Bullet Points: Command 5

I do not know the number of failed TV pilots disguised as TV movies that we have covered over the years on Bulletproof Action, but I do know that the number is about to go up by one as I review 1985’s Command 5.

Originally airing on ABC’s Monday Night Movie in August of 1985, Command 5 felt like it could have been ABC’s answer to The A-Team, which was enjoying huge ratings success at the time over on NBC. But for whatever reason, instead of getting a chance at becoming a series, Command 5 was a one and done, relegated to fill out ABC’s summer schedule.

• Lead the Way: The movie opens with what would have been one of the great TV opens of the 1980s, had Command 5 been picked up as a series of course. Spoiling some of the big action that was yet to come the intro/opening credits spotlights the five members who will comprise Command 5. And then the action begins as Captain Blair Morgan (Stephen Parr) freefalls out of an airplane, tempting fate and waiting until the last possible moment to pull the ripcord. Once he is back on terra firma, we learn that Morgan is not going to continue on with his Navy Intelligence career. So it is convenient that a new opportunity awaits… Morgan is summoned to St. Louis where officials from around the country have gathered to discuss Morgan leading an elite team of cops to deal with the not so average criminals of the world. Morgan is open to the idea, but does not approve of the recruits that the executive committee selected for him to lead. Morgan convinces him to select his own team and he wants to see the files of the candidates that the executive committee rejected…

• The Rejects: After looking over the files, Captain Morgan then goes out to recruit his team… he starts in Texas with J.D. Smith (William Russ, Wanted: Dead or Alive). Smith, who has the reputation of getting into high speed chases and destroying police cars, is participating in a demolition derby when Morgan meets up with him…. Next up is psychologist Chris Winslow (Sonja Smits), who enjoys letting off steam doing some target practice… Then there’s Officer Nick Kowalski (John Matuszak, One Man Force), a cop who loves classical music, art and blowing shit up…. Last but not least is Jack Coburn, a hot head cop who has been suspended after he went too far going after some drug dealers who were selling their product to school kids… The first time all 4 recruits are in the same room, Jack is not shy about sharing his annoyance with the antics of J.D. and Kowalski, with Winslow chiming in as well. That’s about the time Morgan comes in the room with a big smile on his face saying he knew they’d be a perfect fit.

• Team Building: Morgan has a Command 5 training camp set up to put his recruits through the paces… there’s an obstacle course, zipline, shooting range… all of it provides the movie with an extended training montage segment. But it’s the “field trip” after their first day of training that really turns into a team building exercise. The fivesome go to a local bar to unwind and it is there that two working girls proposition Kowalski, Winslow steps in and tells the ladies to back off and that causes the pimp to confront Winslow. Hot head Jack Coburn isn’t just going to stand by and let a no good pimp abuse his team mate, so he gets involved… I love it when a team comes together! The next day, Morgan shows off the team’s quasi-futuristic bulletproof van/mobile command center and top of the line motorcycles… now all they need is a mission!

• Enter the Brotherhood: We are introduced to our baddies in a Texas courthouse, where two members of terrorist group, known as The Brotherhood, are standing trial… but The Brotherhood has infiltrated the courthouse and are there to bust their fellow killers out. Led by Delgado (Gregory Sierra, A Low Down Dirty Shame) and Delgado’s right hand man Hawk (William Forsythe, Stone Cold), The Brotherhood not only bust out their buddies, but they grab a couple of newlyweds as insurance. This is about the time when we find out Command 5 has their own plane that can transport their van/bikes! The Command 5 team pursues The Brotherhood to the small town of Puma, that just so happens to be near a maximum security prison that is housing two more members of The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood take over the town, rounding up everyone and throwing them in the town’s jail… including the warden’s wife and teenage daughter… the perfect pawns for their plan that includes a stolen Learjet that will take them all to Nicaragua.

With the table set, the Command 5 finale delivers plenty of action. There’s explosions (thanks Kowalski) and unlike The A-Team, some bad guys actually die when our heroes come to save the day, Wings Hauser gets a chance to get a little unhinged at the expense a slimy William Forsythe and the rookie (and only) outing for the Command 5 team turns out to be a successful one as one would expect.

I guess it is better that Command 5 left us wanting more than overstaying its welcome. And you are still wanting more? Check out these Bonus Bullet Points…

• Familiar Faces: There were plenty of familiar faces in Command 5 throughout the entire movie… Arthur Adams played the Detroit representative on the executive committee that hired Morgan to lead Command 5. I’ll always know Adams as the judge in the greatest episode of Sanford & Son that ever existed… Ken Foree of Joshua Tree fame played the air traffic controller when the baddies steal the Lear Jet… Peter Jason of They Live fame played the Warden… And Robert F. Lyons of Death Wish II fame played Vince another member of The Brotherhood.
• The Usual: Jack Coburn’s drink of choice is scotch and milk.
• Special Thanks: …to Explosive Action for uploading the amazing Command 5 intro to YouTube…