The A-Team
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The A-Team was an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-US Army commandos who are on the run from the military while working as soldiers of fortune. Despite being thought of as mercenaries, the A-Team almost always acted on the side of the "good guys," helping the oppressed. The show ran for five seasons on the NBC television network, from January 23, 1983, to December 30, 1986 (with one additional, previously unbroadcast episode popping up on March 8, 1987), with a total of 98 episodes. It has achieved cult status through heavy US Syndication and enjoyed a brief revival in the 1990s when re-runs were shown in the United Kingdom. As of 2006 the show is in syndication on Sleuth & TV Land; in addition, episodes from the first season can be purchased from the iTunes music store. Also currently each season is shown in progression in a recurring cycle on the UK satellite channel UKTV Gold, with an episode shown daily.
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 1980s. Ironically, Cannell had been producing shows for ABC in the early 1980s, but was fired by the network for not producing a hit for them. His next project would be The A-Team. The show became emblematic of this kind of "fit-for-TV warfare" due to its depiction of high-octane combat scenes, with lethal weapons, wherein the participants are never killed or even seriously injured.A typical episode starts with the A-Team's being hired by a down-trodden or terrorized client. The 'official' way of doing this was for the client to contact one of Hannibal's many comic aliases that were used to ensure that their clients were not working for the military. Just as frequently the A-Team would be on the road and stumble across someone who needed their help. Often the A-Team would return the fee to their most needy clients or find some other way to pay their expenses.
Stock sequences involved the A-Team being captured and then escaping, an explosion or crash causing a vehicle driven by the antagonists to barrel onto its roof, the US military turning up, having to break Murdock out of hospital, or B.A. refusing to get on a plane. The team would almost always engage in a fist fight with the episode's antagonists during the first half of the program. The A-Team would win rather easily, but for some reason would allow their enemies to escape, despite being able to subdue them and accomplish their mission there and then. While this may be attributed to the 'honorable' ethos of Hannibal and his Team, there was another, even more inexplicable contrivance in nearly every episode: The bad guys would capture or lay siege to the A-Team, who would, without fail, find themselves trapped in a barn/garage/warehouse etc. containing acetylene torches, sets of mechanical tools, an internal combustion engine of some sort and other materials which they would use to build a contraption to finally escape and (non-lethally of course due to FCC regulation) subdue their enemy. During these scenes the A-Team tune would play to let the viewers know that the A-Team was soon to be victorious once again. This is one of the most oft-lampooned aspects of the show.
The black and grey GMC van used by the A-Team, with its characteristic red stripe, black and red tire rims, and rooftop spoiler, has become an enduring pop culture icon. One of the original six vans used for the show is displayed in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, northern England. Another sits on the Universal Studios back lot with flat tires and faded paint and is available for tourists to photograph.
As a result of falling ratings during the fourth season, during the show's final season in 1986–1987, the format was changed in a bid to win back viewers. After years on the run from the authorities, the A-Team are finally apprehended by the military. They are given a choice between returning to prison and being executed, or being assigned to a government agency run by General Hunt Stockwell and performing secret missions. They choose to work with Stockwell.
Each episode of the first season began with this voiceover introduction:
- Ten years ago, 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 A-Team was noteworthy in that, although the series was brought to an end, the series was not cancelled due to lack of viewers. For example, their ratings were better than the 1984 Summer Olympics coverage. George Peppard likened the show's popularity to a runaway train, as the show was consistently popular and Peppard speculated that the show might have continued production, as it was the only live action 1980s show that was never cancelled due to decline in viewership. According to Cannell, the show was canceled because it was becoming too expensive to produce.
The \"crime they didn't commit\"
During the Vietnam War, the A-Team's commanding officer, Colonel Morrison, gave them orders to rob the Bank of Hanoi to help bring the war to an end. They succeeded in their mission, but on returning to their base four days after the end of the war, they found their C.O. murdered by the Viet Cong and his headquarters burnt to the ground. Therefore no proof existed that the A-Team were acting under orders, and they were sent to prison by a military court.Cast
Main characters
- George Peppard as Lt. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith — The leader of the A-Team, Hannibal was distinguished by his cigar-smoking, black leather gloves, disguises, and catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." He was a master tactician, although his plans rarely turned out as they were supposed to. Thriving on adventure and the adrenaline rush of life-threatening situations (or being "on the jazz", as B.A. called it), he also worked as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies.
