NARRATOR: In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a miIitary court...
for a crime they didn't commit.
These men promptIy escaped from a maximum-security stockade...
to the Los AngeIes underground.
Today, stiII wanted by the government, they survive as soIdiers of fortune.
If you have a probIem, if no one eIse can heIp...
and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.
[Theme music]
[Serene instrumental music]
-Hi, Amanda. -Hi, Les.
-How're you guys making out? -Slow, but steady.
-Les. -l see him.
[Tense instrumental music]
Stay here.
LES: We're about to have a visitor. JAlME: Let me guess who.
BUMP: Our old buddy Frank Gaines. LES: You got it.
[Tense instrumental music]
GAlNES: Well, hello, boys.
This place's really coming along. Looking real fine.
lt's amazing what you can do with a little wallpaper and moldings.
Something we can do for you, Mr. Gaines? Our opening's still a couple of weeks off.
l imagine it might be a little longer than that, what with the water shortage.
What will you do? Bus your dinner guests to Barstow with the dishes...
-so they can get washed? -Thanks for your concern.
lt's our problem. We're working on it.
l admit, what you boys lack in brains, you sure do make up for in determination.
-We'll accept that as a compliment. -Here's something else you ought to accept.
GAlNES: Look it over. Call me, soon as you can.
GAlNES: l've sweetened the offer to compensate you for the work...
you put in here since we talked last.
Our property wasn't for sale then, and it's not for sale now.
GAlNES: When you been in business little longer...
you will learn there is no such thing as ''not for sale.''
There's no sense in us wasting time talking about something we've already said no to.
-How many times? -l lost count.
''No'' means the same thing in over three-quarters of the civilised world.
For the life of me, l can't figure out why you have such a terrible time getting a grip on it.
What l can't get a grip on is taking no for an answer.
Now, you read my lips.
l do not live in a civilised world.
You wouldn't be trying to scare us, would you?
We all got PhDs in scared.
-We've been scared by experts. -Read that contract over.
Call me soon, say, tomorrow?
Gaines, you're not gonna hear from us tomorrow, next week, or next year.
We're just not interested in selling.
Now, if you'll excuse us, we got work to do.
LES: l'm getting that feeling.
The one l got when we were about to play squat tag in a claymore patch.
Come on, what's he gonna do? Kill us?
He'll probably try.
They didn't budge.
GAlNES: You read me, Harry? HARRY: 10-4, Mr. Gaines.
GAlNES: l just lost all my patience.
GAlNES: You come here and take care of this, will you?
We'll do our best, sir.
He's really upped the offer, all right.
Now it almost qualifies as legitimate low-ball.
Maybe if we play our cards just right, he'll make us an offer we can't refuse.
Hey, just kidding.
HARRY: Howdy, fellas.
What can we do for you?
Mr. Gaines is worried about you, handicapped, living in this wreck of a place.
So he sent us over to heIp you move out.
Before it falls in on you.
We appreciate his concern, but you can tell Mr. Gaines that these ''handicapped''...
are getting along just fine.
This place is really a mess.
Place looks unsafe, too. You take that staircase.
Looks kind of rickety to me.
What do you think, Jayce? Don't that Iook Iike a safety hazard to you?
Stop it! Just leave him alone.
Tell him, honey. He's the one who wants a fight.
You gonna have to go back to the V.A. for repairs.
Just show some brains, and don't come back...
or we'll bust everything else on you so that nothing works.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
[Melancholic instrumental music]
JAlME: Murdock, you don't understand. The man owns half of Sobaco County.
That incIudes a bank, a savings and Ioan...
and most of the IocaI poIiticians, incIuding the sheriff.
BUMP: Especially him.
So you're outgunned, you're outmanned, you're outfinanced.
That's perfect! My friends're gonna love it.
lt's their forte. lt's their long suit. lt's their bag.
[With lrish accent] How do you feel? When l say l'm right, l'm right.
Are you sure your friends are from the real world, Murdock?
They from the part of your brain where the imaginary guys in your belt came from?
