take them off the compound from time to time so that maybe the townspeople don't think they are being held captive against their will?
I always assume the team is such a cohesive unit, with over ten years of experience working together, that they sort of already know what each of them is supposed to do. But with Amy being the newcomer, I don't expect her to know like that. Maybe Hannibal had already told her, as you mentioned off-scene, that if they could get something to do it with, she would need to write the message on the roof.
|
|
|
Post by Eclipse139 on Jun 29, 2020 13:13:25 GMT -5
Rewatched today, but I've seen this one a few times since the first time so I remembered it. Such a relief to see the real Face! He fits in perfectly and I just love everything about him (OK, I've loved that man since I was 8! ) I read back over your previous comments on this thread and it doesn't look like the scene with Amy learning to accept death is very popular. I actually like it, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense for her to be quite so terrified after she'd already been on the mission to Mexico with them. I thought it was nice because it showed the team cared about her and it was a moment for her to bond properly with them. Maybe if she'd been just a little scared and asked them why they weren't scared at all, allowing them to give the explanation about accepting death it would have been more realistic for the way her character had already been defined. I love Murdock in this ep, even though he was apart from the team for most of it - "Gotta stay with my unit"! I didn't know they had planned to drop the character after the pilot ep, that would have been a complete travesty!
|
|
|
Post by HoudiniDerek on Jun 29, 2020 14:22:57 GMT -5
Rewatched today, but I've seen this one a few times since the first time so I remembered it. Such a relief to see the real Face! He fits in perfectly and I just love everything about him (OK, I've loved that man since I was 8! ) I read back over your previous comments on this thread and it doesn't look like the scene with Amy learning to accept death is very popular. I actually like it, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense for her to be quite so terrified after she'd already been on the mission to Mexico with them. I thought it was nice because it showed the team cared about her and it was a moment for her to bond properly with them. Maybe if she'd been just a little scared and asked them why they weren't scared at all, allowing them to give the explanation about accepting death it would have been more realistic for the way her character had already been defined. I love Murdock in this ep, even though he was apart from the team for most of it - "Gotta stay with my unit"! I didn't know they had planned to drop the character after the pilot ep, that would have been a complete travesty! To me, the reason I don't like that scene is BECAUSE she had been in a rocky situation already with the team. Had that scene been in the pilot, I could probably handle it better. Or maybe this one was just more immediate for her? I don't know, but it just feels off. I like the scene, but I think it's just off kilter based on what we saw in the pilot.
|
|
|
Post by Eclipse139 on Jun 29, 2020 15:15:08 GMT -5
No, it didn't make sense after Mexico. Unless it's because the Mexico mission was personal to her, so she was focussed on rescuing her friend and hadn't really thought about the danger she was in?
|
|
|
Post by HoudiniDerek on Jun 29, 2020 15:25:17 GMT -5
No, it didn't make sense after Mexico. Unless it's because the Mexico mission was personal to her, so she was focussed on rescuing her friend and hadn't really thought about the danger she was in? Or maybe since she firmly believed that Al was alive, she wasn't worried about being killed in Mexico? This one was definitely a concern that he was going to kill them or make them brain dead slaves too. So maybe this did it harder? All I can think is that they didn't change the lines after they put Amy in the place of Sheila Rogers.
|
|
|
Post by Eclipse139 on Jun 30, 2020 14:21:28 GMT -5
She was probably in more imminent danger in this episode after she and the others had been captured. The Rev. James and his associates were pretty scary!
|
|
|
Post by cartoonlover on Jul 1, 2020 10:04:11 GMT -5
The cult leader played by John Saxon does a really good job disappearing into the role. It's one of the best things that came out of this episode. He's not a typical cookie-cutter badguy either, his depth in the character is more involving with the team than just two quick scenes.
|
|
|
Post by Eclipse139 on Jul 12, 2020 11:40:50 GMT -5
Following the conversation we had on this thread about Amy, I wrote a little conversation between her and Murdock set a few days after this episode in an attempt to make sense of it. It was fun to write. If anyone would like to read it (' Fear No More') I've posted it on the usual fanfic websites.
|
|
|
Post by Pico Bob on Jan 9, 2022 14:27:39 GMT -5
I wanted ask a question about the opening narration. It feels bolted on to me. I wonder if the narration was missing from the original script. As this was the first ep shown after the pilot, I am speculating that the TV execs insisted on the narration as they would fear that people wouldnt know the basic set up of the show yet, and wouldnt trust the intelligence of the audience to figure things out from a well crafted script.
The last time I watched the ep I tried to imagine it without the narration. Would it become clear to me what was going on? I decided perhaps yes, and that this is what Cannell originally intended, but then I know the ep so well its difficult to be sure. I'd welcome other perspectives about this!
|
|
|
Post by HoudiniDerek on Jan 9, 2022 21:01:34 GMT -5
PB, I seem to recall reading somewhere that it was because this was played right after the Super Bowl that year. And instead of going through all of the client finding motions again, it was decided to do the voiceover and get right into the thick of things. Plus, I have always thought that with them changing the Face character, it was better to get them in and working right away so people might be better able to overlook that.
|
|
amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,470
|
Post by amyk on Jan 10, 2022 0:24:05 GMT -5
I like your way of thinking, PB, that maybe the script originally did not call for the voice-over but the execs or someone felt they needed to add it in. I know the episode so well that even if I went back and watched with the volume off, I don't know if I would be able to recognize what was going on without the voiceover.
I also think what HD wrote, about them wanting to get right into the thick of things, is a very likely reason they didn't follow what would become the more formulaic way of presenting the mission, i.e. with the client finding them. The way it was done, the team was able to get into a fight scene with the bad guys faster than they otherwise would have. And a fairly early car chase as well, maybe the earliest in an episode other than the one with Decker in LABOR PAINS? I suspect they thought having a fight scene and a car chase may capture the attention of SUPER BOWL fans who perhaps would have turned it off if the episode lingered too long on a "meet the client" scene.
|
|