Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - A-Team: Wanted Poster

The A-Team ran on NBC from January 1983 until June 1987 and it produced 98 episodes.

It opened with machine-gun like music, followed by the title stamped across the screen in stenciled,military style letters, which were then punctured by bullet holes containing pictures of the stars. From opening title to closing credits, The A-Team was a veritable weekly demolition derby-and it was a smash hit. The Premise, like the plots, was standard- issue TV. A crack team of soldiers in Vietnam was caught while on a super-secret mission behind enemy lines. Seems that 4 days after the war had ended, they had knocked over The Bank Of Hanoi for one hundred million yen, but could not prove who had given them their orders, and so were imprisoned by their own government. They had escaped, but now were outcasts, pursued as criminals by a relentless Col. Lynch ( William Lucking), and later by Col. Decker( Lance LeGault), who was determined to put them behind bars again. They not only managed to evade the colonel's clutches, however, but became freelance soldiers of fortune, righting wrongs across the country and in exotic foreign locales. It was a colorful team. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith( George Peppard), the cigar-chomping, remarkably fit leader, was a master of disguises. B.A. ( Mr. T.), was big, black, and menacing-and also an expert mechanic. Howling Mad Murdock ( Dwight Schultz), was their pilot, whose sanity was in seriously in question ( they had to spring him from a mental hospital for their missions), but who could apparently fly anything from acrop duster to a 747. Faceman (Dirk Benedict), was the pretty boy, a smooth talker who could hustle practically anything they needed for their missions. Joining them in the first episode was Amy Allen ( Melinda Culea), a pretty reporter who was understandably taken with this odd bunch and their far-flung adventures.The destruction they wrought may have seemed appalling to some, but it was carried off with such pinache, such a twinkle in the eye, that viewers knew it was not for real. Despite jeeps spinning through the air and buildings leveled in fiery explosions, hardly anyone-even the bad guys-ever got hurt. One furious chase scene ended with the pursuing villians' car in a spectacular high-speed crash. The camera lingered for a moment on the overturned wreck; one voice from inside grunted, ' you okay, Al?" and another answered, " Yea, I'm alright." Nor where the team members ever at a loss for firepower, even when seperated from their innocuous-looking but well-armed van. B.A. could could build machine guns out of old washing machines, rocket launchers out of used water heaters, and an armored tank out of a broken down school bus. Mr. T. (As B.A.), was the cult hero of the show, his macho chains ( 35lbs of gold), draped around his neck and his favorie scowling line, " you better watch out sucker!" for all his threatening appearance, however he did have one abiding fear-flying in a plane especially one piloted by the crazy Murdock. So the team regularly drugged, hypnotized, or tricked him to get him to the scene of the action. After each successful mission, Hannibal would look up in admiration and muse, " I love it when a plan comes together." In the fall of 1986 the teams's status changed dramatically. Tricked into capture by the mysterious Gen. Hunt Stockwell ( Robert Vaughn), they were charged not only with treason but the murder of their commanding officer in Vietnam, Col. Morrison. They were tried and sentenced to die-but Stockwell arranged for them to "pay their debt" by becoming undercover government agents, under his heavy-handed control. Joining the team was a sneaky little special-effects expert known as "Dishpan" Frankie Santana ( Eddie Valez). The A-Team was a Stephen J. Cannell production.

For a great A-team site go to www.chaelyndra.com/ateam/ and for a great episode guide go to www.htktv.com/theateam.htm