SHOWDOWN!
Episode module created Tuesday 22nd July 2008
Last update Monday 22nd September 2008
Special Guest Star MORGAN WOODWARD as Captain Winnetka
Guest Starts JOHN CARTER (Parker (fake Hannibal))
D.D. HOWARD (Carrie Winnetka)
MICHAEL DELANO (Kyle Mason)
W.K. STRATTON (Captain Royce)
BEN HAMMER (General Rockmore)
Special Guest Star BILL LUCKING as Col. Lynch
Co-Starring XANDER BERKELEY (Sergeant Wilson)
JOSPEH DI REDA (Bartender ("Sarge")), K.C. WINKLER (Face's date)
Featuring LYNNDA FERGUSON as Nurse Smith
uncredited TONY BRUBAKER (fake B.A.)
(UNKNOWN) (fake Face)
3rd season; © 1984
Production # : 1307 48/60 minutes Mono
AIRDATES:
First broadcast:
U.S. : Tuesday 20th November 1984 (NBC)
U.K. : Saturday 29th December 1984 (ITV)
Click to jump to:
Plot Summery (Act I) (Act II) (Act III) (Act IV) (Epilogue)
The Final Word and Hannibal's Cigar Rating
BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
The A-Team are quick to leap into action and defend their name when they hear that a B-team of impostors are terrorising a travelling Wild West Rodeo Show. Matters are complicated further by the fact that the Army has given Colonel Lynch one last chance at capturing the real A-Team…
PLOT SUMMERY:
Act I:
At a travelling Wild West rodeo show, a young woman by the name of Carrie is practising her impressive quick-draw shooting act. But Captain Winnetka, the owner of the rodeo and her father, says he doesn’t know what she’s still practising for – he doubts the show will go on. It seems that none other than The A-Team, working for a guy named Kyle Mason, has been terrorising the rodeo, after Winnetka refused to sell the show to him after winning permission tour Europe.
Suddenly, a black van races onto the scene out of the hills, crashing through the attractions and sending people sprawling out of the way. Out of the van leap three individuals who very vaguely resemble the A-Team! The leader of the trio fires his rifle wildly, sending people fleeing, upsetting the horses, and damaging much of the show’s attractions. The Hannibal impostor, named Parker, tells Winnetka and Carrie that this is Mason’s last offer - $10 thousand for the show, before the trio of impostors take off in their van again, leaving Winnetka, Carrie and the other members of the rodeo dazed and shaken.
Later in Los Angeles, Face takes his latest date for a meal in a Pub Inn, but is greeted with unusual hostility from the bar-tender. He’s read a report in yesterday’s newspaper, which has a front page report on the (fake) A-Team’s terrorising of the Wild West show.
Meanwhile, B.A. is playing basketball with a couple of local youngsters, who obviously idolise their giant friend. But a couple of other children show up, also with a copy of the paper with the offending article, and the kids, suddenly disillusioned with their hero, abandon him.
Soon after, Face meets Hannibal and B.A. at the A-Team van. Hannibal’s not sure if the Military has come up with the idea of another A-Team to draw them out, but knows that they will try and use it against them either way. Hannibal sends Face to get Murdock from the V.A. hospital before they head to the rodeo to set the record straight.
At the V.A. hospital, Face arrives in the guise of “Major Waldron, US Army Department of toxic wastes and medical applications”. He gives the nurse on duty a story about being called in after water-pipe burst in the medical x-ray room, flooding with possibly radiated water. Not surprisingly, his giga meter leads them directly Murdock’s room, which is completely flooded (which could have something to do with him leaving the water faucet running). Face whisks him away for “decontamination”, leaving the poor nurse with a button to check if she’s been contaminated or not! Murdock is upset that the newspaper report made reference to “three members of The A-Team”, neglecting to mention him, as technically he isn’t a member of the team. Face tries to calm him down, but with little avail.
