Popular Culture Review Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1993 | Page 85

Reflections on the A-Team

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estate. Chong is either disposed of, or forgotten about, during the
final conunercial break. (He shows up in later episodes.)
The closing scene opens with B.A. and Hannibal watching the TV
news: Peck’s pardon, they discover, had never been signed by the
proper authorities, and Vaughn has been charged with "crimes
against the government.” Disassociating the Agency from blatantly
illegal activity on U.S. soil, CIA sources solemnly, and implausibly,
inform the press that The Shop was a renegade outfit. Meanwhile,
Face and the Hunker, dressed in identical outfits, walk in with Ms.
Fowler. "My pardon went poof," Face complains. Competing with
Murdock for E.G.'s affection, an annoyed Face asks Murdock how he
would feel about being impersonated. Donning a bomber jacket and
baseball cap. Face leaps onto a desk and starts making silly noises.
Meanwhile, an ambulance pulls up outside ("V8 Dispatch, this is
Mobile 3, we're at the motel and going in for Murdock now"), and two
men in white coats enter the room. The scene dissolves with Face
being carted away, vainly protesting his innocence--"! was just
assuming his personality," he says—while viewers hear Murdock's
voice-over: "And quite convincingly too, I might add."
"Mind Games" is little more than a cartoon, of course, with a 'toon
Vietnamese general and a 'toon CIA chief. The violence is unreal and
much of the dialogue is simply surreal. On one level, the episode
works as moderately diverting filler, something for stations to run inbetween commercial messages. The script zaps a number of American
institutions—e.g., Henry Kissinger, children's television, and the
public relations profession—but it's all in good fun, even though the
CIA’s covert op)eration endangers the life of one of the A-Team. The
female lead, E.G. Fowler, does not have much of a role, except to
switch sides halfway through the episode and make an alluring
fashion statement in modem business attire. Overall, however,
"Mind Games" works as popular entertainment. The jokes are
reasonably amusing, the performances are satisf)dngly direct and
inventive, and the action scenes are effectively staged. As a bonus,
the show's narrative structure displays a healthy cynicism regarding
U.S. military, security and intelligence-gathering apparatuses.