- Dirk Benedict as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, (often referred to simply as "Face") — Suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with women, "Face" (so called for his clean-cut good looks) served as the team's con man and scrounger, able to get his hands on just about anything they needed. Effectively second in command behind Hannibal (although technically Murdock had a higher rank), he was the one who arranged for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles. Not much for hand-to-hand combat, he was forever complaining about the inevitable fighting that would ensue. Face also handled the team's money. As revealed in several episodes, Peck is an orphan. In Season two there is an episode that also tells some more of his backstory: he fell in love in college only to have the woman become a nun. Tim Dunigan played this role in the pilot episode. In some Spanish speaking countries, his nickname is "Fas", coming from Fascinador (fascinater). In Spain, however, his nickname was simply "Fenix" ("Phoenix"), trading the good-looks motivation for "coolness" and easy subtitution in dubbing.
- Mr. T as Sgt. Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus — A rough-and-tough fighter, his character is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He was known for his trademark Mohawk hairstyle and his gold jewelry. He was highly-skilled mechanic and had an amazing talent for making impressive machinery out of just about any ordinary parts that they had available to them. When asked what the "B.A." stood for, the standard reply was "Bad Attitude" (it is said he used to enjoy beating up senior officers in Vietnam). B.A.'s childhood nickname was "Scooter", which he detested. In some Spanish speaking countries, he was known as "Mario Baracus"; in Spain, as "M.A.", for "Mala Actitud", the exact translation of the original. Despite his reputed attitude, he is a nice guy at heart. A teetotaler, Baracus never touches alcohol, preferring milk instead. He was most upset by Murdock and frequently addressed him with the phrase "You crazy, fool!" He suffers an intense fear of flying, especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. This difficulty was often overcome by other members of the team drugging him or knocking him out, causing him to remain unconscious so he could be transported without objection.
- 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. 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 symptoms of his "insanity" varied from episode to episode, but included 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 B.A., 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 (although the "H" is said to stand for "Hector" and the "M" is never explained in the series). It was revealed in the first season that Murdock and B.A. are the same blood type, AB-, and B.A. received a transfusion from Murdock, who was sprung from hospital for just that, in the episode "Black Day at Bad Rock" and was again referenced in the second season finale "Curtain Call" (in reality, someone with AB- blood can receive any Rh- blood type).
Supporting characters
- Melinda Culea as Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen — Amy was an intrepid news 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 Culea and the production team. It was said she found out of her firing when she was given a script and found out she had no lines. She played a vital role in the early episodes, but was written out when Culea wanted to become an increasingly dominant figure in action scenes.
- Marla Heasley as Tawnia Baker — Tawnia was a short-lived replacement for Amy during 1984. She was also a reporter and helped the A-team out a couple of times; although she never fully incorporated herself into the team as Amy had done. She left in the Third Season because she got married (with a little help from the A-Team).
- William Lucking as Colonel Lynch — Commander of Fort Bragg, which housed the stockade from 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.
- Charles Napier as Colonel Briggs — The third Colonel who tried to catch the team but only appeared in one early Season 3 episode before Colonel Decker returned.
- Jack Ging as General Harlan "Bull" Fullbright - Another General who also tried to catch the team, except that when he was traveling with the team to Vietnam in the Season 4 finale, the character himself was killed (see Onscreen Violence listing below).
- 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. He was blackmailed into joining the team by Gen. Stockwell after he and Murdock helped the team escape the firing squad.
On-screen violence
The violence presented in the A-Team is highly sanitized. People do not bleed or bruise when hit (though they might develop a limp or require a sling.) The A-Team does not kill people (though they do have a tendency to shoot around the bad-guys). The results of violence were only ever presented when it was required for the script. For instance, when Murdock needed to have a black eye to legitimize the effects of a staged plane crash Peck punched him in the face to facilitate this.It is worth noting that in almost every car crash there was a short take showing the occupants of the vehicle climbing out of the mangled/burning wreck (even in helicopter crashes), although by late in the fourth season, some of these takes were dropped. In takes where there was no footage of the survivors scrambling to safety, a voiceover was sometimes employed. For instance, in the episode "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas", a Mafia car flips over and lands on its roof during a chase. The car lands in such a way that any occupants would have been instantly crushed, but a rather obvious loop-in is used of the driver asking "Hey, Cliff, are you okay?" and the passenger replying "Yeah, I'm okay" in a rather unflustered manner. This is similar to another 1980s television show, [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]], in which lasers were used instead of bullets and all personnel escaped from downed planes or destroyed boats.