The Wild West Show is under observation by none other than old pursuer Colonel Lynch, who has been given one last shot by the Military at catching The A-Team. One of his sergeants, Wilson, has been working undercover at the rodeo as a popcorn vendor, and reports to Lynch that fake A-Team showed up to terrorise the show once again, but no sign of the real team as yet. Lynch knows that they’ll show up to set the record straight, and plans to use the opportunity to capture them once and for all.
Hannibal and Murdock arrive at the rodeo in the guise of travelling cowboy and Red Indian performers.
Spying down on them, Lynch suspects that one or two of the team may be on site, but can’t identify Hannibal, and waits to move in as not to risk scaring the leader away.
Face has also arrived to work at the circus, as a clown! Dressed in suitable clown’s clothing and make-up, he at least manages to makes Carrie laugh.
B.A. also has a new job at the show - clearing up after the animals, and refuses to wear a disguise!
Up on the ridge behind the rodeo, the fake A-Team returns, with the fake B.A. driving a large truck. They use rope and a plank to jam the truck’s accelerator down and leave it to roll towards the camp, before taking off in their van again. Down at the rodeo, the workers are heading to the main tent for lunch - and the heavy truck is heading straight for it! The team spot the truck rolling towards them. Hannibal leaps onto a horse, and manages to race up alongside and climb onto the truck. He climbs inside, and manages to stop it just in time of hitting the food tent; just short of it causing massive destruction and injury.
Winnetka rushes over and thanks him. Carrie says she didn’t think anyone could stand up to The A-Team. Leading them into a tent, Hannibal decides it’s time to reveal their true identities… “We are The A-Team”.
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Act II:
At a nearby recording studio, the fake A-Team report to the man who is paying them to cause all the trouble, rock promoter Kyle Mason. Mason is outraged that they still haven’t managed to force Winnetka out of business. It seems that Mason uses his recording business to import drugs from overseas, but the police are cutting down on this racket, and Mason now sees Winnetka’s show travelling Europe as the perfect passageway to keep the drug running operation going. He sends the fake team back out to intercept Winnetka.
Back at the rodeo, Face is still trying to calm Murdock’s upset at being neglected as one of the team.
In the make-up tent, where Face is removing his clown’s make-up, Carrie is upset that Mason’s trouble-making will ruin her father’s dream of touring Europe, but Face re-assures her that they’ll put a stop to Mason and the trouble he’s causing. Just as Face leaves the tent, Lynch’s spy, Sergeant Wilson, enters and recognises him, confirming his identity with a file of photos of the team he’s got tucked away. He radios in to Lynch report his sighting.
Lynch is now certain that Peck and Baracus are at the rodeo, but won’t move in until they’re certain that Smith is there too.
At the local General Store, Captain Winnetka is coming out with a bag full of ticket receipts when the fake A-Team pull up and pin him to the hood of his truck, except - it’s not Winnetka, but Hannibal disguised as him! The rest of the real A-Team race up, and a brawl ensues - in the midst of the chaos, Murdock is dismayed to discover that the impostor team don’t have a counterpart for him! He takes his frustration out on the phoney Face.
After the team have over-powered their impostors, they head to Mason’s recording studios, with the fake team bundled up in post-bags, and burst into the studio in the middle of a recording, with a burst of gunfire. After they’ve made it known who they are and their grievance with him paying men to impersonate them, Mason tries to buy them off, but The A-Team are not to be bought. Before leaving, Hannibal warns him to stop terrorising Winnetka’s Wild West show, and to stop having his men impersonate The A-Team.
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Act III:
Later, back at the rodeo, Murdock is talking to a piece of totem pole, which B.A. insists is just a piece of wood; and Face is using Carrie treating the black eye he received in the brawl to get close to her - and is just succeeding as Hannibal interrupts. He’s been doing some checking up on Mason; finding that he has previously had two arrests for drugs smuggling but no conviction.
Hannibal pieces together what Mason’s up to. The trouble didn’t start until Winnetka’s show got the offer to tour Europe, the perfect cover for Mason to smuggle drugs. Even if Mason doesn’t manage to take over, he will force them out of business can book one of his bands into the vacant play-dates – either way he wins.
