The A-Team

Plot synopsis:
The A-Team is a naturally episodic show, with few overarching stories, except the characters' continuing motivation to clear their names, with few references to events in past episodes and a recognizable and steady episode structure. In describing the ratings drop that occurred during the show's fourth season, reviewer Gold Burt points to this structure as being a leading cause for the decreased popularity "because the same basic plot had been used over and over again for the past four seasons with the same predictable outcome". Similarly, reporter Adrian Lee called the plots "stunningly simple" in a 2006 article for The Express (UK newspaper), citing such recurring elements "as BA's fear of flying, and outlandish finales when the team fashioned weapons from household items". 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 (with the notable exception of General Fulbright) are never killed and rarely seriously injured (see also On-screen violence section).
As the television ratings of The A-Team fell dramatically during the fourth season, the format was changed for the show's final season in 1986–87 in a bid to win back viewers. After years on the run from the authorities, the A-Team is finally apprehended by the military. General Hunt Stockwell, a mysterious CIA operative played by Robert Vaughn, propositions them to work for him, whereupon he will arrange for their pardons upon successful completion of several suicide missions. In order to do so, the A-Team must first escape from their captivity. With the help of a new character, Frankie "Dishpan Man" Santana, Stockwell fakes their deaths before a military firing squad. The new status of the A-Team, no longer working for themselves, remained for the duration of the fifth season while Eddie Velez and Robert Vaughn received star billing along with the principal cast. The missions that the team had to perform in season five were somewhat reminiscent of Mission: Impossible, and based more around political espionage than beating local thugs, also usually taking place in foreign countries, including successfully overthrowing an island dictator, the rescue of a scientist from East Germany, and recovering top secret Star Wars defense information from Soviet hands. These changes proved unsuccessful with viewers, however, and ratings continued to decline. Only 13 episodes aired in the fifth season. In what was supposed to be the final episode, "The Grey Team" (although "Without Reservations" was broadcast on NBC as the last first-run episode in March 1987), Hannibal, after being misled by Stockwell one time too many, tells him that the team will no longer work for him. At the end, the team discusses what they were going to do if they get their pardon, and it is implied that they would continue doing what they were doing as the A-Team. The character of Howling Mad Murdock can be seen in the final scene wearing a T-shirt that says, "fini".
=== Connections to the Vietnam War ===
During the Vietnam War, the A-Team were members of the 5th Special Forces Group (see episode "West Coast Turnaround"). In episode "Bad Time on the Border", Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, portrayed by George Peppard, indicated that the A-Team were "ex-Green Berets". 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 their return to base four days after the end of the war, they discovered that Morrison had been killed by the Viet Cong, and that his headquarters had been burned to the ground. This meant that the proof that the A-Team members were acting under orders had been destroyed. They were arrested, and imprisoned at Fort Bragg, from which they quickly escaped before standing trial.
The origin of the A-Team is directly linked to the Vietnam War, during which the team formed. The show's introduction in the first four seasons mentions this, accompanied by images of soldiers coming out of a helicopter in an area resembling a forest or jungle. Besides this, The A-Team would occasionally feature an episode in which the team came across an old ally or enemy from those war days. For example, the first season's final episode "A Nice Place To Visit" revolved around the team traveling to a small town to honor a fallen comrade and end up avenging his death, and in season two's "Recipe For Heavy Bread", a chance encounter leads the team to meet both the POW cook who helped them during the war, and the American officer who sold his unit out.
An article in the New Statesman (UK) published shortly after the premiere of The A-Team in the United Kingdom, also pointed out The A-Team's connection to the Vietnam War, characterizing it as the representation of the idealization of the Vietnam War, and an example of the war slowly becoming accepted and assimilated into American culture.
One of the team's primary antagonists, Col. Roderick Decker (Lance LeGault), had his past linked back to the Vietnam War, in which he and Hannibal had come to fisticuffs in "the DOOM Club" (Da Nang Open Officers' Mess). At other times, members of the team would refer back to a certain tactic used during the War, which would be relevant to the team's present predicament. Often, Hannibal would refer to such a tactic, after which the other members of the team would complain about its failure during the War. This was also used to refer to some of Face's past accomplishments in scamming items for the team, such as in the first-season episode "Holiday In The Hills", in which Murdock fondly remembers Face being able to secure a '53 Cadillac while in the Vietnam jungle.
