A-Team Episode 1×13
“The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing”
- Location: On a Plane
- Tank: No
- Disguises: Lunch Delivery Guy, President of the Airline
- Scam: A Limo, “Chauffeur and All”
- Flight: Very Yes
- Fixation: Going catatonic (Note: Substituting for Murdock this episode will be special guest crazy guy, B.A.). Note, we also get another Billy the Dog cameo.
- Flips: 0
- Fee: $50,000 (and definitely not $5 Million)
- Quote: “That’s a cute bit Murdock, but listen, why don’ t you try reality for a while” – Doctor, just before unfortunately declaring Murdock “as sane as he is”…
- Who is that?? Andrew Robinson, Jackson. Hint: Living in exile on Terok Nor…
The opening of this episode feels very cinematic, with wide establishing shots over LAX, as if to suggest the day is starting ordinary but we’re about to take part in a classic disaster flick (which I’m also a fan of). I’m also a fan of Star Trek which makes this week’s Who Is That?? very special. He was extremely hard to recognize without the makeup, but sometimes his voice gives him away–Andrew Robinson, whom I know very well as Garak from Deep Space 9.
The plan is to sneak in Hannibal and Face as the president of the company carrying the ransom money–$5 Million. It’s pretty routine, but I call it out because that’s is one rather awful fake mustache. Face seems awfully tempted by that suitcase of cash.
Face: “Every man has his price.”
Hannibal: “And you think five million might be yours?”
Face: “No… but it’s real close.”
Meanwhile, Murdock (having recently been rendered homeless by virtue of being declared sane) and B.A. board the plane secretly and promptly get trapped aboard. B.A. immediately goes catatonic and pretty much stays that way, leaving Murdock to take out the bad guys one-by-one. Even the bad guys start to feel like they’re in a Halloween episode as they start vanishing despite being on a plane.
This episode was rich with good one-liners and highlights. I was also amused by the guy who got knocked out by a punch to the chest. The plot to Terror in the Sky sounds to me a lot like the plot to Airplane! (and I suppose whatever movie that movie was based on). And of course, anyone who’s seen Airplane! should recognize the stock footage of a plane going through a window toward the end.
We also see another plot element taken from Airplane! of guy who’s never flown a plane being guided in by guy who has but can’t at the moment. Hannibal lands a 747, the good guys win, and that brings us to the epilogue which had a terrific twist. It turns out the doctor who released Murdock (and all the rest of his patients) turned out to be nuts himself. On a quick second viewing, I barely caught a subtle line early in the ep from him, “I can assure you that I would not release you from this hospital unless I was absolutely certain that you were just as sane as I am.”
Well played, writers, well played.