THE A-TEAM episode guide - 2nd season bloopers

A note on the use of swearing - at the beginning, one of the bad guys refers to Mr. Griffin as that "crazy old buzzard" - an obvious euphemism for "bastard". This episode also marks one of the few times that actual mild swearing is used, when storekeeper Morey Moran uses "bloody".

The shots of wild animals (elephants, etc.) are quite clearly pre-existing stock footage. The shot where Hannibal uses his gun to scare away the approaching elephants is amusingly unconvincing.

The helicopter used in this story, with registration #NC044C, is also used in the next broadcast episode, 'Recipe For Heavy Bread'.

On some more recent versions of this episode, such as the version shown on $ky in the U.K., the opening drum section of the closing credits has been altered, giving a slightly different lead in, possibly due to damage of the original masters. It plays as the original broadcast version on the DVD version.

As The A-Team van drives through town to the restaurant, check out Hannibal (or his double) - he is wearing different clothes in just about every shot. As the van turns a corner, he is noticeably wearing a red shirt - nothing like the smart suit he is wearing when the team arrive and get out.

The shot of the exterior of the hotel that Face has scammed is stock footage. It is used again in the fourth season episode 'The Heart of Rock N' Roll'.

Possible blooper - the registration of the helicopter changes from NC044C to N54797. It is debatable because it could be intended to be a different helicopter within the context of the story.

Shots of Murdock arms at the plane's controls originate from the first season episode 'Holiday In The Hills', and would often be used as stock footage again in other episodes where Murdock is flying a plane.

On the truck full of booze that the disguised Hannibal delivers to the orphanage, watch the back doors carefully - in some shots, there is a white star on the back doors, but in other shots, the star is gone!

Not a blooper, but more of a general note - the closing credits unusually concentrate of the first few minutes of this story, at Face's apartment and the Military pursuit to the airport; ordinarily, shots giving a more general overview of the story would be used.

When Murdock arrives in the helicopter at the climax of the story, he has the matchbox containing 'Herman' next to him, but in the close up of it, a sticker reading 'Herman's Home' has suddenly appeared on the box!

...Also, if you look very carefully, the matchbox is actually the other way up in the close up shot.

Also regarding this section of the story, the shot of the helicopter clearing the ridge is quite probably taken from the first season episode 'Children of Jamestown'.

On the opening trailer, after Captain Crane’s line “Looks like you caught The A-Team once-and-for-all…”, there is a shot looking down at the water with air rising from the submerged van. This shot was not used in the actual episode.

When Daniel is lassoed off of his horse, the place where he falls seems to be a different place from where he gets up again. When he falls there are trees around, when we see him stand up, they have disappeared. (Also, the stream seems to appear from nowhere, though it may simply not have been visible in the previous shots.)

My favourite thing to spot in the entire series: I've only spotted this on DVD, the picture panned up to far on televised versions, but look carefully at the file that Colonel Decker reads about The A-Team. It reads:... 'Aleged suspects on or about June 15, 1978, did wilfully and knowingly do something really naughty'! Click the image to see a larger screen shot (opens in a new window). And yes, they did spell 'aledged' wrong!

The file that Decker reads from is FULL of continuity conflictions.

Decker reads from the file: “December 1st ’77, they relieve Colonel Lynch of one executive jet belonging to the Military…”, and we see an abridged sequence taken from the Pilot as Hannibal, carrying B.A., and Amy, pile onto a jet and take off away from Colonel Lynch.