[With lrish accent] lmaginary. Stay cool. He meant no disrespect.
[Without accent] You think the wee folk are imaginary.
Where does that leave elves and gremlins, not to mention doppelgängers?
Face it, Murdock. They won't let you out of this place.
So, big deal.
Look, what they allow and what l do are two separate zip codes, buddy.
What do you say? You gonna let me contact my friends or not?
Murdock, we appreciate your offer. We really do.
We know you believe you can help us. But it's our problem...
and we should work it out.
This may be a fight that can't be won.
l wonder what would've happened...
if Moshe Dayan had figured that six days was too long...
to beat an army five times as big as his.
No offense, but l don't remember anyone asking you for your opinion.
The man's offering you help.
Are you too stubborn to take it or too proud?
Look, if we honestly thought the guy could help us out...
we'd take him up on his offer.
But a guy that carries wee people around in his belt lacks a little credibility.
So it looks like he's running a couple of quarts low.
The worst that can happen is you say:
''What have we got to lose?''
Come on, guys, say the word, l'll be a matchmaker.
I'm a great matchmaker.
l haven't had one single complaint from Lady Di about Prince Charlie.
And my work is guaranteed. Let me set it up, please?
Just who are these friends of yours, anyway?
-lt's the A-Team. -The A-Team?
-They're terrific. -You know them, too?
You bet. When are you guys getting out of this V.A. hospital?
My arm will be better in a couple of days.
And we could be back in Deadman by the end of the week. Why?
Cause that's exactly when we planned to be there, right, Colonel?
HANNlBAL: Are those MPs there? MURDOCK: lt's clear.
Works for me. How about you guys?
[Cheerful instrumental music]
AMY: The title company records show...
Gaines Development Company owns 25,000 acres of land...
immediately surrounding the town...
and a total of 50,000 acres of Sobaco County.
Fifty thousand acres he can't develop because he hasn't got any water.
But there was a geologist's survey that shows large artesian wells...
and the only way they can get to the wells...
is through the property owned by our clients.
l thought the water was so scarce it was hauled into town every week by truck.
They have no money to drill for it. Their credit's no good. Gaines has seen to that.
Why don't they sell?
Gaines doesn't want to buy it. He wants to steal it.
He wants to prove he's a better horse trader than his granddaddy...
who stole the land from the lndians about 50 years ago.
l bet you can't wait to meet this guy, huh, Hannibal?
[With lrish accent] The wee dudes are looking forward to it, aren't you?
What wee dudes? You been greasing your hair with battery acid again, Murdock?
[With lrish accent] Pay no attention to B.A...
his mundane metaphors are only exceeded by his awful attitude...
which you will learn to know and love.
lt's not a bad idea, though.
Buy up cheap desert land...
get the water to it. You got instant Palm Springs.
[Without accent] Hey, l remember that movie, Chinatown. Water rights.
Jack Nicholson walked around all the time with a big Band-Aid on his nose.
That's a good image, Captain. Thank you.
[With lrish accent] What's happening now is that Col. Smith is getting on...
what is known, in A-Team vernacular, as the ''jazz.''
l'll explain what it means later.
HANNlBAL: Murdock, you better bring along a couple. You never can tell.
l didn't think those three boys would have the guts to come back.
Gotta hand it to them. They are a spunky bunch.
l admire that, Harry. Really, l do.
Thing is, l wish they hadn't come back for their own sakes.
Makes me real sorry about what they're forcing us to do.
lt's only my opinion, but l still think you are all a bunch of donkeys.
Can't you see that Frank Gaines has the edge on you?
He is just as stubborn as you are...
and a great deal richer.
He can afford not to play by the rules.
Sounds terrifying, huh, B.A.?
FACE: ls that rhubarb? AMANDA: Apple. And this is serious.
So what you're saying is we ought to quit.
l'm saying l don't want you racked up again.
Frank Gaines can raise a small army.
What we lack in numbers, Miss Huston, we make up in quality.
-Like your pie. -Boy, is he right, Amanda.
ln fact, you are a pretty lucky lady because these fellas down here like it, too.
There's five down here you forgot to count. That's five on our side.
l was hoping the desert air would clear your brain, but l should have known better.
Five what l forgot to count?
-You heard of the Dirty Dozen? -Yes.
These little cabaIIeros are called the Filthy Five.
Hello, boys. lt's good to see you up and around.
Why don't you just leave, Mr. Gaines? You're not welcome here.
Sorry to hear that.
Actually, l'm a little surprised to see you at all.
From what Harry says, l thought you'd saved pennies and bought one-way tickets.
l bought the trip back.
-Who are you? -The slime monster or the aquamaniac...
take your pick.
l wouldn't fool with him if l was you.
Not too many people know it, but this is the guy that killed Cock Robin.
Shot him in the gut so that he'd die slow with a lot of pain.
What are you, fugitives from the banana bin?
How did he know?
Say, that's a real nice shotgun you got there.
Where did you get it?
This is a Super Crown Presentation-Grade Benetti, handcrafted in ltaly.
Cost me $20,000.
-l'll be darned. -Want to see how good it works?
That's real good. l'll bet you could hit the wall every time.
So long as no people get in the way.
Frank.... That's your name, isn't it?
You don't believe in that western code thing:
never shoot a man in the back, let him draw first, that kind of thing?
-No, l surely don't. -Well, good, neither do l.
Make them by hand, break them by hand.
[Action instrumental music]
You're a real long way from home, pal.
HANNlBAL: Come on, we gotta say goodbye.
[Gun shots]
lt was great meeting you, but don't hurry back, you hear?
[Tense instrumental music]
l think they're too stupid to get the message.
l think you're right, B.A.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
JACKSON: Here comes the water truck.
-What's going on? -You got a radio in that rig?
Yeah, but it's on the blink. What's going on, anyway?
HARRY: You didn't get the word. DRlVER: About what?
This order's been canceled.
lt hadn't been canceled in Barstow when l left the yard.
Well, it's canceled now.
All right, if you'll move your car there, l'll go to Deadman, phone in...
DRlVER: and confirm. HARRY: Not necessary.
You can turn around and go back to the yard.
Let me put it another way.
lf you'll just move your car there, l won't have to drive right on over it.
l don't think you'll do that.
Okay. l appreciate your explaining it to me.
[Tense instrumental music]
HANNlBAL: ''Fires can be put out, but it helps to have water.
HANNlBAL: ''Water is in very short supply. Use it wisely.
''SELL. Sobaco Ecological Leadership Lobby.''
l didn't know Gaines had such a sense of humor.
Yeah, he's a laugh a month.
l want you to pay real close attention 'cause l'm only gonna say this once.
l heard that line before. That's Randolph Scott, last reel...
BeIIe of the Yukon, lnternational Pictures, 1944.
You got any more smart remarks there, scumball?
That's Richard Widmark, Kiss of Death, Fox, '47.
Shut up, Murdock!
Yeah, let's hear what Frankie boy has to say only once.
Well, the message is real simple. My offer stands.
Not the latest one, but the original.
The more this tinderbox goes up in smoke, the Iower that offer's gonna be.
And if l were you, l would not wait until this entire town is a briquette.
Col. Smith, l thought you said you had a plan.
l do.
A little bit of military strategy.
Sounds like the jazz to me.
[Phone rings]
JAlME: Mr. Gaines, this is Jaime CoIIins.
Jaime, what a pleasant surprise. How are you doing?
Just cut the garbage and listen to what l have to say.
l'm listening. But you be real quick. l have important things to do...
like putting the 15 ball in the side pocket.
There's two ways to approach it: the right way and the sensible way.
JAlME: The right way didn't work out.
We talked it over and decided to do what's sensible.
l'm glad you finally figured it out.
l was beginning to think you never would.
Especially when you brought in that pitiful bunch of gunslingers to help you.
We're stubborn, but we're not stupid.
We decided to draw up a proposal, and we'll bring it by to you real soon.
l'll be waiting.
They're finally gonna do something sensible.
They're gonna draw up a proposal, come by, and present it to me.
