Firing Line - Episode 86

[amyk]

I watched this one tonight, to finish out the court-martial trilogy. For me, this is my least favorite of those three episodes. I give it a 7 on the Sidney scale, which still means "very good," but I don't consider it "Excellent." Probably the main reason I don't consider it "excellent" is because I'm disappointed that Hannibal still lets the team go and work for Stockwell at the end. If they had just escaped and then gone back on the run, realizing that Stockwell's deal was not their best option, I would have liked it better. I also think that even after all these three episodes, we don't know the full story about the whole Vietnam situation. Stockwell's guess is that Curtis killed Morrison and perhaps Morrison found out Curtis was dealing in arms, even back then. Why wouldn't it be possible that Curtis found out Morrison gave names to the VietCong and that was why Curtis killed Morrison (supposing Morrison actually did that)? And what do we make of Curtis' testimony that he supposedly overheard Hannibal threatening Morrison? I don't recall Curtis stating that Hannibal said anything about Morrison being a traitor. I still don't know why anyone really did anything to frame the A-TEAM, except I think that Stockwell was pulling all the strings in order to get the team to go on missions for him. But in that case, how can we really believe anything that happened at the trial? And do we even believe that other arms dealer when he confessed that he killed Curtis? He was kind of being forced to confess under threat, wasn't he? Is a forced confession valid?

[HoudiniDerek]

Generally, no. But in TV, anything can happen.

[amyk]

But I'm kind of surprised the team believes that other arms dealer so quickly....would they have believed him if he said "no" i.e. that he did not kill Curtis? He had no reason to know why they were asking him, though, so maybe they figured whatever he said, he would be telling the truth? I'm still going to stick with Stockwell killing Curtis, although perhaps he had this other arms dealer do it for him. Maybe he had something worked out with this guy that if he killed Curtis, even if he was caught for it, Stockwell would get him off.

[Eclipse139]

Finished the court martial episodes today with this one. Like the other two eps there are a few good moments, but overall I can't really say I enjoy watching it.

The dreams each of them have are really tough to watch, although I do chuckle when Face sees Hannibal as the Aquamaniac. I'm not sure what they were trying to do by having Murdock know what was in BAs dream, though - I suppose it was just meant to be a joke, but it does sort of imply something very weird has happened... are they still in a dream (maybe the whole of Season 5 was a dream! ), or maybe they're all really dead???

I thought it was odd that the nurses at the hospital all seem to know that the team are Murdock's friends - I thought he was their secret weapon? It's funny that they use a posed A-TEAM publicity photo in the newspaper article though!

I think Dirk does a fantastic job of conveying Face's emotions throughout the whole ordeal. His fear as he faces up to the very real possibility of being executed is palpable. I'm not sure what Hannibal was thinking though, he even seems a little out of character, it's almost as if he's given up.

I'm sure when the camera pans along the line as the team stand in front of the firing squad they're standing in a different order to when they cut to the wide shot and we see them all together! I can't bear to look at Murdock when he hears the shots fired.

I love that BA is so pleased to see Murdock when he wakes up   And I love Hannibal shaking Face's hand then too. It's also great to see the van at that moment.

I do like that we finally get to see the team go after some baddies in this ep and there's a car chase, shooting and an explosion!  Although the whole explanation about Curtis and Morrison and who may or may not have killed whom and why makes little sense (was Curtis actually working with Stockwell, or not?) 

I didn't understand the siginificance of them living in Langley, Virginia until recently - although Face does actually mention a connection with the CIA.  I think they missed a great opportunity by not having Murdock living in the house.  After all these years he deserved to finally be recognised as a 'real' member of the team.  After all, he was responsible for the rescue!  The running gag through the rest of the season about him having a succession of dead-end jobs wasn't really funny.  Maybe they could have had Frankie living elsewhere and having a different job every week instead?

And I'd just like to add that it was lovely to see Face back in his leather jacket.   But please, Face, do something with your hair!