	The first contradiction is obviously the date – it would suggest that the events in the Pilot were actually set 5 years before they were filmed. They has never been (or ever would be) any indication that events in the series weren't set in the present, it’s always been said that the events took place in the same era as they were broadcast. Also, in the Pilot, Murdock says to Colonel Lynch that he wants to get out of the mental hospital and go and see E.T. like everyone else – E.T. was released in 1982, which confirms that the Pilot must have been set in that year.
	Further to the date contradiction, the jet in the Pilot was scammed by Face, and was not a Military aircraft of any sort! (Incidentally, Tim Dunigan, the original Face, is (obviously) edited out of this sequence, though if you are sharp eyed enough, you can just see his foot disappearing as he ran over from Hannibal to the jet in the original sequence)
	Next, Decker reads “Two months later he lost five MP cars in a high-speed pursuit…” and the footage switches to another abridged sequence, taken from ‘One More Time’, with Hannibal (in disguise as an old lady) and Face racing along on a motorcycle chased by the MPs, before crashing into a car driven by B.A.. If this was two months after the previous event, then it would be in February 1978 – again, this date does not tally what-so-ever with any other events in the series.
	What’s more, in ‘One More Time’, there were only two MP cars chasing the bike, and a third after B.A.’s car, not the five as the file states.
	After that, General Bullen continues “…and then, last year, after the newspaper head-line the capture of the team, they escape. From a full security Military installation…” to which Decker adds, reading from the file “taking with them a Military troop plane under Lynch’s command…”, and we see a sequence from ‘Holiday In The Hills’, of Hannibal, Face and B.A., again unconscious, piling into a plane piloted by Murdock and away from some armed guys in jeeps. This sequence is the most confusing and misleading of the lot, as the men after them were guerrillas in 'Holiday In The Hills'; in no way connected with the Military. And again, the plane wasn't a Military one; we learnt in that episode that Murdock had actually got it from a rental repair line (un-repaired, which promptly caused in to crash in that story!)
	If any of us are even bothering to take note of the date’s given by this stage, they are inaccurate because events in ‘Holiday In The Hills’ took place before those in ‘One More Time’ (four episodes before, to be exact); not to mention that if the dates given here were followed, it would mean there was a four year gap between the events of ‘One More Time’ and ‘Holiday In The Hills’!
	On paper, the description of events that Bullen and Decker recount sound more like ones that took place later on in ‘One More Time’, when Hannibal, Face and B.A. are captured but given the opportunity to be set free in return for agreeing to take part in a mission, and take off in a Military B-52.
	Also (this one is for under ‘Music’ really), the music we hear on this scene is different to the track used in the original sequence, actually originates from ‘One More Time’.

These strange dates and flashbacks seem to have nothing to do with the original episodes that they were taken from, and just seem to be used to try and flesh out the team's history. But it certainly serves to confuse the viewer!!

NOTE: On the U.S. syndicated version (at least, on the version that I have seen), this entire flash-back sequence is edited out, with the scene starting much more towards the end, with General Bullen and Decker talking.

Nitpick: At the film premiere, if Hannibal suspects that Lynch is nearby, why does he remove his disguise when he is talking to Face?

My friend at school (also an 'A-Team' fan) and I often used to laugh about this one: at the film premiere, after Decker and his men have slid over on the ice, Hannibal jumps through a window. Not only is it clearly a stunt double (of course), but this particular double seems to have been on holiday, as he has a tan and is much darker than George Peppard!

The night-time shots of the city, before Daniel bumps into the Wino, are stock footage, and were previously used at the start of the first season episode 'The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas'.

Nitpick: Seeing as it is the first time that Colonel Decker has tried to capture The A-Team, how does Captain Crane recognise it even though this is the first time he’s ever seen it. Presumably the Military Police have a record of it’s description on file, which rekindles the long-running question as to why the MPs seemingly recognise the van on some occasion, and not on others.

A shot of The A-Team van pulling up to the warehouse was recycled in the third season episode 'Trouble On Wheels'.

When B.A.’s van crashes off of the pier, and when it is lifted out, it quite clearly is not the standard GMC A-Team van, but another model. When we see it crash off the pier, the headlights become round, and the front grill is also missing. The front end of this model seems to be shorter – note on the shots after it has been pulled out of the water and Decker and Crane are looking inside, the van is shot from such an angle that the front end is not overly visible. The side sliding door can also be seen to be different.

The sequence of the van crashing into the ocean was reused at the end of the third season episode 'Hot Styles'.

Nitpick: Why does Hannibal have to be inside the van as it races across the pier and into the ocean - couldn't they have just placed a brick (or suchlike) on the accelerator? Possible explanation: Maybe he needed to steer it around the soldiers?

Nitpick: The rest of the team and Daniel seem to leave via a different exit than the one that the van entered the warehouse by. So why do they leave by the exit that is right near the M.P.s? Possible explanation: maybe both sides of the warehouse had been surrounded, and the one where the soldiers were distracted was easier to leave by?

Nitpick: If the M.P.s identity Daniel from his fingerprints, how come Amy and Murdock's prints aren't also identified? Surely this would confirm that they are both working with The A-Team?

In Arizona, when the team go into town for supplies (just before the brawl with Stryker and his men), the establishing shot of the street is actually an (unused) shot from the first season finale 'A Nice Place To Visit' - the Watkins Brothers pick-up can even be seen in the background.

When Hannibal and Face are galloping on horseback alongside the train, their stunt doubles can be spotted in many shots, intercut with shots of George Peppard and Dirk Benedict.

When Hannibal frees the mustangs from the railroad wagon, his stunt double can clearly be seen in one shot.

After the team have successfully stopped the train (the first time), after Hannibal has released the horses from the wagon, we see B.A. ride up and give Hannibal his horse. Look carefully - this is actually B.A.'s stunt double (Tony Brubaker); it is clearly not Mr. T.

When Murdock is listening to the train rail and talking to his horse, B.A. grabs him, holding both sides of Murdock's top. He then puts down one arm, but in the shots from behind Murdock, his hand is still there.

When Hannibal jumps out of the helicopter onto the train, the helicopter appears to vanish into nowhere.

Nitpick: Hannibal says to B.A. "...We gotta stop this train". Actually, the train was disconnected and went on ahead; he should say "We've gotta stop these wagons".

The house used in the first season episode 'Till Death Do Us Part' is used again in this episode.

Shots of the MP cars pursuing the A-Team van from this story, were reused in a number of later episodes, including the third season's 'Showdown!' and 'Bounty', the fourth season's 'Mission of Peace', and in the fifth season's 'Alive At Five' (where shots of the MP cars were instead used to represent the bad guys' cars).

During the chase at the beginning of this story, Murdock is sitting face on behind B.A. Yet in close up shots of Murdock in the back of the van, he is sitting with his back to the side of the van.

In the interior shots of the van both after it crashes through the advertisement board, and over the bridge, if you look towards the top of the picture when the van bounces down, you can see the some of the studio sound stage.

And during the chase, when Hannibal tells B.A. to "turn left here", on the shot looking from the drivers side wheel, in the shot as the van turns, what seems to be cars and trailers from the filming crew can briefly be glimpsed a way off.

After the van has jumped the incomplete bridge and lost Decker, the shot of the van driving across a white bridge is stock footage that first appeared in the first season's 'A Nice Place To Visit'. It leads to a slight continuity error, as through the driver's window, B.A. (or his double) can seen to be wearing a red jumper, but inside the van, B.A. is wearing a different top.

At the garden party that the team interrupt, when Face is counting through Jarrett's "change", the line "...let's see, that's eight dollars" is added in post production.

At the end of the story, where the team pile into the van to escape Decker again, watch the shot where the van turns around in the street - the roof-mounted spotlights are missing in this shot!

During the final chase, after Murdock's line "Do we have enough gas?", the following brief shot of the pursuing MP cars is a shot taken from the first season episode 'Black Day at Bad Rock' (notice that they are suddenly different model cars, obvious from the different headlights)

Most of the closing shots of the chase, as well as the van crashing through the advertising board a second time, are recycled from the start of the story.