The team's ties to the Vietnam War were referred to again in the fourth season finale, "The Sound of Thunder", in which the team is introduced to Tia (Tia Carrere), a war orphan and daughter of fourth season antagonist General Fulbright. Returning to Vietnam, Fulbright is shot in the back and gives his last words as he dies. The 2006 documentary Bring Back The A-Team joked that the scene lasted seven and a half minutes, but his death actually took a little over a minute. His murderer, a Vietnamese colonel, is killed in retaliation. Tia then returns with the team to the United States (see also: casting). This episode is notable for having one of the show's few truly serious dramatic moments, with each team member privately reminiscing on their war experiences, intercut with news footage from the war with Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction playing in the background.
The show's ties to the Vietnam War are fully dealt with in the opening arc of the fifth season, dubbed "The Court-Martial (Part 1–3)", in which the team is finally court-martialed for the robbery of the bank of Hanoi. The character of Roderick Decker makes a return on the witness stand, and various newly introduced characters from the A-Team's past also make appearances. The team, after a string of setbacks, decides to plead guilty to the crime and they are sentenced to be executed. They escape this fate and come to work for a General Hunt Stockwell, leading into the remainder of the fifth season.

Tags: good versus evil, violence, satire

Review:
"Hannibal" Smith; his performances gave his career the boost it otherwise would not have gotten as in the manner of Leslie Nielsen he found his niche in comedic flamboyance after nearly two decades as a straight lead or in a character role.Dirk Benedict brings Starbuck to Earth (best shown in the show's most overt and best in-joke, the shot of a Cylon centurion guide at Universal Studios walking past Templeton Peck with the intimidating hum of its eye scanner added to the soundtrack) and scores again as the slightly decedent but ultimately sympathetic rogue who is the team's primary scam expert.
Murdoch, committed to a VA psycho ward due to insanity concocted in the Vietnam war - insanity that is just a ruse for Murdoch to better help the team.It may seem odd to think of Dwight Schultz as a qualified Broadway performer, but his career has been in that vein, and his role of Murdoch made him a true TV star; Schultz gave Murdoch his personality but he also tempered him with believeable torment, best shown in the show's warmest episode "Bounty," co-starring Schultz' reallife wife Wendy Fulton.
It never attempted to be "Masterpiece Theater", but 'cotton candy for the brain', with the best episodes replaying the same scenario over and over (Underdog gets mauled by Big Bad Villain and his Baddies...calls in Our Heroes, who end up defending the Underdog on a 'deferred payment' plan...Our Heroes Stomp the Baddies, then get themselves captured...in true "MacGiver"-like fashion, they use the materials at hand, creating homemade lethal, yet non-fatal weapons in insanely short order...the Baddies are Crushed, and Our Heroes split, seconds before the Authorities arrive to arrest them).
Hannibal, B.A., Face, and Murdock were all likable guys, and seemed to enjoy every moment together...and fans of the series have always 'picked up' on that camaraderie.The brainchild of Stephen Cannell and Frank Lupo, NBC loved the concept of the show, and gave the series a prime 'starting' point, airing the pilot episode after a Super Bowl, guaranteeing great initial ratings.
Another 'plus' was George Peppard's return to weekly television; his "Banecek" had been a much loved NBC series, until he walked off the show (Cannell, one of the writers of the earlier series, understood the ex-alcoholic Peppard's occasional mood swings, and offered him a large salary and a lot of creative control in the new series, resulting in one of the happier periods in the actor's tragic life).A major discovery for "The A-Team" was Dwight Schultz, as 'Howling Mad Murdock'.
A new female character was introduced, played by Marla Heasley, but her character would remain less active, and would have a story 'arc' that would have her leave the series in 1985.A television show with a single concept, no matter how enjoyable the cast, can't run indefinitely, and by the end of the fourth season, "The A-Team" had pretty well exhausted all the variations the writers could imagine.
