Friday, May 19, 2006

THE A-TEAM - "I simply refuse to use Air-travel as a mode of transport".

If it's 1985 and your B.A. action figure keeps making statements of this nature why not make a beeline for the local Wimpy Burger, to take advantage of their magnificent special offer?


After scoffing down a gristly burger what 8 year old could refuse a genuine A-Team action figure for a nothing but a fistful of loose change, or the princely sum of £8.99 to obtain lump of moulded plastic vaguely resembling a boat? The A-Team was like crack to us 80s kids!

Non-stop action, comedy and explosions, with bad guys flying through the air and Heath Robinson style inventions halting entire armies - it certainly was a one of a kind series, even if the idea of watching an entire episode today doesn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm. Nonetheless, I fondly remember what must have been the first post-modernist gag my tiny mind understood, when Dirk Benedict / Face did a double take as a Cylon walked past him, whilst a conversation concerning B.A.'s dislike for Airplanes can still elicit an excited response from anyone who grew up watching the show.

Last night Channel 4 gave us Bring Back The A-Team, during which presenter Justin Lee Collins attempted to reunite the surviving members of the aforementioned crack commando unit. Judgemental viewers might have considered it thirty minutes of decent material strung out to an hour with copious footage of hairy cornflake Collins hollering "Rock & Roll" as he sprinted across roads. They could also have pointed out that the "ambushes" on the cast looked pretty staged and this really was the type of thing Adam & Joe used to do, and with far greater expertise.

You wouldn't catch me saying derisive stuff like that though - I must admit some moments took me straight back to the Saturday tea times of my youth, the interview with the affable Mr.T was worth the price of admission, plus it was chock full of stories about George Peppard being a complete bastard. Any airplay for Pop Culture nostalgia is surely a good thing.

It's just a shame that offer isn't still on at the Wimpy, because I never did get that boat...

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