Hannibal has also checked up on the only man, beside the team, to be hired after the fake A-Team started appearing – Wilson, and B.A. appears with the man captured. Hannibal reveals they checked his wallet when he was sleeping and found out who he really was. They force him to make a false radio alert to Colonel Lynch, saying that he’s over-heard Peck and Baracus talking and that they’re expecting Smith to show up at 14:00. Lynch says he’ll hit the show at that time.
They tie up Wilson and lock him in a trailer, and set to work preparing a welcome for Mason and his men, constructing a number of tricks and traps to greet them.
Mason and the fake A-Team set out for the rodeo, Mason ordering them to flatten the place.
Winnetka and Carrie arrive back at the rodeo, reporting Mason’s on his way behind them. The team prepare for battle, but just at that very moment, Lynch arrives on the scene - early!
The team, with Winnetka and Carrie, pile into the main tent. Lynch orders them out, to which Hannibal calls out replying “okay, here we come!” – and the A-Team comes racing out of the tent. Lynch and his men give pursuit. Watching the scene from up on the ridge over-looking the camp, Mason says it’s even better than they’d planned – the Military’s going to take out the A-Team for them, leaving the rodeo wide open for them to go down and take it apart…
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Act IV:
Lynch’s pursuit of the A-Team van races across the desert countryside, with the van just staying ahead but Lynch and his men staying right behind it’s every turn. But Lynch has a trap set. The van comes to turn a tight bend up a sharp rise, and is greeted on the other side of the bend by an awaiting truck with runners up the back. The van does exactly as Lynch planned and races right up into the back of the awaiting truck before it has time to stop. Lynch orders his men secure the truck and orders it to be driven to nearest Army base, under the tightest of security.
Meanwhile, Mason and the fake A-Team arrive at the rodeo, ready to flatten it. But, to their disbelief, they are greeted by Hannibal! Amazed, Mason says he thought the Army had them, to which Smith just laughs and says so did they! He dives behind some bails of hay, and Mason and the impostor A-Team plough in after him, only to be confronted with awaiting traps the team have set, including Face and B.A. working a cannon firing heavy, sticky goo, trap ropes to trip opponents off their feet, and Murdock firing dynamite-tipped arrows!
With these traps and the A-Team’s expert fighting, Mason and the fake team are taken care of. As the team dump the men in a heap ready for the authorities to pick up, Murdock is still upset at being forgotten as a member of The A-Team. Hannibal tries to reassure him, saying that he must remain their secret weapon. As the pair walk away into the sunset, Murdock finally realises that it’s up to him to be the “great, famous, but unknown member of The A-Team”.
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EPILOGUE:
At the Army base where truck holding the A-Team van has been taken, Lynch is being congratulated at finally capturing the infamous soldiers of fortune – and being characteristically pompous with all the praise he’s receiving, especially from the General. However, when the back doors of the A-Team van open, all is revealed - it’s Captain Winnetka and Carrie inside; they were driving the van! Lynch orders the pair arrested, but the General asks him for what, “impersonating the A-Team?”, and orders them to be escorted off the base, and to have the van taken and locked up. The praise Lynch was receiving moments earlier suddenly turns into anger and annoyance. A group of soldiers get into the van to drive it away. As the van backs out of the truck, Lynch realises that it the soldiers inside are none other than The A-Team!! The MPs are caught completely off guard and the van races away to safety. Hannibal sums things up with his infamous saying: “I love it when a plan comes together!”
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COMMENTS, Review & NOTES:
Just about everybody remembers this one. Although it was never a name officially given to them, this was “the episode with ‘The B-Team’ in”, as they were dubbed in school playgrounds everywhere.
Maybe it’s not surprising that so many remember it; not only did it have memorable foes in the fake A-Team, but it was actually the most watched episode ever in the United Kingdom, clocking up a very impressive 16.6 million viewers on it’s original broadcast on Saturday 29th December 1984. Yet another one of those things which begs the question as to why the series has been denied a decent, terrestrial re-run for so many years now.