Should we go ahead and let the water truck through?
When l have a signed contract in my hand.
We don't want them to think we're going soft, do we Harry?
[Tense instrumental music]
Last one to the door's Corky Duke.
FACE: Now, who are you? MURDOCK: Corky Duke.
Hi, there. Bradford, Field Supervisor, Maintenance and Repair.
-This here's my foreman, Corky Duke. -Corky?
What happened to Larson?
Larson. Got a bad case of the hives. Laid him up pretty good.
l guess he can't eat turkey.
Anyway, we got a call from the Gaines ranch.
Said their pressure was way down. lt's probably a blockage in the line.
Probably right about over here.
Can't be. lt would show on that gauge right there. Take a look.
NormaI pressure.
The needle's probably stuck.
See if the needle's stuck, will you?
What are you doing?
This is definitely your basic defective glass here.
l mean, this is not top-grade stuff at all.
Not onIy does it obviousIy break easiIy...
it also allows your moisture inside there...
to corrode your pressure-sensitive diaphragm...
and your indicator needle there.
Most of this apparatus here looks like it's overdue for this kind of inspection.
-Your station seems to be real slack on PM. -PM?
FACE: Preventative maintenance.
l assume you read the department's manual on preventative maintenance...
as amended in January of '83.
Why don't you just sign this work order? We'll keep your bad PM on the q.t.
Okay?
Corky, check that valve out there for me, will you?
Aye, skipper, on the double.
l hope that valve doesn't come off in my hand.
Hey, wait a minute! You can't turn off that water!
-You know what happens if he doesn't. -What?
Well, just means your gonna have to fill out the paperwork...
go to the main office and explain to that pack of career coffee drinkers...
why Mr. Frank Gaines can't water his prize petunias.
Now, if you can deal with that, then you are a better man than l am, Gunga Din.
Well, just hold it till l make a call.
-Phone's dead. -That explains why we couldn't get through.
Look, why don't you just sign this job order?
l got my crew out there standing in the desert.
They are gonna be melting like Mars Bars if l don't finish this before noon.
All right, give me that.
Smart. Real smart. Thank you.
How's it going out there, Corky?
-Fine. -Better put a seal on that valve.
Right.
l don't want the water turned on when my crew's out there working on the line.
Of course not.
Harry, what's the problem with the water?
A man's got a wet bar, he expects it to be wet.
-Did you call Water and Power? -Yes, sir.
-What did they say? -They're sending a guy to check it out.
lt will take a couple hours, depending on what's wrong.
We haven't reached the pumping station 'cause the phone's out over there.
Mr. Gaines, some guy's outside. Said something about the water.
-Col. Hannibal Smith. -Right here.
GAlNES: Should've known it was you.
HARRY: l'll get some of the guys fast. B. A.: They don't want to come.
Know what l mean?
We're here to discuss an intelligent business transaction.
Do you think you could manage something intelligent?
Harry, get on the phone, call the sheriff, tell him to get over here on the double.
Phone don't work. l think the transformer's down.
He's right, sir. The line's dead.
Now don't get tense, Frank. We're just here to deliver a proposal...
from our friends at the Stagecoach Hotel.
l have it right here.
$3,000? For what?
Fifty thousand acres of Sobaco County.
That's what your great-granddaddy paid to the lndians before he stole it from them.
Adjusted for inflation, of course. Heck of a deal, if you ask me.
l wish you hadn't done that.
lt's a one-time offer...
and the alternatives just get worse.
l thought you might want these people to leave, Mr. Gaines.
Leave? Leave wasn't exactly what l had in mind.
You hear that? That was definitely a death threat.
Face, what would you say to a 45A about now?
Not bad. Actually, l was thinking more in terms of a 38...
FACE: maybe a 32. HANNlBAL: Thirty-two?
Please, let's do a 32. l just love 32.
Forget the 32, forget the 38, forget the 45.
There's nothing like a good old 22.
[All] Twenty-two!
[Upbeat instrumental music]
Are you ready, B.A.?
One more.
Twenty-two always works.