The closing credits feature a shot of Hannibal, cigar in mouth, smiling. This was taken from the fight in the store, but this particular shot was not used during the actual episode.

Shots of Decker and his men running through the hospital were reused in the third season episode 'Breakout!'.

During the scene where the team enter Gains' mansion, there is a shot of B.A. that is flipped back-to-front - the bag he is carrying suddenly changes from one shoulder to the other.

When the rest of the team arrive in the van in the underground parking lot to save Face, who has escaped from Crazy Tommy T's henchman, shots of the van racing through the parking lot show it not to have it's rear spoiler; Obviously there wasn't enough clearance under the roof for it and so it was removed for the filming of this sequence.

When B.A. uses the constructing vehicle to crush the back of one of the villains' cars (a shot used on the third and fourth opening credits), there is clearly no-one inside the car.

On the opening credits of this episode, despite having the second season (first version) opening visuals, the audio is actually from the first season opening credits. This is evident by the "Ten years ago..." opening instead of "In 1972...", and the sound of the bi-plane from the Pilot where the visuals show the helicopter chase from the first season's 'Till Death Do Us Part'. As this was only the second episode produced for the second season, maybe the old version was still on hand and someone slipped up. Either way, all versions of this episode that I have seen have this error, and it is also present on the DVD version.

The shot of the A-Team racing off an out of the parking lot, after Face has sprung Murdock from the V.A. hospital, was also used this season in 'Recipe For Heavy Bread'. (Oddly, 'The White Ballot' was produced before 'Recipe For Heavy Bread', but the shots were clearly filmed for 'Recipe...', as the van is pursing a bad guy's car out of the parking lot - a sign of how things were often slotted together in post production)

In the shots of the A-Team van where Murdock and B.A. are campaigning for Joe Morgan (Face), external shots show campaign posters to be attached to the hood of the van. However, in the internal shots of the van (filmed on a sound stage), the posters are clearly not there.

Nitpick: When Face exposes the gambling club to be rigged, presumably one of the team went in first to check that it was indeed rigged, else Face would have looked very stupid!

The end of the opening trailer plays as follows: Hannibal: "It's gonna be hotter than..." (explosion) "...fourth of July". The second half of his line is taken from him saying "Gentlemen, we're gonna have a good old fourth of July" as the team prepare the fireworks in the warehouse at the climax of the story, but the "It's gonna be hotter than..." is not used anywhere in the story. It seems to come from the end of the first act, after the team have fought the Tong memebers in the Golden Pagoda restaurant.

The music as used at the end of the scene where Wan Chu has taken Sam, Sun and Tommy prisoners, was previously heard earlier this season, in 'Bad Time on the Border'.

This episode was the final one to be broadcast in the U.S. before Christmas 1983. The A-Team dump drug baron Chris Thomas outside the Police station, with a note reading 'Merry Christmas, from The A-Team', could be an in-joke to this, or just coincidence.

The musical score from the team's "make" in 'Water, Water Everywhere' previously this season, is recycled in this episode.

The shot of the A-Team van, as B.A. retrieves it from the used car lot, is actually a shot taken from 'Recipe For Heavy Bread' earlier this season - notice the people suddenly walking by.

Nitpick: It is never explained how Face got on the roof of the security firm's high rise to place 'Mike' the skunk there.

During the climatic helicopter battle, some shots looking for the helicopter along the valley are taken from the first season episode 'Till Death Do Us Part'.

During the climatic helicopter battle, there is a shot of the helicopters floor coming loose, and Murdock (or his double) pushing down on the offending panel. Despite supposedly being in the air, if you look the far right of the picture, you can see grass where the helicopter is clearly on the ground. (This shot may have originally been intended to be used during the "make" as the team prepared the helicopter, supported by what appears to be Face's leg also in shot).

The shot of the helicopter smashing into the side of the cliff originates from a James Bond film. It became stock Universal footage, used - amongst other things - in several 'Airwolf' episodes, including the first season episode 'Echos From The Past'.

Much of the shots of the soldiers and their machinery marching over ground as they search for the team, is pre-existing stock footage. A number of these shots would be used again at the close of the season, in 'Curtain Call'.

The beach-front building that the team use in this episode, also appears in the fourth season episode 'The Doctor Is Out'.

Several shots of explosions, and bad guys being sent sprawling by explosions, are recycled from 'Bad Time on the Border' earlier this season.

The shot of the A-Team parked outside a house, is used again in the third season episode 'Double Heat'.

Not a blooper or recycled material note as such, but something I thought I'd mention - this episode seems to have heavily influenced the UK book-and-cassette release 'You Loose, Snake Eyes' (part of two waves of four 'A-Team' stories released). That story also features gambling, Face being drugged, and buggies in the desert.

The photos of Hannibal, B.A. and Face seen at the beginning of the story are: a shot of Hannibal from 'In Plane Sight' previously this season (to be confirmed), a common publicity shot of B.A. taken during production of 'Diamonds 'N Dust' at the start of this season, and quite an uncommon publicity shot of Dirk Benedict (Face).

This is the first of several times where a shot of bullets digging into the back doors of the A-Team van would be used. To note on this particular instance, is that the shot gives the impression that the van is moving - but then it is seen to start driving off a few seconds later.

Following on from above, the sequence as the team race away from the terrorist base are made up of shots from several other episodes - shots of the van from 'Labor Pains' previously this season, and the pursuing jeeps are mainly taken from 'In Plane Sight' also this season, as well as a shot of what was originally Decker's jeep flipping over, in 'Say It With Bullets'.

Some versions of this episode noticeably skip a note at the end of the closing credits; this is present on both the DVD versions, the previous VHS releases, and (to be confirmed) the episode shown on UK Gold / Bravo in the U.K. The original ITV version did not have this error.

Also on the opening trailer, one of the terrorists turns to Face and says "You're standing on a landmine. One more step, and it blows". In the actual episode, this sequence plays differently, and it is a different bad guy that says the line.

When Murdock stops the Corvette as he hears the dog crying at the side of the road, he has a light blue t-shirt on. But when he comes back out of the bushes and is surrounded by the bad guys, his t-shirt is suddenly a much darker blue.

Niptick: When Hannibal takes B.A. to the doctors, only for it to break out in a gun-fight with the bad guys, he crouches down behind B.A. on the table for cover. ...Wouldn't have been wise to move somewhere else to draw the villains' gun fire, so B.A. didn't get hit?!

During the climatic battle on the A-Team's training ground, we hear Hannibal say over a walkie-talkie "Is this Dougie Kyle? Crazy old Dougie?" - this was exactly the same dialogue (and same take) as was used when Hannibal talked to Kyle on the telephone previous to challenging him to a showdown.

During the climatic showdown, Murdock performs an impossible leap - he jumps from the top of a high water tower, down onto King below, lands upright, and does not remotely injuring himself.

The music used during the climatic battle, is pieced together from existing episode scores - as well as several pieces used previously in the episode, there are three sections from 'Say It With Bullets' previously this season, and from the first season's 'Children of Jamestown'.

The music as the team first travel to the community's compound, with Murdock trying to get B.A. to play twenty questions with him (scene not in syndicated version) is recycled from 'In Plane Sight' previously this season. The van also drives across a white bridge, in a shot taken from the first season finale 'A Nice Place To Visit', again causing a continuity blooper as B.A. (or his double) can be seen to be wearing a red jumper in the exterior shot, but inside the van is wearing is green overalls.

Early versions of this episode (including the one originally shown by ITV in the UK) had the wrong closing Universal logo. It read "and Universal", whereas it should read "Universal and", before leading into the Stephen J. Cannell Productions sequence. Later TV versions, and the DVD version, have corrected this error.