Entertainment figures (Hulk Hogan, Boy George and the Culture Club, Rick James, Isaac Hayes) appeared in weak efforts to bolster ratings, and NBC pressured Cannell to make major changes to the series.Bowing to network pressure, the fifth season began by having the A-Team finally captured and court-martialed.
(As Hannibal pointed out in one of the novelisations, it's amazing how the bad guys always locked them up with precisely what they needed to escape.) And contrary to popular belief, our heroes did get hurt from time to time (the clip show episode "Curtain Call" used Murdock being shot as an excuse for his comrades to hold a remembrance of episodes past; in "The Battle Of Bel Air" the helicopter containing the A-Team crashed at the end of the climax, injuring everyone EXCEPT B.A. Baracus); occasionally episodes started with someone actually getting murdered (the man in the exploding car in "Skins," one of the battling convicts in "Pros & Cons").
I remember watching this when it first was aired in the UK, it was on a Friday night and I was about 12 years old.After watching it I knew it was a show that I would watch every week, this was certainly different from any other action show I had seen before.Here were 4 guys who were on the run from the government but helped people out with problems they had, they were different types of guys but put them together and they made The A Team.Hannibal who always had a plan, they didn't always come out the way he planned but they worked.Face was the guy who could get anything from anywhere and always scammed hotels, planes etc for the team.B.A was the muscle and the mechanic in the team who could build and fix anything, Murdock was the insane pilot who was always broken out of the V A hospital when the team needed him.There was also Amy and Tania who were reporters who separately attached themselves to the team for a while, although rumours were that George Peppard who played Hannibal was not happy with the female involvement in the show.Also there was the MP Colonel's who tried to catch the A team , first there was Lynch and then Decker who was played by Lancs Le Gault and the character of Decker was the one who pursued the team the most.People do pick holes in the show like why did the team never shoot anyone and they always got locked up in a garage or warehouse where they would be able to build something to make their escape.But you can pick holes in any fictional show, this was action packed family entertainment..
It was a time when TV knew how to be entertaining, and audiences had the ability to sit back and expect nothing more (something a lot of them have seemed to have lost in recent years).It was certainly a staple of my childhood, and I remember my trips to the local hardware store to buy PVC pipes and other bits of junk to try and make my own things just like the A-Team.
"A-team"is one of the best tv-series ever.Four veterans of Vietnam war are wrongfully accused and now they are outlaws.Peppard is very good in his role.He plays Hannibal,the leader of the four.I think is the best role of Peppard!But Mr.T as B.A is also outstanding."A_team"is not only adventure and crime.It has also comedy and sometimes romance.If you like "MacGyver" you are going to love "A-Team".Also if you are fun of Robert Vaughn you must see "A-Team" because Vaughn plays general Stockwell.A mysterious person who is a friend and an enemy of the four veterans..
"I love It when a plan comes together" the indomitable colonel John Hannibal Smith played brilliantly by the late George peppard "he's on the jazz" leads the A team.
Every character has his own specialty, it's simple but works effective for a TV-series like this.The action was also often the same, all of the car chases were always filmed at the same way and it was extremely obvious at times that they used puppets during certain stunts.
George Peppard as Hannibal Smith,Dirk Benedict as Templeton "Face" Peck,Dwight Swartz as Howling Mad Murdock and who could forget Mr T as B.A. They were the best and they made the series completely awesome(like i said i still watch reruns till date) which just show the timelessness of the show.
A hugely popular series when it was in its prime, "The A-Team" now gains a huge cult following with the release of the episodes on video (which show just how much times, particularly fashions, have changed since the 1980s) and the replaying of the shows on cable channels like UK Gold.
If you have a problem, and no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team."  The credits would then segue into the memorably exciting and hummable theme tune.The A-Team were very much romantic heroes of yore, helping the bullied or beleaguered from oppressive forces, whilst forever the eluding the uptight and incompetent military grunts who persistently tried to capture them.The main four characters were thus: charming, reckless leader Hannibal Smith (George Peppard), silver-tongued but wimpish conman Faceman (Dirk Benedict), zany lunatic pilot 'Howling Mad' Murdoch (Dwight Schultz) and fearsome, no-nonsense mechanic BA Baracus (Mr T).Although the characters remain very likeable, alot of their traits now seem hilariously ridiculous when the show is watched today.
