Did you watch TV in the 80’s? If so, you’re old like me. And odds are, you probably tuned in to the action shows that serve as the basis for the Fun Packs covered in today’s article. For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at Lego Dimensions expansions aimed at the Cartoon Network crowd. But today’s offerings were made with these kids’ dads in mind because every kid I knew growing up watched The A-Team and Knight Rider. Get ready to kick it old school.
The A-Team ran for five seasons from 1983-1987. The opening narration told you everything you needed to know about the show:
In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… the A-Team.
The cast included George Peppard and Dirk Benedict. But the main draw for me and my friends was Mr. T as B.A. Baracus. The B.A. stood for “Bad Attitude”. Mr. T. was a pop culture sensation after his memorable bad guy role in Rocky III. B. A. was the team’s tough guy as well as a mechanic. His quirks extended beyond his unique fashion sense. B. A. preferred milk to alcoholic beverages and was deathly afraid to fly.
Unfortunately, Mr. T. does not lend his voice to Lego Dimensions. Instead, he is played by voice actor Dave Fennoy. As is appropriate for the team’s mecahnic, B.A. has the Fix It ability. He also has a unique Master Builder skill that simulates the A-Team’s tendency to come up with a plan in the show’s final act. That power makes B.A. essential if you want to solve all the puzzles in Year 2 of the game. He’s also the only means to access the A-Team adventure world.
Rounding out his skills list, B.A. has a few common abilities like targeting, blowing up silver Legos, deflecting lasers and super strength. And as an added bonus, he can turn into any of his teammates. So if you really want to play as a Lego George Peppard, this is your best chance to do so (at least until the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Fun Pack.
Fun Packs always come with vehicles or gadgets which are usually inessential at best. At least the A-Team had a memorable ride in B.A.’s van. The van has the usual base abilities and can be upgraded with a tow bar, the ability to break cracked walls or blow up silver Legos, or to fly. Although any time B. A. boards a flying vehicle, he falls asleep. Due to his fear of flying, his teammates frequently had to knock him out to get him on a plane.
Knight Rider ran for four seasons from 1982-1986. David Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight, a former police detective who had been shot in the face. He is given a new identity thanks to a billionaire with an unusual idea of how to fight crime. Knight is given a prototypical 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am with artificial intelligence and the ability to carry on a conversation. The car is named KITT, short for the Knight Industries Two Thousand because in the eighties anything with the number 2000 in it was futuristic. Together, Michael and KITT went on adventures and helped people the way TV action heores did on these kinds of shows.
Unfortunately, the Hoff could not be hassled into reprising his role for Lego Dimensions. Instead, Michael Knight is voiced by Nick Offerman from Parks and Recreation. But the good news is that William Daniels, the original voice of KITT, actually did reprise his role as the talking car. And let’s face facts, the car was always more important than the guy behind the wheel.
The guy behind the wheel has a skillset appropriate for a detective. Michael Knight can track clues, he has hacking and technology abilities, his devices give him X-ray vision and he is an acrobat. None of those abilities is especially hard to come by which makes Michael a less than essential character. But if you need a tracker, he’s more well-rounded Owen Grady or Shaggy. Plus, check out that hair! (Yes, they gave Lego Hasselhoff Hobbit hair.)
The main selling point of this Fun Pack, for once, is the vehicle. KITT is a talking car who shoots lasers. Having a vehicle that talks makes it a lot more fun than 90% of the other cars, planes and submarines in the game. Naturally, KITT can be upgraded. He’s a car of the future after all. His extended skills list includes electricity, a tow bar, super strength, invulnerability, flight and the ability to blow up silver Lego bricks. See, I told you he was more useful than the guy behind the wheel.
As with B.A., this Fun Pack is the only way to access the Knight Rider adventure world. I will admit, my memories of the show are kind of fuzzy all these years later. I couldn’t remember a specific setting. The adventure world mashes together seedy 80’s environments like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and a rundown small town. There’s lots of neon and everything feels just like an 80’s action show. If you have ever watched any of the TV shows from this era, the Knight Rider Fun Pack evokes them all.
I say what about Breakfast at Tiffany’s Fun Pack? Good one, and it’s my laugh of the day. I’ve seen plenty of “The A-Team” and “Knight Rider” over the last ten years, and I’d have to say setting doesn’t really matter; if it looks like it would be somewhere in California, then everyone should be good to go. Not a lot of 1980’s flash in those two shows if you ask me, just the typical fashions of the time really. William Daniels is still K.I.T.T.? Well, that’s just awesome! So B.A. can morph into any of the other A-Team? Well,… Read more »
Of the two, I am giving Knight Rider a slight edge in the nostalgia department largely because of Daniels as KITT. He has fun interactions with all the other characters like telling Batman it’s about time he upgraded from the Batmobile. The ability to play as the rest of the A-team is a nice bonus. They did the same thing with Ghostbusters. Lego may be able ti sell you on a single figure, but they know they would be pushing their luck trying to sell Lego Murdock. There are rumors out there that the game is closing shop after the… Read more »
Ha, KITT always had commentary about people, places, and things on the show, and that Batmobile remark had to be real rich.