| "Mexican Slayride" | |
|---|---|
| The A-Team episodes | |
 | |
| Episode nos. | Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2 |
| Directed by | Rod Holcomb |
| Written by | Frank Lupo Stephen J. Cannell |
| Production codes | 101A and 102A |
| Original air date | January 23, 1983 |
"Mexican Slayride" is the feature-length pilot episode of the action adventure television series The A-Team. The pilot aired in its complete form originally, airing in North America on January 23, 1983. In syndication the pilot has been cut up into two parts, creating two episodes.
Newspaper reporter, Amy Allen seeks out The A-Team — a commando unit from the Vietnam War convicted of a crime they did not commit in 1972 and now working on the side of the law as mercenaries — to rescue one of her fellow reporters who has been kidnapped by Mexican outlaws. The A-Team, consisting of Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, Lt. Templeton "The Faceman" Peck ("Face"), and Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus are being chased by Colonel Lynch, who has Amy followed as she works her way towards hiring the team. Despite Lynch's interference and several chases, Face manages to release the fourth member of the A-Team, Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, from the psychiatric hospital and scam a Gulfstream jet. Rendering B.A. unconscious due to his fear of flying, they travel with Amy to Mexico in a plane piloted by their fearless but clinically insane pilot, Murdock.
During the start of the flight, the original broadcast version features a soundalike version of The Rolling Stones hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash". On the DVD version, this is changed to a generic track for copyright reasons.
In Mexico, the team discovers that Amy's reporter friend has been kidnapped by a marijuana cultivator and gang leader named Malavita Valdez. Face and Murdock acquire a crop duster and ammonia, which they use to spray the marijuana fields and destroy the crops. The A-Team build an armored bus and drive the gang leader and his gang out of the village. While chasing the gang, the A-Team are ambushed by Mexican guerrillas who are friendly towards the gang leader.
With the A-Team captured by the Mexican gang leader, they escape when Hannibal knocks out one of the guards, and they attempt to flee by truck but are chased down by the guerrillas. Luckily for the A-Team, local villagers come to help them, led by Murdock and Face, who had evaded capture previously. They come out and ambush the guerrillas, allowing the A-Team to get on an airplane and get back home. After the escape, Amy Allen expresses her desire to join the A-Team. She effectively blackmails her way onto the team promising to put a positive light on their exploits in her articles.
"Mexican Slayride" introduces the following regular The A-Team characters:
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To be aired on television in syndication, the pilot had to be cut up in two separate episodes of approximately 40 to 45 minutes. As such, they are referred to as two distinct episodes, namely; "Mexican Slayride: Part 1" and "Mexican Slayride: Part 2". As the pilot episode itself is the combination of these two parts and was originally aired such, the pilot is kept intact on the DVD boxset of season 1. [2]
The part of Face, best known as being played by Dirk Benedict throughout the series, is played in the pilot by actor Tim Dunigan. The episode originally had no introductory theme and credits like later episodes of The A-Team, but in syndication, the season 1 introduction is tagged on, with a segment depicting Tim Dunigan as Face replacing the part of Dirk Benedict. The DVD boxset of season 1 features the pilot in its original version, without introduction.
When NBC executives first reviewed the pilot episode of The A-Team, they were not enthused with the character of Murdock, whom they found too over-the-top. His character was either to be scaled down or removed altogether. When the pilot was shown to a test audience, they favored Murdock out of all the other characters. Per Dwight Schultz's account in "Bring Back... The A-Team" - a show meant to reunite the surviving cast members of the show in 2006 - whenever Murdock appeared the audience showed their approval by dialing their test dials all the way to their maximum, to the surprise of the executives. Schultz recounted the story again on the Dutch talk show Jensen! in 2007.
As the pilot episode this episode introduces a number of concepts into the A-Team series:
Banacek is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several other shows, but was the only one of them to last beyond its first season.
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The A-Team is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court martial for a crime they had not committed. They were convicted and sentenced to serve terms in a military prison, but later escaped to Los Angeles and began working as soldiers of fortune, while trying to clear their names and avoid capture by law enforcement and military authorities. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo. A feature film based on the series was released by 20th Century Fox in 2010.
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Lieutenant Templeton Arthur Peck, played by Dirk Benedict, is a fictional character and one of the four protagonists of the 1980s action-adventure television series The A-Team. A recognized war hero, he is often referred to as (The) Faceman or simply Face. Although creators Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo had Benedict in mind for the role, studio executives initially insisted that the role be handled differently. Tim Dunigan played the role in the pilot episode, but after it was completed, the same executives thought he looked too young to be a believable Vietnam veteran. At 6'5" (196 cm), Dunigan was also much taller than the rest of the cast, particularly the show's 5'10" (178 cm) muscleman Mr. T. He was replaced by Benedict for the rest of the show's run. Bradley Cooper portrayed the character in the 2010 film while Benedict appeared in a post-credits cameo.
The A-Team is a 2010 American action comedy film based on the 1980s television series of the same name created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. Directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Carnahan, Brian Bloom, and Skip Woods, the film stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, and Patrick Wilson. The film tells the story of a Special Forces team who, imprisoned for a crime they did not commit, escapes and sets out to clear their names. The film was produced by Cannell, Tony Scott, and his brother Ridley Scott.
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The first season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on January 23, 1983, and concluded on May 10, 1983, consisting of 14 episodes.
The second season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on September 20, 1983, and concluded on May 15, 1984, consisting of 23 episodes.
The third season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on September 18, 1984, and concluded on May 14, 1985, consisting of 25 episodes.
The fourth season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on September 24, 1985, and concluded on May 13, 1986, consisting of 23 episodes.
The fifth and final season of the action-adventure television series The A-Team premiered in the United States on NBC on September 26, 1986, and concluded on March 8, 1987, consisting of 13 episodes. Robert Vaughn and Eddie Velez joined the cast in this season. At the beginning of this season, a remixed version of The A-Team theme song was introduced.
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