Also to note is that the episode was broadcast just over a month after it was shown in the US, in the good old days before $ky was around to buy up everything and hog the rights for years on end.
The fake A-Team are instantly memorable. John Carter is unbelievably similar looking to Hannibal – many viewers probably noticed this when the actor appeared previously in the series in the very early episode ‘Children Of Jamestown’.
And an interesting piece of trivia: the impostor B.A. and Face are actually the stunt doubles of their “real” counterparts – if you look carefully, they can be spotted in many other episodes.
It’s a treat – and a surprise – to suddenly see William ‘Bill’ Lucking back as Colonel Lynch. It’s maybe surprising that this element wasn’t played up more, as it is, it’s very much “Well, I’m back, I’m gonna have one last try at capturing The A-Team” and that’s it.
But even so, it’s great to see him back, and it’s actually quite strange to remember that, although he was much mentioned in the first two seasons, it’s only the third episode we’ve actually seen him (after the Pilot and the first season's ‘One More Time’).
Presumably Lance LeGault (Decker) was unavailable at the start of the third season, as in ‘Fire’ we had one-off pursuer Colonel Briggs, and here we have Lynch.
It’s the last time we see, or hear of, Lynch in the series. Decker was always the “ultimate” pursuer; Lynch maybe was a bit too bumbling, but he was still a good character, and it’s a shame we never really saw any more of him. Still, the final scene where he’s so sure he’s finally got the team, then finds he hasn’t, then has them escape right in front of him, is great, and a fitting final appearance of the character.
Murdock being worried and upset as not being officially recognised as a member of the team is a good touch; especially considering by this stage of the show’s run that the four guys were generally considered as one “block”, as opposed to the early episodes where it was very much just Hannibal, Face and B.A., with Murdock being somewhat of a tag-along.
The closing scene before the epilogue, with Hannibal explaining (or rather, convincing) to Murdock about his place on the team as they walk away into the sunset, is classic.
This episode is written by Milt Rosen and directed by James Fargo – and for both of them, this is their sole episode working on the series. Many episodes by “one off” (or even “two time”) writers / directors fail to completely grasp the characters and the feel of the series, and often leave the final result rather uneven feeling as a result. So full credit must go to these two for dishing up a solid, likeable, episode.
The actual reasoning behind all the trouble and why Kyle Mason wants to take over the Wild West Show (he wants to use it’s European tour as a cover to smuggle drugs) ranks amongst the series’ lamest plot reasonings, and is by far the episode’s weakest point.
What would have been great (in my opinion) would be if Mason had some kind of grudge against the team and wanted to lead them into a trap. This maybe would be more a reworking of the likes of the second season’s ‘Deadly Maneuvers’ but would still have been good.
But as with so many A-Team episodes, it’s best to just over-look the sillier elements; just sit back and watch the great, tongue-in-cheek proceedings.
CREDITS CURIOSITY:
Many of the 3rd season video-tape prints of episodes have, for unknown reasons, slight variations of the original opening credits (‘Dwight Schultz as “Howling Mad” Murdock’ (instead of simply 'Dwight Schultz') and the disappearing / reappearing ‘Created by Frank Lupo & Stephen J. Cannell’), but the video-tape prints of this particular episode have a very curious variation.
While the standard (first) version of the third season opening track is heard, visually what seems to be the fourth season opening credits is seen. Instead of seeing Hannibal dressed as a fisherman from ‘Pure-Dee Poison’ (as used on the third season opening credits), we see him dressed as a bald pool player from ‘Road Games’ – an episode which hadn’t even been made yet – as used on the fourth season opening.
As with many third season video-tape variations, the credit ‘Dwight Schultz’ incorrectly reads ‘Dwight Schultz as “Howling Mad” Murdock’; but the strangest thing is that while the fourth season version was previously seen with Hannibal, things somehow revert to the third season helicopter sequence from ‘Recipe For Heavy Bread’, not the fourth season version with the sequence from ‘Road Games’. It’s a version of the opening credits that never originally existed! It’s the video-tape copies most curious variation on opening credits in the entire series.
