I went to the cinema this week.
The choice of films in Harrow was quite restricted and it came down to a straightforward toss-up between The A-Team and Inception. As the A-Team was just about to begin when I got there that's what I chose.
It was Big Dumb Fun. With a capital DUMB. It was loud, brash, utterly preposterous and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's also absolutely chock full of obscure references that most people won't notice, that some people will notice and won't get and that fans of the original will quietly smile at. (Director of the movie showing when Murdoch escapes? Reginald Barclay. If you don't get it, then you can find out for your homework. Professor Google will help you.)
Anyway it reminded me that it's about time I did another nostalgia post because I get very nostalgic about the kind of program The A-Team represented. Daft adventure or cop series that had exactly the same plot every week, completely ridiculous premises, special effects ripped on license from low budget cinema releases so that the stories had to be written to fit the available footage.
Ah those were the days. The A-Team was the sublime tip of the iceberg. I have a couple of series on DVD and terrific they are too. But what about The Incredible Hulk? By the numbers episodes down to the last detail. You can set your watch by how long it will be before poor old David "Don't Make Me Angry" Banner is going to go all green and muscle-bound. And let's not forget The Six Million Dollar Man and its better spin-off The Bionic Woman. Let's also give a nod towards the Invaders, a series I never saw the last season of and must buy on DVD some time. Over on the police end of things there were dozens of quirky detectives from scruffy Columbo (apparently on a never ending cycle of afternoon repeats) to fat Cannon, moustachioed cowboy McCloud and the partnership of Starsky and Hutch.
Occasionally these programs slipped in a bit of social relevance or an episode with a slightly harder edge but mostly they were the very definition of formulaic entertainment. Nowadays everything has to have morals and points and ongoing storylines but back then things could just be the big dumb fun that they were.
Which brings us back to the A-Team.
If you think the following exchange of dialogue is wonderfully, gloriously, insanely ludicrous go to see the movie.
"Are they trying to shoot down the other drone?"
"No, they're trying to fly the tank."
Priceless.
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