The other day I was sitting on the couch with my wife watching the A-Team. How many of you can use that sentence? If you can’t, I submit that you aren’t very cultured. Anyway,,,,,, It was the end of the episode, and there was a huge gun battle going down. I looked at my wife and said, “No one will be killed, and two bad guys are going to hop in that car, try to get away, flip the car, and then crawl out the windows to show that they’re alright.” She said, “Have you seen this episode before?” I told her, “No. Every episode ends like that.”
Watching the A-Team that day got me thinking about other action/adventure shows I watched as a kid. Here is my definitive top five.
5. Knight Rider- The show ran from 1982-1986 on NBC. I can’t believe that David Hasslehoff had two hit television shows. The real star of Knight Rider was the car. Kitt was awesome. Who can forget the K.I.T.T. vs. evil K.A.R.R. episodes? Truly gripping stuff.
This may be a little off subject, but my wife and I were watching Baywatch the other day. Again, we are very cultured. She pointed out that David Hasslehoff has chicken legs. It’s true. I can’t believe the producers of that show didn’t say, “Hey Dave, I know you’re a big music star in Germany and you’re a proven tv star, but you need to hit the gym and work on those twigs or you’ll be wearing pants on the beach.”
4. The A-Team- Between 1983 and 1987 on NBC, the guys from the A-Team fired roughly a gazillion bullets. Not one of those bullets resulted in a death to any bad guy. In fact, there was only one on screen death during the entire run of the show. If you take that into account, then you have to question whether they really were a “crack commando unit.”
3. Quantum Leap- This one was barely eligible because it started it’s five year run in 1989 on NBC. Where the A-Team was just about the same every week, Quantum Leap’s premise allowed for interesting plots in varied times and places. Scott Bakula leaping into the body of Bobo the monkey is a great example of this. I propose a mash-up of the A-Team and Quantum Leap. A “crack commando unit” leaping through time. Sold.
2. Magnum, P.I.- It ran from 1980-1988 on CBS. I would love to move to Hawaii, become a private investigator, drive someone else’s car, and live in someone else’s house. Sounds ideal. Fun Fact: At some time during the run of the show, Magnum is punched by every one of his friends. He never punches them, though. He was too busy being awesome.
1. MacGyver- You know him by one name. Just like Madonna, Prince, and Sting (the wrestler and the musician). But he had more useful skills than all of those people combined. And he was way less pretentious. On ABC from 1985-1992, he used household items and questionable science to defeat many many bad guys. MacGyver was not a government employee. Instead he worked for the “Phoenix Foundation”. Proving once again that our best and brightest gravitate towards the private sector.
Honorable Mention: The Dukes Of Hazzard, Miami Vice
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