With great action sequences, cool one-liners like "I love it when a plan comes together" and "Shut up, fool!!" and a catchy theme song makes "The A-team" one of the most enjoyable, adrenaline-pumping shows ever.
In the meantime, they are hired by people who've been wronged to kick butt, shoot guns, and blow things up (without killing anybody) in the name of good.The late George Peppard played John "Hannibal" Smith, a cigar-chomping, wisecracking man who was the leader.
(stands for Bad Attitude) is afraid to fly in an airplane, so the rest of the guys slip some sleeping pills into his hamburger.And of course, there was the one where B.A. had to wear a welding mask to build some sort of contraption made out of metal.And everyone who has seen the show has to remember the memorable moment where B.A. drove the A-Team van through a closed gate made out of chain-link fence.To make it short and sweet, this show is one of the best shows of all-time..
Just thinking of those memorable words, brings back fond memories of the best action show of the '80's.George Peppard as "Hannibal", Dirk Benedict as "Face", Dwight Schultz as Murdock and especially Mr. T as "B.A." Baracus as do-gooding framed Vietnam vets.
"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 soldier 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...." *cue machine gun fire and the theme tune*In my honest opinion this was the best family show of all time.lead by John "Hannibal" Smith played by the late great George Peppard with his ever popular catchphrase "I love it when I plan comes together" and his cigar chomping, not to mention drugging B.A. in just about every episode
"Howling Mad" Murdock, Murdock was in the Thunderbirds before the Vietnam war flew everything, dropped off Smith, Peck and Baracas on their Hanoi bank job, but was declared medically insane after the war and was institutionalized, Faceman was always in charge of springing Murdock for the Hospital, but sometime's Murdock would just escape by himself (makes you wonder what kind of security they had in those places if someone like Murdock could escape) later on in show Murdock was pronounced sane which I think was a mistake because part of the reason people like his character was trying to figure out if he really was insane or if he was just putting it on to escape a prison sentence.the show told the same episode nearly every week about a person/person's who where being bullied/terrorized by the local bully/mad man/crime boss, but tried to make every episode differen't, it would involve the A-Team getting the upper hand over the bad guys in the first half, then being either suckered into a trap or locked up where they can't escape, then some how manage to escape and defeat the bad guys just before Colonel Lynch/Decker/Briggs would turn up with a squad of MP's to arrest them, but by the time they would get there, The A-Team would be long gone, also it's funny for the ammuont of bullets fired in the show no-one ever died, sure B.A. was shot in one episode and stood on a nail in another, but nobody ever died hehehe, but then it was a family TV show.In my view the show took a nose dive when the introduced General Hunt Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) & Frankie "Dishpan" Santana (Eddie Velez) even though I liked Frankie Santana they could've done without Stockwell as the team where cleared of the charges against them thanks to Stockwell but only if they would do jobs for him and the government, so instead of being Soldiers of fortune they became blackmailed footsoldiers for Stockwell.Like I said best Action TV Show ever, it's a shame they never did a reunion movie with the cast before George Peppard died like they did with Knight Rider 2000 (even though the story for KR200 wasn't that great) it was still great to see K.I.T.T. and Michael in action one last time.If only Universal had done the same for The A-Team.Thanks for the memories guys, you made this kid of the 80's happy.I give this program 10 out of 10 because it was pure fun for it's time..
The four soldiers were Hannibal Smith (the late George Peppard), Templeton Peck aka Faceman or Face (Dirk Benedict),'Bad-Attitude' (or simply B.A.) Baracus (Mr T) and Howlin' Mad Murdock (Dwight Schultz); all four were simply tops!
Led by the tough, cigar-smoking John "Hannibal" Smith (George Peppard), the rest of the team consists of a pretty-boy con man named Face (Dirk Benedict), an insane pilot (Dwight Schultz) and a jewelry- studded muscle-man (Mr. T, the true star of this show!).
One watches the A-Team because this is the romanticized action genre, the kind where the heroes always win, Face Man always gets the girl, cars blow up without injuring anyone, and the bad guys never stand a chance.