TITLE AND INSPIRATION:
There have been numerous films titled ‘Showdown’ (or ‘The Showdown’) over the years, but one that stands out is a 1942 animated ‘Superman’ short titled ‘Showdown’, in which a crook is going around dressed as the Man of Steel committing a series of robberies. The real Superman must put a stop to the villain to save his name.
Hmmm…. Sound familiar?
Lasts:
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This is the last time that we see William (‘Bill’) Lucking as Colonel Lynch in the series. |
ONLYS:
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As mentioned above, this episode is unique in that it’s both writer (Milt Rosen) and it’s director (James Fargo)’s only work on the series. |
MUSIC:
The opening trailer uses the standard :30 second version of the theme tune; the first time it was used this season.
The closing credits use the standard theme 1:00 minute closing version.
Considering some of the great episode themes heard in other episodes, the fake A-Team could have done with their own theme, but sadly don’t get one. The music we hear as they first arrive at the Rodeo in the episode is good, but could have done with being played on more throughout the episode.
GUEST CAST BACKGROUND:
Playing Captain Winnetka is distinguished performer Morgan Woodward.
Born Thomas Morgan Woodward on 16th September 1925 in Texas, Woodward has had a long career appearing in many classic television series, including numerous episodes of cowboy series ‘The Restless Gun’, ‘Wagon Train’, ‘Bonanza’, ‘The Virginian’, ‘Gunsmoke’, and ‘The High Chaparral’, as well as a number of big screen films. He had previously appeared in 'The A-Team' as ruthless millionaire Bus Carter in the second season's feature-length / two-part "When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?". He is almost unrecognisable here, under Winnetka's extravagant moustache. He can also be seen as...:
Dr. Simon van Gelder in the first season ‘Star Trek’ episode ‘Dagger Of The Mind’ (1966), and as Captain Ronald Tracy in another ‘Star Trek’ episode, the second season’s ‘The Omega Glory’ (1968)
Zachary Clay in the third season ‘Starsky & Hutch’ episode ‘Foxy Lady’ (1978)
Ben Madrid in the second season ‘The Incredible Hulk’ episode ‘Vendetta Road’ (1979)
Dempsey in the second season ‘The Dukes Of Hazzard’ episode ‘Mason Dixon’s Girls’ (1980); and as Colonel Cassius Claybourne in the seventh season episode ‘Cool Hands, Luke & Bo’ (1984)
Dexter in the third season “CHiPs” episode ‘The Strippers’ (1980)
Sheriff Winston in the first season ‘Knight Rider’ episode ‘Knight Moves’ (1982)
Major General Robert Selkirk in the fifth season ‘T.J. Hooker’ episode ‘The Assassin’ (1985)
“Dad” Meechum in the first season ‘Renegade’ episode ‘Billy’ (1993)
Sam Travis in one season wonder 'The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.''s very enjoyable 'Bounty Hunters Convention' (1994)
Parker - the fake Hannibal - is played by John Carter. Carter ranks as one of the most re-used guest cast actors in the series; he appeared in the early first season episode ‘Children Of Jamestown’ as Stan Rodgers; and is seen again after this in a throw-away, uncredited part at the end of the fourth season’s ‘The Doctor Is Out’, and as corrupt politician Jacob Edwards in the fifth season episode ‘Family Reunion’. There are several other actors by the name of John Carter, but this Carter, born 26th November 1927, can also be seen:
As Alec Morris in the feature-length / 2 part ‘The Rockford Files’ first season story ‘Profit And Loss’ (1974)
Elliot Kirby in the Pilot for the short-lived ‘Street Hawk’ (1984; broadcast 1985)
Captain Winnetka’s daughter Carrie is played by D.D. Howard.
