Knights of the Road (S03, E20)
In which we hop across the border for more than a scrap deal.
Three miles from the Mexican border, two teams of tow truck drivers head for the same job. Arriving first, a father and daughter team are attacked by a gang of rivals, who then smash their pickup truck.
Desperate, the family have been seeking out the A-Team for help and they’re in luck as the boys are waiting for them back at the garage. They explain the rivals, run by Mr Tyler, scam their business by picking up towing away working cars or breaking them themselves. They can’t work out why Tyler wants their small business though.
After a quick montage of fixing up the smashed truck, the team set out on the road. Meanwhile, we learn that Tyler monitors their radios and has a mysterious contact who’s interested in the family’s pickup business.
Before long, there’s a car to be towed and the rival firms both head for it. Arriving together, a fight breaks out in the street. The A-Team win, tie Tyler’s men up to their own truck and drive them to Tyler’s office.
Furious, Tyler orders his men to gather weapons and take the war to the next level. Meanwhile, Face, Murdock and BA tap the radios on Tyler’s trucks so the A-Team can start stealing their jobs.
Intercepting on call, the team overhear a plan to pick up a package in a broken-down car which sparks Hannibal’s interest. Murdock gets planted in the car to find out what’s going on, with the rest of the team following behind. They watch as Tyler’s men swap the car’s plates for diplomatic ones and drive it unsearched across the Mexican border.
Once in Mexico, Tyler is searched outside a grand house before he’s allowed in. Clean, he takes the package inside – a suitcase containing $300,000 to buy a shipment of drugs from Mexican druglord Zuniga. We learn that Tyler wants to buy out the family’s business as they have a licence to work both sides of the border. He knows his diplomatic plates won’t work forever and needs a better plan.
Murdock sneaks into Zuniga’s office, grabs the money and posts it back to the family’s pick up business. He calls the team but doesn’t know where he is so can’t lead them to him.
Moving on to plan b, the team chase down Tyler in two trucks, force him off the road and point their guns at him. Tyler and his men won’t talk, so the team take them to the car crusher and load them inside. Still unwilling to reveal anything, the crusher begins biting into the car and closing in on Tyler before he spills the beans. Hannibal releases the men then crushes the car, with the drugs inside, into a cube.
After another quick montage of fixing up the truck, the team break over the border into Mexico and attack Zuniga’s house. After a little bit of shooting, the team round up Zuniga and his men, then drop the crushed car into the pond.
Hannibal takes Zuniga to the local police station, where the team get an unwelcome surprise. Zuniga is the police Captain! He throws the Colonel, Face and BA into a cell while he decides how to get rid of them.
Thankfully, Murdock is soon on the scene and uses the pickup truck to pull a full wall of the cell down and help the team escape.
With no money and no drug shipment, Zuniga and Tyler team up to attack the family’s pickup garage. Awaiting their arrival, the team spend time building a series of defences and traps.
When the bad guys make their move, the team drive a huge armoured truck through the garage door. After a shootout and spot of grenade hurling, the team manage to flip the enemy truck over and win the battle.
With Tyler and Zuniga in American jails, the team celebrate with the family. BA tricks Murdock into standing under a giant magnet holding a pipe, launching him into the air.
Freeze frame on Murdock about to let go.
Let’s wrap up with a few key questions.
Does Hannibal wear a disguise?
No, unusually the team are waiting for the clients this time.
Does BA get on a plane?
Nope.
Should someone be dead?
Yes, anytime there are grenades thrown in a small space someone should bite the dust.
Knights of the Road (S03, E20) is a classic episode of The A-Team with just enough twists to make it stand out. Helping out yet another small business, the boys are hired to protect a father and daughter who’s pickup service is being attacked by local rivals. Crucially, the business has a license to work over the border in Mexico, which brings a local drug lord into the picture.
It’s not smooth sailing for the team’s plan this time out, making it all the more exciting as they adapt to the changing circumstances. Though the villains aren’t standouts they’re both imposing enough and you don’t see the twist with the Mexican police coming. There’s also a sense of fun throughout the whole episode while makes it a lively adventure for the team.