The A-Team: Season Three

True, there's no tackling of hot-button issues here, and the only life lesson learned is that you don't mess with the A-Team, but you gotta love this tender exchange from The A-Team's “Bounty”—one of 25 episodes included in this 1984-85 third season set—which pretty much sums up the series' unique character dynamics. Here's the set-up: week after week, the aptly nicknamed Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz) drives Sgt. B.A. Baracus (Mr. T) to distraction, but when Murdock is kidnapped, the bling-heavy, mohawked muscleman seems worried, and Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict) takes notice. “I'm not concerned,” B.A. insists. “It's just that the crazy fool can't help himself.” “I think we're seeing another side of Mr. Baracus here,” says Face. “You ain't seein' nothin',” B.A. growls. This is as warm and fuzzy as The A-Team gets, and it's one of the reasons this adventure series was such a big hit during the early-to-mid ‘80s. Season three finds the fugitive mercenary quartet, led by Col. John "Hannibal" Smith (the scenery- and cigar-chomping George Peppard), still pursued by Col. Decker (Lance LeGault). “Trouble,” Hannibal informs one client, “supplies our main form of employment,” and the A-Team finds plenty of it as they lend their inimitable help to some little guy (or gal) being pushed around by the Mob, corrupt record producers, the Mob, corrupt union organizers, the Mob, business rivals, and, of course, violators of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. Guest stars include Markie Post as a supermodel in trouble with organized crime in “Hot Styles,” and Dennis Franz as a sleazy security company owner in “Beverly Hills Assault.” Half the fun is watching the soldiers of fortune formulate a plan of attack—which almost invariably involves tearing through intersections and screeching around corners in their big black van—before taking down the bad guys in a hail of surrender-inducing bullets. Yes, cars and bodies hurtle in slow motion through the air, but blood rarely spills (if ever), and justice is reliably served. Presented in a three-disc boxed set (with no extras), this is an optional purchase for larger collections. (D. Liebenson)