Contrary to popular belief, however, the show did feature at least seven possible on-screen deaths:
- In Season 1's "The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas", gangster Gianni Christian is thrown from a high-rise hotel window into the swimming pool below (although clearly this is open to debate).
- In Season 1's "Beast From the Belly of a Boeing", the main villain is sucked out of an aircraft to fall to his death when a bullet causes the plane to depressurize (although he was wearing a parachute[link]).
- In Season 1's "Pros and Cons", an inmate was shot and killed by a corrupt Warden.
- In Season 3's "Skins", a park ranger is ambushed and shot, later to have his sister call the A-Team.
- In the Season 4 finale "The Sound of Thunder", General Fullbright is shot and killed. Fullbright's assailant is immediately killed thereafter when the shack he was hiding inside erupted in flames (Hannibal had fired his gun at gas barrels outside the shack).
- In Season 5, the A-Team escape their prison cells and have a gun battle with the MPs guarding them. One is clearly seen to be struck and killed—but the scene is revealed to be a dream sequence.
- In Season 5 Episode # 91 "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" General Stockwell is shown in a gunfight with an old intelligence comrade (David McCallum) who crashes his truck. It is ambigious as to whether he is killed or escapes.
Professional wrestling tie-in
Because this was NBC's most popular show at the time, Vince McMahon worked a deal to co-promote his World Wrestling Federation ("WWF") by allowing Hulk Hogan to make appearances on the show. It also co-promoted Wrestlemania, in which Hogan made an appearance and Mr. T was featured in a wrestling match. This show, along with The Rock n' Wrestling Connection, was a major reason why the WWF was able to go national and later become the dominant professional wrestling entity.In addition to Hogan, the show also featured professional wrestlers Professor Toru Tanaka, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, The Dynamite Kid, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Davey-Boy Smith, Big John Studd, and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Later, wrestler John Cena would parody the show for his music video, "Bad Bad Man".
Trivia
- Though B.A. is afraid of flying, the dress uniform he wears during his court martial contains a Master Parachutist pin.
- Actor James Coburn was considered for the role of Hannibal Smith.
- In the opening credits, Face reacts to an actor dressed in a metallic Cylon centurion costume. Dirk Benedict had starred years earlier in the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. His character, Starbuck, fought against Cylons.
- A lost episode, "Without Reservations", aired for the first time during re-runs in March 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".
- The automatic weapons the A-team wielded were Mini-14 variants, called AC-556's
- 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 Templeton 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 actual Dr. Dwight Pepper) is a photo of Stephen J. Cannell, the producer of the series. The name is also taken from Dwight Schultz (Murdock) and George Peppard (Hannibal).
- There was some talk about an A-Team reunion, a TV movie where the team would receive a full pardon. After George Peppard died, the idea was dropped.
- According to the Internet Movie Database, an A-Team movie has been announced, apparently due to be released in 2006.
- Tia Carrere guest starred in one episode at the end of season four, and was intended to join the principal cast of the show in its fifth season. Her character was a Vietnamese war orphan now living in the United States, and she would have provided a continuing tie to the team's inception during the war. There has been some fan speculation that her character would eventually have been revealed to have been Hannibal's illegitimate daughter, but there seems to have been no discussion about this among the producers. However, Tia was under a prior contract to General Hospital at the time, and was unable to join the cast of The A-Team. Her character was abruptly dropped as a result.
- An A-Team video game was to be released for the Atari 2600, but was cancelled. [link]
- There was a published A-Team video game from Zafiro Software Division for the ZX Spectrum[link] and Amstrad CPC[link].
- In the Italian dubbed version, Baracus' initials are "P. E.", for "Pessimo Elemento" ("Awful element"). They were chosen because of dubbing reasons (phonetically, the Italian "e" is pronounced like the English "a", therefore the lip movements are similar) and in order to have something of an equivalent to "Bad Attitude".
- In the French dubbed version, B.A. Baracus is called "Barracuda".
- In the Spanish dubbed version, B.A. Baracus is named M. A. Barracus, the "M. A." for "Mala Actitud" ("Bad Attitude).