Let me start off by saying that this is my favorite show.It didn't start off that way though.I was only 1 1/2 years old when this show came out in 1983.So i couldn't enjoy it in it's prime and a lot of other shows of the 80's.But in the back of my mind.I always knew what the show was.Just not what it was about.I knew Mr.t played on it and a character named Murdock that's it.So 10 years later(1993)A local station here was rerunning them.So i started watching them.And when my mom would catch me staying up on school nights.I would record them and have every episode today.I definitely gonna upgrade and buy the DVD's.I got hooked and then it became my favorite show.I can quote just about every episode.It was fresh,new,and exciting to me cause i hadn't seen this before .The A-team was a group of soldiers on the run from the military for robbing the bank of Hanoi in Vietnam.Which was a top secret mission to stop the war.But nobody knew about it except a officer who was eventually killed in the war.So there goes the teams proof.They escaped from a military stockade to the Los Angeles underground.Helping the lil'man or damsel in distress fight the bad guy.Col.John "Hannnibal" Smith-The leader,the thinker,strategist,loves the thrill of danger or The jazz as he says.A part-time actor who plays a swamp monster called"Aquamaniac".Master of disguises.He loves it when a plan comes together too.He keeps all the guys together and in line.Played by the late actor George Peppard.(RIP) GeorgeLieutenant Tempelton "Faceman" Peck-Con man,ladies man.Pretty boy.Could scam anything and everybody.The team's meal ticket.Hated confrontation though.But would fight.Played by Tim Dunigan in pilot then eventually by Dirk Benedict.Capt.H.M(Howlin' Mad)Murdock" Crazed vet who can fly anything.He's technically not on the run like the others but has to be broken out of the Va hospital to assist them on their missions.He slips in and out of reality during the course of the show.Comic Relief.Played by Dwight Schultz.Sgt.B.A(Bad Attitude Baracus-Big tough dude who u didn't want to mess with.Loves his van.Hates to fly.So Murdock and him don't get along.Has to be drugged and knocked out to fly.Mechanical genius.If hannibal's the brain.B.A was the muscle.played by MR.T.He was the baddest dude on TV then and now to me.Lookin'mad but when he smiled or laugh it was golden.His "suckas""fools" were weekly catch phrases.These were the central characters although Amy,Tawnia,Lynch Decker,Santana, Stockwell were added along the way.They were the main attraction.The A-team helped people for money and charity.But they weren't getting' rich at it though.They beat up the bad guys;shoot at them,blow things up.No one would hardly get shot or killed.My theory of this was"If you're already in trouble with the law for bank robbery.Why make it worse with murder'.Which they would be charged with in the very last season.The A-team would build stuff from anything and make a weapon out of it.An idea Macguver's people stole.This show was pretty original and that's what made it a big hit.Nothing' like it then or since.The 80's had great action/adv shows.The A-team is the top one in the genre.It made u laugh, cry,think,Most of all it kept your attention for an hour.I think it got a late start though.If it had of came out in the late 70's or 1980,81.It would be even more popular and memorable than it is today.Stephen J.Cannell is a genius for creating this one and several other classic shows.
George Peppard's Hannibal was my initial favorite, I related to the character like a brother, and Dwight Schultz's Murdock was always good for a pick me up when you're feeling down.
There's also for me a very strong side effect from watching all this A-Team Action, I have now started to whistle the tune day and night (hope I stop soon).THE CAST George Peppard --- Col John Hannibal Smith Mr T --- Sgt B.A Baracus Dwight Schultz --- Capt H.M Murdock Dirk Benedict Lt Templeten Face Lance LeGault --- Col DeckerCreated by Stephen J.
if you have a problem, if nobody else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire The A-Team' to the convoluted plots, it was great stuff.The main four guys were Colonel 'Hannibal' Smith (movie star George Peppard slumming it in middle age but by far the best thing in the series); 'Faceman' Peck (the oily Dirk Benedict, fresh from several seasons as Starbuck in 'Battlestar Galactica'); Mad Murdock (Dwight Schultz, whatever happened to him?); and BA Baracus (the bejewelled Mr T).