She also appears in:
The amusing first season ‘Riptide’ episode ‘Four-Eyes’ (1984) (playing alongside ‘Fire’s Stephanie Krammer as a pair of female private eyes)
Kyle Mason is played by Michael DeLano. Born 1940, he appears again as pompous cruise-liner performer Johnny Angel in the fourth season’s rather dragged out feature-length outing ‘Judgement Day’. He can also be seen as...:
Billy Harknass, in two consecutive first season episodes of ‘Starksy & Hutch’ – ‘Kill Huggy Bear’ and ‘The Bait’ (both 1975); as well as playing Roger in the fourth season’s ‘The Avenger’ (1978)
In ‘The Rockford Files’ third season episode ‘There’s One In Every Port’ (1977)
Malary Pantera in the first season episode of ‘Buck Rogers In The 25th Century’ ‘Unchained Women’ (1979)
Cousin Tony (Anthony) Silvano in the ‘Magnum, p.i.' third season episode ‘Of Sound Mind’ (1983)
W.K. Stratton (Captain Royce) is a familiar bit part performer. He had previously appeared in the series a few episodes in ‘Fire’ - a character that could be mistaken for being the same as the one here, but in fact has a different name.
He was a regular on Donald P. Bellisario’s series ‘JAG’ (1995) playing Cmdr. Theodore 'Teddy' Lindsey. He is a Bellisario favourite, having worked with him on many Bellisario-related series, including ‘Magnum, p.i.’, ‘Airwolf’, and ‘Quantum Leap’. He can be seen as...:
Raymond T. Andrews in the third season ‘Starsky & Hutch’ episode ‘Manchild On The Streets’ (1977)
In ‘The Rockford Files’ fifth season episode ‘Kill The Messanger’ (1978) and the amusingly titled ‘With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?’ (1979); and the sicth season’s ‘The Hawaiian Headache’ (1979)
In the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ episode ‘Murder On The Rising Star’ (1979)
As Ensign Healy, USN in the ‘Magnum P.I.’ feature-length Pilot ‘Please Don’t Eat The Snow In Hawaii’ (1980); and as Police Officer Kelly in the second season episode ‘Wave Goodbye’ (1981)
One of the corrupt original pilots of ‘Airwolf’ in the feature-length / 2 part Pilot (a.k.a. ‘Shadow Of The Hawke’) (1984)
In ‘Quantum Leap’ as Dr. Berger in the feature-length / 2 part Pilot episode (a.k.a. ‘Genesis’) (1989); as Sheriff Lyle Roundtree in the second season’s ‘Good Night, Dear Heart’ (1990); and as Sam’s reflection in the fifth season’s ‘Trilogy’ (‘One Little Heart’, ‘For Your Love’, and ‘The Last Door’) (1992)
Ben Hammer plays General Rockwell in the final scene. Born 8th December 1925, Hammer's TV career stretches back to the 1950s, and he still appears in occasional productions today. He specialises in playing figures of authority, such as the General he portrays here. He can also be seen as...:
Mr. Kelleher in the fourth season 'The Incredible Hulk' episode 'Wax Museum' (1981)
In the fourth season "CHiPs" episode 'A Simple Operation' (1981)
Gregory Paulson in 'Simon & Simon's third season episode 'Double Play' (1984)
Dr. Francis Watkins in 'Airwolf's pretty good third season episode 'Where Have All The Children Gone?' (1985)
In the fifth season 'T.J. Hooker' episode 'Nightmare' (1986)
Xander Berkeley plays Sergeant Wilson, Colonel Lynch's undercover spy at the Rodeo. Born 16th December 1955 in New York, Berkeley worked his way up through guest spots to major roles in a number of blockbuster movies. He has also done voice work. Berkeley had previously appeared in 'The A-Team' as Baker in the first season episode 'The Beast From The Belly Of A Boeing'. He can be seen as...:
Tom in the fifth season 'Incredible Hulk' episode 'A Minor Problem' (1982)
Eric Fromby in one season wonder 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' episode 'Escape From Death Island' (1982)
A Taxi Driver in the first season 'Riptide' episode 'The Heardcase' (1984)
Todd Voight in 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' (1991)
Brett Bones in another one season wonder, 'The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.', in the enjoyable episode 'Riverboat' (1993)