- In the Mexican (Latin American) dubbed version B.A. is called "Mario Baracus" and Face is called "Fas", short for "fascinador" (this is a very appealing guy)
- In the Japanese dubbed version, B.A. Baracus is called "Kongu" as in "King Kong" and Murdock "Kureijii Monkii", for English "Crazy Monkey".
- In the United Kingdom, an A-Team comic strip appeared for several years in the 1980s as part of the children's television magazine and comic Look-In, to tie in with the British run of the series.
Cultural effect
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- As well as having huge ratings and being especially popular amongst children, there was countless merchandise available, including action figures of the characters, as well as their famous van and car. A cola flavored popsicle in the shape of Mr. T was also on the market at the show's height. Marvel Comics even produced a three issue A-Team comic book series.
- British comedian Benny Hill did a parody, "The B Team", in his TV show.
- In 2002, promos for The NFL on FOX featured commentators Joe Buck as Hannibal, Cris Collinsworth as Face, and Troy Aikman as B.A. Baracus. FOX was trying to drive home the point that Buck, Collinsworth, and Aikman were the new #1 announcing team (or "A-team") for their NFL telecasts.
- In an early episode of the animated series Sealab 2021, Captain Murphy hosts a pirate radio show using the name "Howlin' Mad" Murphy.
- The Family Guy episode "Brian Goes Back to College" uses the A-Team as a subplot to the show. Peter, Cleveland, Quagmire and Joe enter a costume contest as the A-Team. With Peter as Hannibal, Cleveland as B. A. Baracus, Quagmire as Face, and Joe as Murdock, the group wins the contest and decide to become the "new" A-Team. The episode contains many other A-Team references such as the credits and the team van, as well as a re-working of the show's theme song.
- John Cena performs a music video based on the show of his hit single, "Bad, Bad Man". He plays the role of Hannibal, with Tha Trademarc as Murdock, and Bumpy Knuckles as B.A. Baracus.
- Due to the great popularity of the show, in some places of latin america mr. T is better known as "Mario Baracus"
- Cult webcomic Sluggy Freelance features a quartet of pirate aliens, "The Gray Team," named after the A-Team members, as major secondary characters in one of its longest-running arcs, Oceans Unmoving. It is still unknown if they chose those names or they were given to them. It is also notable that one alien, named B.A., parodies the real B.A.'s catch phrase after a gunfight, saying "I pitted the fools!"
- The popular 2004 feature film Napoleon Dynamite features the show's theme song during a montage sequence showing Napoleon and Pedro hanging flyers for the school election.
- The Robot Chicken episode "Nightmare Generator" contains a parody of The A-Team.
- The last episode of Season 3 of Bo' Selecta! also has Avid Marion dressed as Mr. T.
- The second episode of the British comedy series Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere features a homage of the A-Team customizing their vehicle, complete with the proper music from the show, and even BA's distinctive walk, parodied by Peter Kay. Throughout the series, a nodding Mr. T doll is seen on the dash of their vehicle.
- An advertisement for 118 118 has an A-Team homage featuring young boy with a mohawk haircut saying "Crazy fool" like B.A. Baracus.
- The show's famous theme music was used in a United Kingdom commercial for the video game Sonic Heroes.
- "JCB Song" by Nizlopi contains a reference to The A-Team, with lyrics in the second verse. The video by Monkeehub to accompany the song also contains a cartoon drawing of the A-Team's van following the JCB.
- The A-Team are mentioned often in the movie Ali G Indahouse. It is clear that Ali believes them to be real people and during a break-in, he assigns each of his "crew" names, with himself being B.A. Baracus.
- Numerous references to The A-Team are made in the British TV sitcom, Spaced during the first and second series of the show.
- The British comedy Little Britain had a sketch featuring Matt Lucas dressed up as B.A. Baracus working out in a gym. When someone tells him he looks like BA from the A-Team, he seemingly has no idea who he resembles. He is later seen driving away in a copy of the A-Team van.
- In the South Park episode "Ike's Wee Wee", South Park elementary councelor Mr. Mackey loses his job, travels to India, and ends up being captured by the A-team and taken to rehab.
- In the video game Blast Corps, the A-team van is featured as a hidden vehicle. When the player honks the horn one can hear: "Outta my way".