-We rehearse. -Here's one l've been rehearsing in my mind.
That's for my window in my van. And here's for my tire.
l don't have to fight with you.
'Cause when its all over, you boys are just gonna be hung out to dry in that town.
GAlNES: The water's too deep for them vets to bring up.
And aII I have to do is wait...
till that place dries up and blows away.
Unless it burns down first.
'Cause you see, one way or the other...
l'm gonna get those water rights.
Fascinating, huh, guys?
Ever try the lecture circuit?
[Jazzy instrumental music]
Good work. Have any trouble?
Let's say the file clerk at the hall of records is kind of cute...
and has always wanted to work at a newspaper.
Jaime, show us where you think the stuff that we need might be.
JAlME: The pipe fittings and gaskets are here.
And the hoses are over here.
HANNlBAL: There's the loading dock, and normal access doors.
You know anything about their security system?
-They do have a burglar alarm. -What about a watchman?
There's a security patrol car going around once in a while. That's about it.
We'll get in, take what we need, no more, no less, and get out.
There's something nice about borrowing from Gaines, huh, Face?
Yeah.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
Mr. Gaines, those nutbars in the black van are pulling out.
GAlNES: Maybe things are faIIing in Iine. Come on in.
Yes, sir.
[Suspenseful instrumental music]
Get down, you guys. B.A.!
[Police dispatcher talking over radio]
Okay, we've got a minute and 31 seconds before he comes back again.
[Upbeat, jazzy instrumental music]
[Suspenseful instrumental music]
Come on.
[Tense instrumental music]
HANNlBAL: Let's go.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
[Dramatic instrumental music continues]
AMANDA: l have a confession to make.
FACE: Good. l'm a Scorpio. We're great at keeping confidences.
FACE: What is it you'd like to confess?
AMANDA: When you and your friends first showed up here...
l thought l was experiencing a close encounter of some kind.
FACE: They say first impressions are the ones that count.
FACE: Question is, how do you feel about us now?
AMANDA: l'm still working on it.
Only now l'm not so anxious for you to leave.
l promise you that will not happen.
We never leave until we've finished what we set out to do.
[Sighs]
Face, l'm so afraid.
l know that it we had a lick of sense, we would've pulled out a long time ago...
but here we are.
lt's like we're playing some kind of crazy game or something.
More and more lately, l feel like l don't even live in a real world.
FACE: l know how you feel.
FACE: Some times l think Murdock's the one who's in contact with reality.
The rest of us should just be sprinkled on top of a chocolate sundae.
Why do you do it?
l mean, surely, you'd be better off going your own separate ways...
changing your identities and starting new lives in different places.
We do it for the same reason you haven't run away.
You and Jaime and the others.
You're a team, a lot like we are.
When we're apart, we're just a bunch of social misfits.
But when we're together, that's something very special.
FACE: Only our goals are a little different. You're trying to turn your dream into reality.
We're just trying to survive.
l think something very special is happening here, Wanda.
-Amanda. -Right.
[Racy instrumental music]
[Engine droning]
JAlME: Okay!
[Triumphant instrumental music]
HANNlBAL: What's the pressure?
-100 psi. -That's enough, set her down.
JAYCE: Let's go.
GAlNES: Water!
How did we let this happen?
We didn't, Mr. Gaines. They somehow got a rig together and drilled a well.
How much water they bring in?
Looks like those people got enough to wait us out forever.
We're going in there, and we're not coming out...
till those people can't cause me any more trouble.
GAlNES: You understand? JAYCE: Yes, sir, l do.
Let's get started.
HANNlBAL: We got good positions for fixed emplacements...
but they could come at us from 50 different directions.
l'm gonna need something mobile with a tank on it.
That's all you need, just a tank with wheels.
No problem, l can get that at any 7-Eleven store.
-They're open 24 hours. -Come on, Face. We all know you can do it.
Amy told me you can come up with just about anything.
Jet planes, penthouses, yachts.
Of course, l found it a little hard to believe.
l'll have to stay off the main road. Can l borrow your four-wheel drive?
