The A-Team
| The A-Team | |
|---|---|
 The A-Team. Clockwise from top: Dwight Schultz, Mr. T, George Peppard, Dirk Benedict. Image copyright, usage restricted. | |
| Created by | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Starring | George Peppard Dirk Benedict Mr. T Dwight Schultz et al. |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 98 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC, Syndicated |
| Release | January 23, 1983 – March 8, 1987 |
The A-Team is an action/adventure television show about a fictional group of ex-US Army commandos who are on the run from the military while working as mercenaries and helping the oppressed. It ran for five seasons on the NBC television network from January 23, 1983 to March 8, 1987 with a total of ninety-eight episodes. The show has achieved cult status among some viewers. It became somewhat popular again in the 1990s when re-runs were shown in the United Kingdom.
Story
The A-Team was one of a wide variety of successful creations from prolific television producer Stephen J. Cannell. Cannell is known for having a particular skill at capitalizing on momentary cultural trends, such as the machine guns, cartoonish violence, and joyful militarism of this series, which are now recognizable as trademarks of popular entertainment in the Reagan Era of the mid-1980s. The A-Team became emblematic of this kind of "fit-for-TV warfare" due to its depiction of highly sophisticated combat scenes, with extremely lethal weapons, wherein the participants are never killed or seriously injured. Contrary to popular belief, however, the show did feature two on-screen deaths. In the season four finale "The Sound of Thunder" General Fullbright was shot and killed, and in "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas" gangster Gianni Christian was thrown from a high-rise hotel window into the swimming pool below.
The black GMC van used by the A-Team, with its characteristic red stripe and rooftop spoiler, has become an enduring pop culture icon.
During the show's final season in 1986-1987 the format was changed. The A-Team, after years on the run, were finally apprehended by the military. They are given the choice between returning to prison and executed or being assigned to a government agency run by General Hunt Stockwell and performing secret missions for the government. They choose their freedom.
Each episode of the first season began with this spoken introduction:
- "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"
Seasons two through four substituted "In 1972" for "ten years ago". The intro was dropped for the final season.
The "crime they didn't commit"
During the Vietnam War, the A-Team's Commanding Officer gave them orders to rob the Bank of Hanoi to help bring the War to an end. They succeeded in completing their mission. On returning to base, they found their Commanding Officer murdered by the Viet Cong and his headquarters burnt to the ground. Therefore no proof existed that the A-Team were acting under orders, so they were sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't actually commit.
Cast
- George Peppard as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith
- The leader of the A-Team distinguished by his cigar smoking, disguises, and his catch-phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together!" Always "on the jazz" (a phrase coined by B.A., meaning that Hannibal thrives on adventure and life-threatening situations), he also worked as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies.
- Dirk Benedict as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, he was often referred to simply as "Face".
- Suave, smooth-talking, loves the ladies. He served as the team's con man, arranging for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information by various methods of trickery. Tim Dunigan played this role in the pilot episode.
- Mr. T as Sgt. Bosco Albert "Bad Attitude" Baracus aka B. A. Baracus aka Scooter (his detested childhood nickname). A mechanical genius and the A-Team's regular Mr. Fix-It; his character is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. In Spanish speaking countries this character is known as "Mario Baracus".
- Despite his reputed attitude, a nice guy at heart. He was most upset by Murdock and routinely informed him, "You crazy, fool!" He suffers an intense fear of flying, especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. A common "cure" came when members of the team would drug his milk.
- Dwight Schultz as Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
- The best chopper pilot of the Vietnam War, Murdock is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so. Although he was their pilot on the Hanoi bank raid, he was technically not part of the A-Team and so never tried by the military. Though interned at a psychiatric hospital, he routinely escaped to accompany the A-Team. The gist of his "insanity" varied from episode to episode, including self-identification with fictional characters, hallucinations, belief in the "intelligence" of inanimate objects, and others; he frequently referred to his invisible dog, "Billy." He was discharged permanently in the fifth season. Interestingly, unlike Baracus, the initials H.M. were never explained in terms of what Murdock's actual first and middle name were, and the nickname "Howlin' Mad" were simply attributed to them. Unlike Baracus, whose "Bad Attitude" nickname initials could also stand for Boscoe Albert. It was revealed in a first season episode that Murdock and Baracus are the same bloodtype, and BA received a transfusion from Murdock in the first season episode Black day at Bad Rock and was again referenced in the season two finale Curtain Call.