- On their 2000 album Deviant, British metal band Pitchshifter included the song "As Seen On TV", featuring spoken vocals from Jello Biafra. The song, an indictment of the perceived acceptability of violence in modern media, contains the line "No-one loses on TV". Singer JS Clayden has said that this line refers to the fact that no one is ever killed by the A-Team despite the group's frequent use of automatic weapons #redirect [[Template:Fact]].
- Hannibal's catchprase "I love it when a plan comes together!" has been used numerous times in various TV shows (ranging from The Daily Show to MythBusters) and movies.
- The anime shows Full Metal Panic and FMP:Fumoffu both utilize the A-Team theme in their soundtracks, particularly the previews for the next episode.
- There is a rap group called 'The A-Team', with 'Acey the Faceman' and 'A.B. Baracus'. The album also called 'The A-Team' contains many references to the show.
- In the United Kingdom, an A-Team comic strip appeared for several years in the 1980s as part of the children's television magazine and comic Look-In, to tie in with the British run of the series.
A-Team reunion
On 18 May 2006, Channel 4 in the UK attempted to reunite the surviving cast members of the A-Team for a show titled Bring Back.... Justin Lee Collins presented the challenge, securing interviews and appearances from Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz, Marla Heasley, Jack Ging, series co-creator Stephen Cannell, and Mr. T. (after much searching). Collins often used very unorthodox methods, such as ambushing the actors in their homes, hotel rooms, or even while out shopping, without any prior warning and, for Mr. T, attempting to gatecrash his way into the Latin Grammy Awards.Collins eventually managed to bring together Benedict, Schultz, Heasley, Ging and Cannell, along with William Lucking, Lance LeGault, and George Peppard's son, Christian. Mr. T was unfortunately unable to make the meeting, which took place in the Friar's Club in Beverly Hills, but he did manage to appear on the show for a brief talk with Justin Lee Collins.
As a lighthearted joke for the show, a medium attempted to contact the deceased George Peppard via seance.
DVD releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| The A-Team Season One | June 8 2004 | September 13 2004 |
| The A-Team Season Two | April 12 2005 | July 4 2005 |
| The A-Team Season Three | January 31 2006 | May 22 2006 |
| The A-Team Season Four | April 4 2006 | n/a 2006 |
| The A-Team Season Five, The final season | October 10 2006 | n/a 2006 |
The first four seasons of The A-Team have now been released on DVD. The fifth and final is scheduled to be released in October 2006.
Note: the Region 1 releases of Season One (during the Pilot episode) and Season Three (two instances during the episode 'Beverly Hills Assault') replace music tracks with generic music, due to copyright problems. (Confirmation needed if this is the same on the Region 2 versions).
Note: On the Region 1 release of Season Four, a number of the opening trailers, previewing the upcoming episode, are missing (Again, confirmation needed if this is the same on the Region 2 versions).
International
- In France, the show was shown on TF1.
- In Brazil, the show was shown on SBT, and later again on Rede Globo.
- In Portugal, the show was originally shown on RTP 1. However, reruns were shown on TVI using the Brazilian dub. Nowadays the show can be seen in SIC Radical, a "radical" portuguese channel, subsidiary of the largest SIC Network.
- In Germany, the show was originally aired on Das Erste. Later seasons and reruns were shown on RTL.
- In the United Kingdom, the show was shown on ITV. Reruns are shown on satellite channel UKTV Gold.
- In Italy, the show was shown on Italia 1.
- In Australia, it was originally shown on the ATV-O Network (which became the Ten Network) and now is being re-run on the pay television network TV1.
- In Russia, the show was initially shown on STS (Russian: СТС), the entirely entertainment-oriented channel.
- In Lithuania, the show was shown on TV3 and Tango TV.
- In Saudi Arabia, the show was shown on Saudi TV Channel 2.
External links
- [The A-Team Shrine]
- [Finding the A-Team at Howstuffworks.com], an experiment
- [A-Team's Signature GMC van]
- [A-Team Episode Generator]
- [A-Team Canon]
- [Episode list at epguides.com]
- [A-Team Feature Film News at OnTheJazz.com]
- [A-Team theme song]
- [A-Team Youtube directory, includes "Bring Back The A-Team"]
- [Unofficial Dwight "Howling Mad Murdock" Schultz website]
- [German A-Team Resource Page (German)]
- [A-Team Fans (Dutch)]
- [El Equipo A (Spanish forum)]
- [Nizortace: Il Sito Ufficiale (Italian)]
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