SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 49 Min.
Televised on NBC on March 15, 1983, this Chuck Bowman-directed episode has a blue-collar New York City neighborhood’s defenseless shopkeepers bullied by uptown mobster “East Side” Charlie’s vile extortion racket. The A-Team retaliates with a dirty can-you-top-this? game of tag with Charlie’s scum squad. Once the incensed gangster seeks some harsh vengeance, the finale is an urban war zone.
Col. John “Hannibal” Smith: George Peppard
Sgt. B.A. Baracus: Mr. T
Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock: Dwight Schultz
Lt. Templeton “Face” Peck: Dirk Benedict
Amy Allen: Melinda Culea
Nicky: Billy Jayne
Mr. Lasky: Martin Garner
Tracy: Wendy Hoffman
Tracy’s Mother: Priscilla Pointer
Grocery Store Owner: J. Jay Saunders
“East Side” Charlie Struthers: Yaphet Kotto
Rita: Joni Demarest
Disgruntled Taxi Fare: Peter Tacangelo
Scully: Robert Tessler
Bernie Shatzman: Jack Kruschen
Digger: Albert Popwell
Opening Credits Voice-Over: John Ashley (uncredited)
REVIEW:
It’s an instance of pure A-Team formula — the scurrilous villains make an ominous first impression: backhanding a shoeshine boy, gut-punching an elderly shopkeeper, and then callously run over the kid’s shoeshine stand for good measure. In limited screen time, guest villain Yaphet Kotto’s ‘East Side Charlie’ doesn’t little beyond sporting a ridiculously tilted hairpiece. Considering his potent acting capabilities, it’s a shame that Kotto doesn’t briefly out-maneuver the A-Team, if only to generate a genuine ounce of suspense.
Kotto’s dull restaurant confrontation with the A-Team is salvaged only by the impromptu garbage dump sequence. Before that, Mr. T and Dwight Schultz’s amusing garbage truck scenes collecting neighborhood trash is the highlight of “The Out-of-Towners.” Everything else about this early A-Team caper is all by-the-numbers. Curiously, the last action sequence is a math problem. ‘East Side Charlie’ arrives with a dozen or more rent-a-thugs – yet, only maybe four or five are later seen, so what happened to Charlie’s other goons? Did they quit between commercials? Putting this illogic aside, the episode’s ‘war zone’ finish is still entertaining to watch. “The Out-of-Towners” isn’t among the best A-Team capers, but it’s serviceable viewing for loyal fans.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 4 Stars
IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE
