What comes to your mind when you hear someone say, "I pity the fool?" If you said Mr. T, you'd be right. However, if I asked you where that came from, and you said, "The A-Team," you would be incorrect. If you said, "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," I'd say, yeah okay, but what else?
While most people associate the catchphrase with The A-Team, T's character never once said the iconic line on the show. Instead, it was spoken by Clubber Lang in Rocky III.
Growing up, The A-Team was a show that we would catch whenever possible. I say it this way because my brother and I were limited to what came through over the airways while living overseas. We were further hindered by whether or not our older sister would let us come into her room to huddle around her small black and white television.
While this built a fondness for the series, I really didn't remember much about the show as I grew older. Well, beyond the basics, such as Mr. T, the characters as a whole, and the formulaic hiring of the A-Team to get out of a bad situation.
In an era of DVD, it was a blessing to 80's fans to see the return of the series in its entirety. This began in 2004 with season one, and continued in 2005 with season two. Production was then sped up with seasons three, four, and five released in 2006.
Additionally, these re-released versions got slapped together in a cardboard box, designed to look like the classic A-Team van, and were sold as the complete series.
Its this latter release which I added to my collection, and gave me the opportunity to watch the series from start to finish over the next several weeks.
As the pilot started up, something was off. There was George Peppard as Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, Dwight Schultz as Captain H. M. Murdock, Mr. T as Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus, and Melinda Culea as Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen. However, who the heck was Tim Dunigan, and why was he playing First Lieutenant Templeton Arthur "Faceman" Peck?
As I soon learned, Dunigan was the first choice for the character. However, when the series was picked up the studio didn't feel that the actor was old enough to represent a character who served in Vietnam. This led to the hiring of the true Faceman, Dirk Benedict, who took over starting with episode two.
The first season quickly fell into the format and formula which would dictate the flow of the majority of the series. Someone is in trouble, typically being pushed off their land for some reason or another, they hire The A-Team, who come in strong, only to be captured in the second act, build some form of device, and finally defeat the villain of the week. The Team either rides off into the sunset from there, or gets chased off by William Lucking as Colonel Francis Lynch, who appeared in the show through season three.
What I found I missed as a kid was that Murdock was never proven to be a full member of The A-Team by the government. Though they suspected him, and he was involved with their mission that put them on the run, they could never catch him in the act.
Beginning with episode fifteen, Marla Heasley joined the cast as journalist / reporter Tawnia Baker. However, she too was written out of the show in a two part storyline in season three. It's believed the only reason was because George Peppard continued to insist to the producers that the show didn't need a female co-star.
Additionally, Lance LeGaut joined the series as new army villain, Colonel Roderick Decker. He continued to make appearances on the show through the final season.
If you would have asked me as a kid who my favorite character was, and who the star of the show was, I'd have told you, Mr. T, and B.A. However, as an adult, my perspective has shifted. Howling Mad Murdock had definitely become the focal point for who I was tuning in for. His character was hysterical. In fact, I even likened his personas to how Jim Carey portrays a lot of (if not all) of his characters.
I'd also say that the stigma that haunted Peppard throughout the show, that Mr. T was becoming the leading star, may have been true at the time. However, I was definitely seeing him as the show runner from episode to episode.
That's not to say I didn't like the other characters. Far from it. The suaveness of Faceman, and his ability to con often served a critical point in each story, while when it was needed, B.A.'s muscles reduced any fight to a mere squabble.
Season three also remained formulaic to the show, and candidly, this is where things started to get a little boring for me. The show was becoming quite stagnant, and it definitely needed a change. However, the one that would come with season four wasn't what I would call the right move.
Celebrity guest stars became the name of the game with the fourth season. Among them were the likes of Hulk Hogan, who appeared in a couple episodes, Rick James, Isaac Hayes, and Culture Club. These episodes often felt hokey, serving no purpose other than capitalizing on the fame of their guests. This would be the point where the show jumped the shark for me. Mind you, as a child I probably would have lost my mind to see Hulk Hogan and Boy George fighting alongside the A-Team.
Jack Lee Ging also joined the series as General Harlan 'Bull' Fulbright, the final army villain added to the series. He remained through the final season. Fullbright would also be the only character in the entire series to die, being killed in the episode, The Sound Of Thunder. Another interesting fact about the character is that his on-screen daughter, seen in that same episode, was played by a very young Tia Carrera.
As fatigue set in, The A-Team threw in a last ditch effort. A trope often used in 80's sitcoms. They added a child.
Okay, not necessarily a child. Rather, Eddie Velez as Frankie "Dishpan Man" Santana, a new member of the team. With this came the biggest change to the show. No longer were the A-Team a group of mercenaries for hire. Instead, after a three part arc where they were captured, put on trial, and sentenced to death, after escaping, they joined up with Hunt Stockwell, a (former United States Army General) played by Robert Vaughn.
Stockwell essentially put the team to work as his own elite command group, promising them a full pardon upon completing a set number of missions. While this continued to include Murdock, he was formally discharged from the VA hospital, and worked on the side at a restaurant.
Probably the most intriguing episode for me in this entire season was Family Reunion. In this, we meet A.J. Bancroft, and his estranged daughter Leslie Becktall. As the episode progresses, we learn that Bancroft wants to rekindle his lost relationship with his children because he's dying. Mind you I said, children, and as the episode unfolds, we learn that his son is Face, which makes Becktall his sister. Unfortunately, while he confides this information in Murdock, Bancroft dies before he can tell Face. Murdock eventually breaks the news, leading to a rather emotional conclusion to the episode.
Perhaps the biggest change, and the one that I really disliked was the retooling of the theme song. Gone was that classic original intro with awesome guitars. In its place a synth pop, drum machine blah-fest. It took everything that made the original theme so iconic, and threw it straight off of a roof. It's horrible. Still, I get why they did it. They wanted people to know right from the start of each episode that this was a newer, fresher A-Team.
If you like, you can check out all five seasons openings in sequential order below.
Season five ends with no significance after just thirteen episodes. There's no resolution of threads, conclusion to the overall story, and definitely no pardon with The A-Team finally being free men. Instead, it's just another formulaic episode. Interestingly enough, there was an intended ending for the show, and this would have been episode twelve's The Grey Team. However, due to being aired accidentally out of sequence, this ruined the intended finale. With that said, even if it had aired in the correct order, it still wouldn't have resolved much of the storyline. Though in hindsight, it certainly would have been better than what was aired as the final episode.
Had The Grey Team been the final episode, the closing dialog would have hinted at the team returning to their roots, serving as helpers of the public, taking on tasks akin to those from prior seasons. Additionally, there was a visual queue from Murdock's character, who is last seen wearing a shirt which says, "Fini."
Several facets led to the show's eventual cancellation. While most of this is mainly based on the overall ratings, this dials in to multiple contributing factors. These included audience fatigue from the formulaic episode structures, retooling the series with new characters that weren't well received, and the rise of action stars who led violent films, casting a shadow on the lighthearted action of The A-Team. This was further not helped by issues behind the scenes, such as the continued fighting between Peppard and Mr. T.
Though formulaic, and generic by nature as a result, overall, the series had a good run. Ninety-eight episodes between 1983 and 1987 in no small feat, especially in the world of here today, gone tomorrow television.
The A-Team remains a classic piece of American television, and a fine staple of the 80's. To an extent, the episodes even hold up today. Sure, the overall premise is hokey, and unbelievable at times. However, the iconic characters keep you invested. You know they're going to get out of it in the end, but the journey of how they do it easily keeps you tuned in. Getting the chance to revisit this series as an adult was awesome.
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