A-Team Episode 2×09
“There’s Always a Catch”
- Location: Lobster Bay, …California?
- Tank: No
- Disguises: Doctor
- Scam: SCUBA Gear
- Flight: No
- Fixation: Thermy the (what’s left of a) Lobster
- Flips:
- Fee: $0
- Quote: “Pockets are made to be reached into” – Hannibal, about to accept an involuntary donation
- Who is that?? Tracy Scoggins (again), Shana Mayer. She’s totally into numbered space stations–Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9.
That’s a second freebie in a row–I really hope they pull this one off economically… The team once again has Decker on their heels and this time hides out in a hospital (where they meet our client). I’m not sure how they convinced the doctor to play along with them hiding in the operating room, but they soon make a narrow escape.
B.A.’s pink tiger stripe shirt is hard to miss, but what stood out to me was how quickly he changed into it. Seriously–they jump in the van after escaping the hospital and he’s in camo. Next moment, he’s in the van wearing a completely different outfit.
Also hard to miss was Dwight Schultz’s uncanny Theremin impression. I loved this–I’m not sure 50’s horror movie is what he was going for, but he nailed it. Then we have another tradition that’s been catching on lately, that of Face making a full accounting of the bad guys’ debt (from his handy paper notepad), typically when the bad guy scheme is some form of extorsion. The first time we saw this was back in The Out of Towners but we’ve seen it a few times more recently, too, so I figured it was time to call it out. Finally, we also have another recurring appearance by our old friend duct tape! We don’t really have a tank this episode, though the team does help repair a boat under montage using, among other things, good ol’ duct tape.
Decker continues to pursue our heroes and in a scene that probably wouldn’t fly today, shoves his way into a house under a warrantless entry. The team evades this by hiding in the garage (Decker must have searched with all the thoroughness of Lynch) and then gets to work on their plan, which opens with Face scamming up some SCUBA gear. In a fun twist, we get to see him instantly adapt when his cheesy accent is called out (I haven’t seen such grace since he was a fake doctor/author) by simply dropping the accent and saying his manager told him to do it.
That brings us to the final twist, where our heroes board the bad guy vessel and capture them–just before themselves being captured from Decker, whom it turns out worked with them for just this moment. The team is shipped off to military prison, and honestly the show just wasn’t any fun after this episode, though filming everything in prison was great for the budget.
Murdock and Amy swipe the truck meant for the team, drive up, spray some bullets, and fairy them away as Decker begins to comprehend what it must have been like to be Lynch. Both Murdock and Amy wear masks for this, which as best as I can tell means they both have managed to maintain their cover, though even without proof, it’s pretty clear that Decker is aware that they have some involvement with the team.