7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.
Crime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Twenty one-disc set (21 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Universal has released the entire five season run of the popular 1980s TV show 'The A-Team.' This 21-disc set features very good video and aggressive but sometimes overamplified audio. A couple of token extras are included, hardly enough to satisfy die-hard fans.
It was not a surprise (but still pleasant to see) to discover that The A-Team was coming to Blu-ray. What was something of a surprise was to
find that it was to be Universal, not Mill Creek, to release it. The series has "Mill Creek" written all over it. The downside is that this set probably costs a
little more released by Universal but the upside is that the image is likely a fair bit better here than it would have been with the patented Mill
Creek compression.
As it is the Universal 21-disc set affords the material a good bit of breathing room, resulting in an imperfect but still very satisfying 1080p image. The
image is presented in approximately 4x3 aspect ratio, placing vertical "black bars" on either side of the modern 1.78:1 HD display. This retains the
original broadcast integrity. The picture holds to its natural grain structure (with only the odd burst of heightened density), which is critical in conveying
the natural filmic state. There has been no obvious scrubbing, leaving details intact and satisfyingly crisp and complex. The picture is handsomely stable
and pure in terms of clarity and sharpness. It's a real treat.
Color depth is excellent. The palette is deep and contrast is set just right. Natural greens leap off the screen in the opening episode and a myriad of
tones throughout, including various colored clothes, Mr. T's gold chains, orange fire bursts, and more all delight throughout the five season run. Black
levels are generally fine if not occasionally
prone to mild crush. White balance is good and skin tones look more or less natural.
To be sure, there are some problems, most of which appear in the form of various pops, speckles, stray fibers, vertical lines, and the like. While these
can be bothersome and sometimes cumbersome they are not in such prevalence as to even be evident in many shots, scenes, and even sequences.
Otherwise, there are not any serious source or encode issues worth mentioning.
The supplied DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack is aggressive, and probably too aggressive at reference volume It's not very well balanced at all times, with action and music oftentimes being amplified well above a general baseline. Clarity cannot quite hold at these times, either, and while the track is never sloppy, it is in need of some fine tuning to maintain a general sonic balance. That said, the track is very wide and well capable of extending music and gunfire far out the sides while folding in plenty of center area content as well. Dialogue does image to the middle and is presented with serviceable clarity and definition.
The A-Team: The Complete Series contains a rather skimpy collection of extras, two total, and one of which is a repeat from the Mill Creek
Magnum, P.I. release. Each
season ships in its own extra-thick Amaray case. There is no disc stacking; each disc sits on its own hub, either on the case ends or on movable
leaves inserted into the middle. Unique artwork and season synopses appear on the back. Episode listings and summaries are included on the
packaging interior. All of the cases ship inside a decently sturdy slip box.
Season Four, Disc Five:
There is no denying that 80s TV sets were graced with some of the best and most iconic television series ever made. Amongst those is The A-Team, created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. Fans adored the charisma, characters, action, and adventure, but critics panned the show's purposelessness and pure escapism. But who likes critics anyway? The A-Team is just a lot of fun, repetitive, maybe, to a fault, perhaps, but for terrific character work, solid acting within a limited dramatic construct, nonstop action, and plenty of creative adventures, the show was, and remains, hard to beat. Universal's 21-disc complete series Blu-ray release offers a couple of supplements (one of which is a repeat from the Mill Creek release of Magnum, P.I.). The video borders on excellent and the audio is OK but problematic. Highly recommended.
1983-1984
1983
1984-1985
1985-1986
1986-1987
Unrated Extended Cut
2010
Remastered | Paramount Presents #19
1982
2017
2019
1989
Special Edition
1986
2018
1980-1988
1984
1998
1985-1992
Warner Archive Collection
1997
1996
1991
2017
1995
2004
1998
2015
1977