The A-Team is Coming, The A-Team is Coming - Episode 74

[amyk]

Just watched this one tonight. I'm only giving it a 3 on the Sidney scale ("of limited quality"). I just don't really like this one and am kind of bored watching it. I don't like the team getting involved in matters of international politics/governments on this scale. Also, I don't like the whole Shastovich thing and how apparently he was with them when they were leaving Hanoi, etc. I feel like it messes with the bank rob thing and is just thrown in for this episode but does not need to be. I also don't like how the episode starts off as the team helping someone defect and then switches angles, although I do like that Hannibal was already suspicious. But why was he suspicious?

One probable editing error is that when they are escaping with Katrina in the car, at one point Murdock does not have glasses on and then in a quick cut, he does have glasses on, but I don't think there was really any time that passed between those cuts for him to have actually put the glasses on.

[Bert]

Anyone else catch the error when, during the scene where Padavich and his lackeys are going over their plan to assault the military base, one of his cronies calls him (Ivan) Mikhail?

I thought it was a fun episode, but yeah, where did Shastovich come from and why was he never mentioned again? What was he doing in Hanoi? Surely there were other reasons for him to know the team.

I like how Padavich stands his ground at the end and fights Hannibal directly. And the scene at the Russian embassy was great. So was the part where Padavich's goon is reduced to a giggle fit from the laughing gas. "You guys look like mosquitoes!"

The biggest highlight is probably Fulbright agreeing to work with the team when they arrive at the army base. It was short-lived and we don't see him do much, but still.

[amyk]

I haven't caught that error before about Ivan being called Mikhail. That makes me wonder if originally they had that character named Mikhail but then thought better of it and decided to call him Ivan instead. Or maybe the crony actor just knew the character had a Russian name and the only one that came to mind was Mikhail!

The show does not ever really mind throwing in characters as though they were a part of the team's history all along, even though we never heard of them before....to me, that is what they did in the trilogy, by throwing in Curtis suddenly. Previously, we never heard there was anyone other than Morrison who could possibly clear the team.

[Eclipse139]

I rewatched this one today. I don't hate it, but it does seem more like a Season 5 ep to me.  As much as the line - and the delivery of it - makes me laugh, I can't really believe the Russian government would hire The A-Team!

An episode where they're hired to help a Russina ballerina defect might have been interesting because that opening scene was fun and it would have been good to see the culture clash between her and the all American team. The plot with the laser was not very interesting at all - I didn't really feel any of the tension I think they were going for.

It does seem silly for their connection with Shostovich to be related to the Hanoi bank robbery. That line is just thrown in with no further explanation. I like it when we learn something about their experiences during the war so they could have made their backstory with him far more interesting. Maybe something where they had been forced to work together for a particular mission in Vietnam?

I do love how Murdock goes undercover and clever way they get the message to him that he's supposed to be deaf. And I really liked it when Fulbright works with the team, even taking orders from Hannibal without hesitation.

[amyk]

I don't even really know why the whole Russia ballerina thing was even needed. I guess it was to draw out the team so Shostovich could hire them, but someone had to go through the trouble of contacting the team to hire them for the supposed ballerina defection, so why not just try to hire the team for the actual mission once they were contacted? Wish we knew how they got the mission of helping the ballerina.