Jospeh Di Reda plays the Bartender ("Sarge") that in the bar Face takes his date to. Born 16th September 1926 in Massachusetts, he was an accomplished bit part actor who appeared in productions from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s. He passed away on 16th June 2007. He can also be seen as...:
Mars in the second season three-part 'Batman' story 'The Zodiac Crimes' / 'The Joker's Hard Times' / 'The Penguin Declines' (1967)
Mackie in 'The Incredible Hulk's third season episode 'On The Line' (1980)
K.C. Winkler plays Face's date. Born 1956, California, she made a number of guest appearances in 1980s TV shows. She can also be seen as...:
Marie Stockwood in the second season "CHiPs" episode 'Rally 'Round the Bank' (1979); as well as First Girl in the third season episode 'The Watch Commander' (1979); and as Francesca in the fifth season episode 'In The Best of Families' (1982)
Cindy in the second season 'Simon & Simon' episode 'The Last Time I Saw Michael' (1982)
"Thumper" in 'The Fall Guy's first season episode 'The Snow Job' (1982); and in the second season's 'Strange Bedfellows' (1983)
As Bambi in two first season 'Riptide' episodes, 'Diamonds Are For Never' and 'The Hardcase' (both 1984)
As 'Blonde' in the short-lived 'Automan's 'The Great Pretender' (1983); as well as a Model in 'Death by Design' (1984)
Lynnda Ferguson plays Nurse Smith, when Face springs Murdock from the V.A. hospital. Ferguson had various TV guest roles in the 1980s through to the early 2000s. She can also be seen as...:
Doran in the feature-length opener to 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine', 'Emissary' (1993)
The fake B.A. is played by stuntman Tony Brubaker (uncredited). He has two lines of dialogue in the episode. He is Mr. T's stunt double for the series, and can be spotted in various other episodes. He can also be spotted as...:
An assassin in the enjoyable first season 'Airwolf' episode 'And They Are Us' (1984)
The fake Face, also uncredited, is played by Dirk Benedict's stunt double. He has no dialogue.
BLOOPERS, CONTINUITY ERRORS, Nitpicks and things to spot:
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The opening trailer has a shot of the fake A-Team when they arrive at the Wild West Rodeo with the fake Hannibal saying “Looks like these folks don’t want to
listen to The A-Team, Face”; this was not used in the actual episode.
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In the sequence as the fake A-Team arrive at the rodeo, we see the fake Hannibal and the fake A-Team get out of their van; Hannibal firing his rifle; then a shot of the fake Face and B.A. standing next to him. But in the next shot of fake Hannibal, we can see the driver’s door moving, as if in this shot, the fake B.A. is still getting out of the van. |
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In
the scene where Hannibal, B.A. and Face meet at the A-Team van, when Hannibal gets out and pats B.A. on the shoulder, he removes his cigar from his mouth. In the very next shot, it is back in
his mouth again. In the following shot, he's removed it again.
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Nitpick: Why did the bad guys feel the need to impostor The A-Team? Didn’t they realise that the team would turn up to set the record straight?! |
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The truck that Hannibal and Murdock arrive at the Rodeo in looks like it could possibly be the same one that the bounty hunters
drive later in the season in
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Nitpick: Seeing as B.A. – the most unmissable of the team at the best of times – refused to wear a disguise, how come Colonel Lynch didn’t spot him (or at least took a long time to)?? |
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The outside shot of Kyle Mason’s building clearly reads 'Luna Recordings' on the side; Lunar Recordings was the studio seen in '
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A very noticeable blooper: Inside the studio, there are shots of Hannibal (speaking on microphone) with Face beside him. However,
when we see their reflections in the sound-proof glass looking through at Mason, it’s B.A., not Face, that’s standing next to Hannibal, and on the opposite side of him!
