The Checklist: The A-Team (S3 Ep6) “Double Heat”
It is Anniversary Month here at Bulletproof Action! As we prepare to celebrate our 6th anniversary later this month, it is a great time to reflect on the past and the evolution of the site.
For example, did you know The A-Team was the inspiration for The Checklist becoming a feature on the site in January 2015. And while admittedly it may not be the best format for some of the more modern series that I have covered on the site, it damn sure works for classic trope filled series like The A-Team.
So let’s put Episode 6 from Season 3 of The A-Team to The Checklist test to prove my point..
- SYNOPSIS: The A-Team is hired by a father to save his daughter, who was presumably kidnapped by the mobster that the father is set to testify against.
#1. Is this a Craig R. Baxley episode?
That’s right the director that gave us “The Baxley Three” got his directorial start on The A-Team. Baxley was the stunt coordinator for all 97 episodes of the series, but he also directed 9 episodes of The A-Team including “Double Heat”. 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
Leah Ayres of Bloodsport fame plays Jenny Olsen, a young lady who finds herself kidnapped and a pawn in a dangerous game between two Los Angeles crime bosses.
Steven Williams (Crash & Byrnes, L.A. Heat) plays Eddie Devane, the crime boss who orders Jenny’s kidnapping.
Daniel Greene (Hands of Steel, American Rickshaw) plays the douche bag who sets Jenny up and delivers her on a silver platter to Devane’s henchman.
And last but not least, Dana Elcar (MacGyver) plays George Olsen, a former accountant for Devane’s rival mobster Tommy Largo, who is set to testify against Largo. George is also the father of Jenny and the man who hires The A-Team to rescue her. 2/2
#3. Was Hannibal in disguise?
As heavy as “Double Heat” was on notable guest stars, it was just as heavy on Hannibal (George Peppard) disguises… Hannibal’s first disguise was as a statue. Hannibal uses this disguise when he first meets up with George Olsen and the team find out about Jenny’s kidnapping and the possible motive behind it. At first it is assumed that Tommy Largo kidnapped Jenny, but after The A-Team track down Ray Stevens and the waitress at the restaurant where Jenny was abducted, they find out Eddie Devane was behind it. One problem, nobody knows where Devane calls home… well, almost no one.
Hannibal hatches a scheme to play Largo and Devane against one another. The A-Team show up at a club owned by Largo, say they are there on behalf of Eddie Devane and that Devane wants to talk to Largo and Devane wants to meet with Largo. Largo blows them off at first, so Face (Dirk Benedict) shoots up Largo’s bar before The A-Team make a hasty exit. Largo is pissed and as expected makes his way to Devane’s compound… but not before having to deal with Hannibal once again, but this time disguised as a windshield washing hobo.
Thanks to Largo, The A-Team now know where the Devane Compound is but now they have to get inside. So Hannibal disguises himself as “Leo the Lizard” a character that is supposed to parachute in for a grand opening of a supermarket, but due to “pilot error” ends up parachuting into Devane’s swimming pool.
Lastly after Jenny is rescued, Hannibal disguises himself as a hotel waiter at the hotel where George Olsen is being kept before the trial, to make sure the federal marshals assigned to protect Olsen get him out before the bad guys come and take George out. 3/3
#4. Was there a big car stunt?
One thing Hannibal did not plan for was that the mobsters he was pitting against one another, would call a truce and team up against their mutual enemy. But one thing Devane and Largo didn’t plan for was for their car to jump and flip after their efforts to shut down The A-Team failed. 4/4
#5. Were any catchphrases used?
We did not get Hannibal’s classic “I love it when a plan comes together”, but B.A. Baracus (Mr. T) was sure to let everybody know that Hannibal was “on the jazz again”. 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) This was a Hannibal heavy episode, but we still manage to get Murdoch acting crazy and pissing off B.A. and Face using his con man skills… but what was the deal with Face’s mustache!?!?
