"The A-Team" (1983) TV series 1983-1987

Creators:

Stephen J. Cannell
Frank Lupo

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

23 January 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Heroes for hire.

Plot:

Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Army | Soldiers Of Fortune | Special Forces | Veterans Administration

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

George Peppard	...	John 'Hannibal' Smith / ... (97 episodes, 1983-1987)
Dwight Schultz	...	'Howling Mad' Murdock (97 episodes, 1983-1987)
Mr. T	...	B.A. Baracus (97 episodes, 1983-1987)
Dirk Benedict	...	Templeton 'Faceman' Peck (96 episodes, 1983-1987)
John Ashley	...	Narrator / ... (84 episodes, 1983-1986)

Runtime:

60 min (98 episodes) | Argentina:60 min | Israel:45 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Stephen J. Cannell Productions

Trivia:

The "crime they didn't commit" which led to The A-Team being sent to a military court was robbery of one hundred million yen from the "Bank of Hanoi" four days after the Vietnam War ended.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In order to have become a Green Beret BA Baracus would have to have undergone Airborne Training and completed a number of parachute jumps. Yet according to his mother he was afraid of flying even from an early age.

Quotes:

Face: [the team's plane is starting to malfunction] Uh, Murdock, what's going to happen?
Murdock: Looks like we're going to crash.'
Face: No, what's *really* going to happen?
Murdock: Looks like we're going to crash and die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Angels' Revenge (#7.22)" (1995)

One of the best shows ever.

It's just a pity it only ran for 3 years. I was only a kid then but I imagine it was one of the top rating shows. When I say that The A-Team was inventive I really mean it.

Every show would have them locked in a barn or warehouse, by a corrupt Sheriff or Mayor, that just happens to be loaded with equipment of some kind. The A-Team then invent some kind of crazy machine that enables them to break out and defeat the bad guys. Not before a montage of them building the machine to a variation of the classic A-Team theme tune.

Every 10th show would be about Deckard and how he wanted to catch the A-Team "for a crime they didn't commit", but he never did. They were just too clever.

The show was always critized for being too farfetch'd. It's true though. A car would be blown up and the passengers would walk out, cough and dust themselves down...totally unharmed. And The A-Teams uncanny ability to fashion a rocket launcher out of a pringles tube and an orange was just too much for some folks. But that's what made it so good.