First of All, Some Information About The A-Team (1983)

The A-Team is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court martial for a crime they had not committed. They were convicted and sentenced to serve terms in a military prison, but later escaped to Los Angeles and began working as soldiers of fortune, while trying to clear their names and avoid capture by law enforcement and military authorities. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo. A feature film based on the series was released by 20th Century Fox in 2010.

Connections to the Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, the members of what became the A-Team were originally members of the 5th Special Forces Group. In the episode “Bad Time on the Border”, Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, 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

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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 they were to go to trial. An article in the New Statesman (UK) published shortly after the premiere of The A-Team in the United Kingdom, characterized 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.

Ratings

During the show’s first three seasons, The A-Team viewership included an average of 20% to 24% of all American television households. The first regular episode (“Children of Jamestown”), reached 26.4% of the television watching audience, placing fourth in the top 10 rated shows, according to the Nielsen ratings. By March, The A-Team, now on its regular Tuesday timeslot, dropped to the eighth spot, but rated a 20.5%. During the sweeps week in May of that year, The A-Team dropped again but remained steady at 18.5%, and rose to 18.8% during the second week of May sweeps. These were the highest ratings NBC had achieved in five years.

Characters

The A-Team revolves around the four members of a former commando outfit, now mercenaries. Their leader is Lieutenant Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (George Peppard), whose plans tend to be unorthodox, but effective. Lieutenant Templeton Peck (Dirk Benedict in the TV series, Tim Dunigan appeared as Templeton Peck in the pilot), usually called “Face” or “Faceman”, is a smooth-talking con man who is second-in-command, and the appropriator of vehicles and other useful items. The team’s pilot is Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock (Dwight Schultz), who has been declared insane and lives in a Veterans’ Affairs mental institution for the first four seasons. The team’s strong man and mechanic is Sergeant First Class Bosco “B.A.”, or “Bad Attitude”, Baracus (Mr. T).

A Team (1983) Cast: Then and Now 2023 [40 Years Later]