- Melinda Culea as Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen
- Amy was an intrepid reporter who joined the team in its pilot episode. She was written out of the show in the middle of the second season, as a result of a conflict between Ms. Culea and the production team. She played a vital role in the early episodes, but the writers apparently had a hard time finding meaningful things for her to do as the series progressed.
- Marla Heasley as Tawnia Baker
- Short-lived replacement for Amy during 1984
- William Lucking as Colonel Lynch
- Commander of Fort Bragg, the prison which the team escaped, the Colonel pursued them throughout the first season.
- Lance LeGault as Colonel Roderick Decker
- The second Colonel who tried to catch the team but also gets outsmarted.
- Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell
- The A-Team's boss during the final season. He blackmailed the team into working top-secret government missions in return for their eventual pardon.
- Eddie Velez as Frankie "Dishpan" Santana
- Puerto Rican special-effects expert who helps the A-Team during the final season but just never really fit in.
Famous guest stars included Michael Ironside, Dean Stockwell, Yaphet Kotto, Dennis Haysbert, Xander Berkeley, Andrew Robinson, Marc Alaimo, Lance Henriksen, Tia Carrere, Kurtwood Smith, Ed Lauter, Sam J. Jones, June Chadwick, Brion James, Boy George, William Perry, Rick James, Isaac Hayes, Sid Haig and David McCallum.
The show also featured professional wrestlers Professor Toru Tanaka (died August 22, 2000), Hulk Hogan, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, The Dynamite Kid, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Davey-Boy Smith (died May 17, 2002), Big John Studd (died March 20, 1995) and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Later, wrestler John Cena would parody the show for his music video, Bad Bad Man.
Trivia
(Note: these trvia notes come from the Internet Movie database and are among the most notable regarding the A-Team.)
- In the opening credits, Dirk Benedict reacts to a passing metallic "Cylon warrior". Cylons were the nemesis in Benedict's earlier series, "Battlestar Galactica".
- A lost episode entitled "Without Reservations" aired for the first time during the March reruns of 1987. This episode was probably meant to air right before the final episode "The Grey Team", based on the fact that in "Without Reservations" Murdock's T-shirt says "Almost Fini" while in "The Grey Team" it says "Fini".
- In one episode, it is revealed that Face's real name is not Templeton Peck. The complete list of his assumed names is, in chronological order: Richard Bancroft (birth name), Alvin Brennar, Al Brennan, Al Peck, Holmes Morrison, Morrison Holmes, and finally Tempelton Arthur Peck.
- In "Pros and Cons", Face pretends to be the author of a novel Dr. Dwight Pepper. The photo on the back of the book - supposedly the proper Dr. Dwight Pepper - is actually a photo of Stephen J. Cannell, the producer of the series.
- There was some talk about an A-Team reunion, a TV movie where the A-Team was given a full pardon, but after George Peppard died, the idea was dropped.
- According to the Internet Movie Database, from whom the above trivia notes come, an A-Team movie has been announced, apparently due to be released at some point in 2006.
Cultural effect
The show was a true 1980s phenomenon. As well as huge ratings and being especially popular amongst children, countless merchandise was available, these included toy dolls of the characters, as well as their famous van and car. A cola flavoured popsicle in the shape of Mr. T was also on the market at the show's height. Marvel Comics at one point produced a three issue A-Team comic book.
British comedian Benny Hill did a parody, The B Team, in his TV show.
Family Guy episode 65, airing on November 13, 2005 uses the A-Team as a subplot to the show. Peter, Cleveland, Quagmire and Joe enter a costume contest as the A-Team. Peter as Hannibal, Cleveland as B. A. Baracus, Quagmire as Face and Joe as Murdock win and decide to become the "new" A-Team. It contains many other A-Team references such as the credits, team van and overall theme of the show.
DVD sets of the first two seasons have been released, with the third season expected in late 2005.
Because this was NBC's most popular show at the time, Vince McMahon worked a deal to co-promote his WWF by allowing Hulk Hogan to make appearances on the show. It also co-promoted Wrestlemania I, in which Hogan made an appearance, and Mr. T would wrestle. This show, along with "The Rock n' Wrestling Connection", are major reasons why the WWF was able to go national, and later become the single dominant Wrestling promotion.
John Cena performs a music video based on the show of his hit single, Bad, Bad Man. He plays the role of Smith, with Tha Trademarc as Murdock, and Bumpy Knuckles as Baracus.
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