I'm pretty obsessed currently with the A-Team. I watched the movie when it came out, and vaguely recall the TV show, though mostly via lore. My oldest sister was evidently a HUGE fan, I gather she liked Faceman. Though whether or not this is because Dirk Benedict also played the original Starbuck (Remember, back when he was a MAN) remains to be seen.

I, myself, am terribly vulnerable with loving an unrelated franchise because they share an actor. (from Freddy K. to Rorschach, for example.)

So, now I'm watching the TV series. And reading TONS of fanfic. So far the TV series is terribly cheesy, even given the insane amounts of violence ( it was the most violent show on the air at the time) and I'm having a hard time staying attached.

This is mainly for one reason. Murdock doesn't act crazy on the show. Now, I was led to believe, from the movie, the fanfics and the synopsis' online, that he's schizo and has PTSD. Now, you know me, I just LOOVE the crazy. Birds of a feather and all that. And, granted, in the movie Murdock seemed genuinely certifiable.

It's just, on the show, he only acts crazy when he's trying to convince someone he's crazy. And then occasionally when he's around the other guys he'll do voices or speak in rhyme. Not actually insane behavior, just kind of wonky sense of humor type stuff.

Trust me, I know crazy. I live with it in my head all day every day, and I tend to attract, and encourage attraction to other crazy people. It's hard not to have symptoms except when it's convenient. If you ARE only having symptoms when the bad guys need showing that you're harmless or when your team needs someone to play the batshit card on an interogation victim, you're probably faking it.

Which annoys me.

Granted, what was considered crazy behavior for television in the early 80's and what actual mental illness is, are considerably different. That's why I like the fanfics, because Murdock's PTSD and schizophrenia gets written a LOT more like it is IRL. Even the movie made it seem more like he had to pull it together for missions than put it on to fake people out.

Sharlto Copely's kind of miserable mixed with desperate rendition of "I'm a REAL soldier! I'm a Ranger, baby." Bought, as it was out of an uncontrollable series of giggles, made the whole thing fly. The way he couldn't quite keep Hannibal's eye, but came through in the clutch, that was what it's REALLY like to fight down the crazy.

Trust me, I know.