The Checklist: The A-Team (S1 Ep6) “Black Day at Bad Rock”
The standard operating procedure for The Checklist is for me to select a television series that I want to cover and then with the help of Alexa, randomly select an episode from that series’ run to put to The Checklist test.
The series I selected was actually the series that inspired the creation of The Checklist feature way back in 2015, The A-Team. But this time I decided to deviate from the SOP and instead of randomly selecting an episode, I chose one of my favorite episodes from the series, titled “Black Day at Bad Rock”…
#1. Were there any notable guest stars?
One of the reasons I consider “Black Day at Bad Rock” one of my favorite episodes of The A-Team is thanks to one of my all-time favorite television guest stars, Ed Lauter. You put Lauter on a show and it turns from good to great. Lauter, of Death Wish 3 and Raw Deal fame, plays Sheriff Hank Thompson of Bad Rock, California.
Hank responds to the local doctor’s call for help after Hannibal and Face bring B.A. to her home to patch him up after he was shot in the leg… but while the Sheriff and The A-Team start off as adversaries, they end up being allies thanks to this episode’s other notable guest star, Sid Haig.
Haig, of Coffy and Commando Squad fame, plays Sonny Jenko, the leader of The Barbarians biker club. Jenko is already locked up when Sheriff Thompson hauls Hannibal and Face in. Jenko is confident that his boys are going to roll into town and bust him out and bust Bad Rock up and he isn’t shy about mentioning it every chance he gets. Sid Haig was born to be bad (Shout out to Timon Singh!) and is the perfect slimeball villain… he’s also the perfect foil for a barrage of insults from Hannibal, Face and even Murdock. 1/1
#2. Did Murdock and B.A. bicker?
It was not unusual for B.A. and Murdock to go back and forth as B.A. often had a low tolerance for Murdock’s off the wall antics. Things were even worse for B.A. in “Black Day at Bad Rock” because when he needs a blood transfusion, the only one with AB negative blood like him is Murdock!
Murdock takes full advantage of the situation and needles B.A. about the two of them being blood brothers now. I pitied B.A. while watching, it was like his worst dream come true. 2/2
#3. Was there a montage?
When you only have an hour to set a trap for thirty angry bikers, you are going to need a montage to get the job done. And with the power of the montage, The A-Team along with the help of Sheriff Thompson, his deputy and Doc Sullivan, they are able to have everything ready for the arrival of The Barbarians, including creating a decoy sheriff’s office! 3/3
#4. Was there any vehicular mayhem?
The reason The A-Team even had time to prepare for The Barbarians is thanks to some vehicular mayhem. While The Barbarians stop for some lunch at a diner about 10 miles outside of Bad Rock, Hannibal, Face and Murdock end up disabling The Barbarians’ bikes in unique fashion thanks to a crane that just happened to be there.
Later, when The Barbarians arrive in Bad Rock, it is one failed motorcycle jump after the other. 4/4
#5. Were any catchphrases used?
Sadly, the one area “Black Day at Bad Rock” was lacking was in the catchphrase department… while Hannibal’s plan did indeed come together, there was no time to proclaim it. 4/5
- Final Score = 4/5 (80%) “Black Day at Bad Rock” may not have been a perfect episode, but the mere presence of Ed Lauter makes this one an all-timer in my book. Lauter’s Sheriff Thompson allowing known fugitives to drive away at the end of the episode was quite similar to the ending of my favorite Ed Lauter movie. Reliving the early episodes of The A-Team and it is no surprise the show took off like it did… they were delivering the goods and back in the day it was like nothing else my young eyes had ever seen. The fact that I can still enjoy the show 40 years later says a lot about the quality of the show too. An argument could be made that The A-Team is the best action-adventure series in history and it is because of episodes like “Black Day at Bad Rock.
