The A-Team

The A-Team is an American television program of the action genre. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo and ran for five seasons on NBC totalling ninety-eight episodes. The main cast members from the series, most of whom comprised the A-Team, consisted of George Peppard as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith - the leader; Dirk Benedict as Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck - the grifter; Mr. T as Sergeant Bosco "B.A." Baracus - the strong man, and Dwight Schultz as Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock - the pilot. Actress Melinda Culea played Amy Amanda Allen in seasons one and two, who was an associate and collaborator of the A-Team. Season five of the series added the characters of Frankie "Dishpan" Santana, played by Eddie Velez and General Hunt Stockwell, played by Robert Vaughn.

The premise of the show involved a group of ex-military agents, who have been framed for a crime that they didn't commit. Banding together, they hire themselves out to help people in needed - people whose trouble requires a particular type skill set. The members of the A-Team had to rely on cunning, creativity and strategy to accomplish their goals, but with careful strategizing, they would invariably succeed in resolving the mission, or as Hannibal Smith woul say, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Each episode of the series opened with the following narration, giving viewers a brief overview of what the show was about.

"In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. They 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"

Notes & Trivia

 * One of the recurring gags on the series was the fact that B.A. hated flying. Moreover, he had zero confidence in the team's pilot, "Howling Mad" Murdock. For missions were flying was required, the A-Team often had to trick B.A. into getting onto a plane. Most often, this was facilitated by drugging him and dragging him onto a plane.