WTF Happened to The A-Team (1983-1987)?

One of the most iconic shows of the 1980s was, without a doubt, The A-Team. Starring screen veteran George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz and the legendary Mr. T, the show premiered in January 1983 and became a pop culture phenomenon. It helped that the show came out hot on the heels of Rocky III, with Mr. T already in the zeitgeist for playing the unforgettable villain, Clubber Lang. Here, as B.A. Baracus, T would adopt a much more family-friendly persona. While he was the breakout star, audiences also loved Peppard as Hannibal, the wannabe actor mastermind, Benedict as Faceman, the ladies' man, and Schultz as Murdock, the crazy one. The story of an underground crew of NAM vets who are framed for a crime they didn't commit, the show ran for five seasons before slipping out of fashion towards the end of the decade when the mix of cartoonish violence was eschewed in favor of harder-edged shows. Decades later, it remains a classic, as we examine in this week's Gone But Not Forgotten, which is written by Jessica Dwyer, narrated by Travis Hopson and edited by Cesar Gabriel.

#theateam #mrT #gonebutnotforgotten

[MrRudyhj]

What a memorable time to be growing up in the 80s, with shows like the A-Team, DoH, Knight Rider, Airwolf, The Fall Guy, Hardcastle & McCormick, CHiPs, Magnum never knew how good we had it.

[darkdemonqueen]

Hello fellow lovers of this show! We grew up in the best decade did we not?? (I used to wish I had “experienced” the 60’s but now I’m so glad I was alive in the 80’s and 90’s!!!.... last best time to grow up!)

[kilotun]

For some reason, the A-Team (the show) got really popular again in the early 2000s when I was in high school. Absolutely loved it! Just the hearing the name automatically recalls that iconic theme song.

[magnificus]

OMG, this was my FAVORITE show as a kid. Thank you so much for covering this!!! Pity da fool!!!!

[rogue]

A-team.... Dukes of Hazzard... Knight Rider.... My 80s kid holy trinity.

[shallendor]

The 80's were the best time to be a teen!
Murdock was my favorite character in A-Team, he was such a fun character!

Dwight Schultz tends to steal the show, when he is on!
The fact that they included a Cylon walking past Dirk Benedict with a (looks familiar) reaction was the best part of the opening!

[Oonagh]

Murdock was plumb crazy. That is why his character worked so well. It added so much suspense. You never knew if he was going to lose it or not.
We liked Amy. She wasn’t as much of a damsel as others of the era. My mom loved her.

[wstine]

I remember watching this show as a kid. Hannibal, Face, and Mr T. were my favorite characters. I liked the action as a kid, but I appreciate the humor of an adult.

[djs]

I feel so lucky to have been brought up in the 70s and 80s. Watch the A-Team on telly and then go outside (yes kids outside! That's where we used to play) and then re-enact the show. Thanks for bringing the memories back 👍🏼

[rickywotintarnation]

Ya know looking back, the A Team is probably why I liked Burn Notice so much. Capable individuals with different skills coming together to help the helpless. Would love to see you do a video on burn notice as well 🤘🤘

[bfenske]

Actually, Mr.T was discovered on an NBC show that featured the toughest bouncers. They even had a dwarf throwing competition. Now Stallone might have seen him on there.

[jacobwebb]

I loved this show as a kid and still love it today. To tell you truth I still hum the theme song whenever I am fixing something. GREAT REVIEW!

[TheLAGopher]

It could be argued that there have actually been two A-Team film adaptations. The 2010 film and the 1999 film Three Kings which was set during the 1991 Gulf War and where its lead characters were
variations of A -Team characters.

George Clooney played a version of Hannibal Smith.

Mark Wahlberg played a version of Faceman

Ice Cube was the BA of the team

And SpikeJonz was the Murdock of the group.

The movie had the four men as a rogue group of soldiers trying to steal Saddams gold and ending up helping Iraqi civilians in trouble.

There even is a female reporter and an Army
officer on their tails in the Amy Allen and Col Lynch roles.

[skyden]

The film version really was very well done.
In regard to the original television series, here's a couple of extra bits of trivia that go along with the team that can help when no one else can (and, if you can find them): #1, the intro of the show had a funny clip during the announcing of the cast, that being of "Face" (Dirk Benedict) coming across someone dressed as a Cylon, then "Face" making a gesture akin to having de-ja-vu. This is, of course, in reference to D. Benedict's time on the series "Battlestar Galactica." #2. Universal Studios, the studio where "The A-Team" was filmed, had for a time a special "A-Team" promotion that existed along the famous Universal Studios' tour tram-ride in which characters and even the famous van could be seen strategically placed in different places along the tour route, (i.e., Hannibal in his "Creature from the Black Lagoon" costume sitting on some rocks, alongside the area of the "parting of the waters (seas)" section of the tour.)

[themoon]

I'm an 80's kid and this is personally the most nostalgic Jo Blo review you've ever made. I say that after watching all your reviews religously. This one just hit different! Bravo Jo Blo...Bravo!

[emmanuelwolf]

My childhood wouldn't have been the same without the a team, my goodness those times after school and on Saturdays, just magical times, kids today have no idea how amazing the 1980s where.

[oddsandwindsocks]

This was superb Saturday night viewing. My younger brother joined the fan club back in the mid 80s, getting poster's and signed photos.

[Mrnovanova]

I loved the A-Team. Burn Notice is the closest thing to the A-Team for this generation. I strongly encourage A-Team fans to check it out.

[Jannes-pjcd]

This is one of my favourite TV shows, when I was a kid I used to watch this all the time when they rereleased the episodes on TV

[GPhoenix]

In my country the series was called Esquadrão Classe A (Class A Squadron) and had been dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese in the 90's, which was the version I grew up with. Murdock, if memory serves, would call Face 'Cara de Pau' often. The original dubbed version premiered here in 1984 and was then called Soldados da Fortuna (Soldiers of Fortune. I was today's old when I found that the series had premiered here in my year of birth. Learned something new today!)