[amyk]

The dreams each of them have are really tough to watch, although I do chuckle when Face sees Hannibal as the Aquamaniac. I'm not sure what they were trying to do by having Murdock know what was in BAs dream, though - I suppose it was just meant to be a joke, but it does sort of imply something very weird has happened... are they still in a dream (maybe the whole of Season 5 was a dream! ), or maybe they're all really dead???

While I don't normally like the whole "it was all a dream" reset button for TV shows, in this case, I would not have minded if the final episode of Season 5 revealed that the whole season was just a dream of one of the team members and that the team was back in their usual "LA Underground" and ready for another of their usual missions in the season 1-4 style.

I thought it was odd that the nurses at the hospital all seem to know that the team are Murdock's friends - I thought he was their secret weapon? It's funny that they use a posed A-TEAM publicity photo in the newspaper article though!

I'm not sure I ever thought about the nurses knowing that the team are Murdock's friends before. If the pilot episode can use still shots of scenes that take place later in the episode as the photos in the team's files, I guess the newspaper can use an A-TEAM publicity photo!

I think Dirk does a fantastic job of conveying Face's emotions throughout the whole ordeal. His fear as he faces up to the very real possibility of being executed is palpable. I'm not sure what Hannibal was thinking though, he even seems a little out of character, it's almost as if he's given up.

I do like some of the emotional aspects of this episode. We do see Hannibal trying to devise a plan of escape, so he did seem to be trying. If only we knew how they busted out of Fort Bragg.....if they could get out of there, it seems they could get out of this one too.

I do like that we finally get to see the team go after some baddies in this ep and there's a car chase, shooting and an explosion! Although the whole explanation about Curtis and Morrison and who may or may not have killed whom and why makes little sense (was Curtis actually working with Stockwell, or not?)

Yeah, this whole episode just sort of messes with my mind and seems very confusing. It seems like everyone is sort of a "bad guy" - from the Vietnamese man (whose name I forgot), to Curtis, to (apparently) Morrison, and of course even Stockwell is rather shady. Were both Curtis and Morrison bad apples in the military who just happened to be stationed together? In my own headcanon and fanfiction, Morrison is later cleared and proven to not be a traitor. But it seems like the show did want us to think of him as a traitor.

I didn't understand the siginificance of them living in Langley, Virginia until recently - although Face does actually mention a connection with the CIA. I think they missed a great opportunity by not having Murdock living in the house. After all these years he deserved to finally be recognised as a 'real' member of the team. After all, he was responsible for the rescue! The running gag through the rest of the season about him having a succession of dead-end jobs wasn't really funny. Maybe they could have had Frankie living elsewhere and having a different job every week instead?

Good point about Murdock - he would be wanted just as much as the rest of the team, it seems to me. It does not seem like the VA hospital would just release him (if they did). And yes, it was disappointing that he was not living in the house with the rest of the guys. I hated the job-of-the-week thing that they tried. I think they were trying to regain some of that 'obsession of the week' that Murdock often had, but it just didn't work in my opinion.

[Eclipse139]

I can't believe the VA hospital would just declare him sane and release him either - were we meant to think Stockwell had arranged that too so he could be close to the team and take part in the missions? If so, why not arrange for him to live in the house? I think they were deliberately trying to make Stockwell and his background mysteriously vague, but at times it was so vague that it made no sense.

[amyk]

I don't know if Murdock may have just left on his own accord or if Stockwell maybe got him released. In my personal headcanon and fanfiction, it was Stockwell who (in a very devious way which involved the probably murder of someone else) manipulated things so that Murdock was released from the VA.

Yes, I agree that they wanted to make Stockwell's background somewhat vague. I think they may have been hoping for the MAN FROM UNCLE vibe or something....but I think that it didn't really work for this show. TAT is more clear-cut as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. And Stockwell did not come off as being someone that was all-in for the team. To me, that is what really hurt the show in season five, that they were working for someone who really didn't seem to care all that much one way or the other whether the team died on a mission. If that is what it took for a mission to succeed, as long as Stockwell considered the mission successful, I don't feel like he would have lost a lot of sleep if he had lost one of "his men."