The A-Team
The Road to Hope
TV Flash files “The Road to Hope” as hour 67 of 98 in the TV Flash guide — The A-Team (1983–1987) on NBC, season 4, episode 5, aired 1985-10-29, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E05: listed hour 67 of 98 in the The A-Team guide, hour 5 of 23 in season 4. It aired 1985-10-29 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Lease with an Option to Die” (S04E04). Next is “The Heart of Rock N' Roll” (S04E06).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Face was already enjoying the possibilities of spending the profits from a no-sweat $300,000 job offered by a foxy millionaire when Hannibal guesses correctly that it must be a trap by Decker. Hannibal goes to collect the money dressed as a bum, but a real bum gets the briefcase and is arrested by the MPs. He is then erroneously sprung by the other team-members, while Smith checks out a restaurant where the bum told him to ask for a certain Wiiliam to get free food. Hannibal finds himself in the hands of a dodgy group of mission-running criminals who give him a full medical exam, then orders him to dig his own grave. He escapes and tells the team they must be after homeless mens' identities, which they sell for a small fortune to criminals.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Road to Hope sit in the The A-Team guide?
S04E05 is listed hour 67 of 98 — hour 5 of 23 in season 4, season 4 episode 5.
When did The A-Team S04E05 air?
The Road to Hope aired 1985-10-29 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is the violence actually violent?
Mostly cartoon. Scrap-built vehicles, explosions, and bad guys who go down without much blood — action as toy commercial, which is the Cannell joke and the appeal.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Peak 1980s action cheese with immortal casting — Mr. T alone is a cultural weather event. Peppard's Hannibal, Benedict's Faceman, Schultz's Murdock: wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. I love it when a plan comes together. Formulaic in the best popcorn way; pity the fool who missed the theme.
I love it when a plan comes together — still managerial cosplay language, still a group-chat greeting. (I said spoiler-free. The plan is the formula; the formula is the point.) NBC's The A-Team (1983–1987) sent a crack commando unit into Friday-night cheese: George Peppard's Hannibal, Mr. T's B.A. Baracus, Dirk Benedict's Faceman, Dwight Schultz's Howling Mad Murdock. Wrongfully accused, on the run, building tanks out of scrap, never quite killing the bad guys on camera. Lana can keep the gown. This carpet is…
Filed against
- George Peppard as John "Hannibal" Smith
George Peppard's John "Hannibal" Smith made The A-Team's plan come together — 1980s action cheese with immortal casting, wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. Mr. T as a weather event; Peppard as the cigar…
- Mr. T as B.A. Baracus
Mr. T’s B.A. Baracus made The A-Team a cultural weather event in gold chains — peak 1980s action cheese, Peppard’s Hannibal, Benedict’s Faceman, Schultz’s Murdock, wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. I love…
- Dirk Benedict as Templeton "Faceman" Peck
Dirk Benedict’s Lt. Starbuck put a gambler’s grin on Battlestar Galactica, then The A-Team recast the charm as Faceman — 1980s action cheese with a con man’s polish. Two decades of handsome problem-solving, cigars optional. TV Flash files…
- Dwight Schultz as H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
Dwight Schultz made H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock the wild card on The A-Team — scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem, and 1980s action cheese with immortal casting. Hannibal loved it when a plan came together; Schultz made the plan sound…