The A Team - Complete DVD Box Set

RRP: £129.99

Best Price: £64.50

The A Team - cultural phenomenon, TV mega-hit and childhood memory for most of us. What could there possibly be left to say about this giant of television history?

Perhaps it’s worth reminding you of what a clever, simple format the show follows. It’s an action adventure show that doesn’t try to break new ground, but instead does high-octane chases and fights better than they’ve ever been done on TV. Ex-special forces Vietnam vets, now branded war criminals for crimes they didn’t commit, work together as mercenaries to take down baddies and help the good. It’s so simple that, on paper, it shouldn’t work, but through a raw sense of fun and childhood excitement, The A Team is incredible TV that is guaranteed to bring a smile.

Perhaps it’s worth reminding you that the formula doesn’t matter when you fill a show with characters like unorthodox renegade Hannibal (George Peppard), slick con artist Face (Dirk Benedict), lunatic pilot Murdock (Dwight Schultz) and, lest we forget, the powerhouse that is B.A. Baracus (Mr T). They’re a team that shouldn’t work together, ever, constantly in a state of conflict about one thing or another (usually getting on planes) - that’s before you even consider the military police that hunt them down. Each episode takes on a new case for the team and the show works so well because you can almost predict how they will react to this new crisis. Characters are so well-defined, so clearly established, that their predictability is a comforting feature of the show, not a restriction.

And then there’s the production values, a budget that by today’s standards is microscopic, giving the entire project a nice lo-fi sensibility that, adversely, makes it even better to watch. It’s not a show that’s stood the test of time, but it’s a guilty pleasure that is so endearing, so interwoven with our cultural history, that it’s impossible to resist.

This box set is the complete A Team, from seasons one to five, presented in an awesome munitions-case style package that probably cost more to make than an episode of the show. It’s the perfect way to relive your youth or, of course, finally understand why The A Team is so adored by so many people.

If you’ve got a problem, and you can find them - why hire the A Team when you can own them outright?