What was so great about this show?

They weren't trying to preach social messages. They were just four guys trying to right wrongs and stay one step ahead of their pursuers. It was a better time and a better place.

George Peppard, end of story.

I’ll have to watch this at some point!

I loved this show when I was a child. I liked the humor and the way the characters interacted, and especially Mr T. I think the effort to avoid the show being scary to kids was a big part of its fun for me. I remember one episode when a helicopter crashed into the side of a cliff and fell to the ground, at least a couple hundred feet. I seem to remember it exploding. Then all the occupants got out and walked away. It was completely ridiculous but it allowed me to enjoy the action without worrying about the moral implications of the A-team killing other people.

That was the era when characters might learn a lesson by the end of an episode and then reset to their default by the start of the next episode, all part of the fantasy of things never really having permanent consequences. I think it's a positive thing that actions have consequences in tv stories now. I think it makes the characters more interesting and the situations more suspenseful because it raises the stakes for the characters, if you know what I mean. But of course it also limits what kinds of stories tv series can tell now and I think everything is quite a bit darker, with fewer ways to tell stories that allow families to watch together.

What was so unrealistic about this show? I thought it was very much grounded in reality

It’s a purely masculine show. The movie is fine it’s just mostly forgettable.

What drew me to the show, were the characters, and the humour. This show was a blast. I have the complete DVD boxset.