-Keys are in it. -Thank you.
GAlNES: How you doing, Harry? HARRY: Just fine, Mr. Gaines.
HARRY: We'll be ready.
-Be sure you are. -Yes, sir.
[Murdock humming to himself]
[Dramatic instrumental music]
FACE: You the owner here? You Elmer?
No, Elmer Coles used to own this place. lt's mine now. Can l help you?
Taylor Collinsworth, Field lnspector, Board of Health.
-How long you been the owner here? -Three months.
Well, that explains why the paperwork hasn't come through.
Transfer of ownership is always a little complicated.
You probably haven't had your B and H inspection then, have you?
Yes, l do, mister. l got that temporary certificate right there over in my office.
You haven't got your temp certificate!
Not with that vehicle sitting on your property, you didn't, no, sirree.
l just picked it up last week.
You also picked up yourself a bundle of problems, mister.
UnIess you got a sticker certifying that that tank was steam cIeaned...
since it hauled its last load of effluvium.
Now, let's go check it out, shall we?
There's no need to do that. There's no sticker on it.
You know what you got here, mister?
You got enough HeaIth Code vioIations...
to condemn this property for good!
You know mosquitoes can grow to be as big as binoculars?
And to them, a place like this can be the Holiday lnn.
-Now let's have your full name. -My full name?
Can't we work something out here?
lf that's here while l'm here, then l've got to write this up.
-lf l get rid of that fluvian thing there.... -Effluvium.
Take it to the dump.
Look, mister, l got my life savings tied up in this place.
Can't you give me a break?
Oh, boy.
Completely off the record.
lf l drive this out of here...
take it to the dump myself...
then l'd be able to see my way clear not to red tag you.
You're asking for a big favor here. You're lucky l'm in a good mood.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
HANNlBAL: Beautiful, Face. FACE: Voilà!
Voilà what? What do you expect me to do with this piece of junk?
l don't know. l can think of several possibilities.
Possibilities with this thing?
B.A., do you guys remember the fight we got into...
-in the barracks in Camranh Bay? -Yeah.
HANNlBAL: Bring it around back, Face.
[Dramatic instrumental music]
AMY: lt really is too bad we can't preserve this for the Museum of Modern Art.
Really gets the old adrenaline going, doesn't it?
-You sure this is gonna work, Colonel? -Let me put it to you this way...
Hannibal's plans are absolutely consistent.
They never look like they're going to work, but they always do. Sort of.
l don't know how we're ever gonna be able to repay you for this, sir.
We're just making a small contribution to freedom.
Each of you have already made a great one.
lt's been great knowing you, Colonel.
l just wish we all could have got together 15 years sooner.
Okay, boys. Let's go.
[Lively instrumental music]
The Clantons are coming, Wyatt!
GAlNES: You know where you're supposed to go. Let's hurry it up.
Light them up!
-Jaime. -Gotcha!
All right. You're not welcome in this town.
Now if these good people...
Jaime, Les, Dave, or any of their friends...
catch a cold, stub their toe, or if there are any more fires in this town...
the pictures that Miss Allen took...
showing you committing the crime of arson...
will be given to the district attorney, and then distributed to the newspapers.
Do you understand that? Now get out of town!
[Triumphant instrumental music]
You know, it's amazing.
Here we are being bombarded with offers for partnerships that we don't want...
and financing that we do.
lt was just a week ago, we were back at the V.A. hospital...
just about ready to throw in the towel...
and talking to Murdock and his invisible entourage.
Nothing alcoholic, please. The wee people do not partake.
lt's a question of image, of overcoming a stereotype.
We're talking about responsibility here.
We're talking Looney Tunes. That's what we're talking, fool.
HANNlBAL: Ease up, B.A.
He's just showing concern for his troops.
-Sign of a true leader. -Thank you, Colonel.
Sign of a true nut.
-l think we should drink a toast. -Hear, hear.
To four incredibly brave people who refuse to be pushed around.
And to the Stagecoach HoteI, soon to be the center of a major new resort and....
[Theme music]