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Nitpick: Why does Hannibal have a feeling that Lynch is watching them? Shouldn’t the line be “I’ve got a feeling Decker’s watching us…” (or even “I’ve got a feeling Briggs’s watching us”, after he was seen in ‘Fire’)?! How would they know at that stage that Lynch had been given one last chance to catch them? |
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A number of shots of the MPs chasing The A-Team van are re-used from the second season episode ‘Labor Pains’. These shots would be re-cycled further in, amongst others, ‘Bounty’ later this season, the fourth season's ‘Mission Of Peace’, and ‘Alive At Five’ in the fifth season. |
COSTUME:
Well, what other episode would you find Face dressed up as a clown in? Later, when he’s not disguising himself, he opts for a casual denim cowboy get-up. Hannibal is in full cowboy grab in his disguise, B.A. wears his ‘classic’ outfit of red t-shirt under dungarees. Murdock, of course, spends most of the episode dressed up as a Red Indian.
In the final act, the team appear in Military garb, though not their own (or at least, not the regular outfits as seen in the first season's ‘A Nice Place To Visit’ and similar).
MURDOCK’S T-SHIRT:
When Face goes to get Murdock from the hospital, he is wearing his black t-shirt with a cartoon in white of two cats sitting on a fence (which text in speech bubbles to small to be distinguishable). This t-shirt was previously seen in the second season episode ‘Steel’.
SIMILAR:
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The last broadcast episode of ‘Knight Rider’s third season, ‘Circus Knights’ (1985) sees Michael and K.I.T.T. working at a circus to root out a saboteur. |
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In the fourth season ‘The Dukes Of Hazzard’ episode ‘Double Dukes’ (1981), Boss Hogg hires two villains to disguise themselves as Bo & Luke and commit a crime right in front of the townspeople in order to get the Dukes a bad name. |
Cuts & BROADCAST NOTES:
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On the ITV runs, this episode actually generally survived almost completely intact - bar one sequence; when the A-Team take care of the impostors outside the general store, they tie them up inside post-bags and take them to Mason. In the standard ITV copy, the shots of the fake team inside the post-bags were cut out (though in typical contradictory style, some late showings, including – surprisingly – LWT’s 1994 showing, left these shots in) |
VIDEO and DVD:
This episode was released on video in the U.K. on the 4th September 2001, along with the episodes ‘Harder Than It Looks’ and ‘Fire’. It was later released on Regions 1, 2 and 4 on DVD as part of the third season. All releases played as the original broadcast version.
International:
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The German dubbed version of this episode is titled ‘Plagiatoren’, which translates as ‘Showdown’. |
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The French dubbed version of this episode is ‘La Dernière Séance’, which translates as ‘The Last Meeting’. |
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The Italian dubbed version of this episode is titled ‘Aquila Pazza Non Avrai Il Mio Scalpo’, which translates as ?‘Aquila Crazy You will not have My Scalpo’?. |
SHOWDOWNS:
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The A-Team fighting the B-team. What more could you want? |
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Colonel Lynch gets one last try at capturing the team. And he’s so convinced he has them, too! |
SLOWDOWNS:
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The whole plot of why Mason wants the Wild West Show ranks as one of the silliest and least-believable explanations of the series |
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The fake A-Team actually don’t seem that tough |
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Good as it is, the whole “fake A-Team” theme maybe isn’t used to it’s full potential |
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The sudden return of Colonel Lynch isn’t fully explained |
MOST MEMORABLE FOR:
“The B-team”, the impostor A-Team (what else would it be?)
Best moment
The B-team arriving out of the hills to terrorise the Rodeo at the beginning of the episode.
THE FINAL WORD:
One of the series’ most memorable episodes, certainly one of the most memorable of the third season, which had some very generic stories elsewhere. As enjoyable as it is, though one can’t help think that maybe the whole “impostor A-Team” theme maybe isn’t used to it’s full potential. Also, the whole reasons behind the trouble is one of the silliest and flimsiest in the series’ run. But all in all, when those small details are put behind, this stands a likeable, memorable episode.
Hannibal's Cigar Rating:
9/10
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